Critique My Snatch

ChickenBrother

ChickenBrother

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Have been working on this about 3 months with proper lifting shoes and can finally sink into an OH squat on a flat surface. Still ugly as hell and I almost lost control on 2nd rep and couldn’t go all the way down. 3rd rep is probably the best one but that’s not saying much.

All comments welcome. I’d like to work toward a 1 x BW (170 lbs) snatch and this is the heaviest I’ve gone at 70 lbs. From the side view, I’m off balance at the lock out and my lack of thoracic ROM is evident at the bottom. I'm not showing the uniform back arch throughout shoulders, upper and lower back - which is why I'm struggling to maintain control of this hilariously light weight.

Have been doing these as a warm up for my main workouts. Natty 48 yo who lifts twice/week on top of BJJ/Judo. Have been attempting this lift for awhile and feeling like I’ve had it with this MFing snatch on this MFing plane.

 
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That is a snatch I'd show at family dinner.

Can feel the grimace in face from pinching shoulders trying not to throw the bar forward mid squat. :D Knees do the same thing, instead of ass going down the knees want to go with it.
 
Fahcough said:
That is a snatch I'd show at family dinner.

Can feel the grimace in face from pinching shoulders trying not to throw the bar forward mid squat. :D Knees do the same thing, instead of ass going down the knees want to go with it.
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Lol for sure. It's such a deceptively difficult lift. I feel like I should be able to do twice the weight if I could actually get my ass all the way down with shoulders fully back, without needing 2-3 seconds of "gravity assist." I think the last time I struggled this much to control 70 lbs was when I was 12 playing around on my neighbor's Joe Weider bench they bought at Sears.
 
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I have absolutely no idea of how to snatch lol. The only thing I would say is, have you googled to see if there's anywhere nearby that you could go to for an in-person coaching session? Even something like a single session every other month with an experienced coach might make a big difference. If that's not a possibility, maybe even getting some video crits with a pro might be worth it at some point. Admire the effort because I'm too lazy to even try to learn that stuff, seems too complicated lol.

Also, I think this guy is very legit for Olympic lifts. I used his front squat tutorials. He won gold in the Olympics but was stripped due to juice, and snatches over 400lbs. The chick demonstrating has medaled in world championships. Need to read subtitles though.

 
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Volador said:
I have absolutely no idea of how to snatch lol. The only thing I would say is, have you googled to see if there's anywhere nearby that you could go to for an in-person coaching session? Even something like a single session every other month with an experienced coach might make a big difference. If that's not a possibility, maybe even getting some video crits with a pro might be worth it at some point. Admire the effort because I'm too lazy to even try to learn that stuff, seems too complicated lol.
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I think you're right. The amount of time I've spent watching youtube tutorials, then practicing the movement with a broomstick and then trying to replicate it with an empty barbell is significant. If I was still using a public gym I'd happily pay a trainer for some coaching. I've been asking around at BJJ (they have barbells in the corner) and one of the brown belts is a former crossfitter who says he knows the lift but is always rushing to get back to work after class. I need to corner him at an open mat and get him to give me some live feedback.
 
Volador said:
Also, I think this guy is very legit for Olympic lifts. I used his front squat tutorials. He won gold in the Olympics but was stripped due to juice, and snatches over 400lbs. The chick demonstrating has medaled in world championships. Need to read subtitles though.

Click to expand...


Good video, thanks. I like the detailed breakdowns of each position. Looking at my clip, I didn't even realize I was starting the pull with my arms too early - that shouldn't be happening until the bar is in my hip crease with arms straight. Damn my form looks rough on video. But my biggest issue is still shoulder and thoracic (and possibly ankle) ROM not yet being what it should.
 
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ChickenBrother said:
Lol for sure. It's such a deceptively difficult lift. I feel like I should be able to do twice the weight if I could actually get my ass all the way down with shoulders fully back, without needing 2-3 seconds of "gravity assist." I think the last time I struggled this much to control 70 lbs was when I was 12 playing around on my neighbor's Joe Weider bench they bought at Sears.
Click to expand...
Deceptive is the best description. You watch it and think that's not bad, can do that. Body said Bet Not. Warming up the 1st overhead deep squats has to be entertaining for anyone watching. It takes about 6-7 times before anywhere near parallel. Instead it looks like you're trying to stand up and shit with cramps. Pure deep pore sweat starts immediately, not the same sweat as just getting hot.
 
NoSmilez said:
Great Oly face.
Click to expand...

Lol that's the look of my body informing me that it has the high ground.

Fahcough said:
Deceptive is the best description. You watch it and think that's not bad, can do that. Body said Bet Not. Warming up the 1st overhead deep squats has to be entertaining for anyone watching. It takes about 6-7 times before anywhere near parallel. Instead it looks like you're trying to stand up and shit with cramps. Pure deep pore sweat starts immediately, not the same sweat as just getting hot.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's amazing how terrible my ROM looks here. I thought I was going deep ATG but I'm barely at thighs parallel to the ground on the last rep. And I feel like I've dramatically improved my shoulder mobility over the past few months, but my arms are barely past parallel with my torso. This is the first time I've taken video of the full movement because until a month ago there was >50% chance of falling backward on my ass with an empty bar. I need to keep taking periodic vids to fix this damn lift and also for the lols.
 
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When you lay flat on the ground with arms above your head, do your hands touch the floor? My left hand is about 2-3 inches, right is 1" from it.
 
Fahcough said:
When you lay flat on the ground with arms above your head, do your hands touch the floor? My left hand is about 2-3 inches, right is 1" from it.
Click to expand...

I can touch back of my hands on the floor with both arms straight overhead, lying on my back but only barely. With my arms out at snatch bar distance, I can touch backs of hands pretty easily but it's taken me 3 months of almost daily stretching with a broomstick (overhead squats and snatch) to achieve that. And maintaining control during the lift with the weight of an empty bar or heavier is MUCH harder as we both know. If not for the broomstick stretching between workouts (PVC pipe also seems to be popular), there's no way I'd even be able to attempt this lift.
 
Fahcough said:
When you lay flat on the ground with arms above your head, do your hands touch the floor? My left hand is about 2-3 inches, right is 1" from it.
Click to expand...

Would add that I think you'd be amazed how much you can improve your shoulder mobility in a month or two with that broomstick/PVC pipe stretch. Re. ROM I think you're pretty much where I was about 3 months ago. And doing heavy bench definitely makes my shoulders feel tighter which is why I do these as a warm-up before my main lifts. I feel like getting closer to proper snatch form is improving my posture - I have the beginnings of a hunch back below my neck from looking down at my kids/computer/smartphone all the time. First world problems. I don't think it's possible to become a hunched over old man if you're doing this lift with even semi-decent form. And when you stick the landing for the first time with an empty bar, feels better than Kerri Strug at the 1996 Olympics.

250
 
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ChickenBrother said:
Would add that I think you'd be amazed how much you can improve your shoulder mobility in a month or two with that broomstick/PVC pipe stretch. Re. ROM I think you're pretty much where I was about 3 months ago. And doing heavy bench definitely makes my shoulders feel tighter which is why I do these as a warm-up before my main lifts. I feel like getting closer to proper snatch form is improving my posture - I have the beginnings of a hunch back below my neck from looking down at my kids/computer/smartphone all the time. First world problems. I don't think it's possible to ever become a hunched over old man if you're doing this lift with even semi-decent form. And when you stick the landing for the first time with an empty bar, feels better than Kerri Strug at the 1996 Olympics.

250
Click to expand...

You're right on the posture part. The more you force your shoulders back, it makes you realize you roll them forward all through the day. What are you doing for your ankles? It's the other half the squat

And you shouldn't look down on your kids. Unless they're assholes.
 
Fahcough said:
You're right on the posture part. The more you force your shoulders back, it makes you realize you roll them forward all through the day. What are you doing for your ankles? It's the other half the squat
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My right ankle has an impingement due to being badly sprained and possibly broken a few times, and it has what feels like a bone fragment floating around in there. I realized that was causing an issue when I started doing front squats. My left ankle has full ROM and I can touch my knee to the wall with my big toe 7" away with my heel planted. But my right ankle had no mobility past my toe i.e. my big toe needed to be flush against the wall to touch my knee to it. I did banded mobilizations on my right ankle and it loosened up my talus bone causing some pain for a few days but then settled into a more natural ROM, in conjunction with daily stretching and now I have 4" or 5" ROM which is probably the best it's going to get, although I'd love to get more out of it.
Fahcough said:
And you shouldn't look down on your kids. Unless they're assholes.
Click to expand...

They're definitely assholes sometimes but mostly it's them looking down on me. Half of being a parent is 90% mental.

<seedat>
 
Fahcough said:
I know who can fix our old bodies @Shadiata
This man moves some good weight with vids
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I thought the same and looked up his profile, but looks like he hasn't logged in since April. Here's his thread from last Aug with some good snatch and C&J vids. @Shadiata if you're still around, would love to get your feedback and suggestions. Some old dudes in here looking to get our snatch on.

https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/4th-meet-in-the-books-olympic-lifts.4199359/
 
ChickenBrother said:
Have been working on this about 3 months with proper lifting shoes (Asics 727) and can finally sink into an OH squat on a flat surface. Still ugly as hell and I almost lost control on 2nd rep and couldn’t go all the way down. 3rd rep is probably the best one but that’s not saying much.

All comments welcome. I’d like to work toward a 1 x BW (170 lbs) snatch and this is the heaviest I’ve gone at 70 lbs. From the side view, I’m off balance at the lock out and my lack of thoracic ROM is evident at the bottom. I'm not showing the uniform back arch throughout shoulders, upper and lower back - which is why I'm struggling to maintain control of this hilariously light weight.

Have been doing these as a warm up for my main workouts. Natty 48 yo who lifts twice/week on top of BJJ/Judo. Have been attempting this lift for awhile and feeling like I’ve had it with this MFing snatch on this MFing plane.

Click to expand...


I'll critique your snatch...do I have buy you dinner first? Lol
 
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