No snatch in SSBBT

[tongzilla]

I want to learn the Snatch (and Clean and Jerk).

These movements are more technical than the Power Clean and Squats. But consider a well motivated athlete with a good technical base in Power Cleans (learned from SSBBT of course ). Is the Snatch so technically demanding that it cannot be learned properly and safely through a well written instructional piece written by someone like yourself?

[Mark Rippetoe]

No, in fact a clever boy will take the teaching progression for the power clean and teach himself to power snatch the same way. We do it here all the time.

[tongzilla]

So I guess you won't be including a section on snatch in your next revision then.

[Drewfasa]

No, in fact a clever boy will take the teaching progression for the power clean and teach himself to power snatch the same way. We do it here all the time.

I would like to perhaps take up this challenge, as the technical lifts seem quite fun and holding big weights over one's head produces a wonderful manly feeling. How wide a grip should one use for a power snatch, Mark? Oly lifters go out to the collars, is this advisable for power snatching? Aside from grip and the obvious further distance, are there any other major differences? (perhaps you could point me/us to a good instructional piece) Does one still jump and stomp?

-Andrew

[Mark Rippetoe]

The Olympic lifts have been written about by better guys than me, and a good reference is Artie Dreschler's Weightlifting Encyclopedia. The snatch, like the clean, is a jump with the bar in the hands that racks the bar overhead instead of on the shoulders. The grip is wide enough to facilitate this rack without having to pull the bar through too long a distance, usually the width that puts the bar in the lap -- below the ASIS and above the pubis -- when standing at the hang with straight arms. You still jump and drop, and that is the essence of the movement.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

Over at performance menu, Mike Burgner was talking about the grip width, and he said the grip should be such that when you are standing upright with bar and you lift 1 knee, the bar does not move. If it does, it is too low and grip is too narrow.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Burg is solid. Solid.

[Drewfasa]

Over at performance menu, Mike Burgner was talking about the grip width, and he said the grip should be such that when you are standing upright with bar and you lift 1 knee, the bar does not move. If it does, it is too low and grip is too narrow.

Could I get a link to that article, Jamie?

[galapogos]

Mike Boyle has said that he trains his athletes with a narrow grip since it increases ROM and hence power development and also decreases shoulder injuries though.

[Polynomial]

I want to learn the Snatch (and Clean and Jerk).

It's been my experience that learning these on your own is doable, but nothing, and I mean nothing beats having an experienced coach around. After one session with a coach my technique improved significantly because he was able to notice both technique and psychological errors that I was making. (If you're wondering about psychological errors: I had trouble getting in the bottom position of the snatch because I was subconsciously afraid of falling backwards instead of forward. He told me to essentially not be a pussy and I got a nice snatch the next try).

The next best thing is to take videos your lifts and analyze them yourself and on the internet.