My go to snatch prep plan is based on an article by Ken Froese that was based on a plan by Randy Hauer. 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%/50%.
Each day follows the same format, but with a different split. 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.
--If you are not comfortable with snatching 28kg, you can start using all 24kg, or any combination of bells that is appropriate for you. If you need to start with lighter bells, you will need to allow for a longer preparation period before you can expect to crush the test, but this would be true of any prep plan. If you can already do a high volume and longer sets with 32kg, you probably don't need a plan to prepare for the test.
--The original plan was only one run through per session with just 24kg, supplemented by swings for more conditioning volume. When I prepped for my last certification test, 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. 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.
Edit: 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.
This program enabled me to very comfortably complete the snatch test in 4:00, without putting the bell down, using a rep scheme of 20/20/15/15/10/10/10. I like this rep scheme because after three hand switches, you are already at 70 reps, and you can start and finish on your strong hand (nothing says you have to do the same number of sets or reps with each hand). As
@miked pointed out above, you are done just when it starts to get uncomfortable. The 200 reps x 10 minute test is a whole other animal for a number of reasons, including the one below:
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. In a five minute test, it's not as big a deal, but in a ten minute test, it becomes a huge deal.
Finally, I believe a strong aerobic base will greatly facilitate this training, form both a performance standpoint and a recovery standpoint.
