hip hinge Archives - Show Me Strength

5 Ways to Swing a Kettlebell

August 14, 2016 by Chad Rodgers Leave a Comment

The kettlebell is literally the most underutilized tool in most commercial gyms. Many places have dozens of them, while other gyms have a shitty plastic one collecting spiderwebs in the corner.

Some gyms have none. Others have only kettlebells, and do all of their fitness related activities with that tool.

Still, very few people utilize its plethora of benefits to fitness. Below are some variations of this exercise which falls into the hip hinge family of fundamental human movement patterns.

The kettlebell swing is a way to train powerful hip extension, conditioning, and a silky smooth hip hinge pattern.

In my years of both training and coaching in a public gym setting, I have never seen a proper swing. I’ve seen folks who squat the swing, bend the swing, and do all kinds of other things in an attempt to swing, but never a true kettlebell swing.

The kb swing is an explosive hip drive with minimal knee bend and maximal hip bend. This is very similar to the deadlift, only faster, and with less load.

Here are 5 ways to train this incredible movement.

The Kettlebell Swing with a reset

This is the primary way I prefer to teach the swing right off the bat, when I feel a student can benefit from the kettlebell swing. The reset tends to teach how to create force out the hinge position from scratch. By stopping the momentum after each rep, you can feel the tension of the hinge longer, and hold a proper position out front to ensure proper bell path. Give these a try if you are just starting out, need to work on single rep explosion, or need to relearn the proper mechanics of the swing.

Kettlebell Swing vs. a Band

This is one of my favorites for a few reasons. The band adds significant resistance on the way to the top, so you have to recruit more power from your hips to achieve a good lockout position. The second reason I like the band around the bell is that from the top position, the band promotes a better hinge. If you try to squat it, the band will go slack, and will feel very awkward when trying to move back to lockout.

Single Arm Kettlebell Swing vs. Band

This is a nice progressions up from the double arm kb swing vs. band seen above this video. Anytime we are forced to generate more power from lower in the body, we put a premium on form and execution of the exercise. Since only one hand is guiding the kettlebell, it is essential that you explode out of the hinge position with fury and intent. The band will resist the top half of the movement before lockout, demanding that you accelerate to the top.

Single Arm Kettlebell Swing with a Hand Switch

This one involves a bit more coordination, but it’s a great way to challenge your athleticism as well as proper kettlebell path with a single arm. In any kettlebell swing variation, the arms are involved minimally. The more you can use the power of your posterior chain to drive out of the hinged position, the more efficient you’ll be. The transition at the top should be relatively easy, as the kettelbell should basically be floating and ready for you to catch it and sit back into your loaded position.

Double Kettlebell Swing

If you want to load up the swing, while getting into a sumo like deadlift stance, this kettlebell swing variation is for you. I’d never have anyone jump right into double kettlebell swings without mastering the single bell swing, just as I would have anyone swing the kettlebell without showing proficiency in the hinge and deadlift patterns first. This is a progression, and can be great at working on power development and work capacity from a sumo deadlift stance.

These are some of the more fun and challenging ways I enjoy swinging the kettlebell, along with programming them into strength and conditioning programs for clients.

If you have any questions, or wish to learn more, email us at showmestrength@gmail.com, or find us on our facebook, twitter, and instagram

The Hip Hinge : From Zero to Hero (Part 3)

March 4, 2016 by Chad Rodgers Leave a Comment

In part one and two of this series, I took you through the beginning progressions of how I like to train the hip hinge. As a refresher, we know that the hinge at the hips is maximal hip bend, minimal knee bend, and is arguably the most important concept to master in the family of fundamental human movements.

Yes, the squat, the push, the pull, the loaded carry, and intelligent core drills are huge parts of a good strength and conditioning program, but the hip hinge seems to have the largest benefit to one’s athleticism, physique, and health. When learned and applied appropriately, it opens windows to become stronger/more powerful, and infinitely more capable to do awesome stuff.

Below we continue on to the barbell. I only begin using the bar with students who have shown adequate proficiency with the beginner and intermediate phases of the hip hinge, and have built appropriate strength & work capacity to handle the loading/reps.

Below are some of my favorite moves for those who are ready for this type of work.

Elevated Landmine Deadlift

I have to thank my good friend Ben Bruno for popularizing the versatility of landmine exercise variations. There is no question that you can get a super legit full body training session with just a corner, a bar, and a plate or two. There’s not a muscle group you can’t target with this simple set up. (<–check this shit out)

Anyways, here is a great way to load up the weight without putting too much demand on the intricate technique of the conventional and sumo deadlift variations which you will see below. The landmine deadlift, when elevated, is a great way to learn this pattern if you have some mobility restrictions holding you back from moving some weight around properly.

For setup, position the bar right between your feet, and hinge back just as you would to get the kettlebell or dumbbell from the floor. Refer back to part one and two if you missed how to perform those movements.

Here, you’ll want either interlock you fingers, or have the dominant hand scooped underneath with your other hand overlapping. This is an excellent exercise to load up heavy without the repercussions of stress from heavy conventional/sumo/trap bar deadlifts.

Landmine Deadlift From Floor

When you’ve gained the appropriate mobility and strength in the elevated landmine deadlift, its time to move on to the floor. As with any of the deadlift and hinge variations, I insist on going barefoot or picking up a pair of minimalist shoes like the New Balance minimus, Nike free, or Chuck Taylor’s. Those shoes will get rid of heel support that will target too much quad, and we want hamstring and glutes to be the big players in the hinge. Again, this is a great variation to load up heavy, even for relative newbies. Check out Kate Upton, who is being trained by my friend Ben Bruno. She kills the landmine deadlift here. Below is just me doing them (super boring lol).

Landmine Deadlift + Romainan Deadlift

This exercise is fantastic for two reasons. First it will really hammer home how to hinge the hips back properly from the floor and from the standing position. Second, if you’re legs, more specifically your hamstrings, aren’t shaking and burning by the end of a set, you’re probably doing them wrong. After a set of 10 with just 25lbs, I was able to feel a solid burn in the posterior chain. Pick the bar up like a landmine deadlift, then come halfway down with a more pronounced hinge (even less knee bend). Basically this is 1 and a half reps, which means more posterior chain work. That’s never a bad thing.

Sumo Deadlift

The sumo deadlift can be awesome for those of us who are either tall, or lack proper hip mobility to get into a locked in conventional stance. If you are comfortable and proficient with both, then I suggest developing and hammering both from time to time. The sumo variation is more stressful on the hips, but can be an awesome exercise for developing posterior chain strength due to the ability to hold a neutral spine under load much easier than the conventional deadlift. I insisit on using this variation before the conventional deadlift due to the demand that the narrow stance puts on form. If you’re advanced in both already, be sure to use both for your programming (not necessarily at the same time).

Conventional Deadlift

Here is the most advanced deadlift variation. Due to the narrow stance, you don’t have the luxury of hip external rotation to drop you into an easy setup. You’ll be forced to get super tight in the upper spine to achieve enough stiffness for a strong and safe pull. Of course we can elevate this movement just like any of the other deadlift variations, but it will still be the most challenging on the ankle, hip, and upper back mobility – much more so than the sumo, landmine or trap bar variations. Give this a shot if you feel strong and mobile enough to drop into an appropriate position, and keep it for the reps and load you need to make progress.

Single Leg Barbell Romanian Deadlift

In my opinion, the single leg barbell RDL is the most challenging hinge patten out there. Of course a heavy conventional or sumo pull is tough, and so are heavy single leg hip thrusts which are hip hinges in their own right, but the balance, focus, stability, and mobility required to do just one set with the bar is astounding. I give this to only my most advanced clients because it is just that damn hard. If you lose stiffness at all in the lats and upper body, you’ll roll forward and put your lumbar spine at risk. It requires an obvious proficiency at the hinge, but also the ability to balance on one leg and remain stable on it for an entire set. If you need to, you can reset your stance by tapping down your foot in between reps. Start with your feet a little more narrow than shoulder width, and really reach back with the leg going back. The top of your foot should be the path that the bar tracks to on the eccentric portion of the movement. I also like to make sure I reset my shoulders back and strive hard to keep them there for the entire rep.

Try these exercises out if you’ve gotten the hang of the kettlebell and dumbbell variations I showed you in part one and two.

The hip hinge is something I encourage just about everyone to learn, as its positive carryover to real life is exponential. In case you missed my last blog, here was an excerpt from it, and legendary strength coach, Dan John’s kind words on about the article.

It’s no secret that everyone should learn how to do a variation of the hip hinge and deadlift. It’s clear that there are just too many positives to ignore, however, you need to be sure you progress it properly to achieve maximum results while staying and remaining healthy.

If you have any further questions on the subject, shoot us an email at showmestrength@gmail.com or leave a comment and we will be happy to answer.

Until then, happy deadlifting!

The Hip Hinge : From Zero to Hero (Part 2)

February 11, 2016 by Chad Rodgers 1 Comment

In part 1 of this series, I began showing how I take ultra beginners through hip hinging, and deadlift patterns.

The article was very well received in the fitness community, and is successfully helping you guys/girls, whether coaches or gym goers, learn how to safely progress and master the deadlift pattern. That is the ultimate goal of this series.

I am adamant in my belief that learning the hip hinge pattern can open up a huge window to accommodate and propel any goal into overdrive “gains” mode.

World renowned strength coach, Dan John also agrees. He quoted me in his recent newsletter, and was kind enough to share and promote part one of this series.

This excerpt below is from Dan’s “Wandering Weights” newsletter. This is the most informative and value filled email list I am part of. I highly recommend joining for free –> here <–

In the videos and descriptions in this article, I will go over some intermediate progressions of the hinge, and show you how I like to train the movement prior to moving on to the barbell.

Again, for beginners, take a look at the fist part of this series here to hammer home the basics, groove a safe/strong pattern, and differentiate the deadlift from the squat.

Without further ado, phase two of hinge progressions.

The Double Kettlebell vs. Band

Very similar to the single kettlebell deadlift vs. bands, this is just a heavier version that mimics the upper body tension as well as grip that is most closely associated with the barbell. Again, to refresh your memory, we use the band to force the hip hinge back to its proper maximum hip bend. This strategy is extremely useful for people who are having a difficult time deciphering the adjustments between the squat and deadlift patterning.

The Double Kettlebell Hovering Deadlift

I love this variation of the deadlift for two types of people. The first is the population of beginner or intermediate lifters who are a bit slow off the floor. If you don’t have an explosive drive off the floor with lightish kettle bells, it might be a good idea to add the pause at shin level on the way off the floor, and on the way down. The second type of person I enjoy using this variation with is the guy or girl who is having trouble maintaining stiffness in the lats and upper back. This exercise with the added pause requires you to fight gravity a bit more, and stay strong through the brief stop.

The Assisted Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

This is an exercise that is truly difficult to both teach, and execute without assistance. Many times I’ll see people deadlifting their bodyweight and more, but struggle mightily when it comes time to do single leg work. By simply using the opposite hand against the wall for touch, not something to pull on, it gives the brain a green light to focus on the task and exercise at hand. I would certainly suggest going super light to start, and groove the proper pattern. You should be reaching with the leg and not the arm on this one, and striving to keep the upper back locked in without rolling the low back.

The Kettlebell Swing

I have most of my students become proficient at the kettlebell swing well before heavy barbell deadlifting. I truly believe that the art of the swing teaches powerful hip explosion that is necessary for locking out the deadlift with heavier weight. A swing is not a squat. A swing is, at it’s finest, a pure, explosive hinge that you should feel in the hamstrings, glutes, abs, lungs, and heart. Too many people use their arms and low back, when in reality neither should be working very hard at all. The top position should mimic a plank like contraction, and I don’t really suggest or teach it above the head crossfit style. When this exercise is learned with some proficiency, it is one of the greatest tools we can use for conditioning and fat loss alike.

The Elevated Trap Bar Deadlift

When all systems are a go, and you are moving heavy kettlebells in both hands fast and explosively, it might be time to move onto the trap bar. I like the trap bar for several reasons, but the biggest is that the starting position is easier, and more comfortable to get into for beginners. The grip is on the side of your body instead of the front, allowing an easier, more accessible way to gain stiffness in the lats and upper back without rolling into flexion. I usually suggest elevating this one for awhile before moving to the floor to teach proper setup and execution, just to gain a comfort level and appreciation for how to perform the trap bar deadlift.

This is the second phase of teaching the hip hinge I use with my clients. As with any exercise, I never progress it until it looks clean, smooth, and efficient.

Yes, barbell work can be some of the most rewarding, bang for your buck training in the world, but the goal is to make certain you are more than ready for it before trying to be the hero. Mastering the hinge at a lower level will pay off down the road.

It will set you up for when the time comes to move significant weight off the floor, and ensure you’re using the right muscles to improve you’re entire body safely.

If you haven’t checked out the first installment of the series, it’s here.

Stay tuned for an even more advanced progressions in part 3. If you have questions, leave them in the comments below, or shoot us an email at showmestrength@gmail.com

The Hip Hinge : From Zero to Hero (Part 1)

February 2, 2016 by Chad Rodgers 5 Comments

Correctly watching a student progress through the hip hinge gives me more pride and joy than any other of the fundamental movement patterns.

Why? Well, when performed well, this move can open up a whole new window of opportunity for just about any physical goal a human could have.

Want to get stronger? Correctly hinging from the hips will allow you to perform a deadlift with power and precision.

Want to look better naked? All of the exercises that use the hip hinge will open up the doors to create a backside that will quite simply make people jealous.

You want to lose fat? Using your hips to access some of the bigger compound lifts will challenge your body in ways you never thought possible, consequently building lean muscle and eviscerating stubborn body fat.

Ah, you want to be a better athlete? Every explosive, strong, and dynamic athlete has a powerful hinge. They have either built it up from years of good training, or get into the position organically from good body awareness, good natural movement, and of course genes. Just look at what most sports require performance wise, and you’ll notice explosive hips and posterior chain as a huge component.

But you may be asking what a hip hinge actually is…Here, we take a look at the fundamental human movements which include the following..

Squat Patterns <- More about that here <-

Hip Hinge Patterns

Upper Extremity Press Patterns

Upper Extremity Pull Patterns

Single Leg Knee and Single Leg Hip Dominant Patterns

Loaded Carry Variations

Regardless of someone’s goal, the majority of my clients will be taught to master and progress through these fundamental movements that every human will need during their lifetime. Obviously, if it’s a main goal to get a better ass, we will be doing a shit ton of hinging (minimal knee bend…maximal hip bend = minimal quad involvement…maximal hamstring and glute involvement)

Arguably, the hinge has the most potential for health, strength, and physique goals due to it’s overall impact on the body, and it’s transfer of increased athleticism to the rest of one’s training program.

Below, I will show you 8 ways that I teach people to unlock their potential in the hip hinge right at the very beginning of their training life. Each exercise can be a great tool for beginners who will absolutely see world of benefit from the very novice variations of fundamental movements, as well as advanced athletes and weight lifters who need to refresh the intricacies and fundamentals of their deadlift patterns.

The Hip Hinge with a Stick

This is one of the very first tools I use with clients who have simply never properly hinged or tend to “get squatty” with their deadlift variations. Assuming you or your students have good shoulder mobility, grab a dowel rod or broom stick put it behind your back like so. Have one hand on top, right behind your neck, and one hand underneath at the small of your low back and keep the as much of the rod in contact with your body. I usually use hands on cues at the knees to keep them soft, and assist by pushing folks to sit those hips back until the hamstrings are taught and sometimes shaking.

The bow and arrow analogy works well for the audible as well as visual learner. Tell them to imagine the hips as the bow string getting pulled back and the feet, knees, shoulders, and head as the stable part of the bow. Pull the string (hips) as far back as tension allows then powerfully snap to neutral.

The Wall Hinge with a Kettlebell

As soon as I see that someone has a firm understanding of what a hip hinge is, what it feels like without load, and observe a clean, safe move, I begin adding load in a non-risky area. This is the stage right before picking stuff up off the floor. Before getting there, I like turning the kettlebell upside down and putting a bit more pressure on the hamstrings this way. A good cue is to tell someone to use the handle around the belt buckle area to force the hips back towards the wall. Step a foot and a half away from the wall and use the handle to force the glutes back to tap it. Once again, fire the hips (bow string) to hard squeezed glutes in the top position. The top position on all these exercises should mimic a plank with the abs and glutes both locked in to form a neutral spine.

The Dumbbell Deadlift with Shoulder Peeling

The dumbbell is a tool I have found to be a better teacher for super beginners and the deadlift, more so than the kettlebell. The reason is due to where the hands are placed. By placing the hands on the side of the dumbbell as opposed to the kettlebell handle, beginner clients have an easier time gaining stiffness in the upper back to promote a safer, stronger hinge. Also, by “peeling” the shoulders back in a separate movement at the bottom, we teach beginners in the deadlift to engage their lats appropriately every time. You can use this strategy with the kettlebell, just keep in mind that it is slightly tougher to “peel” and get into a proper position. As with any pull from the floor, don’t be afraid to elevate the load to ensure proper positioning at all times. It is non negotiable to allow students to pick things off the floor in an unsafe manner. A great cue for the peeling part is to imagine someone walking up behind you and tickling your armpits. Protect them by pulling those lats down and back.

The Paused Barbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

With nearly everyone I coach, I employ a pause at the max tension point of this exercise. The benefits are just too great not to stop for a second. By adding a short pause, we can really teach tension in the lats, and feel what it means to sit the hips back properly for maximum hamstring tension. The barbell itself is a good enough load as a teaching tool once you or your student has a good understanding of grooving the hinge at a good tempo. With all of these exercises, it’s important to stress control on the way down (eccentric) and explosion and power on the way up (concentric). Another key point here is to never add load unless you can keep optimal tension. If it’s too heavy, and you lose it by rolling the shoulders, you put your spine in a compromised position, therefore ruining chances at great, powerful hinge. Check out the video below for proper set up and tempo.

The Cable Pull Through

This exercise is an excellent teacher, and one that many beginnerish clients can do usually right off the bat. Many times the initial tendency when teaching or learning the hip hinge is to squat it down a bit too much, consequently limiting the potential of hamstring, glute, and overall posterior chain recruitment. With the rope between the legs pulled out from the cable machine, the force back, similar in nature to band resisted kettlebell deadlifts is enough to feel the “ah ha” moment and get to the tension point of the hinge. Simply relax the arms (still keep armpits back tight), reach back through the legs with a neutral spine, and fire through the heels up to a hard squeezed finish position. Just as in the video below, you must walk the weight off the cable stack, which should be set at the bottom (rope). Pick an appropriate load you can control as always. At the top try and make your two glutes into one as highly sought after coach, Matthew Ibrahim, (the mastermind behind Movement Resilience) would like to say.

The Kettlebell Deadlift vs. Band

If you or a client continue to have trouble deciphering between the squat and deadlift, this exercise might be a perfect fit. With the external force of the band adding pressure to the hips, one is more inclined to sit back into an appropriate deadlift pattern. A squat is a squat, and a deadlift is a deadlift. While there is some hinging during a squat, it is not to the degree of a deadlift or pull from the floor of any kind. During this move, set the band at about hip height, then get in and move out so the band is taught, but not pulling you too much. Work on the standard kettlebell deadlift pattern with this band assistance as show below.

The Kettlebell Hovering Deadlift

This exercise is another great teacher of tension. I prescribe this for my students who have a bit of weakness and tend to fall straight to the floor from the top position with poor control, or for people who are a bit slow off the floor. By stopping around mid shin I get to teach three things. 1.) This is a neutral spine. This is what a neutral spine feels like. Adding this stop lets this information sit in and digest into a person’s brain for future reference. 2.) Here is what tension in the hamstrings should feel like. This is where powerful athleticism is generated from, and this is how a badass backside is created. 3.) This is what locked in lats and upper back stiffness should feel like. If the shoulders drift, chances are you’ll feel it in the low back, which is not ideal at all. All in all, keeping the neutral spine, the hips back with soft knees, and upper back locked down and back with a pause can create a more speedy process of a beginner learning the hinge and getting a stronger, healthier pull from the ground.

The Double Kettlebell Deadlift

The double kettlebell deadlift is usually the last progression I use before moving clients to the barbell or trap bar (usually trap bar before barbell). For me, using a pair of 35-50lb kettlbells properly for 6-10 reps is a good enough indication of strength and hinge competency for me to graduate strength and conditioning students onto the hex bar and/or barbell. To perform this you must have a grasp on sitting back into the hinge, staying ultra tight in the upper back, and possess enough strength to drive relatively fast off the floor. It usually will take a few weeks to a few months of dedicated strength work to get to a point where you’ll get brand new weightlifters to this point where the barbell work from the floor is in the conversation.

It’s no secret that I love teaching this movement. I truly believe the family of hip hinge movements have the greatest return on investment as an exercise selection amongst all the fundamental human movement patterns.

If you’re a beginner, try a few of these movements out and see how you progress. Remember that the hinge isn’t a squat. If you want to learn about the squat, check this out.

Also, if you’re well past these movements and are a veteran of the iron game, this read wasn’t a waste…it might be wise to use a few of these patterns from time to time to practice bracing, and even warming and ramping up before getting to your barbell work.

In installment two, I will take you even further down the progression continuum, and show you the intermediate and advanced stages of properly executed hip hinge and deadlift work.

Stay tuned!