Kettlebell Training Tips - Pick Up, Rack, Lockout

In order for your kettlebell training to be as safe as possible, and therefore allow you to train without the risk of injury, you must pay attention to the basics - it seems pretty obvious but a lot of people skip this step and end up with substandard technique and training as a result.

Picking up the kettlebell, racking the kettlebell and locking out the kettlebell are all things that should be done with care and learnt thoroughly. These are fundamentals, and are not intuitive for most people so require a bit of time and attention to get spot on.

Here are some training tips to ensure your pick up, rack and lockout are safe and correct:

Pick Up

You'd be surprised how many people injure themselves, not during a hard set, but when they pick up or put down the kettlebell.  Why?  Because during the set they're concentrating on what they're doing and they're not concentrating when picking it up - that's how something so simple can become injurious.

To safely pick up the kettlebell:

• Look forward
• Hinge at the hips
• Soften your knees
• Ensure your lower back remains neutral
• Shins should be close to vertical
• Stand up and squeeze your glutes

For personal trainers, this is the best way to teach your clients to pick up the kettlebell as it gets them in the habit of using a hip dominant, rather than knee dominant, movement, which translates to the swing.

Rack

Due to the kettlebell's unique shape and displaced centre of mass, it cannot be racked like a barbell or held at the chest the same way you'd hold a dumbbell (for example when doing a military press).

The safest, most effective rack position (a good rack can actually improve other lifts such as the jerk) is defined by several points:

• The correct hand position - the handle sits diagonally across your palm so that the pressure is on the heel of your hand and your wrist is neutral.
• The kettlebell rests between the biceps and forearm.
• The hand is close to the centreline of the body.
• The elbow has contact with the hip or body.
• The legs are straight (knees extended).

The rack position may look different on different individuals, depending on build, flexibility etc but if all of the above features are present then it is a safe rack position.

Some women with larger chests may have to modify their rack position slightly (yep, their rack gets in the way of their rack) and even men with very large pecs may find it difficult to get the above position.  To get around this, they may have to rack slightly more to the side, so the hand is away from the centreline of the body, but the hand shouldn't come out any further than the armpit - as soon as it passes this point there's too much stress placed on the shoulder joint.

Getting the elbow in contact with the body is difficult for some people, particluarly men, and requires work on hip flexor flexibility to bring the hips forward while keeping the knees straight.

The rack position can look quite extreme in some people, for example Marty below:

However, this rack position includes all the key points and is perfectly safe (provided the glutes are switched on to protect the lower back) as the weight of the kettlebells is actually being supported by the skeleton - as you can see the load is in line with the hip and ankle joints.

Lockout

Overhead lockout is really important as far as safety is concerned because when the kettlebell is overhead your shoulder is in a vulnerable position.

As the term implies, you want to lock out your arm (so the elbow joint is locked).  Anyone who is hypermobile should only go to anatomical lockout as going beyond what is a normal range of motion places too much stress on the ligaments.

A safe and effective kettlebell overhead lockout is defined by the following:

• Elbow is locked out (or at anatomical lockout)
• The bicep is roughly in line with the ear
• The chest is "leaning through" a little, so that the upper back muscles are engaged and the  kettlebell lines up with the hip and ankle (so that the skeleton is supporting the weight)
• Knees are locked (or at anatomical lockout)
• The shoulder is slightly internally rotated so that the palm is not running parallel to the torso - with a kettlebell if the palm is parallel to the torso the body of the kettlebell will be rotated over the top of the head, which is unsafe.
• The kettlebell should be completely stopped - if the kettlebell is not stabilised in this position and is moving around it places unnecessary extraneous pressure on the shoulder joint.

Some people do not have the shoulder flexibility/thoracic mobility to attain this lockout position.  If that's the case, work needs to be done to improve range of motion before they attempt to get the kettlebell into overhead lockout. This is a great DVD for improving thoracic mobility.

In Summary

Avoiding injury is paramout in any training, and the above kettlebell training tips will help you ensure your training is safe and injury free.