snatch form - Hey Roy and crew...

what counts as cheating in the snatch?

if I grip the bar almost at the edge with my hands almost touching the plates (making it a shorter distance the bar has to fly up) is this a legitimate snatch- is it a terrible way to train the lift? or is it fine

regardless - holding it this wide I finally broke 2 bills! woohoo!

I know a little about the snatch (stop laughing Roy).  All the points that Roy brought up are great and solid advise for everyone.  I do think from what you said that you are catching the weight with the arms a little bent unless you maximize the width of the grip.  You do want to push up on the bar after it crosses your face and do so aggressively.  Just as you finish the pull you should finish the snatch with a purposeful lockout, not just allowing the bar to float up to arms length.  Two exercises to correct this come to mind.  One is the drop snatch.  Place the bar on your shoulders like a back squat with your hands at snatch grip, then drop under the bar into the snatch.  Keep the weight modest to start and do these after the snatch work out.  The other is to snatch with the bar starting with standing fully erect, a hang snatch with no leg drive.  This will teach you to finish the pull and be more aggressive with the drive overhead.  On this second exercise you can squat under the bar into a half or full squat snatch.  Forceful and ballistic movement should be the hallmark of the snatch and its auxillary exercises.  Hope this helps. 

Skullsplitter wrote:   You do want to push up on the bar after it crosses your face and do so aggressively.  Just as you finish the pull you should finish the snatch with a purposeful lockout, not just allowing the bar to float up to arms length.

 

DAMN 10 + years of trying these damn things and I never knew this  . 

Pullin snatches tonight!!!!

Yes I have but never felt good about it.  Was taught that it wasn't a legit snatch.  Looking forward to a nice PR with this info.  I guess I was taught to emphasize Pulling as high as possible.  I dunno.

Edited by Roy Bogue

I never met a snatch I didn't think was legit....

Hey Guys, I am new to the sport and have just started doing snatches and cleans. I was wanting to know if it is required to squat under the weight every time for correct form. Since I have just started I am lifting light weight to start with to learn form. When I do snatches the weight just goes straight overhead and I don't feel the need to squat under it. Is this bad form and do I need to start squatting underneath it.

Thanks for any help on the matter.

I too am have never thought of giving the bar a shove as I finish the pull...dunno if I believe it can work but Dr. Bill says so and I hear he knows...Roy - any luck?

Bill, etc - due to age and 5 knee operations - I have never done the old drop deep and catch thing - makes my knees scream in alarm looking at it -{ It's ok babies...really...I would never do that to you }  ...Here's the question:since we never CATCH anything - other than for the sake of doing snatches and cleans correctly - why would we not do all these lifts as a type of high pull? I realize it will help overall strength - but what about our old enemy ...drumroll...MR.SPINAL COMPRESSION...distant thunder....???

  and now for something completely different........

Wayne - Great!!!....You first.....

Tim - Coach Mac did a post about that - just rippin' it up going for height - Sooo I gave it a go - beware your surface - too hard kills your equipment...too soft and you better bring the shovel.....it was fun/different.

Think of the o-lifts like the throws.  Like Coach Mac said, you want to apply force to the bar for a long as time as possible.  This means you don’t let the bar drop on you or float up to a lock-out.  Apply force with the lower body until it can’t anymore, then pull yourself under the bar (use largest muscle groups then smallest, sound familiar?)  When your feet touch back down after moving under the bar, immediately begin applying force to the bar again by pushing with the lower body.

 

You’ll be amazed at how much easier the lifts get when this is done correctly.  Try it in the clean too.  Don’t just let the bar drop on you and then try to straighten up, treat the rack like part of the lift (it is) and push with the lower body as you rack it.  You don’t take a turn with the 56 and wait for it to come down do you?  You have to sink under it and begin applying force again.

 

Also, anyone doing the Games should completely forget about doing squat clean and snatches.  Unless of course you don’t want any cartilage in your knees, and would like to disintegrate it as soon as possible for no reason.  Getting your body under the bar that fast is an art by itself.  About 75% of the technique for high-level lifters is moving their body AROUND the bar as fast as possible.  Watch the little guys especially; as the weight gets heavier, the bar moves slower, and their body moves faster, much faster.

 

Doing what for years?

>>We do hammer-
snatch...shoulder width grip...if your a 3-wind or 4 -
winder...do as many reps as you wind...EXAMPLE: 3
winder...from the shins's to the nipples (rep -1)
from below the knee   to forehead (rep-2) from the
knee's (this will depend on arm length) to lock out
OR release...!

Hey Coach that's pretty cool; I'll have to try that.

After getting some advice on this board (thanks coach Mac) I started doing Olympic Lifts,got hooked on it and recently won my weight class at my first Weightlifting meet.  (OK so I was the only one in my class, but I still took first.)  I've worked on my squat clean alot because face it... it's easier.  I want to start doing overhead squats to get used to that position in the snatch, but my body moves like 10 different directions when I get even little itty bitty weights down low.  Any advice on how to cure this before I wind up hurting the poor woman on the abdominizer 2000 machine behind me, and I wind up getting kicked out of yet another gym?