One of my hardest positions to clean or snatch from is the power position. Personally, the lack of momentum and inability to gain leverage destroys any chance I have at being good at this movement. My torso length is a great advantage in the snatch and as such I often times rely too heavily on it and do not produce the vertical power necessary from the hips. The power position, especially off blocks, tends to highlight this weakness. When the bar gets heavy I find myself doing one of two things:
1) Banging my hips into the bar in such a way that the bar accelerates away from me in a arcing motion. This looks much more like a Kettlebell Swing than a Snatch. This cause me to either swing the bar over my head and miss behind OR leave the bar out in front of me.
2) I will over-rotate my shoulders in the second pull and pull them too far away from the bar also leaving the bar out in front of me.
In theory I should stretch vertically in the top of the second pull making sure I get as much vertical power as possible from my body before pulling under into the receiving position. If I do the second pull right it will have me angled back away from the bar a little bit but NOT near enough to prevent me from pulling under properly. Furthermore, a focus on a vertical second pull keeps the bar close to my body and allows for a more efficient third pull.
Here are 2 videos of what this looks like if successfully done:
Power Position Side View
Power Position 45 Degree View
Notice in both I make a conscious effort to stretch extremely tall and apply as much vertical power to the bar as possible. That is why I made these lifts. Here is a video of me missing one because of the opposite. I do not stretch tall enough at the top of the second pull and despite how close the bar is I just don’t have enough time to pull under it.
Power Position Miss
Lastly, here is a video of me breaking down the power position from the side view. Basically, if your biggest problem is finishing in the proper place at the top of the second pull then this exercise is for you. It forces you to get your shoulders and weight in the right spot and it forces a vertical pull.
Couple pointers when doing this movement: Always put your the weight in your feet just in front of your heel and not solely in your heels. The majority of the weight needs to be near the middle of the foot. Secondly, make sure when you set up, your shoulders are exactly even with the bar. Lastly, cock your wrists and turn your elbows out to allow for proper elbow bend.
Power Position Snatch Analysis