Last week I gave 4 pretty good reasons to add snatch pull to
your workouts. It’s been brought to my attention that not everyone is a master
of the snatch pull. That’s fine, because Coach Drew will get you ripping bars
from the floor like a grizzly bear rips salmon from a river. I promise that you
will see improvements in your athletic lifestyle, simply by doing snatch pulls
like a champion. Without further ado, I present thee with a guide towards the snatch pull.
Step I: Grip
If you have no idea how to do a snatch grip then you’re at
the right place. For most people, the snatch grip is going to be uncomfortably wide.
Get out of your comfort zone. You’re going to grip the bar towards the end,
near the collars. You don’t have to go as wide as me, but you need to stretch it a little. Once you have your grip you should stand up, and feel the bar press into
your mid hip. To tell if your grip is wide enough, stand with the bar and lift
your legs up. If the bar moves because your thighs rub against it, you’re gonna
have a bad time. Widen your grip until you no longer bump the bar with your hip
crease. I recommend using wraps to prevent any hand damage, or awkward
slippage.
Step II: Dip
If you’ve seen any of my deadlift tips, this should be like
some familiar nightmare. To really activate your posterior chain you need to
create some eccentric loading. Pull the bar directly under your shins. Raise
your hips and butt up, then snap it back down and gather yourself. I recommend
long socks to prevent nasty shin bleeding, short shorts are optional.
Step III: RIIIIIIIIIP
That’s right everyone, so far you’re doing a super wide
deadlift. You will pull the bar off of the platform as fast as possible. Remember
to keep a forward lean with your torso. I teach and use a 2 pull method, so we
will incorporate that into our snatch pull as well. Extend your knees with minimal
hip activation as you drag the bar up your shins. The closer the bar is to your
body the more efficient the pull is. If the bar isn’t flying, you need to
reduce weight.
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This is progressive slides. Going eccentric with the dip, then the rip (1st pull) notice forward lean |
Step IV: Quad Snap
By now the bar should have more momentum than a runaway
train. When the bar peeks over your knees, you will then activate your hips. This
isn’t some gentle hip lift, this is the second pull. You’re goal is to
straighten your body out as hard and fast as possible. Along with the hip
extension, you should also power shrug to give the bar some more rip. The bar
should move twice as fast up your quads, as it did along your shins. During
this step, you can jump to increase upward momentum. You should land forward closer to the
bar , with your feet an inch or so wider. Feel free to make old time
cartoon sounds. Pow, Snap, and Cachow are all acceptable.
Step V: Bar Release
The bar should pop off of your hip and be sent flying into
outer space. If you don’t explode during step IV, the bar will either not pop
or just go straight up. Proper snatch technique will throw the bar in front of
you and up. If you’re lifting at a quality gym with platforms and bumpers,
throw that stuff down. Regrip and go again.
Little Advice:
For explosive movements like the snatch pull, try not to do
more than 3 reps. Type II X fibers fatigue extremely fast. If you fatigue these
fibers but keep going, you’re no longer training improved explosiveness. If you’re
new to snatch pulls, don’t be a hero. Don’t put on so many plates that you can’t
throw the weight up. Listen to fly like an eagle as a motivator. Make your plates fly like said eagle. Set them free.
Below is a video of me just popping out a quick triple. The
weight is my 1RM for snatch @ 100 kg.
Clean slate, slam weight.
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