Top 3 Snatch Variations and How To Do Them
Top 3 Snatch Variations and How To Do Them
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No feet snatch is one of the best variations (hence why it is part of the list). No feet snatch simply means you start with your feet where you catch your snatches and you do not move your feet out when you go to catch the snatch. For a no feet snatch, you want to start your feet where you normally catch a snatch. From there, pull the bar off the floor, pulling the knees back feeling your hamstrings engaged. Once the bar passes the knee, you need to engage the lats, even more, to keep the bar against your legs. From there, the hips come through as the bar makes contact in the “hip pocket.” After contact, you must shrug the bar with the elbows high and then pull yourself under the bar. As the wrists rotate around into the catch, the feet should slide out with the heels down immediately!
No feet snatch teach you to have your feet in the proper catch position. They force you to get your knees back and not push them out on the pull. Since you can’t jump, once you make contact you have to shrug and use the upper body to finish the lift at full extension. On the catch, it teaches you to drop under the bar fast while punching your arms at the same time for a tight catch. Who should use this?: lifters who bang the bar and swing it out, lifters whose feet move all over during a lift, and lifters who catch with their feet super close together.
For me, snatch balance is one of the most annoying lifts you can do, but really helps you catch. For a snatch balance, start with the bar on your back and feet about shoulder width apart. Keep your chest up, back tight, and core engaged, then dip like you are going to jerk, drive up and extend to your toes. From there, slide your feet out to where you catch your snatches as you drop under the bar and punch your arms into the lockout position to simulate catching a normal snatch. After you have full control of the bar, stand up and hold before you drop it.
Snatch balance helps you react faster to the bar and get into your catch position faster. It works on your feet moving fast and into the proper position, while you punch your arms and lockout overhead. It helps develop muscles in your upper back, core engagement, and arms so that you are stable and tight in every catch. Who should use this?: athletes that suck at catching snatches, athletes that jump their feet when going into the catch, and athletes with poor overhead mobility.
3) Close Grip Snatch
Close grip snatch is an underused variation that is a fantastic tool for improving your snatch because of its emphasis on a long finish. For the perfect close grip snatch, you want your hands in a clean grip position. Everything else is exactly the same as a normal snatch. Long arms, tight back, as soon as the bar is pulled off the floor your knees start to go back. Once the bar is right below the knee, the chest starts to come up, the bar makes contact on the thighs. From there, big shrug up for a tall and long finish. This is very important: because of the clean grip, you will have to finish as long as you can to catch the snatch because the bar will be caught at a higher position than a normal snatch. If overhead mobility is lacking, adjust the grip outward in training until close grip can be supported.
Who should use this?: Every lifter! Close grip snatch is beneficial to every athlete at some point. On a routine basis, use for lifters who shorten their pulls and need to finish longer, athletes that aren’t patient with their chest staying over the bar, and athletes slow into their catch.