So today I hit a new PR on the hang clean. 255x1 at 169 pounds raw. I also just started doing snatches (split and conventional) and hit 135 on the conventional. I’ve been doing these for a few weeks. I love doing these lifts and after I get my snatch to a respectible level I’m considering trying competing in events.
I’m in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Can anyone direct me to wear I can find any leagues in my area or websites with info on them?
What are respectable numbers for someone in my weight class? Seeing as if I get the snatch numbers up am I strong enough in the lifts yet to even consider competing?
Whats your Jerk? You will need to be able to Jerk it in comps.
A respectable Snatch is 1x bw. This is the ‘mark’ where you can call yourself a ‘weightlifter’. A BW Snatch is a solid number.
77kg class respectable would be 100/120
DO NOT WAIT until your Snatch ‘catchs’ up. This is a big mistake. You will not enter a comp if you think like this. Just get going with technique on your Snatch and then compete in a comp. You will feel the ‘edge’ and you will be more focused on your training and you get competition experience which is very important.
When you compete, at the start you will mainly compete against yourself and the fairly new guys but later if you stick with it you can compete properly.
I’d imagine the guys coming top 3 at the local comps will be totalling at least 220Kg as an 77kg lifter? It is no mean feat to Snatch 100Kg weighing 77kg and it will take at least 3yrs of focused training. The Clean you are on your way but you need to be able to Jerk it and you need to keep your weight down during this time also.
If you train at an Oly club you will be squating pretty hardcore 3x a week and you need to keep your weight down, which will not be easy.
How tall are you? YOu probably need to go to the 85kg eventually or 94kg but just keep training and see where your bodyweight goes to.
No way I can jerk the 255. The jerk is around 205.
Question on snatches:
Does it matter if you catch it in a split stance or squat stance? Are these considered different lifts?
I pretty much know nothing about competetive olympic lifting. My backround with olympic lifts comes strictly from learning the clean from football then the snatch on my own.
Koing that was extremely helpful. Thankyou.
Can anyone reccomend to me any good books on Olympic Lifting?
You can squat or split in either lift. A lot of beginners use power movements and the split-snatch is still used among some of the more senior Masters.
The split snatch and squat snatch are not different lifts, but the squat snatch is much more efficient. A men’s world’s record has not been set with a split since 1968.
Get a coach, though and begin to lift in meets. Lifting in a meet is a learned skill and the more meets you lift in, the better you’ll become.
Go to my website and sign up for my free newsletter that will cover O-lifts and their applications in training athletes.
Next month the web-site will re-launch with many training programs I’ve used to coach a number of national and world class lifters.
Bob Takano
I can’t thank everyone enough for the info posted in this thread.
Another question on the snatch
When I catch in a squat stance, it seems I’m not flexible enough to catch the bar directly over my head. What can I do to help gain shoulder and arm flexibility?
