OK, I have long arms for my height (I think). I’ve heard that when you hold your arms perpendicular to your body the “wing-span” should be ~equal to your height. I’m 6’1" and my “wing-span” is a little over 6’8". I don’t know if this is a big deal, but I find it awkward trying to find a comfortable grip width in both the Snatch and the CJ.
Say one is just standing up straight with the bar. If you have a Snatch grip where would the bar be touching? Also with the CJ?
Also, a debilitating problem I encounter is painful to say the least. I don’t know if this is a result of my grip, poor technique, or something else. Well, when I was going to my coach (discontinued) he told me I should be brushing my thighs. However, everytime I try to brush my thighs - or really even explode my hips into the bar for that matter - I crush my package with the bar. It’s really painful, and I don’t know if this is a common problem? It rises and just gives my whole package a beating.
I don’t know what is causing this; could it be that my grips keep the bar too low? Am I possibly exploding too early? Am I driving my hips too much?
The worst part is is that even with my my hip drive the bar still isn’t going up very high and I’m habitually pulling with my arms. And I feel like I keep the bar as close as a compensation so I don’t squish my balls on the way up.
[quote]101101 wrote:
OK, I have long arms for my height (I think). I’ve heard that when you hold your arms perpendicular to your body the “wing-span” should be ~equal to your height. I’m 6’1" and my “wing-span” is a little over 6’8". I don’t know if this is a big deal, but I find it awkward trying to find a comfortable grip width in both the Snatch and the CJ.
Say one is just standing up straight with the bar. If you have a Snatch grip where would the bar be touching? Also with the CJ?
Also, a debilitating problem I encounter is painful to say the least. I don’t know if this is a result of my grip, poor technique, or something else. Well, when I was going to my coach (discontinued) he told me I should be brushing my thighs. However, everytime I try to brush my thighs - or really even explode my hips into the bar for that matter - I crush my package with the bar. It’s really painful, and I don’t know if this is a common problem? It rises and just gives my whole package a beating.
I don’t know what is causing this; could it be that my grips keep the bar too low? Am I possibly exploding too early? Am I driving my hips too much?
The worst part is is that even with my my hip drive the bar still isn’t going up very high and I’m habitually pulling with my arms. And I feel like I keep the bar as close as a compensation so I don’t squish my balls on the way up.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.[/quote]
Regarding your first question, what I have been told is that it the bar should be right around the crease of your hips.
If you check one of the threads I started “pad for snatches” :), you’ll see that I had the same exact problem. I was killing my groin area by slamming into the bar. I tried putting a pad on the bar, but that was not the way to go. I think the way to avoid the problem is when performing cleans and snatches you have to shrug the bar up as you pop your hips out. This reduces the impact with your groin, and is the correct way to perform the lift.
If your pulling with your arms, it probably means that your ass is rising to fast in the initial pull. It might help to get a video of yourself from the side view. Your shoulders and hips should rise at the same rate during the first pull. Good luck!
[quote]MikeSh wrote:
Regarding your first question, what I have been told is that it the bar should be right around the crease of your hips.
If you check one of the threads I started “pad for snatches” :), you’ll see that I had the same exact problem. I was killing my groin area by slamming into the bar. I tried putting a pad on the bar, but that was not the way to go. I think the way to avoid the problem is when performing cleans and snatches you have to shrug the bar up as you pop your hips out. This reduces the impact with your groin, and is the correct way to perform the lift.
If your pulling with your arms, it probably means that your ass is rising to fast in the initial pull. It might help to get a video of yourself from the side view. Your shoulders and hips should rise at the same rate during the first pull. Good luck!
-Mike
[/quote]
Hmm… collar to collar on the snatch keeps me a inch or so below the lowest point of the pubic bone - or whatever bone it is I’m sure you know which one I mean.
Sound about right? As for the pull I’ll have to hook up the camera, but I’m pretty sure I’m rising at equal speeds - maybe I’m just not popping the traps enough. Thanks for the help, at least I’m not the only one crushing my balls, heh heh.