Kettlebell grip training

Posted in: Sport

Experimenting some more with KB juggling today. Changing how the KB rotates in the air caused me to catch in a way that kept the thumb out of the grip forcing me to catch with just the fingers. I discovered what turned out to be a fairly intense grip training exercise.

Pics and explanations follow...

For background, during ordinary snatches where you don't let go of the KB the grip looks like this: (Imagine all these pics are in the air ;-)

Firm grip around KB

So the bell of the KB is flung out.

In juggling however, the KB tends to rotate so that the handle is spinning in line with the arm, i.e. in the plane of rotation. So the catch tends to happen at the end of the handle:

Handle Catch: KB is rotating in line with handles

This exercise requires a catch in a hammer curl type of position. My brachioradialis was quite sore the day after my first KB juggling experiment!

I wanted to see if it was possible to have the KB rotate in such a way that I was catching it in the same manner as the ordinary snatch, i.e. to re-engage the forearm flexors.

How To
To do this I needed the handle to "scoop" as it spins. Here's how: release the KB as it's travelling toward the end of the the snatch upswing. The handle rotates away under the bell, out the back, over the top, and then back toward its original release position. With any luck, the KB is heading back to Earth and is in some place you're able to reclaim control over it. The catch is thus overhand:

Grip Open Catch

I was finding my thumb wasn't getting involved thus the load of decelerating the iron fell to my four fingers. Result: battered finger flexors, and a tougher grip in days to come.

Posted by Paul Makepeace at January 26, 2005 13:37 | TrackBack