Snatch Technique

[TysonTF]

First time doing snatches.

I filmed it so I could get some advice on my technique, the main things I think are my squat, what I'm doing with my stiff arms and how far the bar is away from mah bahdy. There is an importance of keeping it close to you as you lift, yes? If you can't tell from the angle it doesn't touch me at all on the way up.

There are two other exercises after the snatch; a one-arm cable row and supinated clean pull if you have any tips on technique for either those

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC1VgGly4oo

[Shaedar]

You're whipping that bar of the floor up above your head, which is wrong.
I did satches clean-like, except that I didn't catch the bar on my chest but pushed it up as I descended into squat.
I might have been doing them wrong too.

[Chris H Laing]

It looks like you have your arms locked out the whole time, so the bar has to swoop way out in front of you. Try to keep the bar as close to your body as possible, just like in a clean.

[Rahf]

No, that is not a proper snatch.

[Kon-El]

http://tomgorman.moonfruit.com/

this alone should show you many of the keys mistakes you're doing from set up to pull to catch. I'm sure someone more qualified will give you more details if you want, but start by researching the Snatch a whole lot more.

[Nicholai]

Yeah, your arms are way too stiff, but then again you are swinging it out in front of you. Your arms should remain locked out until you reach a full extension of your body, shrug, then you pull yourself under the bar. Work more on that extension of coming up on the toes and trying to jam your shoulders and traps up towards your ears. Get the bar moving upwards. Keep it closer to your body and focus on being a lot more aggressive. Your snatches and even that variant of a clean pull are seriously lacking in the aggressive, explosive shrugging, which really is the entire focus point of these lifts. Teach yourself to be fast and strong, not to be slow and nonchalant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWkG_tCYs-U

[chicanerous]

Try this:

1. Stand up, holding the bar in the high hang position. Tense your triceps.
2. Slide the bar down the thighs with your chest up and shoulders over it to the "power position" -- i.e. the position such that the bar is sitting on the thigh just above the knee.
3. Now, by ONLY pushing your hips back, lower the bar to just below the knee.
4. Then, by ONLY bending at the knees, lower it the floor (or to the appropriate terminal position if you're using less than full sized plates).
5. Pull hard and reverse the movement.

The position you're in at the bottom there is more or less the position you want to assume before every pull. Reversing the pull in this fashion before beginning your rep helps put you in proper position to pull, as it ensures that you will get a strong double knee bend in the transition from first to second pull, that your chest is up and your body tight, and that you will keep the bar closer through most of the movement (though it's still possible to f' that up). Keep in mind that this is a practice cue and, as a result, not a part of the "rep" per se. It should be done slowly with emphasis on obtaining the correct positions in order to set you up for your rep. As well, your goal should really be to memorize that bottom position that it helps you obtain, so you can assume it at will and not need the negative portion to find it.

There are distinct phases to the pull, which, while you don't need to necessarily know about as a beginner, you nevertheless need to hit as you pull. The lift is commonly split into at least three important consecutive phases -- the first pull, the double knee bend, the second pull. You can find texts that describe a third or even fourth pull, but it's more academic than practical at that point. The first pull beings when you initially lift the bar off the floor, which you accomplish through knee extension. Your bodyweight is toward your heels and ideally the outside of the foot at this point and, as you raise, you maintain the inclination of your torso that you set in your starting position. When the bar reaches the knees, because you are extending the knees without extending the hips, your hamstrings get quite stretched and you run out of room of sorts to continue extending in this fashion. Consequently, your body does a mostly automatic motion called the double knee bend, where the knees rebend and push underneath the bar somewhat. This is the beginning of that apparent "bump" of the barbell on the thighs you see in a proficient lifter's pull. It's called the double knee bend because it's the second bend that you knee takes after the initial bend you assume to start the lift. After this double knee bend happens, your body will be in position for the most important phase of the lift -- the second pull. In contrast to the first pull, which was primarily performed through knee extension and wasn't necessarily about accelerating the barbell, the second pull is about rapid, explosive hip extension that ends with a violent shrug and some ankle extension in order to send the barbell upward on its own. The faster you get the barbell moving during this phase that higher it will rise. Visually, the barbell should brush or scoop along the thigh during this phase until the body is extended, whereupon you will begin your transition to catch the barbell. This second pull is where all the power comes from in a clean or snatch.

One of the big tricks in successfully executing a clean or snatch is to obtain an optimal starting position. As explained previously, an optimal starting position starts a cascading effect on the rest of the pull, putting you in optimal position to perform your strongest second pull and vastly improving your execution of the lift at large. It effects everything from the amount of power you can coerce from your muscles, to your coordination, to the barbell's path in the air (which, if not in the right position, will often cause you to lose the lift out front or back).

[anfeyd]

That's not a clean pull either, really.

I'm willing to bet chicanerous has the only good olympic lifting form in this forum, despite numerous others doing the lifts.

[chicanerous]

That's not a clean pull either, really.

I'm willing to bet chicanerous has the only good olympic lifting form in this forum, despite numerous others doing the lifts.
My form is pretty shit actually -- though I guess that doesn't discount your statement at all. :smile:

Also, you missed Nicholai above, who definitely performs the lifts way better than I. I mean he's snatching almost 1.4x BW in that video. :agony:

[anfeyd]

Oh yes, I forgot Nicholai.

However, as far as the non-competitors...

[TysonTF]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll go out and try them with this advice in mind some time soon and post again.

To anfeyd, it's not a proper clean pull it's suppose to be an alternative in the gym for flipping tyres as part of strongman training in the gym.

[anfeyd]

Flipping tires is nothing like doing a deadlift.

[TysonTF]

Supinated Clean Pull
STRONGMAN EQUIVALENT:Tire Flip
MOVEMENT TYPE: Press/pull
PHILIPPI'S TAKE: "There are two parts to the tire flip: the initial pull to the knee to lift the tire off the ground, and then the combined motion to flip it over. This is a hard lift to duplicate without the actual tire, but since the toughest part is the pull, this modified deadlift will help."
EXECUTION: Stand with your feet about twice as wide as shoulder width with a barbell on the floor in front of your shins (a "fat bar" is ideal). Grasp the bar with both palms facing forward. Drop your hips, lift your head and pull your shoulders back to help extend your arms. ("The key here is to keep your elbows straight at the beginning of the lift to transfer your strength without losing force," Philippi says.) Pull hard on the bar and press through the floor with your legs to lift it past your waist as you go up on your toes. Carefully return the bar to the floor.
VOLUME: Perform 4-5 sets of five reps.

This is what I read and then tried. It doesn't matter if you think it's an equivalent or not I was posting for advice on technique, I probably did it wrong so it's just a deadlift with a supinated grip as opposed to how it's meant to be performed.