Kettlebell bracing abs during kettlebell snatch

[thegoldengod]

I noticed when using heavier kettlebells that I'm bracing my abs more. I have always braced on the way up, and relaxed a little bit on the way down.

With a heavier bell, I find myself bracing my abs a lot more on the way down to keep everything stable. I imagine this is the right technique when snatching? Does not bracing lead to potential back injury / tweaks?

 

[North Coast Miller]

Abdominal bracing under load greatly helps support the lower back. Trust your instincts on this one.

 

[Harald Motz]

There are different breathing actions while snatching. The most commonly taught is to inhale sharply on the downswing/downsnatch and power breathe/valsalva maneuver while exertion of force with extension of the hips.

Personally I like to do the following while a snatch-test or my A+A snatches with medium heavy weight. I have two in and two outbreaths per rep:
I power breathe (out) on hip extension through lockout, as the the bell goes down I sharply inhale to power breathe (out) through the catch around the bottom whereupon a sharp inhale occurs. Then I power breathe (out) again on hip extension. For the snatch-test I can get more air in and out as the muscles demand lots of it. IIRC there is a further breathing technique for special tasks like the snatch test.

When the weight I am snatching gets heavy, I power breath (out) and sharply in only at the lockout position. That means I have great abdominal brace throughout the whole snatch. It feels the safest for me. It may resemble the breathing pattern of heavier squatting.

 

[thegoldengod]

. It feels the safest for me. It may resemble the breathing pattern of heavier squatting.

Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking.

Training the breathing technique is almost as important as the mechanics of the snatch!