Since the revealing of event one for the Regionals this year, the hang snatch has gotten a lot of attention and a lot of videos have been put out there about the lift. I wanted to take a second to talk about some the smaller nuances of maxing and completing the hang snatch.
First of all I have always said there are three absolute requirements for the effective completion of the hang snatch. First, when the bar is at the top of the knee then the shoulders need to be well out in front of the bar. Secondly, the shins should be vertical and the knees should be back but not locked out. Thirdly, the weight of the lifter and the barbell combined should be settled completely in the heels. However, in putting me weight in the heels, do not allow your toes or ball of your foot to come off the ground. You want as much of your foot in contact with the ground for as long as possible when completing the hang snatch. Do not let your feet rotate backwards so that your toes or front of your foot comes off the ground.
Those all are the basics. However, there are three smaller nuances that I have used with my athletes to help them be the most effective at completing a max effort hang snatch. Those three things are as follows:
Flexion in the Hips and Knees
When beginning at the hips, always start with a slight bend in the knees and a slight flexion of the hip. Do not start with an extended hip or extended knee. You want a small amount of flexion in both the knee and hip to allow yourself to utilize the leg drive through the second pull. More often than not, lifters will start standing straight up and immediately throw the shoulders forward and the hips back never allowing the knees to bend slightly. This takes away the ability of the legs to drive into the floor and creates a situation where the only potential for force is the hamstrings and posterior chain rather than allowing the lifter to utilize the quad through the second pull. You will notice that lifters should do this consistently by there bar track. Many lifters do not allow for any flexion in the hips and knees before they begin the descent down to the knee and will often rotate their torso backwards and as a result send the bar out in front of them. A looping bar track is often an indication of a lack of leg drive resulting from a poor starting position with no flexion in the knees or hips.
Continued Leg Drive
The second small nuance that often goes overlooked is the necessity for a consistent leg drive through the middle of the quad. Over the past couple years, the weightlifting community has taught the CrossFit community the necessity for getting the shoulders over the bar. However, one of the under taught aspects of the second pull is that the shoulders stay over the bar for as long as possible and the lifter does all they can to continue a leg drive as the bar travels up the quad. Far too often lifters will find themself in a great position at the top of the knee and ruin that position by simply rotating their torso backwards behind the bar too early and eliminating any ability to utilize a leg drive. Stay over the bar! Stay of that bar as long as possible and drive through those feet as long as possible. This ensures that the bar stays close and allows for the greatest amount of power to be applied to the barbell.
Patience
The last and most simple aspect of the hang snatch is patience. I see far too many CrossFit athletes, specifically Regional athletes, over the past three weeks miss snatches because they were not patient in the standup from the squat. Once you receive the bar into the bottom position there is no necessity to rush out of the bottom. Unlike the clean, a pause in the bottom of the overhead squat is not going to create a massive strain on the legs during the standup. Sit in the bottom. Stay there and wait until you are perfectly balanced and ready to stand up. This will ensure that you make The lift that you’ve worked so hard for.
Below is a perfect example of these things I’ve mentioned. Take a look at Gerald Sasser’s 280 snatch from the Central East Regional. This first place lift exemplifies everything that I have written about in this blog post and many of you would do well to mimic it.