I have solved my grip issues and refocused my training
ItsCasey
Posts: 4,021 Member
When I first started training with kettlebells, I tried to move toward snatching a 16 kg as quickly as I could. Looking back now, I realize how stupid that was, but at the time, all I could think about was the fact that snatching 16 kg was better than snatching a lowly 12 kg bell. The only problem was that I was tearing up my hands. I tried chalk, tape, moleskin, gloves, sock sleeves, you name it, and nothing worked. I read around on the Internet, and I came across a woman (I believe in the Dragon Door forums) who suggested that if you're tearing up your hands, maybe you are going too heavy. I scoffed at this because I could cleanly snatch 16 kg. I just couldn't do it very many times before I tore the skin off my hands.
Finally, I got sick of missing training sessions due to my hands being in bad shape, and I resigned myself to just snatching 12 kg and being happy with it. I built up a great level of cardiovascular fitness doing this, and I could do it with nothing but chalk (and regular maintenance of my hands). Then I started doing some double kettlebell training with 12 kg bells, mostly swings, but occasionally cleans, front squats, and presses. Then I worked my way up to double 16 kgs, and surprise, surprise: I can now snatch a 16 kg with no visible damage to my hands. The double swings really cleaned up my hip thrust technique, aside from making me stronger, in general, and with all those 12 kg snatches, I have mastered the art of the drop-and-catch so that the handle of the bell is not constantly grinding against my skin.
I am now a believer in the theory that if you are tearing up your hands, you are not yet strong enough for the weight you are using. This revelation, which seems so simple, has changed the way I program my training. Even though I still have 13 lbs of fat to lose, everything I do now is about getting stronger because the stronger you are, the more you can do. And I truly believe the rest of it will take care of itself.
Finally, I got sick of missing training sessions due to my hands being in bad shape, and I resigned myself to just snatching 12 kg and being happy with it. I built up a great level of cardiovascular fitness doing this, and I could do it with nothing but chalk (and regular maintenance of my hands). Then I started doing some double kettlebell training with 12 kg bells, mostly swings, but occasionally cleans, front squats, and presses. Then I worked my way up to double 16 kgs, and surprise, surprise: I can now snatch a 16 kg with no visible damage to my hands. The double swings really cleaned up my hip thrust technique, aside from making me stronger, in general, and with all those 12 kg snatches, I have mastered the art of the drop-and-catch so that the handle of the bell is not constantly grinding against my skin.
I am now a believer in the theory that if you are tearing up your hands, you are not yet strong enough for the weight you are using. This revelation, which seems so simple, has changed the way I program my training. Even though I still have 13 lbs of fat to lose, everything I do now is about getting stronger because the stronger you are, the more you can do. And I truly believe the rest of it will take care of itself.
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Interesting! Is that because if the bell is too heavy, one might be more inclined to grip the handle for dear life, or something?
The story of your progress is great--those double swings, cleans and presses are no joke! I do a little bit of doubles work here and there, but should really work on it in a more focused way.
I was working on the Rite of Passage for about 16 weeks and made great progress--the program does what it says if you follow it! However, I think it's time to do something else for awhile now, for sanity's sake, if nothing else. Do you have a specific program for your doubles workouts? I know you've mentioned Geoff Neupert previously--is it one of his?0 -
Yeah, I think grip has a lot to do with it. With the 16 kg, I was afraid of it flying out of my hand, so I gripped it more tightly, and it was rubbing a hole in the palm of my hand. But with an improved hip thrust and being stronger, I feel a lot more "in control" of the 16 kg than I used to.
I have Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Strong, which has two different double KB programs. One is more for building strength, and the other is for fat loss/endurance. I am not following either of them specifically right now, but that program came with a manual and a set of DVDs that teach you how to train with doubles properly (form, progressions, etc.), so I have used it to build my own workouts. I'm working on a deadlift program right now, and once that is done, I will probably follow one of Geoff's programs more fully.0 -
Are you training with kettlebells and barbells at the same time? That's what I've been doing....however I'm just winging my KB workouts at this point. I've been doing mostly Tracy Reifkind's various swing workouts, sometimes her snatch workouts, or I make something up that is similar, maybe with a few "grinds" as well as the ballistic movements. I just like the focus and progression that I see when I've got a solid plan. I was doing ok, working on the Rite of Passage and Starting Strength, but I got to the point where I didn't feel I could give my best to either one, so I laid off SS for a bit and just worked on ROP until I was bored to death with it, and am now back to SS.
I do find it pretty impossible (for me) to keep up with two full-on programs at once--I do Starting Strength, and then typically tack a metabolic finisher (swings, snatches, something like that) on to the end of those workouts. On the days, I don't lift, I do the high volume swing workouts (Reifkind). I just wish I could work out something solid that incorporated both barbells and KBs. I believe Pavel has a book like that, but am not completely certain.
Thanks for the Neupert recommendation--I'll have a look at that!0
