The beauty of compound exercises like the snatch is that you are able to do more work in less time. The basic concept is to engage as many muscles as possible to achieve greater production in a more efficient way. In the end, this is just a fun exercise to learn and practice.
Step 1: The set up
We start with the feet. Your feet will be in line with your shoulders, or just inside, while you are standing up. In order to achieve a greater jump as you pull the bar up, you will want to flare your feet out between 20-30 degrees depending on what feels comfortable to you.
Your hands will be at the end of the barbell, or a few inches towards the center based on how it feels. You can see from the picture that this lifter has chosen to bring his hands in slightly from the end of the barbell.
Your head will be looking forward so as not to strain your neck or back. This head position allows your back to remain in a neutral position.
Step 2: The first pull
The first pull is much like the movement of the deadlift. Your spine remains in a straight position as your head looks forward. You keep your weight in your heels as you pull the weight of the barbell up to your knees.
Your arms should not bend at the elbow as you pull the weight up. They are acting as hooks at this point.
Step 3: The second pull, or jump!
Your arms may remain slightly bent as you jump up. The key is not to bend them too much or you will lose energy that could be used to bring the bar up.
The motion of the bar is to travel up your thighs and into your hips as you stretch upwards and backward. We are working to have the bar over our heads. If we do not pull the weight into us, the weight of the bar will carry us forward and we will lose control.
A helpful image for this portion is to think high elbows and shrugged shoulders. As our arms remain relatively straight and we shrug our shoulders, the weight will move upward with our jumping motion.
There is another picture below for this portion of the lift to break it down more. You can see how this gentleman pulls the weight into his hips as he begins to jump upwards. The bar naturally stays close to his body as he shrugs his shoulders and begins to pull the weight higher.
Step 4: The catch
Now that the lifter has successfully pulled the weight to a height that he can settle underneath of, he transitions into a squat position. Flexibility is key at this point because the bar still wants to move. The lifter will sit in this position for a moment until the movement of the bar is controlled. The picture sequence below is the entire snatch movement up until the point of catching the weight overhead.
Step 5: Stand up
The last piece of the snatch is to stand up with the weight balanced over your head. Your shoulders are supporting the weight, so there is not much strain on your arms. At this point, it is important to think about showing your armpits. It sounds funny, I know. What happens is that your arms will act as barriers to keep the weight of the bar on your shoulders. If you do not "show your armpits" the weight will begin traveling forward, and you will be unable to maintain control.
Once you have the weight balanced overhead successfully, you can drop the bar to the floor. You did it! That is the Olympic Lifting movement called the snatch.
I know, it is a lot of work. The snatch is an incredible exercise for overall strength, agility, and quickness. I play a lot of basketball, and I am able to jump higher now than I did 10 years ago because of my efforts with the snatch.
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