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Power SnatchPOWER SNATCH The basic, generic "snatch" is straightforward: take a weight from the ground and put it overhead in a single fluid movement. You can snatch dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, and just about anything else with varying degrees of sophistication. The "competition" or Olympic snatch is a fairly technical lift, but you can get many of the benefits without spending thousands of reps perfecting the motion. Ideally, you want to do this with bumper plates and a lifting platform. The bumpers will keep the bar at just the right height without needing 45lb plates, and you'll be able to ride the bar down more heavily with bumpers onto a lifting platform. Neither is necessary to benefit from the movement, though, so if you don't have access to Olympic weightlifting facilities don't let that stop you. Take a bar in a wide grip -- this is the famous "snatch grip", with your hands as close to the collars as comfortably possible. Start with an empty bar; you'll be able to work up to impressive weights once you get accustomed to the movement. The short version: Dip down until the bar's about eight inches off the ground, then stand and fling it to arm's length overhead. The long version, because I'm an iron geek: With your feet slightly wider than shoulder width, toes pointed slightly out, crouch down into the start position for the deadlift. Your hips and shoulders should be high, with your back arched. Your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders, holding the bar close to your shins. The base knuckles of your big toes, the bar, and your shoulders should all lie on a vertical line, straight up from the platform. Start the movement by rising with your hips and knees. The bar stays close to your shins, and your shoulders stay directly over the bar. Your back stays straight -- you're building momentum. This is the "first pull". When the bar passes your knees, jump straight up while shrugging your shoulders violently up and back. This is the "second pull", and it's where most of the power comes from. Weightlifters also call this "triple extension" -- your ankles, knees, and hips are all extending (as opposed to flexing) at once. Don't be surprised if you leave the ground, especially with a light weight. You'll have to bend your elbows to allow the bar to pass your head, but don't lift with your arms! Don't "muscle up" a snatch. If the bar's relatively light, you'll be able to catch it overhead, thus preventing it from embedding itself in the ceiling. If not, you'll have to dip underneath it to catch it at arm's length overhead, then stand up underneath. "Pressing up" a snatch with shoulders and triceps is cause for disqualification in an Olympic-style weightlifting meet, and not what we're trying to achieve. If you go into a deep overhead squat position to catch a power snatch, you're not power snatching any more -- you're doing a full squat snatch. Congratulations; you've done what most weight trainers would never dream of attempting. (Of course, if you're doing power snatches, the same is true.) ~ mjolson
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