Common Mistakes
Leaking power because the elbow is disconnected
The force that’s generated from the legs has to travel through the torso, shoulder, upper arm, forearm, and then the kettlebell opposed to traveling from the legs into the forearm and kettlebell. The latter is the most direct path and no power is leaked.
The ankles are not bending enough
The knees are not being pulled forward enough through bending of the ankles (ankle dorsiflexion).
Not fully extending/standing straight
Not fully extending the hips, knees, and/or ankles at the top of the exercise.
Chin to chest/neck flexion
The chin is close to the chest during any hip hinge movement, for example, a swing, clean, or snatch performed with a hip hinge movement.
The kettlebell is banging and not using high insertion
You are constantly generating too much or too little force with too much or not enough speed which results in banging/impact on the forearm or having to muscle up the weight.
Kettlebell bobbing on the backswing
The arms are stopped by the body and the kettlebell/weight wants to travel further which results in bobbing of the kettlebell at the end of the backswing. Bobbing is a short jerky movement, in this case, the kettlebell moves up toward the buttocks and back down as you pull it out.
Not pulling long enough (clean)
Not pulling long enough and transferring the work onto the arms.
No hand insertion or 45-degree angle
When cleaning and ending up in racking, there is no 45-degree angle of the handle within the palm achieved. There is no hand insertion and the handle remains horizontally within the crease between the fingers and palm.
Thumbs pointing forward for an explosive or powerful clean
The thumb is pointing forward with an explosive or powerful clean. If the thumb is pointing forward and the elbow is back then the elbow receives stress and can hyperextended unless the elbow flexors start bending the arm early and/or keep the elbow slightly flexed during the pull to avoid stress on the joint.
Environment or set-up limiting natural stance
The space you’re in limits your natural stance or movement. For example, a mat that’s too small and may limit your stance going wider or feet angling out.