The Kettlebell Swing: First for a reason!
By Bill Fox
In "The Russian Kettlebell Challenge" Pavel quotes David Willoughby, a 1920s weightlifting champion, stating that the 2 arm swing "brings into action and develops practically every group of muscles on the back of the body and legs, and a good many others besides…. If you have time on your schedule for only one back exercise, make it this one…" Pavel goes on to say the swing is a great way to get prepared for the "more difficult" snatch. "More difficult" - I'm not so sure. "More complex," maybe, but there are few things like the nonstop, no place to rest burn of a long set of swings.
The kettlebell swing, in all its various permutations, 2 arm, 1 arm, D.A.R.C., 2 kettlebell etc…is the brutal distillation of everything kettlebell training is about; power, explosiveness, flexibility and lung searing "cardio." It's not simply that it works a lot of muscles, and make no mistake that it does, it's that it teaches you to generate power from the core outward to the object you're attempting to manipulate. Instead of learning to move a weight from point A to point B, you learn to generate force from your body's powerhouse: the hips, legs, back and core. Once you have mastered the kettlebell swing, not only will you instantly get the "feel" of more "complex" kettlebell lifts, but also your body will innately apply these lessons to your chosen sport, martial art or weight training.
I won't go into a detailed description of how to do the swing here. Read the RKC book or better yet watch the video. Best of all would be to learn the swing from a qualified Kettlebell Trainer. Keep in mind maintaining a nice back arch, sitting back, head up, brace at the bottom and a powerful hip snap on every rep.
Powerful Training with the Kettlebell Swing GPP
The kettlebell swing has to be one of the ultimate tools for increasing GPP (General Physical Preparedness) for any athlete who's sport is concerned with speed, strength or power. I guess that's everything but Playstation 2.
Using a light kettlebell (for you) do 5-10 sets of 20-50 reps of KB swings w/ 1 minute rest between. Over time reduce the rest and/or increase the weight of the kettlebell. It is imperative that you coordinate your breathing with each rep at this point. You can use an "anatomical" or "biomechanical" breathing pattern. Generally, anatomical breathing can be used when the weight is light and the duration of the drill is long. Anatomical breathing means you inhale as the chest naturally opens up; in this case as the bell is rising, and exhale as the body closes, or when the bell is coming back down. This breathing pattern means the belly is empty at the bottom and therefore there is less "bracing" of the spine against the forces created by the kettlebell. Given the lighter weights this should be OK.
On the other hand, say you decide to do a tabata protocol (20 seconds on all out /10 seconds off for 8 rounds) with a 40kg kettlebell. In this situation you might want to use a biomechanical pattern. Now you're breathing in as the weight comes down so that your core is "braced" at the bottom. Obviously it's harder to get a good breath as your body is folding over, so this method is more appropriate for intense short duration drills.
As opposed to running or cycling, for example, the kettlebell swings are actually building strength endurance into the critical power generating muscular structures of the body while also taxing the grip and teaching the body to absorb shock from outside forces.