Hanging Snatch Form Check

I’ve only recently started doing any form of o-lifting; hanging power cleans and hanging power snatches being my two favorite. I’d be grateful if you guys/gals could critique my form or offer any suggestions

95 lbs:

145 lbs:

First of all make sure you have the correct grip width on the bar - bar should be directly over the crease of your hip when standing.

You stay over the bar well and have good explosion, but you are missing the hips and perhaps pulling with the arms too. So keep the arms loose throughout (hook grip) and wait on the bar a little longer till driving the hips through. Think bringing the bar into your hips rather than the making your hips meet the bar…make sense??

Keep the weight light for now - 45lbs is enough and you’ll be able to get a lot of good sets in this way. Once your bar speed is up and everything feels smooth then add some kilo’s :slight_smile:

gogetit pretty much summed it up

Also dont do the donkey kick (when your feet kick up to your butt)

Watch this kids feet

http://www.pendlay.com/Snatch-progression-series_df_54.html
BEST VIDEO for learning where to add the oomph! I wish someone would’ve explained it to me like this from the beginning, also with my stupid home set up it made me learn that my grip was way too close. Also the best way to learn from going from the last part of the lift to the beginning.

Your last hang snatch on the first vid did look better, you can see the bar just gliding up a bit more graceful.

Never heard of the donkey kick, interesting…

Not really any problems, just that your not driving up enough. You open up and go up but not as powerful as you could.

This is very noticeable on your 2nd video where the weight is harder. You muscle it ab it when the bar gets to about headheight as you run out of power. The lighter weights it’s fine.

Think of driving your head up (this will make your hips move correctly and NATURALLY), pull the bar in with straight arms, so it meets your hips, closer bar = more effective technique = lift more. You can’t put as much power if the bar is away from you. You will make contact with the bar so forcefully bring the bar in. So you have your arms straight and you pull it towards your hips.

You stay over well.

When you receive the bar your a bit soft. Receive it in a 1/4 squat position.

Main issue is you don’t SLAM THE BAR OVER HEAD. You got to be really aggressive with the bar and explode up and slam it over head. Pull the f0cking bar and finish in a 1/4 squat position.

Looks good on the whole, get more videos up.

Koing

Minimaltechno, Koing, is there a philosophy on where to add the “oomph” in the clean? In the Pendlay videos it shows the clean as similar to the snatch, but obviously since the hands are closer, it has to be below the crease of the hip, right?

I have been trying to improve my clean for a while. I learned it many years as an american college football player. In those days, I just did a classic Westside “Speed dead” from the floor right into a highpull.

I know my body type is part of the problem - I have very long arms, and very short legs. As an example, Standing stright, my fintertips are exactly 2.5 inches above my kneecaps. When I try to clean as in the video, my pull is locked out before I get to the height Pendlay shows for the jump. (and yes, even though I am 5’8", my hands touch the cuffs in a proper snatch grip. What can I say? I am a knuckle-dragger.)

Stand up, Clean grip wherever your hands feel, usually about 2-5inches wider then shoulder width, whatever you prefer, bend knees bit, lean over, push the bar towards your thighs, this is about where it’ll be when you pull through in the actual lift.

Yes the bar will end up lower on your thighs due to the closer clean grip.

The only issue when people say ‘high pull’ is that they are pulling with their arms to get the bar which is not what you want to do. The main driver are your legs and hips to sling shot the bar up. Your arms keep the bar close and to rack it. It has all the power and momentum from your legs and hips opening up.

In that case whever the bar is, it’ll be lower down on your thighs then most people but whatever. Just roll with it. You got short legs and long arms. You can just use your short legs for bad ass squat strength and power.

Koing

Koing,
Thanks that helps. I will give that a shot tonight.

One quick clarification. Should my hips physically accelerate the bar in the “pocket.” Is that what you mean, or are you talking about the power and momentum coming from the hips in a similar way to the deadlift? Should I just not worry about trying to make a forceful contact with the thighs, since they hit so close to the knee? If yes, I am guessing I will need to focus on upper back strength to make up for the lack of pop from the thigh contact.

[quote]orcrist wrote:
Should I just not worry about trying to make a forceful contact with the thighs, since they hit so close to the knee? If yes, I am guessing I will need to focus on upper back strength to make up for the lack of pop from the thigh contact.[/quote]

You could always try the arm bend style to get the bar up slightly higher. Donny Shankle and Spencer Moorman at Cal Strength do this…

[quote]TimG2009 wrote:

[quote]orcrist wrote:
Should I just not worry about trying to make a forceful contact with the thighs, since they hit so close to the knee? If yes, I am guessing I will need to focus on upper back strength to make up for the lack of pop from the thigh contact.[/quote]

You could always try the arm bend style to get the bar up slightly higher. Donny Shankle and Spencer Moorman at Cal Strength do this…

Don’t bend your arms like Donny or Spencer. Spencer use to bend a lot less before he went to Cal Strength, it is a bad habit that both are trying to get rid of. You will never see anyone teach the arm to be bent to improve contact with the bar, always straight. Donny is probably too far gone to really correct it or the cost in terms of time and effort isn’t worth directly doing it. He does look better now a days anyway.

[quote]orcrist wrote:
Koing,
Thanks that helps. I will give that a shot tonight.

One quick clarification. Should my hips physically accelerate the bar in the “pocket.” Is that what you mean, or are you talking about the power and momentum coming from the hips in a similar way to the deadlift? Should I just not worry about trying to make a forceful contact with the thighs, since they hit so close to the knee? If yes, I am guessing I will need to focus on upper back strength to make up for the lack of pop from the thigh contact.[/quote]

Pull the bar in. Do a video of you pulling the bar to mid thigh with straight arms. This is a learnt coordination exercise. You can do it perfectly like anyone else. Use just 40-50kg and do 4reps x 4-5sets. Once you’ve done this a few hundred times you will be able to get THE TIMING down and you will never need to do it again.

Remember arms are straight, hips and shoulders mover up at the same angle, shoulders slightly over the bar, squat the bar up, maintain hip and shoulder angle, use your lats to PULL THE BAR IN WITH STRAIGHT ARMS, wherever it goes it goes depending on your limb lengths. Once past the knee you want the bar to track close to the body. Once you start to transition to the 2nd pull as your hips are going UP you will make contact, do not let the bar go away. KEEP Pulling on the bar and now you bend your arms to keep the bar close as your nearing/ finishing full extensiona nd you rack it over head :smiley:

Post up a video of pulls to mid thigh. I did loads of them learning the lifts at the start.

Koing

Just read this blog from Jon North and remembered this thread…

Hip Cleaner