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The snatch is one of the most difficult and technical lifts. You love it or hate it… It often takes years of training and practice to get this movement completely under control. In this blog, Crossmaxx athlete Rebecca shares her tips and tricks to help you improve your Snatch!
BLASTING OFF THE FLOOR
Does an explosive lift start explosively? The answer is no.
It is important to get the barbell off the floor in a controlled manner and start the speed from the knee. The explosion starts from the hip.
When you yank the barbell off the ground you often lose your shape, balance and control over the bar.
TIP: don't lift too brutal, get the slack out of the bar, balance all over the foot and accelerate from the knee.
THE FRIDAY NIGHT
What you often see with the snatch is that the butt shoots up at the start / first pull of the lift. Remember, it's not a Friday night at the club! If this happens you will see that it is not possible to keep the contact with the barbell vertical. You mainly hinge and use your back to lift the barbell. Be sure to balance the weight over the entire foot and push it into the ground while keeping your butt low and your chest elevated (but keep your shoulders slightly over the bar).
TIP: practice your first pull by not always focusing on the entire lift, but only the first part. For example, processes snatch deadlifts or snatch pulls in your schedule.
SWINGING
Swinging or barbell looping is often a lack of vertical extension of the body. As discussed above, it can all start with your first pull. Many lifters throw the hips forward against the bar, causing the barbell to shoot forward from the hip. This causes you to throw the barbell over your body with an arc, making the catch a lot more difficult and sometimes even impossible for yourself. Remember a snatch is not a kettlebell swing!
TIP: Make sure to extend the knees and hip at the same time and keep the barbell close / vertical to your body. It helps me to think that during my extension I want to pull my elbows up to the ceiling as if you were a puppet doll with 2 wires on my elbows that are pulled up. To better control the movement, you can practice this with muscle snatches.
ARM BENDING
If you bend / pull your arms too early during your snatch, it can cause loss of strength in your snatch. In addition, it disrupts explosiveness during the hit in the hip. Lifters often think that the snatch is a movement where you have to pull with your arms. However, this is not true and the force / explosiveness comes from the legs / hip where the arms are just a conductor. Keep the arms long, stretched and relaxed during the pull (no pulling).
TIP: use your legs! You can do hangnatches to get this part of the lift under control. Focus on long and straight arms during your pull.
WRONG GRIP WIDTH
How wide should the grip be? In the beginning it will feel very unnatural to grip the barbell wide. To find the correct grip width, pick up the barbell with stretched arms. You keep your body upright and ensure that the barbell is exactly in the fold of your hip. If the barbell hangs under your hip and on your thigh, your grip is too narrow. If the barbell rises above your hip and lower abdomen, your grip is too wide.
TIP: Check that you have the correct width by bouncing / hitting an empty bar at the position a few times. When it is well in the fold of your hip it does not hurt.
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