You shouldn't be snatching near max very often if you have bad technique. Your statements are contradictory. On one hand you want a clear head, on the other hand you want the lifter to review tape and make adjustments. The only way to make adjustments is by consciously altering motor patterns. This is done through the use of cues. Working with a stick is a start but that does not transfer over to heavier weights alone. It needs to be built up in stages. There is a difference between snatching a max weight and a sub maximal weight with cues. It has been made very clear by many top international coaches that you should focus on learning proper technique first with the use of cues before going on to attempting maximal loads often and not thinking about anything. You can tell a lifter just to snatch but then it is the job of the coach to tell the lifter what to change. The only way to make those changes is by the athlete making a conscious mental decision to do so, it just doesn't happen by hearing it or seeing it on tape.Barry Bonds thinks about specific technical aspects of his hitting while taking batting PRACTICE. That's what training is for a lifter. It is practice. You certainly want a clear head on maximal attempts but when you don't have the proper technique what is the point of just going up there and trying to move the barbell as fast as possible? Beginners should not be training like elites therefore they should not be taking many max attempts and should focus their energy on grasping the technical aspects of the lifts. Motor patterns need to be developed and they have been proven to be developed very effectively in many sports through the use of mental cues.
Both Ryan and Dave make very good points.I would add that it may help to watch vid of the Chinese, Georgian, and other top lifters who ENGAGE their hip thrust in a way that BOTH...... kicks the barbell upward and the body downward.THAT'S what makes a full SN.I have been amazed by the results of my re-education on this point of tech (in the last 2 mo) after more than 2 decades of enjoying this sport.Such action is the HEART of quickness.I have also been getting great effect from the kind of hip-loading that Kolecki is such a great example of.
Training alone takes heart. Good footage, nice camera, nice angle, nice lighting. In the snatch, your main problem is not smoothly riding the weight down to a full squat. In the clean, you also need to ride the weight down to a full squat position before rising. In the jerk, your hand position is too crowded together. Spread the elbows apart with all your finders wrapped around the bar. Ignore those who say you can jerk from the fingertips.
