This one is for the lurkers - what are you working on and what do you need help with right now?

[ngie]

@tysa Definitely worth a form check!

For me one of the biggest realizations that improved my cleans was that leg drive makes for a soft landing.

It seems counterintuitive because there’s more force involved but if you can get them to “float” out of hip extension you will be able to loosen your grip and get deeper insertion.

When there’s little leg drive you will need to “pull” the bells with your upper body more and you won’t be able to relax the hand.

This helped me understand that concept on driving the legs more -

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[tysa]

@ngie Just wanted to say I watched the video and have been practicing hand insertion a lot this week and it feels like it’s clicking! Feels very solid with my right, but still more work needed on my left, I manage to crunch my wrist bones too often. Today I moved up to 16kg and it was easier. All my bells are cast iron until my KBK adjustable arrives so I’m wondering if just the shape of the handle has made a difference. Thanks for your advice!

 

[ngie]

@tysa That’s awesome news!!

 

[jessecomer]

@ngie I’ve been KBing for a little over a year now and am feeling more confident in my movements and overall strength. The thing I’m finding the most challenging is designing a program. At this point, I’m piecemealing different workouts together, but I’m not sure if this is effective and that uncertainty leads to me constantly changing my routine.

Do you have any advice for someone trying to build a 4 or 6 day a week program to build strength and muscle?

 

[ngie]

@jessecomer You can always snag premade programs but I get that not everyone wants to do that. We’ve been making our own for years.

This is generally what we do.

For strength, start with the basics:

• Squats
• Hinges
• Presses
• Rows

Do each at least twice a week.

One day train two skills with heavy loads (tough for 3-5 reps) for a total of 10-30 reps each. For the other two skills use medium loads (tough for 5-10 reps) for a total of 20-50 reps each.

Swap them on the second day.

For your conditioning, pick a ballistic skill:

• Swing
• Snatch
• Clean
• Jerk
• High pull

Go for reps or time. At least two sessions each week.

If you choose reps aim for 100-200 total reps in sets of 5-10 and try to rest between 40-90s. Change the total reps by 20-40 reps each session.

If you choose time aim for 10-20 total minutes in sets of 1-5 minutes, resting as needed. Change the total by 2-4 minutes each session.

Again, this is just a general approach

 

[jessecomer]

@ngie This is incredibly helpful, you guys!! I’ve been bouncing all around trying to “optimize” my routine but it often felt unproductive, or that I should be doing something different. I will take this advice to heart and plan my routine around it! Thank you so much!!

I just signed up for your newsletter, and I’ll probably end up picking up lifetime access to your wave programs, too. Thanks for everything you do!

 

[wezo777]

@ngie • ⁠What are you working on right now?
Pentathlons…lots of pentathlons.

• ⁠What’s going well?
Volume is increasing every week and feels great!

• ⁠What challenges are you running into?
Issues with external rotation of my shoulders. I’ve tried damn near everything over the past few years and nothing has improved my external rotation ROM.

• ⁠How can we (or the subreddit) help you?
Any resources to improve external rotation are always welcome.

 

[ngie]

@wezo777 Pentathlon!! Such a cool event. I've been avoiding it so far lol, one day, one day!

ER can be a tough one but once you find some good drills or positions to work it then you just need to do it consistently. This is one of my favorite ER drills. You can also do the same set up with a doorframe or laying on the floor with yoga blocks like this

 

[wezo777]

@ngie I’ll give it a shot, thanks. And you should do a light pentathlon just to play with it! It’s surprisingly fun.

 

[ngie]

@wezo777 Maybe I’ll make that the Christmas session

 

[wem16211]

@ngie How do I increase range of motion in my elbow? My left arm can extend fully overhead to zero degrees, but my right arm can only get to around 3 to 5 degrees overhead even though it feels fully locked out. Oddly enough, when my right arm isn’t overhead I can fully extend it, just not when pressing, snatching, or merely reaching without load. Also, there’s no pain associated with this, it just makes me want to achieve symmetry.

 

[ngie]

@wem16211 I think this is pretty common and definitely something I struggle with. Always jealous of the folks with amazing elbow lock outs.

Hopefully some others can chime in with some great overhead drills.

It could be range of motion limited in shoulder flexion (that top overhead position) or scapular upward rotation. Since the upper arm can't get into the right position, you won't be able to straighten the elbow.

That may be why you can straighten it everywhere but overhead.

One of our favorite shoulder flexion drills using a dowel on hands/knees. We demo it here. You want to train the position where you can keep the elbow straight. In the video we perform lift offs but you can do isometrics there too.

 

[aspirational]

@ngie I have one 50lb kettlebell. Not really sure where to start with a training program. Limited time as well. I’ve been working on some swings but that’s been about it.

 

[ngie]

@aspirational We went into this a little here.

It can be tough with one kettlebell so the key is to just work as hard as you can with it on a select few skills (swings, squats, presses, rows).

 

[aspirational]

@ngie Thanks for the tips!

 

[zjicez]

@ngie I'm working on the clean and press movement with a 10lb bell and I'm concerned my arm is not fully extending upward with the weight, does it need to fully extend? I want to get the full benefit of the exercise but I don't want to injure myself.

 

[ngie]

@zjicez If you can, you should lock the elbow at the top of the press. Locking out the elbow will likely make the movement safer overall

 

[zjicez]

@ngie Thank you!

 

[jozefpalokaj]

@ngie Getting a heavier KB - just left my gym (was a coach) and had been doing S+S (getting good with a 24kg), but now only have a 12kg.

Got to wait till Jan to get one though as we decided to do the floors. Gonna try start doing bottoms up press Turkish GUs in the meantime

 

[ngie]

@jozefpalokaj Always a bummer to lose access to your heavier bells. You may find snatches to be a great substitute in the meantime!