Critique My Snatch

[DoomPatrol]

You guys are spot on, I need to work from top down. I tried again this morning and broke it down to constituent lifts with light weight: front squats, C&J, overhead squats and low hang snatch. Front squats and C&J felt fine but OH squat is where my form completely falls apart. I don't yet have the balance or form to even do 65 lbs cleanly and had to drop to just the bar. With that I can cleanly go to thighs parallel for reps but my right ankle impingement is a factor. Cleanest way I can do them is with a wide stance and arms very wide with bar only an inch or so over my head.

The other issue that's been called out is my set up. I guess I've been reflexively starting like a barbell bent over row which is obviously wrong. Belph and jgarner are correct that my hips were too low and starting the first pull with arms was dicking up the overhead position after third pull. Completing the first pull with arms straight and bar close to my body made the second and third pulls feel much cleaner. My final 3 sets of snatches with just the bar felt a lot cleaner than the OP vid, and warming up with 6 or 7 sets on the other lifts definitely helped me get looser. I wanted to record them but my 4 year old came down to the basement, wanted to "help" daddy workout and made me help her "drive the bus" on my Titan rickshaw between sets. Then I had to finish up because we had tickets to the morning showing of Squirrel Stole my Underpants at the local kids' center.

Yeah bro my biggest thing I would say is that if you can't comfortably hold an overhead squat with good biomechanics you need to seriously devote time to getting those mechanics down before you try to jump up in weight training the snatch or power snatch.

If you start working on that hard, you'll see a radical change over the next few months.

 

[Zankou]

Good to see somebody my age picking this up. Too much commitment and mobility required for me, plus my garage is jam packed with gear and teleworking stuff, no space for an Oly lifting setup. Sticking with PL routine in a rack for those reasons.

Now if only I could convince my wife to get rid of her elliptical machine, then maybe id have space for a platform.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Good to see somebody my age picking this up. Too much commitment and mobility required for me, plus my garage is jam packed with gear and teleworking stuff, no space for an Oly lifting setup. Sticking with PL routine in a rack for those reasons.

Now if only I could convince my wife to get rid of her elliptical machine, then maybe id have space for a platform.

Go for it bro. It doesn't take much space and you don't need a full platform. I just load the bar on J hooks on the outside of my power rack, then do oly lifts or deadlifts off the ground right next to it. Oly lifts are a natural progression from PL. I wanted to change it up and do front squats, but had to spend a few months improving wrist and shoulder ROM and once I got a front rack position down, I was like what the hell, I'll try C&J. I've been dicking around with empty bar C&J and snatches for a few minutes before my regular workouts and I'm enjoying them enough to want to devote more time to them.

Even if you have no intention of doing oly lifts, I think their constituent lifts like front squats, OH squat and hang power cleans/snatches are great accessory lifts that will improve your form and ROM on the regular lifts anyway.

 

[Oblivian]

Good to see somebody my age picking this up. Too much commitment and mobility required for me, plus my garage is jam packed with gear and teleworking stuff, no space for an Oly lifting setup. Sticking with PL routine in a rack for those reasons.

Now if only I could convince my wife to get rid of her elliptical machine, then maybe id have space for a platform.

I don't have a true platform. I have two horse stall mats that are 4x6 which means it is only 8 feet x 6 feet. I do have rugs under those as well as some wood paneling. I remember when I first started I was really concerned that I'd either throw the bar out of the area or I'd need to run out of the area. I don't think it has ever happened. Most people think you need more space than you really do.

 

[Fahcough]

Good to see somebody my age picking this up. Too much commitment and mobility required for me, plus my garage is jam packed with gear and teleworking stuff, no space for an Oly lifting setup. Sticking with PL routine in a rack for those reasons.

Now if only I could convince my wife to get rid of her elliptical machine, then maybe id have space for a platform.

Does she use it or it's the typical 3x5 wasted space with dust under it? Have the same problem. She bought it, has not got on it in at least 8 months and it's just the size of a GHD waiting for a home.

 

[Zankou]

Does she use it or it's the typical 3x5 wasted space with dust under it? Have the same problem. She bought it, has not got on it in at least 8 months and it's just the size of a GHD waiting for a home.

She actually uses it all the time, and has for years, so I can’t fairly complain. She even also wants to get a rowing machine now, which we have even less space in the house for.

 

[Fahcough]

Then this pops up on YT feed today, 1st 30 seconds has my attention. Something about bad mobility from masterbating. Going listen to more.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Does she use it or it's the typical 3x5 wasted space with dust under it? Have the same problem. She bought it, has not got on it in at least 8 months and it's just the size of a GHD waiting for a home.

My wife bought a treadmill that I had to drag upstairs and assemble, where it took up an entire bedroom and she used it probably 4 times in 4 years before finally letting me drag it down to the basement where she still hardly uses it. That damn thing was a bigger PITA to get up and down the stairs than my 6 rubber horse mats were to drag from the street over my front lawn into the basement while it was raining. MAYBE. All I know is I'm not moving either one again.

Then this pops up on YT feed today, 1st 30 seconds has my attention. Something about bad mobility from masterbating. Going listen to more.

I like this dude's style. Masturbation making you less flexible lol. I have gotten less flexible lately and I'm married with kids. Coincidence? I think not. I probably should just pay the $10 and get a PVC pipe at home depot so I can stop using the extendable broom stick I've been using that keeps expanding when I turn sideways. Never thought about using it for other stretches like the vid shows. Fortunately I'm already pretty flexible turning my arms upward due to rolling with the 260 lbs blue belt spaz at my gym. Guy is always trying to muscle americana submissions.

 

[Fahcough]

1st time I've clicked on his vid. He pops up in recommended with Rogan and More Plates. I like his no BS approach and humor. good stuff

 

[ChickenBrother]

Another installment of Side Snatch Theater. Went up to 50 lbs this time after doing the same workout with just the bar over the weekend. Copious warm up sets of front squats, cleans and overhead squats make a huge difference and I felt a lot looser doing these (hang) snatches trying to approximate the height of bumper plates.



Form is obviously still ass but these felt cleaner to me than the ones in the OP from last week (which were 20 lbs heavier). This is my third and final set but I did fives on the others. I was planning to add maybe 5 lbs/week here. What do you guys think?

@belph @jgarner @Oblivian any feedback? Does this form look OK to progressively add more weight? Or does anything (or the whole thing) look terrible enough that I should stick with very light weight for now?

 

[Fahcough]

Looks like a month of improvement.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Bumping this thread because after almost 2 years of playing with my snatch in the basement twice/week, completely fucking it up and leaving unfulfilled, I'm finally going to a professional. Found an oly lifting gym in my area and did a trial session today with a snatch coach and will do at least 4 more sessions over the next 4 weeks and possibly more.

Today they corrected my foot positioning which was a big issue. I've been flaring my feet out wide thinking I had poor mobility. But they said my ankle and hip mobility is fine and I just need to keep my heels shoulder width apart while pointing my toes out more. Doing that feels cleaner, allows me to drop straight down quickly into a deep receiving position and I think will help a lot.

The other issue I thought I had was shoulder ROM. But they said I've actually stretched out my snatch too much and apparently I now have more shoulder ROM than one of the coaches - I've been throwing the bar too far back. So until next week, they told me to drill high hang snatch pulls and overhead squats focusing on the bar not too far back but with traps and lats clenched and pulled back. They said I have the required ROM, just need to get form dialed in and I should be snatching 70 kg "pretty soon" whatever that means.

Where my snatch enthusiast bros @Fahcough and @KBE6EKCTAH_CCP at?

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Bumping this thread because after almost 2 years of playing with my snatch in the basement twice/week, completely fucking it up and leaving unfulfilled, I'm finally going to a professional. Found an oly lifting gym in my area and did a trial session today with a snatch coach and will do at least 4 more sessions over the next 4 weeks and possibly more.

Today they corrected my foot positioning which was a big issue. I've been flaring my feet out wide thinking I had poor mobility. But they said my ankle and hip mobility is fine and I just need to keep my heels shoulder width apart while pointing my toes out more. Doing that feels cleaner, allows me to drop straight down quickly into a deep receiving position and I think will help a lot.

The other issue I thought I had was shoulder ROM. But they said I've actually stretched out my snatch too much and apparently I now have more shoulder ROM than one of the coaches - I've been throwing the bar too far back. So until next week, they told me to drill high hang snatch pulls and overhead squats focusing on the bar not too far back but with traps and lats clenched and pulled back. They said I have the required ROM, just need to get form dialed in and I should be snatching 70 kg "pretty soon" whatever that means.

Where my snatch enthusiast bros @Fahcough and @KBE6EKCTAH_CCP at?

Hey big bro. I really think it's a good thing that you pulled the trigger on formal coaching for your O-Lifts. Good to hear that you got a positive first assessment on your mobility. All in all you definitely have the talent for O Lifts and all that was missing is proper coaching to put it all together.

In my case I think my O lifting career may have been short. That slipped disc scare has gotten away now and I am back doing judo, but the reason in the first place why I was deadlifting and not snatching is that my shoulder got hurt from snatching (bursitis/tendonitis). I have often felt some pinching/clicking in my shoulders when doing overhead movements but it somehow got worse. Now my shoulders are healing. I think O lifting simply may not be for me.

 

[Fahcough]

Bumping this thread because after almost 2 years of playing with my snatch in the basement twice/week, completely fucking it up and leaving unfulfilled, I'm finally going to a professional. Found an oly lifting gym in my area and did a trial session today with a snatch coach and will do at least 4 more sessions over the next 4 weeks and possibly more.

Today they corrected my foot positioning which was a big issue. I've been flaring my feet out wide thinking I had poor mobility. But they said my ankle and hip mobility is fine and I just need to keep my heels shoulder width apart while pointing my toes out more. Doing that feels cleaner, allows me to drop straight down quickly into a deep receiving position and I think will help a lot.

The other issue I thought I had was shoulder ROM. But they said I've actually stretched out my snatch too much and apparently I now have more shoulder ROM than one of the coaches - I've been throwing the bar too far back. So until next week, they told me to drill high hang snatch pulls and overhead squats focusing on the bar not too far back but with traps and lats clenched and pulled back. They said I have the required ROM, just need to get form dialed in and I should be snatching 70 kg "pretty soon" whatever that means.

Where my snatch enthusiast bros @Fahcough and @KBE6EKCTAH_CCP at?

Positive feedback all around. The mobility probably being the biggest relief bc that training hurts. Hopefully your year of muscle memory isn't too much of a battle to reprogram. You saying they flared your toes out like a duck? Had to do that with log press for more balance. Hope this keeps your fire going and you put up a BW snatch "pretty soon" Probably will be adding more weight within 2-3 sessions

Unless there's some new blood lurking in here, you might be solo on your journey That pulled bicep/forearm last June put a halt to snatch grip. It hurt like hell to transition a bar. Post up your progress and tell us it was worth reaching out to a coach.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Positive feedback all around. The mobility probably being the biggest relief bc that training hurts. Hopefully your year of muscle memory isn't too much of a battle to reprogram. You saying they flared your toes out like a duck? Had to do that with log press for more balance. Hope this keeps your fire going and you put up a BW snatch "pretty soon" Probably will be adding more weight within 2-3 sessions

Unless there's some new blood lurking in here, you might be solo on your journey That pulled bicep/forearm last June put a halt to snatch grip. It hurt like hell to transition a bar. Post up your progress and tell us it was worth reaching out to a coach.

WTF you also had to stop O lifting because of injury? Sounds like you stopped pretty much when I started...

 

[ChickenBrother]

Hey big bro. I really think it's a good thing that you pulled the trigger on formal coaching for your O-Lifts. Good to hear that you got a positive first assessment on your mobility. All in all you definitely have the talent for O Lifts and all that was missing is proper coaching to put it all together.

In my case I think my O lifting career may have been short. That slipped disc scare has gotten away now and I am back doing judo, but the reason in the first place why I was deadlifting and not snatching is that my shoulder got hurt from snatching (bursitis/tendonitis). I have often felt some pinching/clicking in my shoulders when doing overhead movements but it somehow got worse. Now my shoulders are healing. I think O lifting simply may not be for me.

Thanks bro. The coaches (husband and wife small gym owners) also confirmed a few things you've said. They said I need to keep doing heavy-ish squats and powerlifting lifts to maintain strength, because snatch and C&J aren't going to do that - they'll increase explosion using the strength base I have but that needs to be separately built/maintained with other barbell lifts. When I mentioned that I don't do barbell DL anymore because my body proportions seem to be inviting injury, the woman disagreed and said my proportions and ROM should be fine doing it. Basically they'd be happy to charge me more money to fix my DL after I learn snatch lol.

Did you get the shoulder pinching/clicking even when doing light OH squats with a PVC pipe or just the empty bar? I feel like working that motion actually reduced clicking in my shoulders. I messed up my right shoulder from years of benchpress with bad form and too many push ups, and it clicks when I rotate my shoulder. But both shoulders tend to slump forward from years of overemphasizing pressing movements and not enough pulling. After a snatch or OH squat workout, my posterior delts are sore and I feel like my shoulder ROM is being worked in a way it hasn't been (but should be).

Positive feedback all around. The mobility probably being the biggest relief bc that training hurts. Hopefully your year of muscle memory isn't too much of a battle to reprogram. You saying they flared your toes out like a duck? Had to do that with log press for more balance. Hope this keeps your fire going and you put up a BW snatch "pretty soon" Probably will be adding more weight within 2-3 sessions

Unless there's some new blood lurking in here, you might be solo on your journey That pulled bicep/forearm last June put a halt to snatch grip. It hurt like hell to transition a bar. Post up your progress and tell us it was worth reaching out to a coach.

Thanks bro and sorry to hear about the bicep/forearm injury still bothering you. Can you at least do light overhead squats?

On foot position, they told me to flare toes out 30 degrees each, so they form like a 60 degree angle to each other. In my case it was a little more than that, but not quite 90 degree angle between them. Felt a little awkward because I'm not used to it, but definitely felt quicker dropping down into a deep squat. I think this foot placement might help my barbell squats too.

But sounds like it might be something that varies by individual. They told me to do this after watching me squat low and then jump up and down a few times and looking at my foot and hip position. They said the youtube videos I've been trying to replicate are elite lifters doing elite lifter stuff and a lot of those guys do things differently that won't work for my body type.

 

[Fahcough]

But sounds like it might be something that varies by individual. They told me to do this after watching me squat low and then jump up and down a few times and looking at my foot and hip position. They said the youtube videos I've been trying to replicate are elite lifters doing elite lifter stuff and a lot of those guys do things differently that won't work for my body type.

Thats why you getting personal coaching is gonna help tremendously. Plenty lifts seem to work different for body types. Did they give you someone to compare too and watch instead? Like Lu , you and him are built the same.

 

[Fahcough]

WTF you also had to stop O lifting because of injury? Sounds like you stopped pretty much when I started...

Gotta love pulling a muscle while warming up , not even using weights lol. Snatch was one that was more of a desire to learn, then a reason to learn it so it kinda just got shelved a while.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Thats why you getting personal coaching is gonna help tremendously. Plenty lifts seem to work different for body types. Did they give you someone to compare too and watch instead? Like Lu , you and him are built the same.

Oh yeah, just the feedback from the trial session was money and I should have done this a long time ago. The way I've been doing it made it impossible ever do more than I could muscle snatch - which is basically what I was doing to get the bar overhead. Trying to drill OH squats today with my PVC pipe, I can't even do them properly because my posterior delts are so sore. During the session the coach kept correcting my overhead squat form with an empty bar so everything is lined up and my back remains straight with traps and lats clenched back. If I keep doing them like that, my back will be looking like Kayla Harrison's soon.

They didn't give me specific people to look at yet but you're right, Lu is the same height and similar build and maybe I should look at some of his videos. But when I told them I've been watching vids of Torokhtiy and Om Yun-chol (because his form looks cool AF), they basically told me I'm a moron for trying to copy dudes with completely different body types lol.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

I respect you chicken brother but is this post a joke?