Five Tips to Press a Heavy Kettlebell

One of the most challenging strength movements for me is overhead pressing; it is just one of those lifts that progresses slow and steady for me. Even with my limited success, I still enjoy performing this movement and constantly challenge myself to get better at it.

When a movement is difficult to progress with, it is very important to analyze how the movement is performed, what the optimal technique is and how to make adjustments to make the movement optimal for you.

I have received help over the years from some great kettlebell coaches and I will share a few tips to help you press a relatively heavy kettlebell.

Set it up Right
Before you can press a big kettlebell it is important that you are set up to succeed. Getting the kettlebell into the proper rack position allows the kettlebell to be stable so you can get a good initial pressing movement. If the kettlebell sits loose in the rack position, not only will it be tough to make the initial press successful; it will also take more strength to stabilize the kettlebell in the right position, therefore wasting valuable strength needed to press the kettlebell overhead.

The right rack position varies from person to person depending on body structure. The kettlebell should sit comfortably close to the body and be able to remain there without effort to keep it stable. When I train people on how to set up the rack position, I tell them that the forearm should follow the angle of the ribcage.

Wrist angle in the rack position is also crucial for a successful press; you want the wrist to be strong and as vertical as possible. It is very common to bend (gooseneck) the wrist which makes your pressing platform weak.

Squeeze the Sponge
Squeezing the Sponge is a direct tip I got from Master RKC Mark Reifkind which helped my strict press tremendously. This metaphor is used by Mark to get people to activate their Latissimus dorsi muscles to press. Too many trainees consider the press to be done with the shoulder muscles; however Mark advises that the Lats should be the primary mover and great stabilizer of the weight.

Once the weight is in the racked position, before you begin the press, squeeze the arm into the side of your body as if you are trying to squeeze all the water out of the sponge that is between your arm and the side of your body; this will prime the Lats for assistance with the movement.

Create Tension
Tension is a killer of efficiency and endurance but it is very useful when you want to move a heavy object. The sponge tip above is a form of tension building, along with this you will want to grip the kettlebell handle firmly, tense the mid-section and glutes, feet should be strong and driven into the ground and also tense the non-working side (if you are using a single kettlebell).

Push Against the Contact Point
The biggest question I get from my athletes about overhead pressing is how the shoulder should move. I tend to avoid flaring the arm outward into external rotation because of safety reasons due to the weight displacement on the shoulder joint; keeping the arm in can be confusing until I got a second eye opening tip from Mark Reifkind.

His tip was to press against the contact point of the kettlebell where it meets your wrist and forearm. Keeping this contact seems to move the kettlebell through a smooth and proper groove, keeping the shoulder inward, the weight over the hip and in a position where the Lats can assist effectively.

Be Patient
This last tip may seem self evident, however if you are used to pressing lighter kettlebells with ease overhead and you try a heavier one that seems not to budge, you might quit too early. Pressing a heavier kettlebell may take up to three seconds to get overhead so as long as you are safe and stable, stick with it until it locks out overhead.

There you have five tips to help your strict kettlebell press. Enjoy.

Tags: Core Training, kettlebell, kettlebell press, Kettlebells, Strength, Strength Training

Aj Makes History

Aj made history at the Orange Kettlebell Seminar becoming only the second man to put John Wild Buckley’s 70kg kettlebell overhead. This was truly an impressive display of strength. Check out the video below

Tags: kettlebell

Anniversary Party 2.0 Recap

The second RISE ABOVE Anniversary Party was truly a wonderful occasion celebrating how much our members and the gym itself has grown in the last year.  It was a day of thanks to my family, friends, and dedicated gym goers for their ongoing support in allowing me to build a gym and career based around what I enjoy most in life.

This year’s Anniversary Party was much like the last one only BIGGER and BETTER.  We had professional chef Javier Montano supply us with a huge variety of healthy and delicious food.  There were more people interested in competing in the Strongman Competition so this year we made it a team competition.  There were four teams representing different groups of people; Firefighters, Police officers, Trainers, and the Evening Crew.  Each team consisted of at least four people and there had to be at least one female on each team.

The Strongman Competition consisted of three events including: Double kettlbell deadlifts for total number of repetitions (40kgs males, 20kgs females), a timed ten-lap Prowler race, and a team medley consisting of 20 pull ups, tire flip, 20 keg (male) or sandbag (female) press, walking lunges, and a sled drag where each person did one event within the medley to combine for the best overall team time.

Kristen from the firefighter team gives a recap of what the day was like for her as a competitor:

“This past weekend I attended the Rise Above Anniversary Party 2.0 and had a blast! For most people a party consists of food, good company and then more food. This party was not as traditional, but then again, nothing at Rise Above is! I competed on the Firefighters team of 5, in the fitness challenge. Once again Doug pushed us to our max by challenging us to three events and having us compete against other teams, including the Cops! Before any food was served, we enjoyed the company of our legs screaming and our hearts pumping out of our chest after kettlebell deadlifts and pushing the Prowler! The competition ended with a great medley of events and a cheering supportive crowd.  After the competition we enjoyed a great feast of yummy food! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate! Congrats and thanks to Rise Above!”

Here is a video to give you a feel for what it was like:

Each team participated to their fullest potential and the contest was tight.  When the smoked cleared and the points were tallied, there was a tie between the Police and Firefighter groups.  Before we could do a tiebreaker event everyone had already started eating and drinking so the event ended there.  All of the highlight pictures can be seen in the news and events page on the site as well as on the facebook fan page.

I also wanted to thank Logan Christopher from Legendary Strength for competing in Rise Above’s Strong Man Competition for the second year in a row.  After a grueling competition, Logan once again found enough energy to put on a show for the crowd with some Old Time Strongman Feats of Strength.

Logan even demonstrated some incredible kettlebell juggling tricks per everyone’s request.

Logan is a great guy and a wealth of knowledge; if you haven’t already, please check out his Legendary Strength Website.  He even took the time to write his own review of the Rise Above Strongman Competition on his blog here.

This was a truly special day for me and I thank all who came out to compete, eat and support the gym.  In the spirit of thanks I want to acknowledge the people who have done a ton of work for me behind the scenes.  A special thanks must go out to AJ for helping out around the gym with training and to Deb who is the creative genius behind the design and execution of all of the posters, fliers and online work that goes into the business.  I also want to thank my sister Nicole for helping me with the articles for the blog, for taking great picture of the events and for kicking my butt during our kettlebell training.

Lastly I would like to thank all of you who subscribe to the email list.  I greatly appreciate you sticking with me as I try the best I can to provide you with simple and honest training and nutritional insights.  I would never have imagined that I would have the online following like I do and without your support my career would only be an empty shell of what it currently is.  I hope to have all of you come by the gym to visit or compete one day.

Until then, Thanks and Stay Strong.

Tags: competition, kettlebell, strongman