Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Some Double Swings & Some Snatches

Wanted to change it up a bit today as well as do some experimenting relative to the forearm pain I have developed. Today's session looked like this...

Double Swings: 12kg - 20
Double Snatch: 12kg - 10

Double Swings: 12kg - 20, 16kg - 15

Snatch: 16kg - 5/5, 24kg - 5/5

It's becoming more clear that more forearm pain is either caused by or aggravated by the downswing of Swings, Snatches and Cleans. And the heavier the bell, the more these muscles are being pulled. Using a light bell, it's barely noticeable. Using the 24kg, it's apparent. I thought it had been the rotation of the hand at the bottom position, but it seems like its the eccentric swing that's causing this. It's been a while since 'gave up' Snatches and Cleans and my condition hasn't improved much at all.

After these kb stuff I grabbed an empty curling bar and performed 3 sets of reverse curls followed by your usual curls. And then with some different wrist rotation exercises. I plan on finally making a doctor's appointment to look into this further, probably sometime within the next seven days or so. In the meantime, I will focus on strengthening these forearm muscles. That's it for today, I'll keep y'all posted!

7 comments:

Taikei Matsushita said...

Forearm pain.
Are you not a bit overtrained with heavy weights?

Keep your shoulder down (deltoid,traps should not float) when descending kettlebell from clean, snatch or swing. No tension in your arm, just loosen it as if you're dropping it to the ground.

Howie B said...

That's exactly what I think it is. Shoulders are down, must be too much tension in the arm. Because that's where I'm feeling it. Just before the bell passes under me I can feel the stretch in the forearm extensor muscle (right on top if looking down at your arm). Maybe I need to revisit my form with some lighter bells?

Franklin said...

Howie, perhaps a 24kg swing video posted on your blog or on the DD forum would help. Advanced, experienced RKCs, like Taikei, would be more than happy to offer you useful feedback if indeed you have a form issue.

Hang in there, you will get to the bottom of this.

Howie B said...

Already making arrangements to get together with Steve Freides, Franklin. I also need to open up my pc and see if I have space for an adapter card so that I can connect my camera and upload with a firewire.

Taikei Matsushita said...

Some of my students descend the bell and even rotate shoulder, arm in the process. May be a natural instinct.

Drop the bell few times, then descend like dropping except hook the bell with your fingers.

And yes, the proper solution is to meet Steve Friedes. You meet him and he'll know the problem.

Taikei Matsushita said...

And scared of loosening arm is another factor. Lighter bells would help.
But make sure to inhale from nose and tense your abs before descending. The body might be scared of hurting your lower back because abs are not tensing; therefore sends message to your arms to tense and control.

Howie B said...

Thanks Taikei. I'm going to work with your suggestions tomorrow morning. Tried a few swings with the 12kg last night, trying to keep very loose and seemed to be ok with it. Tomorrow I'll work with the 16kg. Will also try to get in a few minutes review of my DVD's.