Tomorrow is Wednesday. You don’t have to scroll too far back to figure out what Wednesday’s are (last Tuesday’s blog to be precise). Like we said in last weeks blog, don’t dodge it! We need strength days. We need to be stronger. It makes everything else, everything, we do in the gym easier. If you read the blog between last Tuesday’s and this one, it talks about the importance of challenging ourselves with new things. We’re going to mash them together and come up with today’s blog.
This week’s Wednesday Strength is going to feature the most complex of the Olympic lifts; the snatch. Pretty simple. Grab a barbell and chuck it overhead in one motion without stopping. I’ve shared with my classes, if someone walked in off the street and I told them to “grab a barbell with two hands, take it from the ground and place it as far above your head as you can in one fluid motion”, they’re going to do a snatch. That’s about where the simplicity of the snatch ends. There’s a whole heck of a lot that goes in to it. That being said, it is a great way to challenge our system and progress our fitness.
Here’s a real quick tip that I have been working on lately. It’s a small nuance thing and definitely down the list on the hierarchy of things to help make your snatch better but it is valuable none the less.
@Whiteboard_daily has some really good, simple illustrations. Give them a follow if you have not already.
Turn down the knuckles!
This simple cue makes a whole world of difference throughout the rest of the movement. First, it helps the bar stay close to our body in the first and second pull. We want the bar to remain close so we can make the best use of our levers and power production. Once the bar passes our knees, a lot of people have a tendency to have separation from the thighs. The load pulls them forward and the lift is either missed or completely inefficient. Turning our knuckles down will help keep the load close. It also helps to keep our elbows tracking outwards and upwards. I have often referred to this as the “scarecrow” position (think of a broomstick through the shirt of a scarecrow hanging). We need to get those elbows high and outside. The alternative is pulling them back behind the body. This basically makes it impossible to pull the bar high enough to get underneath. Turn the knuckles down to keep the elbows rising out and up.
So here’s my challenge to you. First, don’t be afraid of strength day. We talked about this last week. Second, keep those knuckles turned down. Work with the snatch and keep that movement quality high. Your coach will make sure to address those larger points of performance and address things as needed. If we can work on that one small point, it may help keep a few larger ones in check.
Let’s slang some weight!