Form Review of Snatch and Clean

I took some videos of my lifts the other day. I would appreciate any feedback I could get on where I most need to improve. It seems like I’m lacking on the full extension. Over the last year I’ve work to get my catch down to a deeper squat. However, it seems in that time that I have lost some power.

snatch 55 - YouTube
snatch 60 - YouTube
clean 80 - YouTube
clean 85 - YouTube

I’m no oly expert, Koing will be along soon no doubt so here’s a few things that I’ve seen while you wait for a better pair of eys…

On the clean…
-there isn’t really that much of an aggresive shrug at the top

-the bar’s being pulled super high and you’re just riding it down, it’s almost like a power clean that you jsut decided to take into a front squat (but my Olift knowledge is limited so it might be useful for learning the full lifts)

-Looks like your open back and shoulder/triceps could stand to be more flexible so you can stay more upright on the recovery

As I’ve said, I’m not a great weightlfiter by any stretch form wise so don’t take my word as being correct!

I think you’re right about the shrug. It’s kind of pitiful. I’ve been working the last few months on more lifts from the high hang to try to force my self to use more traps. Looks like I need to adjust my strategy.

Any thoughts from others?

I’m not an O lifter either (although I’d like to be!), but I agree with Hanley: You’re just doing a power clean/power snatch, and then squatting down.

If you’re trying to do a proper O lift, then you’d be catching the bar (in either the snatch or clean) near the bottom of the squat, not at the top and then going down with it.

There are a few O lifters on this board that will hopefully chime in and give some good advice. In the meantime, check out these video clips:

http://www.aceathlete.com/hatch/video.htm

Im no expert either but it appears that you catch both lifts high and then just squat down as opposed to catching them lower. On the snatch you catch it almost standing straight.

Chest up first. Keep the weight in your heels as long as you can, then onto your toes. Everything gets tall/extended (yes you are flexing your foot).

Big shrug. Have you been working on your pull exclusively? Do some combos such as one clean pull, one power clean.

Be aggresive with the bar, especially on the clean. Rack it fast. It is an explosive movements, especially when you reach your knee.

Don’t pull with your arms.

You are doing a snatch and OH squat combo and a clean/front squat combo. Both are great, but not if you are doing the actual lift. You almost need to relax into the squat portion. Snatch balances would be beneficial.

In general, you’re not just explosive at all. When you do the weight, really PUSH DOWN with with your feet like you are trying to slam into the ground.

You are “cleaning” the weight to your shoulders and doing a front squat. What you want to do is “catch” the weight. This is hard. Really hard. It’s so hard I have literally never seen anyone in any commercial gym do one properly.

Here’s a video with some instructions:

Note especially: “Aggressively pull the body under the bar.” This is hard to teach yourself.

You simply need to get a coach to help you out. Call around. It is very unlikely you will learn this on your own.

Also, practice with a broomstick. Do a 100 repetitions throughout the day.

Practice cleans from full extension with just the bar - you have no choice but to get down fast because the bar ain’t going any higher.