DW Snatch

DieselWeasel · 06-02-2006, 11:35 PM

This was the 2nd day that I ever did a two-arm barbell snatch. I have three questions:

1) Is my grip wide enough?

2) Is my form terrible?

3) Can I drop the barbell from arms length overhead when using bumper plates at my campus weight room which is where I'm lifting in the video? There is no lifting platform there. I didn't use bumpers in the video because the lightest bumpers in the weight room are 44lbs.

Here is the video:
http://media.putfile.com/max_snatch_2x115x3

PariahCarey · 06-02-2006, 11:57 PM

I don't do snatches so no advice from me...nice job though...how about that guy in the back using up all the plates for his leg press with a 6 inch ROM? I think he's Pat Robertson's son.

DieselWeasel · 06-03-2006, 12:04 AM

That's my friend, Jose. You can't even see him doing the exercise in that video. He does squats with good depth. I never actually seen him do the leg press though. That was like the only day that ever he ever did it.

PariahCarey · 06-03-2006, 12:15 AM

...maybe i was exxagerating...alittle...

chia · 06-03-2006, 12:33 AM

1. Use a grip that is comfortable. Your optimal grip width depends on your body proportions. For example, I'm 5' 7" and on a standard Olympic bar my hands are about 2-3" from the inside collars.

2. Unfortunately, yes, your form is terrible. I'm no expert myself on Olympic lifts (Alon should give you an expert analysis) but here are some pointers:

- The first pull should be slow and controlled. Pull the bar up towards your thighs, keeping your back arched and your hips back.
- You are exploding up too early. Again the first pull should be controlled and deliberate. When the bar reaches your thighs (it should still remain in contact with the body at this point) then you explode forward with the hips, jumping up on your toes (your toes should stay in contact with the floor), and simultaneously shrug the bar up with your traps.
- DO NOT USE THE ARMS! You are doing a pull/push motion with your arms to get the bar overhead. You used this same deal with your cleans which is also incorrect. The power should come from the hips, the legs, and the upper back. Think of your arms as ropes; you are pulling up on the ropes and the bar is "whipped" up.
- Keep the bar close to your body at all times. Because you are pulling with the arms, the bar is drifting forward and you are having to do the foot shuffle forward in order to catch it and regain balance. The bar should graze the thighs and remain close to your torso. A proper pull should result in the catch directly above the starting mark (although technically the bar travels in an S-curve path).
- You are not squatting low enough to catch the bar securely. This results in pressing with the arms. Instead the bar should caught with arms straight and locked then squatted up. A poor catch is often the result of poor flexibility the hips, knees, ankles, and back; also it takes a lot of practicing the movement to really get it down. In this case, I think that driving with the hips too early also results in a poorly timed catch. Try incorporating drop snatches and overhead squats which will help develop your technique
- Finally, the movement should be a thing of beauty. It should be fast and graceful. There is no "muscling up" in Olympic lifting. A maximal effort single still uses smooth, lightning fast technique, as does a warmup set. Form should not degrade on heavier sets.

3. You should only drop the bar when you are using bumper plates on a lifting platform.

DieselWeasel · 06-03-2006, 12:42 AM

Thanks for that advice. It was only my 2nd time doing it, so my form should get better with more practice.

batman69 · 06-03-2006, 01:34 AM

my biggest piece of advice would be to drop the amount of weight you are trying to lift. get theform down better then start working your way up. seriously, try like 65 pounds for a while and get the movement right before you worry about how much weight you can snatch.

DieselWeasel · 06-03-2006, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by batman69

my biggest piece of advice would be to drop the amount of weight you are trying to lift. get theform down better then start working your way up. seriously, try like 65 pounds for a while and get the movement right before you worry about how much weight you can snatch.

I don't think that's necessary. I'm going to use chia's advice to the best of my ability. Thanks for the generic answer.

**Urban** · 06-03-2006, 02:56 AM

The snatch is a throw and catch. You throw the bar (pull that fucker as hard as you can) and you catch it overhead. Do you ever overhead squat? that should be the position you catch it in more or less. What you're doing now is throwing it, leaning back and pressing it out on some reps, it's aweful form. Throw, catch. simple right? there's no muscling, no slow portions, no fudging the lift... you get it or you miss it, there are no in betweens.

as far as grip, I'm 6' and I only go 2-3" or so past the rings with my index finger, so you take that for what it's worth. From what I see, people smaller than me take a wider grip than I do.

I'm not saying all this to flame you max. You've done some pretty cool shit since first submitting yourself to internet ridicule. While I don't think you need to drop to 65 lbs, droping to 95 wouldn't hurt you, just so you can fully practice throwing and catching the bar.

Something that has worked well for me are the inclusion of overhead squats into my routine (3x8 at the beginning of every workout), and a low rep, high set, progressive overload on snatches. Typically I'll shoot for 10x2 at a weight and if I can get it cleanly (no pressouts) I'll up it by 5 lbs next week.

Alon · 06-03-2006, 04:27 AM

Shit, I wrote up a big response and the server screwed up, here goes again.

1) Don't worry about grip, go with what's comfortable and not too wide

2) I'll limit it to two main pointers (and two non-technical tips)
-If you're not using bumper plates (or 45 sized plates), don't snatch from the floor, instead you should raise the bar to where it would normally be lifted from. This allows you to setup the lift and train for it at the proper height
-After each snatch, get the bar into a comfortable position and hold for 2 seconds. Your arms are forward and you're leaning back to compensate. Instead stand more upright and you will feel more comfortable. Do this with each rep.

-As chia said, the first pull is about control and setup for the second pulling phase. This means just keeping the back tight, body over and bar close. Once it gets near the thighs you can push the hips in, straighten up and most of all don't use the arms.

-As Urban said, it's a throw and catch, so you should separate the two movements. At the moment the bar gets pulled to where you can get it, then your elbows go back and you place it overhead. Instead try to finish the pull with the elbows up, then allow the bar to travel to it's position while you get underneath it. This means that you eliminate the slight pressing of the bar.

3) As long as you aren't breaking anything who cares. Bumper plates don't like concrete.

Also, I wouldn't simply reduce the weight, but instead do a lot of lighter warmups in preparation for the lifts. The point isn't just to warm up, but to allow yourself to experiment a little bit with the technique without the fear of missing the lift. The heavier weight is still necessary so that you see how your position will change when there's a real weight on the bar.