I was just wondering if people have had success improving their snatch numbers by doing swings ? Do people have other suggestions on how to achieve this goal ?
By all accounts, yes, "people" have had success using swings as a big part of their snatch test prep. However, I am not one of those people, and have had much better success focusing on snatches. Another thing that is often recommended but didn't do much for me was density-based plans. I have gotten a lot out of plans that stretch out the set length on each hand, and plans that incorporate heavier bells.
I am a big advocate of training and building volume with a size up from your test bell. For me, it makes the test size bell just feel a lot easier and more comfortable, physically and mentally. I also like double cleans with a size up from the test bell for overloading the ballistic hinge compared to a single snatch or swing, in a way that is closer to the groove of the snatch but easier on the hands.
When preparing for the snatch test, in my experience practicing the test regularly is extremely valuable. I've heard it said that you shouldn't prepare for the test by practicing the test, but to me that should not be interpreted as meaning you shouldn't practice the test at all or even that you shouldn't practice it regularly. I don't think there's really any downside. It might be a hard effort, but it's limited in duration and shouldn't take that much out of you. In the total tension complex program, Pavel includes a 5 minute snatch test as a finisher after the clean-press-squat-row complexes.
A practice test gives you a clear picture of where you stand and what your limiting factors are (usually some combination of grip, lungs, and hips), it gives you a feel for pacing, and it gets you accustomed to accepting the discomfort and working through it. It's huge for building confidence and familiarity, so you don't have any anxiety or uncertainty adding to the physical stress of the test.
My goal for the test is to be able to comfortably do 20/20/15/15/10/10/10, without putting the bell down, and finish in about 4 minutes, just when it starts to get uncomfortable. I like this rep scheme because it's psychologically comfortable for me. It's all downhill, after 3 hand switches I've got 70 reps in the bank, and I can start AND finish on my strong hand (meaning "stronger" hand if you go by that terminology). Being able to stretch out the length of those first sets and having a reserve of grip strength and endurance to do that just seems to make the whole effort easier and more efficient, and gives a sense of comfort and confidence.
I've seen some guys stop and start multiple times while successfully completing the test, but that's definitely not for me. For me, parking the bell for a short rest and then starting again from a dead stop is more physically and psychologically difficult than working continuously. You don't get any bonus points for finishing faster, but I just never want any anxiety about running out of time. So that lends itself to working quickly and continuously, rather than taking any breaks to put the bell down. It also gets the suffering over with sooner.
So I want to stretch out the length of sets I can do continuously on each hand and build a reserve of strength so I can attack the test aggressively and not have to pace my way through it too much or have to struggle to the finish line.
Here's a combination of plans that I've used successfully in the past for my certifications, neither of which I've ever heard of anyone else using. The first is based on an article by Ken Froese that was based on a plan by Randy Hauer, and focuses on grip endurance and stretching out the set length on each hand.
My take on the plan is to incorporate a 28kg bell in addition to a 24kg bell. I find that the 28 gives me enough overload to make the 24 feel easy, but I can still do a reasonable amount of volume with it. Here's the plan:
Test the maximum number of repetitions you can do with your weaker hand with both the 28kg and the 24kg. Do both tests relatively fresh. Make it a slightly uncomfortable max, but not all out to where you are compromising technique to hold onto the bell. Now calculate 120% of each number. That is the number of snatches you will do in each session with each arm, with each bell, but you will break that number up into two sets for each arm for each bell, using a different split each session. There are three sessions per week. The first is a 70%/50% split, the second day is 60%/60%, and the third day is 80%/40%.
Each day follows the same format, but with different percentages. Start with 28kg. Do both sets with the same arm with 1 minute rest in between, then train the other arm. Then switch bells without resting and do the same thing with 24kg. Here's what the 70/50 session would look like:
28kg: 70%L/Rest 1 min/50%L/70%R/Rest 1 min/50%R
24kg: 70%L/Rest 1 min/50%L/70%R/Rest 1 min/50%R
Adjustments:
--You can reset maxes once a month, or when the current level starts feeling comfortable.
--At the beginning, if you need a minute rest when switching bells, that's okay.
--If you have trouble completing the sessions at the beginning, scale down your maxes so you can get all your reps.
--The original plan was only one run through per session with just 24kg, supplemented by swings for more conditioning volume, but doing the 28kg first, takes care of some of that. When I prepped for my last certification test (RKC, when Pavel was there), I did a lot of heavy swings with a combination of grips, at least one very high volume session each week (400-800 swings, but mostly 500-600). If I were doing it today, I would do less swings (enough for technique practice) and more double cleans in A+A style (which was not yet a thing I was aware of when I was doing this plan). Double cleans overload the ballistic hinge, but aren't as hard on your grip recovery since the weight is split between hands, and the bell path is more similar to the snatch than the swing is. Snatches fly up when you are doing a high volume of double cleans with the same size bells or heavier.
One other thing I threw in the mix every once in a while was snatch time ladders. For each work set, keep the bell in the air the whole time. "Rest" in the lockout. Don't worry about cadence, don't worry about counting reps, and switch hands as often as you need to, just keep the bell off the ground for the allotted time. Snatch 1 minute/rest 1 minute/snatch 2 minutes/rest 1 minute/snatch 3 minutes/rest 1 minute/snatch 4 minutes. I never went above 4 minutes, but that was bad enough after the previous sets. I used this progression to build up to a 1-4 snatch time ladder, moving up when I could increase the cadence at each level and was confident I could keep the bell in the air for the full time at the next level:
1,1,1,1,1 (if necessary, you can build up to five sets or start with longer rest intervals)
1, 2,1,1
1,2, 2,1
1,2,2,2
1,2,3,1
1,2,3,2
1,2,3,3
1,2,3,4
With regard to Q&D as snatch test prep, I haven't used it for that purpose, but I've done an awful lot of Q&D snatching. I think Q&D can work for test prep, especially as base building, if you work up to heavier than test-sized bells, and extend the set lengths. Rep schemes down to 5/2 with a heavier bell, and up to 15/2 are discussed in the Q&D book. I've worked up to 28kg x 15/2 x 4 series, and 32kg x 10/2 x 6 series, and I would be pretty confident that would put me in good shape for 24kg x 100 x 5 minutes. But I haven't actually tested it.
A few other things to consider:
1. An ounce of mobility can be worth a pound of strength and/or conditioning. A solid overhead position, where you can support the bell with your structure and alignment, rather than muscle power, makes a big difference in continuous snatching because you can "rest" as you fixate each rep. If you have to fight keep the bell in the lockout with muscle power, you fatigue a lot faster and you can't really slow your cadence because you will burn yourself out holding the bell overhead. So it becomes a pick your poison dilemma: burn out your lungs and/or grip and/or hips by going faster, or burn out your deltoids and triceps holding up the bell. It's not necessarily a huge deal in a five minute test, but if you ever want to try for the 200 in ten minutes test, it becomes much bigger.
2. I believe a strong aerobic base will greatly facilitate this training, form both a performance standpoint and a recovery standpoint.
3. It may be wise to back off from peaking for the test as an immediate goal, and work on building a base of snatching strength and technique. If snatching 28 or 32kg is a struggle now, working up to making it more comfortable will have a lot of carryover to any peaking plan for the test with 24kg. And doing lots of reps over time will help a lot with technique efficiency that will also carry over to the test. BTW, although the "deep grip" seems to have gained popularity recently for hardstyle snatching, I find it counterproductive for longer sets and continuous snatching. It can be more secure for heavy bells and lover reps, but leads to more and quicker forearm pump and fatigue. I find a hook grip allows me to remain more relaxed, but it does require a higher baseline of snatch-specific grip strength. If you feel like you're pretty close to nailing the test right now, then a peaking plan would be more appropriate.
