Fundamental human movement patterns don’t disappear when one moves from the sports field or training hall to the playground. In fact, there is PURE TRANSFER. Conditions for efficient movement are maintained despite the reason for the activity- whether it is play, work, sport. The concept of core to extremely movement translates from olympic lifting to learning to swing! It is not magic, it is science- more specifically the field of science called biomechanics.
In the clean and snatch, the load is lifted from the ground to above the knees with straight arms. If the arms bend early- the upper body is doing the “pulling” and the lower body (legs, glutes, back) will not contribute effectively. As the hips and knees reach full extension (the second pull or jump phase of the movement), full power is reached and THEN the arms can bend. This allows transfer of power from the lower body directly to the bar. The same principle applies to “pumping” on a swing. A caveat- that a clean and “swinging” belong to different movement categories- a clean is closed chain and “swinging” is open chain- but that’s a topic for a different conversation.
The drive in pumping in a swing is derived from the tension created in the mid-section to radiate out to the extremities. Before the strongest drive in the legs can be generated, the upper body lies back. If the arms stay bent, the extension in the legs will not result in as great of a PUMP as it will when the arms are fully extended before the PUMP goes out from the core to the legs. Watch the video and FEEL how the forces are created more powerfully when Michael lies back with straight arms and then opens the hip and knees to propel himself forward. These days he still likes a little push to start the process… but as he perfects the lay-back combined with the timing of the kick forward… he can maintain his swinging for quite a long time. Bent elbows result in a decreased drive… AND it fatigues the biceps. Long elbows connects the core to the chains and magnifies the power from the legs! Not magic…. but a biomechanical learning process that is amazing to watch develop.
And the coaching you see in the video is the only “coaching” he has ever received:)
Tuesday’s WOD at 6, 7, 9am and again at 4 and 6pm
For time:
Row 1,000/800m
32/24kg Russian KB swings, 25 reps
Row 750/600m
32/24kg Russian KB swings, 35 reps
Row 500/400m
32/24kg Russian KB swings, 45 reps
Post time and load to chalkboard/journals
Compare to June 2 2017, April 20 2017, and/or July 15 2016
Tuesday 5pm Open Training Hour
