Intro To Kettlebell Sport Part 6: The Jerk

This is Part 6 in our series about Kettlebell Sport, our goal has been to educate kettlebell lifters of all experience levels about Kettlebell Sport. If this is your first time reading one of our Kettlebell Sport posts, we recommend you start here, at Part 1 and work your way through in order. World Record Holder Brittany Van Schravendijk is with us once again to introduce you to this movement.

The Kettlebell Jerk is when you use the power of your hips to bring one or two kettlebells from the Rack position to the overhead position. There are a lot of aspects of this lift which make it very technical. Brittany is going to explain in the video below what the rack position is, what your legs need to do during this left and breathing techniques which are really important to maximize your potential.

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1. The Rack Position

   1. Is when the bells are sitting on the body

   2. You want elbows to sit in, close to the body

   3. Stack one bell handle over the other to ensure tighter position of elbows

   4. Fully insert hands, wrist and forearm through handles to have a good grip without actually gripping the handles

   5. Legs should be straight

   6. See our post about the Kettlebell Sport Crunch for a detailed explanation of rack position

2. Leg Action

   1. All of the launch to get the bells overhead comes from the hips
   2. Better connection of elbows to hips equals less fatigue of arms
   3. There are two dips in the jerk
      1. Sink through the legs to bring elbows and hips together, your hips should stay in line with your knees
      2. Drop under the bells when they get overhead (see our post about fixation for help with this movement)

3. Breathing

   1. Your legs need to move fast for this exercise
   2. In each dip, you exhale
      1. Exhale on first dip, inhale as you come up (jerk the bells), exhale in the top position under the dip with the bells overhead

We hope this post has been educational and motivating for you to go out and work on your jerk technique. Kettlebell Sport competitions consist of a ten minute running clock in which people of all different types of background complete as many jerk reps as possible in the allotted time. You can see how this is great workout whether you are training for competition or for your own personal goals!

Here is a quick refresher on Kettlebell Sport and why we at Kettlebell Kings love it:

The Basics of Kettlebell Sport:

• Endurance kettlebell lifting, lifters have 10 minutes to complete as many reps as possible
• Efficiency and technique are important to maintain energy throughout set
• Lifters compete in specific lifts with either one arm or two arms

The Benefits:

1. Great goals to motivate your workouts
2. Blend of strength, endurance, balance and coordination in one workout equals efficiency
3. Build amazing mental tenacity, this carries over to other aspects of life

We recommend connecting with a Kettlebell Sport coach in your area, contacting Brittany or contacting us for ways to find someone you can train with.

What Is Next?

If this is your first time reading one of our posts, we create kettlebell workouts in collaboration with kettlebell experts designed to give you maximal results and not take up much of your time. We send these to your in box automatically every week! We recommend you read more about receiving a quick, free, dynamic kettlebell workout every week you can click below.

We have created a 4 Week Training Program You Can Sign Up For Here:

Also, we recommend you subscribe to our posts so you can be notified when we publish more in this series. Additionally, you can be notified when we publish new articles about specific kettlebell movements or techniques as well as niche pieces like this designed for specific training.

If you would like to begin training in Kettlebell Sport you can contact us at info@kettlebellkings.com, 855-7KETTLE and we can get you in touch with some great folks to start a training regimen. Additionally, you can contact Brittany with her info below.

To see the bells that Brittany and other world record holders train with, click the link below!

Brittany is a Master of Sport, World Record Holder, and National Record Holder in Kettlebell Sport. She learned how to lift kettlebells at one of the top Kettlebell Sport gyms in the United States, Ice Chamber, which has produced seven female Master of Sport lifters to date (Brittany is the most recent one).

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