The Rack, it’s not just for resting
An Article I wrote for Centro San Ti Magazine
The Rack, it’s not just for resting.
By John Wild Buckley
Recently I was talking with a couple of lifters who are new to the whole Kettlebell Sport game. We were discussing the rack position and one of them said that he needed to sprint his set because he had no rack but his friend didn’t even need a rack because she didn’t need to rest during her set. Personally I have been searching for my rack since I started Kettlebell training in 2004 and I have yet to find a position that is comfortable enough to be considered “rest”. The way that I have learned to cope with the lack of rack is by pacing and slowly building up my endurance so I can complete a whole set without stopping. So far I have only made it about 70% through on my best day. Even though I am making progress there is still a major problem with my approach. The rack is not just for resting.
First, I think it is important to identify what the rack actually is. I like to split it into two parts, the waist up and the waist down. Most kb lifters are familiar with the rack as the position one holds the bells in above the waist. This is partially correct but incomplete. The rack is like an ice burg as most of it exists below the surface. Keeping your legs straight and your hips forward is the first key to a good rack position. Even if you can not get your elbows to rest on your hips, if your legs are locked and your hips are forward you are in a safer position structurally than if your knees are bent or if you are standing strictly vertical and the bells are out in front of your body. This is what I call the Standard Waist Down Position. It is a position that is present in in your Jerk, Snatch, Rack, and at the end of your swing. It is a position that you will need to master if you are looking to advance in this sport.
The rack position from the waist up is as natural as walking to some and world of mystery to others. If you can rest your elbows on your hip you have the kind of structural advantage that a 7′ tall person has playing basketball. If this position does not come naturally to you it can be a long journey ahead. The most obvious advantage is that you can rest. If your legs are locked straight and your hips are forward you can rest your elbow on the top of your hip and let the weight of the bell rest on your structure as opposed to your musculature. This allows you to rest (at least a little). The rest is important but it is not the only reason to put your elbow on your hip.
During a Jerk set, you will be driving through your legs and your elbow will be bursting off your hip. Think about it like placing the elbow on the hip is pulling back the hammer of a gun and exploding with your legs though your hips is like pulling the trigger and going all Dirty Harry on your Jerk set. Jerking from the hip is such a huge advantage for a lifter. Not everybody does it but most lifters who can, do.
Me learning from Mishin
As for the Long Cycle, the elbow to hip is key. Your clean must be deliberate and clear. The Long Cycle is two distinct movements. The clean is the first one. If you establish an elbow to hip connection you will have no problem with your initial bump which leads to a crisp jerk.
Every time you swing you work your rack position from the waist down. Every time you jerk or snatch you work the rack either wholly or partly. In the long cycle you live in the rack position. It is where you can recover, reload, and blast off. Just remember, the rack is not just for resting.
Check out Jeronimo Milo and more articles from Centro San Ti @
http://www.centrosanti.com.ar/articulos/
kettle,
June 15, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Hello; this was a great read, informative and entertaining! My sister Heidi is into the Kettlebell sport. This helps me to understand more about her sport. Thank you!!
June 15, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I’m so glad! I was talking with Heidi today
June 15, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Very nice reading!
June 16, 2010 at 5:02 am
Great article!
June 16, 2010 at 5:02 am
Nice bit, John, with good insight.
June 16, 2010 at 11:16 am
Great article John, what type of build would tend to have an easier time with the rack position? Is it the athlete with longer limbs and a narrow chest?
June 16, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Thank you gents!
June 17, 2010 at 5:41 pm
@ Nick,
Just like I do. The rack comes down to flexibility, structural alignment, and weight distribution. All things you can figure out and work on.
Sure, having a long upper arm and a high waist makes things easier but it is not a guarantee that your rack will be easy or perfect. It is also not the end of the story when it comes to having a rack. Plenty of guys who have big chests and arms have good racks. Morozov and Vasiliev pictured above are both built guys. Morozov originally was a power lifter and he has a dense solid build. Denis was a bodybuilder/arm wrestler/fighter before he became full time Kettlebell sportsman so he has the typical tiny waist huge arms/chest/back build you would desire for the beach (and he has huge legs, but I digress). In addition to the whole Adonis thing they both have going on, they both have sick flexibility. If you see other pictures of Denis and Igor you will see how low their shoulders hang and how their traps are without tension. Igor was screwing around and having us grab his traps while they were relaxed and then he would flex and turn the mush to stone. It was sick.
They work on flexibility throughout their whole bodies and it allows them to get whatever tissue and structure is in the way out of the way. When they were working on me it because clear that I had more tissue than was useful (what a nice way to put that, no?) and I needed to work on my flexibility. Coach Rudnev said that my technique was good but it doesn’t matter because I am too tight and how do you say, you know fyat. He then helped me understand what I needed to do to fix my issues and I have been working on it ever since. I almost wrote about how close I am to having a real lockout today.
Rudnev (the skinny guy in the pictures above) Has a very classic rack and boy does he need it. The weight he works with is almost his bodyweight and since he competes on the highest level he needs his technique to support and protect him.
When I was working with Mishin I was confronted with the idea that there is more than one way to do this. He was showing me his way and I thought I was going to snap my spine. He is so incredibly strong. He is beyond belief. He does not use a traditional rack.
Nick, your body is fine for a good rack. You need to stretch my man
June 28, 2010 at 10:06 am
Thanks for that response John, it’s good to know that you don’t have to have one specific kind of build to find that ideal rack position. Great stories about the Russians, I feel like doing some mobility work right here at my desk after reading it.
July 7, 2010 at 5:27 am
Thanks for sending me this article, John. I am starting to realise what I need to do to improve…it’s all becoming much clearer
It’s very good to know that the flexibility work that I do is serving a purpose other than stopping me becoming a stiff wee thing
December 12, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Thanks for the info. A lot of good tips in that list. . .
Regards
Al Riyadh