[quote]brandon76 wrote:
CT: Wow… 3 weeks into the Layers and honestly how great of a workout are High Pull days! The conditioning alone with the short rest periods is insane.
- What do we need to look out for as far as injuries with the two pulls. Are there any specific bad shoulder habits we should keep in mind when doing these. I think the biggest is with the leg “pop”, making sure we are not pulling with arms too early on both lifts… [/quote]
That is exactly right. The only injuries I’ve seen or heard from high pulls are basically involved with pulling early with the arms, putting stress on the biceps which can either lead to slight muscle pulls or inflamation. You really have to focus on doing the launch with the legs, hips and lower back.
In fact in the starting position and during the actual launch the arms should be as loose as possible while the upper back is held very tight.
[quote]brandon76 wrote:
2. On the Power Snatch, how do we determine what 70% power is?..find the max explosiveness and multiply by 70% imagine.[/quote]
Well, 70% is only an approximation for that lift since it is not layered. To me 70% on the olympic lifts is a moderate weight, a lot in which every rep is explosive and there is zero technique breakdown… every rep in the set feels exactly the same.
Sure you can test your actual max and go from there, but really, simply focus on doing the lift explosively and with crisp technique.
[quote]brandon76 wrote:
3. And finally, when I “pop” on the P. Snatch I’m not grasping this “thigh glide” thing…I pop and then with straight arms up get the bar up and under. Wondering if this will bring on shoulder issues from my technique…per above. [/quote]
Here ar some examples from one of my lifters… the first one is a chinese-style snatch pull from blocks. If you compare the launch point to the starting position, the barbell has moved back toward the body before being launched. The arms are not bending, they are still straight, but the barbell is brought toward the hips (same action as a cable straight-arm pulldown).
Here is a power snatch from the hang, same thing, notice that when she starts the upward movement, the bar is brought in toward the hips even though the arms are not bending, when the bar is at the hips she launches it.
And you can see the same thing here on the snatch high pull + snatch combo, as soon as the bar passes the knees, the bar is pulled (or swept) toward the hips as the torso is straigthened and to bring the bar to the launch point at the hips.
Ideally at the launch point the barbell is almost directly above the heels and the shoulders above the bar.