Having explained how to use the hand alignment for the clean and snatch so that the weight is distributed through the forearm rather than the wrist, we will now cover how to minimise chewing the hands as the handle rotates in the palm. The trick is actually not to let the handle rotate in palm, but to move the hand from a hook grip to a palm rest while the kettlebell is coming to rest. This action takes the friction out of the movement as for a brief second there is minimal contact between the hand and the kettlebell.

The hook grip is basically the fingers held tight into the corner of the handle (thumb side) with a strong thumb lock across the index and middle finger if possible. The tighter the lock, the less draining each lift will be. In order to maximise numbers the traditional tight/loose/tight grip sequence is changed to tight/loose as the hook grip produces the force to lift the kettlebell and then the hand adjusts in order to bring the weight to rest at an angle to the palm as show in part 2. The test of success here is if you can perform the end part of the clean and snatch without a closed fist gripping the handle. If the fingers are not required to keep the weight in place then the load is correctly balanced through the forearm indicating a relaxed grip and wrist and partial recovery.

This will take practise but the idea is to move the hand in relation to the handle while the kettlebell is in motion. To stop the chewing on the way down -

For the clean - nudge the shoulder forwards so that the ball begins its downward arc and then catch it in the hook grip. This avoids the need to keep a tight grip on the handle during rotation and saves the hands.

For the snatch - depending on the technique used, perform a similar action to the clean. In the downward arc, move the hand into the hook position while the kettlebell is falling downwards. Timing is paramount here due to the greater height involved and greater acceleration achieved.

The hook grip can be trained in isolation by using standard exercises. However, be cautious when using the swing as you really want to hook while the bell is falling down rather than at head height when the bell is stationary. For this reason a much better exercise would be a medium or high pull. This is half of a snatch and there is no rotation of the ball. Switch hand to hand using the hook grip to catch the handle in the corner and over time you will be able to implement this into the clean and snatch exercises and increase your numbers.

As always - the best grip training to assist with kettlebell is crush training with hand grippers. Use an easy gripper for the endurance training and a tougher one to eventually increase the weight of the kettlebell you can train with.

Best of luck with your training and let us know how your numbers go!
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