Wrist, Elbow, and Shoulder Alignment With Kettlebell Lifting

The wrist, elbow, and shoulder must remain in proper alignment or they will experience excessive stress when lifting a kettlebell. Stability starts with a solid grip of the kettlebell handle and continues with a neutral wrist. If you have weak wrist stabilizers the wrist will bend back excessively. It is helpful to imagine making a fist and gripping the handle tightly to stabilize the wrist.




Next, arm rotation must be controlled. If the arm is not appropriately stabilized, then the weight of the kettlebell will create a torque and place excessive stress on the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. When the kettlebell is at the shoulder (racked) or when starting an arm bar or turkish get-up, the arm is rotated inward so the palm is facing (and remains) accross the body.




When the kettlebell goes above your head, the arm rotates 90 degrees and the palm faces straight ahead and the wrist remains neutral.