25_04_kettlebell_swing.pdf

CrossFit Journal Article Reprint. First Published in CrossFit Journal Issue 25 - September 2004

The Kettlebell Swing

Greg Glassman

“CrossFit is a great system, but they don’t

utilize kettlebells well because of a lack of

qualified kettlebell instruction.”

- T.C., RKC

At CrossFit we swing the kettlebell overhead while the

kettlebell community swings to eye or shoulder height.

No matter how many times we’re admonished for our

excessive swing we proceed unabated? What gives? Are

we in need of additional, more “qualified”, kettlebell

instruction?

While admitting a penchant for iconoclasm, we are

not contrary solely for the sake of being contrary.

Rational foundations for our programming, exercises,

and technique are fundamental to CrossFit’s charter.

We swim against the current only when we believe that

doing so delivers a stimulus truer to our product – elite

fitness.

In the March 2004 issue of the CrossFit Journal we

stated that, “Criteria for (exercise) selection include,

range of joint motion, uniqueness of line of action, length

of line of action, strength of line of action, commonness

of motor pattern, demands on flexibility, irreducibility,

utility, foundational value, measurable impact on

adherents, and, frankly, potential for metabolically

induced comfort.”

This month we apply some of these criteria to an

analysis of the two kettlebell swings and then assess

two other CrossFit staples, the clean & jerk and the

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The Kettlebell Swing (continued...)

“thruster” for comparison and further elucidation of

our thinking in selecting exercises for regular inclusion

in our program.

Examining why we’ve rejected the shorter, “Russian”,

swing, and adopted the longer, “American”, swing offers

an opportunity to examine and share the thinking that

is part and parcel of the CrossFit method.

A little background is in order. The modern era of

the kettlebell is largely the work of Russian émigré,

Pavel Tsatsouline. Long ignored in the West, kettlebell

training has a long and distinguished history in Russia

http://www.cbass.com/Kettlebell.htm.

At CrossFit the rise of the kettlebell movement

was cause for excitement. The kettlebell itself was

somewhat unfamiliar; the kettlebell movements we’d

long known from their dumbbell analogs, but Mr.

Tsatsouline brought something more important than

the kettlebell or kettlebell movements to the U.S. He

came with a forceful and compelling rationale for high-

rep weightlifting in elite strength and conditioning.

Understanding the unique potential of high rep

weightlifting puts the kettlebellers and CrossFitters

in rare company. Whatever else distinguishes our

approaches this commonality is more important than

our differences. Our two communities are, in our

opinion, separated more by the number of tools we use

than anything else.

On first being introduced to the kettlebell swing our

immediate response was, “Why not go overhead?”

Generally, we endeavor, somewhat reflexively, to

lengthen the line of travel of any movement. Why?

There are two reasons. The first is somewhat intuitive.

We don’t do half rep pull-ups, we don’t do half rep squats,

and we don’t do half rep push-ups. If there is a natural

range of motion to any movement we like to complete

it. To do otherwise seems unnatural. We would argue

that partial reps are neurologically incomplete. The

second reason deals with some fundamentals of physics

and exercise physiology.

From physics we know that the higher we lift

something, and the more it weighs, the more “work”

we are performing. Work is in fact equal to the weight

lifted multiplied by the height we lift the object. Work

performed divided by the time to completion is equal

to the average “power” expressed in the effort.

“Russian Swing”

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The Kettlebell Swing (continued...)

Power is exactly identical to the exercise physiologist’s

“intensity”. Intensity, more than any other measurable

factor, correlates to physiological response. So more

work in less time, or more weight moved farther in less

time, is largely a measure of an exercise’s potency.

When we swing the kettlebell to overhead, the

American swing, we nearly double the range of motion

compared to the Russian swing and thereby double the

work done each stroke. For any given time period, the

power would be equivalent only if the Russian swing

rate was twice the American swing rate.

In fact, “T.C.”, the gentleman who decried our lack of

“qualified” instruction, recently claimed, “you will be

able to get two low swings in for every one overhead.”

Were this true, and all other things equal, the two

swings would require equal power to perform and

consequently be similar in effect.

We have, however, tested the “period”, or time to

complete each swing, for both the American and Russian

methods and we’ve found that the American swing

rather than being half the rate of the lower Russian

swing was closer to eighty-five percent of the Russian

swing. This would require that the advocates of the

lower, shorter, Russian swing perform the movement

with nearly twice the load to improve on the power of

the American swing. We don’t think that is very likely to

occur. Most of our guys can swing the 2-pood (36 kg or

64lb) to overhead with control and precision.

After measuring the swing height and displacement

for both the American and Russian swings we had

several athletes swing 1.5 pood kettlebells, counting

the repetitions, for one minute employing the Russian

method. After an extended rest, we repeated the test

with the same size kettlebells while employing the

American swing. What we found was that the Russian

swing demanded only sixty-five percent of the power

required of the American swing - hardly close.

Power a measure of intensity can certainly be perceived,

and it is the perception of all our athletes who have

tried both swings that the longer American swing is

substantially harder than the shorter Russian swing.

Many offered, “it’s twice as hard”.

Curious about other physiological measures we repeated

the tests with a downloadable heart rate monitor. Heart

rate being a reliable correlate of power or intensity, we’d

expect the American swing to generate higher heart

“American Swing”

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The Kettlebell Swing (continued...)

Exercise

Natural

Frequency

(reps/min)

Range of Motion

(feet/reps)

Velocity

(feet/min)

Load required

to match Power

(pounds)

Average Power

(footxpounds/

min)

American Kettlebell Swing

6.5

260

260X

Russian Kettlebell Swing

3.25

153

1.7X

260X

Barbell Thruster

3.25

124

2.1X

260X

Barbell Clean & Jerk

6.5

117

2.22X

260X

rates compared to the Russian method. Consistent with

our calculations and our athlete’s perceived exertion,

the heart rates recorded while employing the American

swing averaged nearly twentyfive beats per minute

higher than recorded employing the Russian swing.

We analyze most of our exercises in this way. Vertical

displacement, load, and period or rate of repetition are

critical to measuring power or determining intensity

and, collectively with heart rate and perceived exertion,

lend themselves to our determination of whether an

exercise is worthy of regular inclusion in our workouts.

On this basis alone, the half or Russian kettlebell swing

doesn’t make the cut.

In examining the mechanics and physics of exercises it is

readily apparent that range of motion or line of action

are fairly fixed. What is less apparent but generally the

case is that our exercises also have a natural period or

frequency of repetition.

“Russian Swing”

“American Swing”

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The Kettlebell Swing (continued...)

The natural frequency or period of an exercise can

be found by performing it deliberately and quickly

with an insignificant load. As we gradually increase the

load what we see is that the period long remains fixed

until, eventually, sufficient load slows the movement

precipitously. The rate of performance prior to this

threshold is the natural period or frequency of the

movement.

We’ve seen videotape where U.S. Olympic weightlifter

Shane Hamman is juxtaposed side by side clean and

jerking both an empty bar and eighty percent of his max.

The two movements are in perfect synch. The clean and

jerk like many exercises has a natural period.

From watching videotape we’ve determined the natural

frequency of the American kettlebell swing, the Russian

swing, the thruster, and clean and jerk.

For the Russian Swing this rate is forty-seven strokes

per minute, for the American swing it was forty, for the

“thruster” (front squat/push-press) thirtyeight, and for

the “touch and go” clean and jerk it was 18 strokes per

minute.

Similarly, we analyzed the range of motion for these

movements and found that the Russian kettlebell swing

and thruster both traveled about three and a quarter

feet and that the American swing and clean & jerk both

traveled about six and one half feet. All of these measures

were averaged from two male athletes standing nearly

six feet tall.

Knowing the range of motion and natural period of

these exercises we can determine what loads would be

required to produce equivalent expressions of power

among the four exercises. The answers are revealing.

Using this information we can show that the Russian

kettlebell swing would have to be performed with

loads nearly twice that of the American swing to exact

similar power and intensity demands. This may not be

possible.

In the case of the thruster and the clean & jerk the loads

would have to be a little over twice as large and this is

readily doable.

Indeed, it is our considered opinion that the Russian

kettlebell swing becomes too heavy before it approaches

the power of our preferred American kettlebell swing

and that the thruster and clean and jerk are both vehicles

for outpacing the power demands of the American

swing. Physical analysis, measured heart rates, observed

impact, and our athlete’s perceived exertion support

these contentions beautifully.

Greg Glassman is the founder (with Lauren

Glassman) of CrossFit, Inc. and CrossFit Santa

Cruz and is the publisher of the CrossFit Journal.

He is a former competitive gymnast and has

been a fitness trainer and conditioning coach

since the early 1980s.

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