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Thread: Snatching beauty this is not.

  1. #1
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    Default Snatching beauty this is not.

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    Greetings,

    for those who remember me, all three of you, long time no see, and that's all my fault of course. For the others, hello ! and pleased to meet you.

    I wonder if I could ask the community for one piece of advice (and the reason for being specific will become clear soon).

    This is a recent snatch of mine (no sniggers or lame jokes please):

    http://vimeo.com/41573553

    It's 57Kg, which I think in Imperial money means around 125#, and it's a PR for me. It's also a very ugly and untidy lift, so much so that when I saw the video the first time I decided I will never attempt this weight again until I've got a better action. Maybe I should have made a video weeks ago, but I suppose I gave too much weight (sorry) to the fact that my numbers were going up.

    There are obviously many, many things I do wrong, otherwise the end product would not look like this horrid, but I think it would probably be counterproductive to try and change them all at the same time. Hence, my question to you, kind audience: if you had to change one thing, and one thing only, from this lift, what would you change ?

    Well, there is not much else to add, apart from a big thank you for taking the time to read.

    Cheers,

    IPB

  2. #2
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    IPB: nice to see you again.

    Didn't look all that bad. It's a power snatch, vice full, but your extension looked good. I didn't see any early elbow bend either, which is pretty uncommon for novice oly lifters. Bar path stayed close through the second pull too, then moved out a bit (but I've seen much worse) after the jump/pelvic contact. That may be an issue as the weight gets really heavy.

    I'd work on transitioning to full snatches. Do some sequence PS then OHS immediately after (without putting weight down). Try to move smoothly between the two movements until it becomes seamless (Bill Starr recommended this somewhere, but I can't remember where at the moment).

    Oh, and don't get frustrated. It'll take many reps for this to get "pretty." Just keep working it.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg C View Post
    IPB: nice to see you again.
    Thank you Greg, very kind of you.


    Quote Originally Posted by Greg C View Post
    I'd work on transitioning to full snatches.
    I have to say I am a bit reluctant about trying this; the place where I train has got no platform. As you can maybe see from the video, I snatch while wedged between a shoulder machine and a pillar. I chose that spot because it's a bit removed from the main weight room throughfare, and hence I am not in the way of people. Or rather, people are less in the way of my lift.

    If I move to full snatches, I need to have the freedom to drop the bar both in front and behind me. I need to know that no matter what, I can just let go of it and be sure I am not hitting anyone.

    There is simply no guaranteed space for this in the gym, not in the little corner I made mine. Also, some of the benches you see in the background are actually bolted to the floor, so you can't make room there. Even if you could, there would be no guarantee that people would not simply walk behind you, or stand there having a chat about politics (a local favourite pastime). I've had people holding a conversation less that two feet away while power cleaning, completely oblivious to both the danger and my very angry looks.

    The bottom line is that I prefer to stick to Power snatches. I think the chance of losing the bar backwards is reduced, and if I loose it forward I've got a bit of space, and a little chance of trying to bring it down without crushing a skull or two.

    I think your point about the hip/bar contact is quite valid. The hips extend, but most of their thrust is translated into a bang in the bar, rather than upward movement. I am struggling to change this, and I think it's probably the biggest single problem in my action.

    But I'm not sure, hence my request for help.

    Thanks a lot again, for both your advice and your warm welcome.


    IPB

  4. #4
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    I think you should adjust your start position. Your shoulders start in front of the bar which makes it more difficult to keep the bar close to you. You are able to get away with this and make the lift because it is a low weight relative to your strength and potential. Try to start with the shoulders directly over the bar.

    Keeping the bar closer will also help you avoid "banging" the bar with your hips.

  5. #5
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    Hey good to see you.

    I'm not much help as I'm just trying to learn these myself but it didn't look too bad.

    How's France been treating you?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by ColoWayno View Post
    Hey good to see you.
    ...
    How's France been treating you?
    thanks mate, thanks a lot.
    France is, well, different. Whenever there is something new to adapt to, or a rule that is not quite what I expected, I try hard not to think about England and what I left there. It's quite difficult, I think it will take a bit longer, far longer to completely accept that things here work differently. There are a couple of things that still make adaptation difficult.
    I am not my English self anymore more, evidently, but I still haven't found a French identity to replace it. Which brings to point number two: the language barrier. Overnight, I've gone from being an adult, articulate and at times even funny person (ok, maybe not the funny bit) to be little more than a toddler, unable to express difficult concepts and relying on other people's benevolence to make myself understood.
    So I'm back to baby steps; much like with my Power Snatch.


    IPB

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by PFerrari View Post
    I think you should adjust your start position. Your shoulders start in front of the bar which makes it more difficult to keep the bar close to you. You are able to get away with this and make the lift because it is a low weight relative to your strength and potential. Try to start with the shoulders directly over the bar.

    Keeping the bar closer will also help you avoid "banging" the bar with your hips.
    You may need to adjust the start position, but not for any of the reasons listed above. If your shins are more than an inch from the bar (which is tough to tell from the video), then the bar will be forward of the midfoot. Since the bar is going to swing back there and your shoulders assume their rightful place in front of the bar by the time the weight has broken a few inches from the floor, you might as well get there to begin with. If anything, you'll need to start out a little closer to the bar, but not by much.

    Banging the bar with your hips is just fine, too. Lots of lifters do it. Many of them do it quite successfully and even seek to do it. No need to change that unless it is hurting too much. You may need to hit a little higher, but since the weights are obscuring you and there is only one rep, it is tough to say for sure.

    Next time, include more than one rep and provide a slightly oblique angle from the front. Your power snatch looks okay. No need to do any kind of deload. In fact, add a little more weight next time. Lifting shoes would only help matters.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by IlPrincipeBrutto View Post
    Which brings to point number two: the language barrier. Overnight, I've gone from being an adult, articulate and at times even funny person (ok, maybe not the funny bit) to be little more than a toddler, unable to express difficult concepts and relying on other people's benevolence to make myself understood.
    So I'm back to baby steps; much like with my Power Snatch.
    Go to the cinema and watch English language movies. The crappier the better--in fact, shallow, pop-culture flicks and obnoxious romcoms are the best. Why? Because they will all be subtitled in French. Force yourself to read the subtitles. It was the single most helpful thing for me to quickly learn a bunch of contemporary French really efficiently. I would walk out of a 90 minute crappy American movie with a perceptible improvement in my ability to both understand and speak casual French.

    Of course, this is dependent on your ability to read fairly rapidly in French, but if you can, it's amazing how much you can learn--and how quickly.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by spar View Post
    Go to the cinema and watch English language movies. The crappier the better--in fact, shallow, pop-culture flicks and obnoxious romcoms are the best. Why? Because they will all be subtitled in French. Force yourself to read the subtitles. It was the single most helpful thing for me to quickly learn a bunch of contemporary French really efficiently. I would walk out of a 90 minute crappy American movie with a perceptible improvement in my ability to both understand and speak casual French.
    Good advice, but note that with almost all DVDs you can set the subtitles to most foreign languages. This means you are not limited to what you can see in the cinema.

    I'd add that watching foreign films with English subtitles and listening as hard as you can is also good. Only read the subtitles when you have to.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Thank you all guys, you are encouraging and insightful, I'm sure my French will improve very quickly. Probably quicker than my Power snatch anyway.
    Talking of which, anyone else feeling like making a contribution ? come on, even if you think it's shite don't be timid and say it, we'll still be friends. I promise.

    IPB

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