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Kettlebell (another) Snatch technique help

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Hausman

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Hello all, I am looking for a bit of help to reduce upper body dependence on the snatch and get more power from hips. I've probably snatched less than 1,00 times, so still learning technique. I can do 100 1hand 40kg swings, and of course still some improvements to be made.

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I follow drills like this and its seems good, but when when comes time to do a full snatch things fall apart. I've gotten some great guidance already, and a few things I am already working on:
- need even more snappy power in swing hinge
- not coming out of hinge position during hike back
- ankle flexibility
- try and get keyframe to look like the master


I see a few issue in my keyframes attached below.
- arm away from body
- bell too far out front
 

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If you have a realtime video we can view that would be much better..

We want safe technique first before we work on one detail to make your snatches improve
 
a few things I am already working on:
- need even more snappy power in swing hinge
- not coming out of hinge position during hike back
I recently had an experience with improving my snatch with the 24kg bell.

I have a drill for trying to make the bottom of my snatches more like the bottom of my swings.
What I do is I alternate swings and snatches.
I do a swing, I try to memorize the hike position, and then I follow up with a snatch trying to repeat that hike position.

Swing, snatch, swing, snatch.

One thing, I could do to improve this drill is to do a hike pass, pendulum forward, then a swing and a snatch.

Hike, swing, snatch, repeat maybe 3 to 5 times, with a lightweight.
 
Hello all, I am looking for a bit of help to reduce upper body dependence on the snatch and get more power from hips.
For me, the key to this is keeping my arm connected to my torso for as long as possible as I extend my hips and knees. A cue I use is "Arm down!" as my hips are extending. You want to get the most power transfer possible from your hips, and when you start pulling with your arm before your hips are fully extended, you lose some of that hip power. It's a natural tendency to pull up because the whole intention is to get the bell UP. But if you are more patient in keeping the arm down, you get more power from your hips and the bell will fly. Any time I have a rep that lacks power, I think "Arm down!" on the next rep and almost always find a new surge in power. There's a saying in Olympic weightlifting that "When the arm bends, the power ends." It's the same in the KB snatch.

Then, after you are fully extended and the bell starts to float, keep your elbow in and let the bell float up from the elbow, rather than the shoulder (as it would in a swing). Finally, let the upward momentum of the bell carry your upper arm away from your torso as the bell rises past shoulder level.

To summarize, keep the arm down as long as possible and pivot from the elbow before the shoulder.
 
I swear by using the wall technique. Face the wall and hinge. Make a fist and put it to your forehead/hairline. Now the other side of the fist should touch the wall. Your KB now needs to arc in the small space you've created. I find that when one concentrates on that, they stop overthinking it and just do. Now start small and work your way up to the snatch test over time. It's supposed to be hard.
I'd love to know what you think after trying that.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Going to focus on the Arm Down queue for a session.

Here's a video

I have tried the wall test before following this distance and I passed, but could easily slip form when not using it - will try again.

Anecdotally I tried double CP recently for the first time, and felt the hips driving things much more, so there may be something that is switching off when doing singles work. I would like to try double snatch with light weight to see if I can feel more power.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Going to focus on the Arm Down queue for a session.

Here's a video

I have tried the wall test before following this distance and I passed, but could easily slip form when not using it - will try again.

Anecdotally I tried double CP recently for the first time, and felt the hips driving things much more, so there may be something that is switching off when doing singles work. I would like to try double snatch with light weight to see if I can feel more power.

Looks good. Shins more vertical will help. Think back, not down with your hips . Yes, film a dbl. SN, watch what your knees do.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Going to focus on the Arm Down queue for a session.

Here's a video

I have tried the wall test before following this distance and I passed, but could easily slip form when not using it - will try again.

Anecdotally I tried double CP recently for the first time, and felt the hips driving things much more, so there may be something that is switching off when doing singles work. I would like to try double snatch with light weight to see if I can feel more power.


What weight were you using here?

If you wanna feel your hips more have you tried swinging a heavier bell? About 2 sizes up from what you're snatching?
 
I think that your snatch form is pretty good currently. All your timing looks solid, which is hard to get right. If I were there with you, I would hold a piece of paper about 6 inches behind the bell where it is ending up at the bottom of the hinge and ask you to touch the paper with the bell. In other words, to sit back deeper into the hinge. Imagine trying to sit in a chair that's too far behind you. You'll load your hips and glutes more, and you'll get your quads involved too. On the way up, think vertical jump. I like to focus on all the power exploding straight down from the knees into the midfoot. As Mark mentioned, a heavier bell will force a deeper hinge just from the weight.

Your knees are moving forward, but I don't see that as a problem for you. Moving your hips (and bell) back deep will necessitate some forward angle of the shin for counterbalance, and it will improve power production. If your knees move forward enough that your hips are going down predominantly, rather than back predominately, then you're now squatting rather than hinging. In your case, the hips are moving back, just not enough IMHO.

Some of my favorite articles on the hinge are this one and this one.

I'm a new instructor, though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Keep up the good work.
 
Sorry, forgot one thing that may help getting the hinge a little deeper. I was taught to have 2 eye positions on ballistics. Look down the horizon at the top, and at the bottom of the hinge look at a point on the ground a few feet in front, and try to keep the neck neutral or only slightly extended. I had a problem at the Cert with hyperextending my neck, essentially looking at the horizon even on the bottom of the hinge. It may have been contributing to a shallow hinge in my case. I was told it might also cause neck problems in the long run, although I've had none so far.

All that to say looking a few feet in front of you on the ground at the bottom of the hinge may help you get a deeper hinge.
 
To help with the explosiveness you are looking for I believe a couple of things will help. To start I feel you need a deeper hinge and a better reach behind you with the bell. I would like to see your hips hinging more and your knees bending less, ie: in the hinge your hips do the bending and knees only bend as an afterthought (this will keep your shins more vertical). A drill for this is to stand in your swing stance approximately 6" from a wall, facing away from the wall. Hinge and touch your butt to the wall. Keep moving ever so slightly further from the wall, each time sitting and pushing your hips towards the wall, making sure that your butt is going back and you are getting a good stretch feeling in your hamstrings. Once you can't reach the wall, and you are sure it's not because your hips are dropping instead of going back, move slightly closer to the wall and keep practicing. When your hinge gets deeper from this drill I believe your reach behind you will naturally get better. The next drill I would strongly recommend is the static stomp deadlift. Get two heavy bells (larger than your snatch weight while keeping good form), and line them up between your feet, while in your swing stance, even with your heels. Hinge and perform a deadlift. Think about pushing the floor away from you rather than lifting the bells. Hold the top position for about 10 seconds or so focusing on actively and continually pushing your feet through the floor as hard as you can the entire time. Keep everything super tight from your armpits down... quads, glutes, abs, and lats. Get that feeling of pushing super hard with the heavy weight. Then try your snatch again duplicating the power you put into the drill, your snatch bell should fly up. Hope this is clear and it helps!!!
 
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