3 sure fire ways to improve your snatch!

Without meaning to sound too ‘click baity’ I do actually think there are 3 simple yet not easy ways to guarantee a bigger snatch. I’ve found that across the board these things work to improve someones technical ability in the snatch if they’re not already doing them. Beginner and intermediate lifters may be missing some key fundamentals that aren’t always a coaches first thought.

1. Fix your first pull.

   It may sound obvious but the snatch hinges on the position you achieve when the bar reaches the knee. If that is wrong or off balance it doesn’t matter what comes next - most lifts will be missed. If the bar moves forwards off the ground you will have to compensate hugely to counter that and even the strongest lifters aren’t going to enjoy that lift.

   Make sure the bar comes back to you as you break it from the floor. When it reaches the knee you should have a vertical or near vertical shin. The chest is up but we are about as far over the bar as we’ll get now, and thats a good thing so long as your whole foot remains down and balanced.

   New lifters tend to be using weights light enough to get this wrong yet still ‘cheat’ their way to a successful lift. Intermediates who get this wrong often find they miss a lot, even at moderate percentages. It’s worth spending time on learning to get this right early on.

2. Use your lats and mid-back.

   Part of a good first pull is tensing your latissimus dorsi (Lats) and engaging all the muscles of the mid-back. This aids in keeping the bar close and even in bringing it back towards you off the floor. Importantly though, it also serves to help stabilise the trunk, keep the chest up and allow your legs to push into a strong and rigid torso. Without this element you’re wasting energy and trying to force a limp noodle into the air attached to a heavy barbell.

   In contrast you want to keep your arms fairly relaxed so that the turnover can happen quickly and without resistance. Gravity serves to keep them taught and not waste the aforementioned energy so the back being tight is plenty. I find many lifters mistakingly tense their arms (or start to row and bend them in the pull) instead of using their back muscles to create this tension.

3. Train your turnover speed.

   Drills like tall snatches, snatch from blocks and snatch pull + snatch all help in some way to improve how and when you pull under a snatch.

   Tall snatches are performed with a straight leg and virtually no upwards momentum on the bar. You a quite literally trying to pull under the bar. Focus on keeping the bar close and timing the lockout with your feet landing.

   Snatches from blocks force you to be quick under by limiting to some degree the upwards momentum. High blocks make this most obvious and likely the hardest option. Aim for finishing the extension as hard and fast as possible while keeping the arms relaxed and the back tight. Be active in trying to pull yourself down into the overhead squat position as quickly as you can.

   Performing a snatch pull before a snatch helps for 2 reasons. Not only do you get a nice practice of finishing your pull/extension but you’ll also feel the height on the bar and at what point you should begin your pull under. As the bar reaches the apex of its trajectory it should feel almost weightless (not literally mind you they still always feel somewhat heavy!). It is at that height where you will then try to pull under and catch the full rep.

Do other things help?

Of course! Snatching more frequently if you only do it once or twice a week is an easy win but thats not always possible or required. Getting your back squat up will certainly help if your technique is already pretty solid. I use around 60% of back squat as a fair target for snatches. Once this is reached or surpassed it’s probably time the back squat went up.

What about overhead squats or other assistance work?

I don’t like to programme a huge amount of OHS once someone is snatching frequently. Peoples wrists don’t tend to love it. Other assistance work like snatch balance is sometimes useful but only if all the above has already been conquered…

Let me know if you try any of the above and how it helps!