Author Topic: Video: missed snatches - advice (Read 949 times)

Eamonn Flanagan · « **on:** Mar 14, 2006, 03:57 PM »

attached is a video containing 2 snatches from a lifter in the group i train with. The first lift is at 70kg the second at 80kg. (the first is quite blurred - apologies).

Any advice on why the lifter is not making these lifts? He appears to pull the bar high enough on each lift. His strength is excellent, his overhead squat for example is well above 80kg.

Is the grip too narrow? Hips shooting up on the first pull? Not quick enough underneath? Identification of the main error, or the most critical error would be a great help here.

Any other feedback would be appreciated.

Bull Ternus · « **Reply #1 on:** Mar 14, 2006, 05:23 PM »

I don't know how tall your lifter is, but he does definately seem to have an awfully narrow grip for the snatch, which looks like is making him have to pull a long way.

Also, his butt shoots straight into the air from liftoff and his back/shoulders aren't staying with it (a malady I suffered from when I first started Olympic lifting). On the 80K lift, his head cranks back hard after which makes for a see-saw effect and, I'd imagine, forces him to leave the bar out front (a malady I STILL suffer from). Glenn Pendlay once told me that your head should come up as though someone had tied an imaginary rope to an eyebolt at the top and pulled straight.

Good luck!

BULL

Harry Leech · « **Reply #2 on:** Mar 15, 2006, 11:10 AM »

Eamonn: Firstly the lifter (who shall remain anonymous!) Has a grip that is faaarrrr too close together for the snatch. It needs to be another inch out either side at least. Get him to raise his arms until they are parallel to the floor, then measure the distance between each elbow. This should be the minimum distance between his hands on the bar (a rough but good rule of thumb).

Aside from this he also needs to rotate his elbows out hard (if you get what I mean) so the bar doesn't travel away from his body, as well as keeping his hips lower and back flat throughout the lift, but the hand space is the biggest problem, for now.

If I'm unclear (and I often am) drop me a mail and I'll go into more detail. Also, Bull makes great points.

Eamonn Costello · « **Reply #3 on:** Mar 15, 2006, 12:07 PM »

its the anonymous lifter here, i was expermenting with my grip usually have it a bit widder, i feel im not using my legs propurally , hips shooting up before shoulders. i used to be a lot worse but it is still a problem. the next day my lower back is sore like i was doing a hevey session of good mornings, while my legs feel like i havent trained. I am getting better results in the clean, any tips on ironing this problem out? I am also terrible for using my arms, problem is if i concentrate on not using them i shoot up with the hips even worse! ( o the joy of it all). I was told to use deadlifts with the bar behind the legs to remedy hip problem , any more tips? thanks for the advice on head shooting back Bull..

Pete_Stewart · « **Reply #4 on:** Mar 15, 2006, 12:54 PM »

Both the previous guys are right, your ass starts too high before the lift and you have almost straightened your legs before you have lifted the bar off the platform any distance therefore leaving the lower back to do a lot more work which is probably why you have a stiff lower back.

You don't look comfortable underneath the bar as the bar is sitting out in front of you which is in part due to the narrow grip and I also think in part due to the ass lifting up too quickly. I would stick with 60kg and work out the grip and ass issue and I would have liked to see you go into a full snatch more. On the pull try to keep you arms locked out by rotating the elbows out, and drive more with the legs while keeping shoulders over the bar. Someone posted this link on the forum (

http://media.putfile.com/Ironmind_1993_Dimas

). Compare you ass starting position and the drive with the legs and the angle of the lower back at the start of the pull with your video.

On a final note. The Ulster Open is being held on the 13th May 2006 in Ballyclare which is a nice venue that someone highlighted to the organisers a few years back (wonder who that was...). You guys should head up to that to get some competition experience and get some of the coaches there to point out some of the more glaring problems with technique and ask them how to rectify them.