all posts post new thread

Barbell Power Snatch form check, please!

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)

All Pain No Gain

Level 1 Valued Member
Hi everyone,

Can I get a form check for my Power Snatch please?

This was my first time doing these. Started with empty bar then did 65lbs. When I do the hitting drill (where you get into a power position and hit the bar in your waist and then direct it upwards to the chest), I can hear the bar rattle. So got that part down. But when I do the whole thing, the bar seems to loop too much.

Would appreciate any feedback or criticism.

Video here.

(Ignore the poor editing - had to remove the "resets" and "breaks")

Questions:

(1) Should my end position be more lower? As in, should I receive the bar by getting more lower by bending the knees even more? Should it be a quarter squat or a shallow parallel squat?

(2) Should I stomp/slap my feet noisily (like I am doing now)? Or should I quietly slide/shuffle my feet to the sides?
 
Really nice speed on the movement. Footwork is absolutely fine: stomping versus sliding seems to be personal to each lifter as long as whatever you're doing allows your body to drop under the bar with speed.

Your end position is a little high and it looks to me like you're pulling the bar with the arms a moment before you extend at the hips:

Screenshot 2021-02-16 at 09.43.15.png
So in this screenshot, you can see that you haven't quite fully-extended at the knees or hips yet and your arms are beginning to bend slightly. If you concentrate on keeping your arms loose for as long as possible, you'll get a bit more drive out of the legs. You may still find that your end position is quite high but that's probably because you're using weights that are still fairly light for you.

It's hard to tell with the baggy hoodie, but it looks like your soulders might be a little protracted at the start position. If so, make a point of squeezing your shoulders back while you lift your chest. If you're already doing that, don't worry!

Also, it might be worth consciously slowing down just a little from the floor until the bar is above the knees so you can focus on staying in position and maintaining tightness before you really accelerate the bar in the second pull. This will better prepare you for when the weights start to get heavy and the pull from the floor will naturally be slower.

So there's a lot of information there but you're doing a lot more right than you're doing wrong and as this is your first time I'd say you're doing a fantastic job!
 
Awesome for first time trying these, @All Pain No Gain !

Great input from @Chrisdavisjr. I definitely agree with the slowing down off the floor and then speeding up. Getting the tempo of the movement has taken me quite a while.

The only thing I would add is to work towards syncing your feet hitting the floor in your receiving stance with your arms locking out the bar. A lot easier said than done, but aiming for this timing can clean up (and speed up) a lot of the movement.

I was working on hang power snatch yesterday myself... a long way from perfect, don't know if it helps.



(1) Should my end position be more lower? As in, should I receive the bar by getting more lower by bending the knees even more? Should it be a quarter squat or a shallow parallel squat?

I don't think there's a particular height -- it can be wherever you need to receive the bar, which is going to depend on how high you elevate it. For a light weight while learning, this will be a bit artificially high, so you can practice receiving it lower just by pulling yourself under, but I wouldn't try to get to a shallow parallel squat.

(2) Should I stomp/slap my feet noisily (like I am doing now)? Or should I quietly slide/shuffle my feet to the sides?
Agree, it's somewhat individual... I like my coach's cue to "punch the floor away" and then quickly pull under the bar, as opposed to trying to jump high.
 
Last edited:
Really nice speed on the movement. Footwork is absolutely fine: stomping versus sliding seems to be personal to each lifter as long as whatever you're doing allows your body to drop under the bar with speed.

Your end position is a little high and it looks to me like you're pulling the bar with the arms a moment before you extend at the hips:
So in this screenshot, you can see that you haven't quite fully-extended at the knees or hips yet and your arms are beginning to bend slightly. If you concentrate on keeping your arms loose for as long as possible, you'll get a bit more drive out of the legs. You may still find that your end position is quite high but that's probably because you're using weights that are still fairly light for you.

It's hard to tell with the baggy hoodie, but it looks like your soulders might be a little protracted at the start position. If so, make a point of squeezing your shoulders back while you lift your chest. If you're already doing that, don't worry!

Also, it might be worth consciously slowing down just a little from the floor until the bar is above the knees so you can focus on staying in position and maintaining tightness before you really accelerate the bar in the second pull. This will better prepare you for when the weights start to get heavy and the pull from the floor will naturally be slower.

So there's a lot of information there but you're doing a lot more right than you're doing wrong and as this is your first time I'd say you're doing a fantastic job!

@Chrisdavisjr Hello Chris, thanks a million for the helpful feedback. And you are right I was protracting my shoulders as a way to stay over or in front of the bar at the start position. That is incorrect. I realize that my difficulty to stay over the bar at the start position is due to my lifting shoes being flat - doesn't have a heel raise. Thanks so much for pointing this out, I have corrected this.
 
Awesome for first time trying these, @All Pain No Gain !

Great input from @Chrisdavisjr. I definitely agree with the slowing down off the floor and then speeding up. Getting the tempo of the movement has taken me quite a while.

The only thing I would add is to work towards syncing your feet hitting the floor in your receiving stance with your arms locking out the bar. A lot easier said than done, but aiming for this timing can clean up (and speed up) a lot of the movement.

I don't think there's a particular height -- it can be wherever you need to receive the bar, which is going to depend on how high you elevate it. For a light weight while learning, this will be a bit artificially high, so you can practice receiving it lower just by pulling yourself under, but I wouldn't try to get to a shallow parallel squat.

Agree, it's somewhat individual... I like my coach's cue to "punch the floor away" and then quickly pull under the bar, as opposed to trying to jump high.
Hello Anna, as always, thanks for the great feedback. And yes, your videos are always helpful. You know, I find it quite hard to practice these - my hands get fatigued even when I have so much left in the tank.
 
I realize that my difficulty to stay over the bar at the start position is due to my lifting shoes being flat - doesn't have a heel raise.
They're Adidas Powerlift 4s, right? I tried a pair of those recently. I really wasn't a fan; they're super low in the heel. The Power Perfect 3s are much nicer (have a look on eBay as you can usually get used shoes for a song and the PP3s are machine-washable so you can get them looking brand new once you've got them).

You know, I find it quite hard to practice these - my hands get fatigued even when I have so much left in the tank.
Get yourself some lifting straps. Ironmind do decent ones but anything that's not super-thick would do nicely. They make a big difference! You shouldn't have to pay more than $20.
 
They're Adidas Powerlift 4s, right? I tried a pair of those recently. I really wasn't a fan; they're super low in the heel. The Power Perfect 3s are much nicer (have a look on eBay as you can usually get used shoes for a song and the PP3s are machine-washable so you can get them looking brand new once you've got them).


Get yourself some lifting straps. Ironmind do decent ones but anything that's not super-thick would do nicely. They make a big difference! You shouldn't have to pay more than $20.
Yeah Powerlift 4s. They are really bad. I have always worn basketball shoes - to university, basketball court, grocery, gym, etc. So I am used to strong ankle support and wide grip. The Powerlifts are too narrow and don't fit properly. The top of the midfoot is always loose. Tightening the lace only cuts off blood circulation at the close end of the ankle. Grip is poor too, compared to my basketball shoes. But basketball shoes are not ideal for lifting. I wish I had gone with something better. My basketball shoes had a decent heel to toe drop, coming from that to a rather flat shoe really puts a bit of strain on the back of my ankle at the bottom position of my high bar squat.
 
Here are my comments:

1. You could probably widen your stance a bit. Your feet are in a good position, just widen a bit.
2. You seem like a tall guy - you could probably eventually widen your grip to be collar to collar. In fact I noticed a slight bend in your arms as you reached the power position. This suggests you can widen your grip.
3. Where do you start the bar in relation to your foot? You seem a bit "crowded" in the start position and this seems to cause your hips to move first - but just slightly - during the first pull. You want your angle of your back in relation to the floor to remain the same during the first pull. Having said that, you get into a pretty good power position so perhaps this is nit picky.
4. Keep the bar closer in the turnover or "third pull." Excellent video here that will fix this and more.
I actually recommend ALL of Torokhtiy's videos.
5. I'd like to see you work on a more solid overhead position. With the weight you are using here it doesn't seem like a big deal but as the bar gets heavier it will. Even for the power snatch. However, a solid overhead position is a must if you ever want to full snatch. This video is good at explaining the proper overhead position. Snatch & Jerk Overhead Position - Shoulder Blades & Bar - Olympic Weightlifting Videos
Another good video here:
6. You're getting a lot of air on your jump as seen here: That may be because the weight is light. While the "jump" cue isn't necessarily bad, you don't want your body to leave the ground. You only want to break contact just enough to allow you to get into a wider stance. It's a jump without leaving the ground, if that makes sense. The Torokhtiy provides will also help with this.

That's about it. I know this was harsh but you've got good fundamentals here that just need some refinement.

EDIT: I meant to post the video of your lift starting at 7 seconds but it looks like the whole thing posted. Look at your feet at 7 seconds and you'll see you're way off the ground.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom