Wrecking Crew
After a heavy bout of power cleans on Tuesday, Thursday’s class began with a little skill work: Kettlebell Snatches.
A few important points when performing the KB snatch:
- Remember, the KB Snatch is an entirely different movement from the DB Snatch or Barbell Snatch;
- Grip the KB slightly off center, with the thumb side closer to the horn (horn = side of the handle);
- Use your hips to start generating force, just as you would a KB swing;
- As the KB travels upward, rotate the KB around the outside of your arm and press the weight up;
- At lockout, palm is facing forward, wrist is straight and hand can be open;
- On descent, the KB should follow the same path down, rotating outside the arm;
- As shown:
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- Most importantly: when performing the KB Snatch, AVOID bringing the KB straight up and over the top of your hand so that it falls against the top of your forearm! This is a recipe for injury:
Since Mother Nature was being so nice and had dialed back the humidity a little, the MetCon was taken outside:
Caveats: You were to complete the 1K as fast as you could, BUT you could not start any of the exercises until your entire team had finished the run. From there, you could move through the 3 rounds as fast as possible (without waiting for your teammates before rotating), BUT your time was equal to the time it took for everyone in your group to finish.
Times for the run and MetCon didn’t make it on the board, and if you could hear or understand Tom over the pounding of the blood in your ears, then post them to comments.
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I like the med-ball pic. It’s surprisingly colorful.
First time in a very long time doing the KB Snatch progression. No bruises on my wrists but my forearm is sore. Need work doing them with the left arm.
I worked with Peter and Dian for the main event. My 1K run was 4:38min and, as always, the run sucked.
I started on the Burpees and transitioned to the swings then the wall ball shots. I used the 16kg bell for the swings and the 16# ball for the wall ball shots. I don’t think I’ve done WB shots this year at all.
Group finished in 22:40 mins!
…where’s a picture of the Fat Bastard Kettlebell? I saw you taking a pic!
Getting proficient with the KB snatch can be very beneficial. Not only is is a good cardio option, and a strong grip endurance challenge, but it can help you learn to move differently. Much of what we do in CrossFit is “all out”, and the pace is frantic. Doing high rep snatches (especially with only one hand switch)teaches you to be relaxed and fluid while still working hard. I have to admit, while I find kettlebell sport (GS, or Girevoy sport) a bit boring, the training methods have a lot to offer. I’ll link some good videos to show the relaxed controlled power soon.
I admit, I had every intent of putting up a pic of monster KB, especially with “heavy” label across the top of it. But the pic Tom snapped of the medball against the brick wall definitely trumped it. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have an excuse to use one of those pics in the near future.
As for the workout: finished the 1K in ~3:22/23? I heard 3:21, but I think that was for Andrew, not me. As luck would have it, Andrew was on my team, and Julia was right on my tail, so we were able to hit the workout pretty quickly. I went burpees-swings-wallballs, and I have to say that the 90 swings with the 24kg KB were the toughest part – my forearms were absolutely on fire during the last round. Not sure what time we finished it, though I am pretty sure I was the last to finish among my crew.
Great class though; definitely happy to be enjoying the weather during the workout. Looking forward to more KB snatches, as well as other bits of skill work in the coming classes.