If you haven’t yet seen the Swing Clean or Jerk videos, please view them now as these tutorials progress in order.
Long Cycle combines Swing Clean with Jerk. Men use 2 bells, women use 1 or 2 bells.
What to wear:
1. Lifting shoes
2. Cotton T-shirt
3. Kettlebell Sport lifting belt, which sits on the hips. The belt will create a shelf for your abs, letting the arms rest in the Rack position.
4. You can add some water and chalk to the oblique areas of your t-shirt to provide traction for the arms against the body
The Swing Clean gets 3 exhales, immediately settling into the Rack position with arms on your obliques, hips forward, trunk concave and back wide. This should be a comfortable position with the weights centered over the hips, not relying on the shoulders to hold them.
First dip – keeping the arms attached to the body, hinge quickly at the knees to create the springboard to drive the bells up. Do not flex at the hips or disengage the arms from the body. This movement gets an exhale.
Drive – Straighten the legs and drive the bells upward, off the body
Undersquat – Bend your knees, slapping the heels down, getting under the bells quickly just as the arms straighten. The bells should fixate here. This movement gets an exhale.
Straighten the legs – Keep arms straight and bells fixated. This movement gets an exhale.
Option for additional exhale in standing position
Drop – Lean your trunk back and let bells fall to Rack. This movement gets an exhale.
Do not rest in this Rack. Use gravity to your advantage by letting the bells cascade out of the Rack, into the next Swing Clean.
The only rest will be in the Rack after the Swing Clean, prior to the Jerk
Exhale on:
1. First dip
2. Undersquat
3. Straightening of leg
4. Extra exhale at standing (optional)
5. Long sigh on drop to cascading Rack
6. 3 on Swing Clean
7. Breathe until next First dip
With practice, all the technical points and breathing will come together. Take your time and focus on all the breaths, they are the partner to your movements, helping you ultimately sustain a full 10-minute set and many reps.
Next up will be accessory drills for Long Cycle.
@LornaKleidman
Lorna is a 5-time World Champion in Kettlebell Sport, with Absolute National records in 24kg and 20 kg Snatch.She is an author and personal trainer, with a Bachelors in Exercise Science. Coaching certificates from IKSFA, WKC, AKA Certified Coach and personal training through NASM.Lorna's been featured in SHAPE, Prevention, Women’s Health and twice in The New York Times, but her greatest triumph is not evident to the eye. Her journey was shaped by a relentless hunger to experience her full potential, guiding her to the highest ranks in Kettlebell Sport and to bring a personal, results-oriented approach to her personal training clients.
