Topic: A few rules of thumb?

[ViKtoricus]

Guys, you are all overcomplicating this. I am merely curious if it is an accurate assumption that if one is capable of doing a clean pull at belly-level, he/she can possibly drop under it fast enough to catch it.

I wasn't suggesting technique. I was curious about possibilities.

[John Way]

without technique there are limited possibilities in this sport, 2 commmon ones are injury & fail!

[Arturo Gómez]

Well, as a test, it is necessary, but not sufficient. If you can´t make a pull to enough height, you probably will not can make snatch with that weight. This is right. Is logically equivalent to say that if you make a snatch with a weight, you can make a pull to a similar height
But, the vice versa is not true. And the inference of a mechanical estrategy based in it, is not rigurously true.

[Andy Dick]

To answer your question and what Arturo and John are talking about is that during an actual olympic lift you are not clean/snatch high pulling the weight.  What this means you are not using the elbows to help pull the weight higher after extension.  There is a saying I was once told concerning this:

"Once the elbows bend, the power ends."

During the olympic lifts you are basically extending the body to full extension with the hip pop.  At the moment of full extension you are getting below the weight to catch it.  During the time from full extension to sitting in the catch position the bar will continue to move upward due to momentum.  So to say you physically need to pull the weight to a certain height  is incorrect.  As per the quote once you try to exert a force on the bar to pull physically pull it higher you will eliminate much of the momentum.

I used to try to high pull the weight then sit below it and it helped me for a bit but then it hit a wall because it was screwing up my power production.  Once my coach helped me eliminate this I could immediately see an increase in pop and power production.

A good principle is to reach full extension with the body then get below the weight as fast as possible.  With a good pop and full extension you will make most weights that are within your lifting ability (assuming technique is sound).

[Jim Storch]

The arms should only be "activated" to lower YOU (FASTER) under the bar to the "catch" position and hold lockout.  It is best to avoid using the arms to pull/push the weight up.

[Andy Dick]

Well said and more simply put then mine