Im a powerlifter, seriously considering converting to oly lifting, in need of serious technique help. I know the best advice is to get a coach, working on that currently and waiting to hear back on a few calls. In the meantime, I tried snatching for the first time yesterday, here’s the damage:
Obviously the weight is pretty light, PL wise I’m around 190/145/260 right now, I just need some technique pointers. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
But honestly, that is a damn good attempt and one of the better snatches I’ve seen. You are not upright rowing/reverse curling the weight up, which is a good thing. Welcome to the Dark Side.
Thanks for the advice. I felt that I was pulling the bar a bit fast off the floor on some of the attempts which got me into a bad position to start the 2nd pull too, sort of kicked the bar out in front occasionally? Im going to do some more oly stuff tomorrow so I ll try and get some more videos then.
Agreed with Andy, your main problem is not fully extending. Another thing I notice is the bar seems to travel a tiny bit forwards straight off the floor where it should be moving backwards. I’m guessing this is because you are trying to keep your shoulders over the bar (good) but you should be actively pulling the bar back so it’s close to your body.
My coach set up a low block behind the bar and made me pull so that the bar would hit the block as I lifted.
My suggestion would be to practice the first pull to mid thigh on its own a bit (as well as doing the full lift). So set up like you are going to snatch, and pull the bar until it reaches your mid thigh. You should have your shoulders in front of the bar and your back muscles should be contracting to pull the bar back against your thighs.
All in all though a very good attempt. After seeing the title “PLer considering Oly lifting” I was expecting a hideous reverse curl muscle up. If you can find a coach I’m sure he will iron out your major technique flaws very quickly just by giving you feedback as you lift.
Good luck! Hope you stick with it!
[quote]The Ox Man wrote:
Agreed with Andy, your main problem is not fully extending. Another thing I notice is the bar seems to travel a tiny bit forwards straight off the floor where it should be moving backwards. I’m guessing this is because you are trying to keep your shoulders over the bar (good) but you should be actively pulling the bar back so it’s close to your body.
My coach set up a low block behind the bar and made me pull so that the bar would hit the block as I lifted.
My suggestion would be to practice the first pull to mid thigh on its own a bit (as well as doing the full lift). So set up like you are going to snatch, and pull the bar until it reaches your mid thigh. You should have your shoulders in front of the bar and your back muscles should be contracting to pull the bar back against your thighs.
All in all though a very good attempt. After seeing the title “PLer considering Oly lifting” I was expecting a hideous reverse curl muscle up. If you can find a coach I’m sure he will iron out your major technique flaws very quickly just by giving you feedback as you lift.
Good luck! Hope you stick with it![/quote]
Cheers, pal, I ll try the pulls to mid thigh. Out of interest, arent you guys based in Woking area?
This is quite a good image for seeing the movement of the bar. You can see it moves in a sort of flattened s shape. The first pull practice I talked about is from P1 to P2 in the picture.
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
Cheers, pal, I ll try the pulls to mid thigh. Out of interest, arent you guys based in Woking area?[/quote]
Yeah we are, I’m a relative beginner but making good progress I think!
Where are you? Nearby? New people with a willingness to learn are always welcome! I would know as I was one of them a few months ago!
I’m at Uni in Exeter but at home I live in Petersfield, which is just under an hour from Woking. Next time I’m home I’d be very keen to come along if thats alright?
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
I’m at Uni in Exeter but at home I live in Petersfield, which is just under an hour from Woking. Next time I’m home I’d be very keen to come along if thats alright?[/quote]
Koing’s the man to talk to. Give him a PM and I’m sure he would be happy to put you in touch with the coach and get you coming down!
I’m really not the person to talk to as I go to uni at guildford, near woking but my home is in wiltshire. So I can train at the club regularly during uni time but less so during holidays! Hoping to make regular trips to the club to keep on track though!
Next time Im going to be around at home I ll be sure to get in touch with him, cheers mate. I think we re going to try and get up to Empire Gym in Bristol in the next few weeks to get some coaching there.
Power snatched 70kg pretty easily with zero dipping under it today. Tried to impliment the tips I got in here. What is the usual crack with training the lifts as a beginner? Do i do loads of lighter reps to sharpen up?
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
Power snatched 70kg pretty easily with zero dipping under it today. Tried to impliment the tips I got in here. What is the usual crack with training the lifts as a beginner? Do i do loads of lighter reps to sharpen up?[/quote]
Always do plenty of work with just the bar to warm up/get the positions. The bar work and general session I have been told to do is below:
Squat Snatch, start fully extended on tip toes with arms bent, then drop underneath and really punch the bar up. 3 sets of 3 reps
Snatch, same as above, from straight arm position
3 sets of 3 reps
Snatch, from the beginning of the second pull, so shoulders in front of the bar, legs slightly bent with the bar held close.
3 sets of 3 reps
Then start adding weight to the bar. I normally work to doubles or triples at a working weight for at least 6 sets. As for weight do as much as you can do without regular failing and while maintaining good technique.
The important thing to remember is if you aren’t fast and have good technique with the bar its only going to get worse as more weight goes on. I used to rush to put more weight on the bar but now I like to make sure I’m comfortable with each weight increase before moving up again and I think it really makes a difference to the overall quality of the session!
Also practicing the full lift for a instead of doing the power variations other wise you will always catch your lifts high which will limit your weights you can lift
[quote]deep squat wrote:
Also practicing the full lift for a instead of doing the power variations other wise you will always catch your lifts high which will limit your weights you can lift[/quote]
Along this line you should Always take the bar down with an overhead squat if you power snatch it up. In the beginning it’s a good idea to feel that rock bottom until you start more prevalently full snatching. Then you can just take your powers as powers.
Also I’d get a real lifting bar [with some whip and rotation] because its a differnt world. And bumpers to make sure it doesnt blow up.
-cris
Lots of ways to skin a cat. I like: find your technical limit, i.e. the weight at which your technique begins to break down. Take off 2.5kg and do 10 singles at that weight. When you can consistently hit 10 good singles at that weight stick another couple of kg on the bar and start again. There are no prizes for missed lifts.
Ditch the power versions as others have said, and get used to those bottoms positions - front squat and overhead squat until it’s second nature, then ditch the OHS.
Keep asking questions, keep posting videos.
ninearms:
what to do, if my technical limit changes from training to training? let say one training I have no problem with 65kg for a triple and the next training is 55kg a problem.
Should I stay with low weight for lots of sets, or ramp to max weight of triples and than do 6sets with that weight? Thanks
I’d say don’t move up if you’re lifting badly - there’ll always be another session. By moving up while you’re lifting badly you’re practicing lifting badly. As a general rule I like to go with, two misses at a weight or three misses in total shut it down.
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
I’m at Uni in Exeter but at home I live in Petersfield, which is just under an hour from Woking. Next time I’m home I’d be very keen to come along if thats alright?[/quote]
Your welcome to come down. ButI will only coach lifters that are serious about competiting after the first session. My time is better spent with lifters that want to compete and make things happen. I do not cater to the hobbist lifter, they can get coaching somewhere else. My coach would set you up with a programme and get coaching if you joined the club for a minimal fee £35 for a competitors fee, 2 comps a year minimum, £85 for non competitor.
DeepSquat drives up to 70mins each way to get coaching every Saturday. If your committed you will make the effort.
Koing
[quote]Koing wrote:
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
I’m at Uni in Exeter but at home I live in Petersfield, which is just under an hour from Woking. Next time I’m home I’d be very keen to come along if thats alright?[/quote]
Your welcome to come down. ButI will only coach lifters that are serious about competiting after the first session. My time is better spent with lifters that want to compete and make things happen. I do not cater to the hobbist lifter, they can get coaching somewhere else. My coach would set you up with a programme and get coaching if you joined the club for a minimal fee �£35 for a competitors fee, 2 comps a year minimum, �£85 for non competitor.
DeepSquat drives up to 70mins each way to get coaching every Saturday. If your committed you will make the effort.
Koing[/quote]
Fine by me mate. Comps would be no trouble at all, none of the weights I have the technique to handle are in any way a test of strength at the moment so doing it on a platform wouldnt be a problem. Next time I’m home I ll be in touch about coming up. We re looking into whether there are any decent oly coaches down here, I think Michaela Breeze teaches at a school near here and does some coaching, trying to get hold of her at the moment.
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
[quote]Koing wrote:
[quote]Dave284 wrote:
I’m at Uni in Exeter but at home I live in Petersfield, which is just under an hour from Woking. Next time I’m home I’d be very keen to come along if thats alright?[/quote]
Your welcome to come down. ButI will only coach lifters that are serious about competiting after the first session. My time is better spent with lifters that want to compete and make things happen. I do not cater to the hobbist lifter, they can get coaching somewhere else. My coach would set you up with a programme and get coaching if you joined the club for a minimal fee �?�£35 for a competitors fee, 2 comps a year minimum, �?�£85 for non competitor.
DeepSquat drives up to 70mins each way to get coaching every Saturday. If your committed you will make the effort.
Koing[/quote]
Fine by me mate. Comps would be no trouble at all, none of the weights I have the technique to handle are in any way a test of strength at the moment so doing it on a platform wouldnt be a problem. Next time I’m home I ll be in touch about coming up. We re looking into whether there are any decent oly coaches down here, I think Michaela Breeze teaches at a school near here and does some coaching, trying to get hold of her at the moment. [/quote]
Thats cool mate.
Don’t worry mate, the amount you lift is of no concern to me mate. It’s more about your mental strength and attitude to train and to listen. Just ask the guys I’m coaching. I’d rather you fail a lift doing it fast and just missing it, then getting it with crap form as the crap form will serverly limit how much weight you will shift. It’s about doing it right, not how much your lifting for the first 4-6-8 weeks. Your technique and progression will determine how much weight you will be lifting.
I thought Michaela Breeze was nearer Devon way?!
Your not that far from Woking mate. You can rock down on a Saturday if your keen man. Not this Saturday as we are away at the British in Scotland.
Koing
