Catching the Snatch and the Clean

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!