Last time we discussed the pulls for the snatch and the
clean from my rookie perspective. This time we will discuss the all important
catch positions, without which, you really cannot put your best weight
overhead.
Snatch
There are a couple of ways to catch a snatch or clean. One of them is the split position,
which looks like an exaggerated lunge.
A bunch of old school lifters did it decades ago, but no top shelf
lifters of today do it below about the age of thirty. The most effective way to catch as much weight as possible
is in a very deep squat. For the snatch, you should shoot for having the
armpits facing forward (arms fully externally rotated), which will create the
most stable shoulder position. Additionally your torso should be as upright as
possible, which is usually improved by better mobility in the hips. Since most people struggle with a
valgus knee position while squatting (knees caving inward) a cue to shove the
knees out so that the thighs are in alignment with feet is very helpful. If all of this lines up well, then the
bar should be lastly positioned behind the head where the weight is really
supported by the upper back and not stressful on the shoulders.
Clean
The clean has a lot of the same properties as the catch of
the snatch. The squat should be as
deep as possible unless you are a splitter, in which case you aren’t going the
medal in the Olympics. The squat should be almost identical with the torso
upright and the thighs tracking over the feet. The bar should be sitting on the meaty part of the shoulders
and shoved all the way back into the throat with high elbows. The hands do not support the weight at
all, but are only there to keep the bar pushed back a bit and ready to
transition the overhead jerk position.
So there you have it.
We discussed the pull last time, and this time we worked on how to catch
the bar after you pulled as hard as you possibly can. So go out there find a coach, video yourself, watch the
greatest lifters in the world online, take seminar, and by all means snatch
clean and jerk and squat.
Here is what they look like put together to perfection!
