Snatch and overhead squats

Gimsteinn
Gimsteinn Posts: 7,678 Member
edited November 15 in Fitness and Exercise
I hate them so much! Ok I'm bendy enough to do them and I've got the strength but I'm just so afraid of them for some reason and it's near impossible for me to jump under the bar with out falling on my *kitten* or the bar goes to far behind my head so it falls down.

Any tips on how I find the perfect spot to hold it overhead... so that my shoulders don't go to far back and I fall or drop the bar?

epic-fail-gifs-weightlifting-fail.gif


Replies

  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    I'm crap at them as well - I'm just an uncoordinated mess.

    The advice I have been given is - Get good at overhead squats before your worry about the snatch. So, that is what I've been doing. I clean the bar up then press it to full extension, then perform a set of squats (finishing with the obligatory bar drop and bounce).

    I've also motivated that if my shoulders are wrecked from a session earlier in the week my OHS is much worse, so shoulder stability must be a big factor (for me at least).
  • Gimsteinn
    Gimsteinn Posts: 7,678 Member
    StealthHealth wrote: »

    I've also motivated that if my shoulders are wrecked from a session earlier in the week my OHS is much worse, so shoulder stability must be a big factor (for me at least).

    This! Now that you say this I feel like I can relate.. I'm used to doing totally different exercises that force my shoulders to bend behind me and I've been working on my shoulder mobility for more then a year so holding them stable overhead is hard.
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    I had most success with these lifts focusing on on grip distance and abdominal stability.

    I haven't been lifting in quite a while though and am certainly not trained to give advice in this sort of thing.
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    This can be due to multiple issues:

    1. Shoulder mobility
    2. Shoulder stability
    3. Other stability and mobility
    4. Pull mechanics


    If you can hold the bar fine overhead in your snatch grip whilst standing it is unlikely to be 1 or 2, if you can't this is where to start fixing things.

    If you can hold the bar fine overhead, but things go awry when you squat, you should look at thoracic mobility, core stability, hip mobility and stability, and ankle mobility. It could be any or all of those. I know its a blanket statement, but without seeing your lift, that's all that can be said.

    If both of the above are fine, its likely to be your pull mechanics, realistically, you will weither be leaving the bar out in front, or looping it, so it swings back at you, both make catchin it hard and catching it low almost impossible. This one really is hard to diagnose without seeing. If you have any videos of your lifts or similar, then it will give an idea on the issue and what you can do to fix it.

    I know the above is pretty general, but hope it helped.

  • Gimsteinn
    Gimsteinn Posts: 7,678 Member
    There's nothing wrong with my mobility but the stability could be it.. The weight keeps pushing my shoulders back so the bar isn't over my head but over my back and *kitten*.. *kitten* that, I can take the bar all the way behind my back.
    I'm thinking I need to remind myself to push it forward instead of backwards like I've been doing..
  • MsBuzzkillington
    MsBuzzkillington Posts: 171 Member
    Is snatch really a name for an exercise? hahaha
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    Gimsteinn wrote: »
    There's nothing wrong with my mobility but the stability could be it.. The weight keeps pushing my shoulders back so the bar isn't over my head but over my back and *kitten*.. *kitten* that, I can take the bar all the way behind my back.
    I'm thinking I need to remind myself to push it forward instead of backwards like I've been doing..

    ...but is it iunstable overhead before you squat?

    If not, most likely your shoulders are fine, but you lean forward as you squat, so therefore move the arms overhead backwards to compensate, making the issue appear to be shoulders, when it's not.

    This actually applies to many people, they think shoulder mobility or stability holds them back, because this feels stretched, but if they could squat with an upright torso they wouldn't need to take the shoulders to extreme range, where its less stable.
  • Gimsteinn
    Gimsteinn Posts: 7,678 Member
    HelloDan wrote: »
    Gimsteinn wrote: »
    There's nothing wrong with my mobility but the stability could be it.. The weight keeps pushing my shoulders back so the bar isn't over my head but over my back and *kitten*.. *kitten* that, I can take the bar all the way behind my back.
    I'm thinking I need to remind myself to push it forward instead of backwards like I've been doing..

    ...but is it iunstable overhead before you squat?

    If not, most likely your shoulders are fine, but you lean forward as you squat, so therefore move the arms overhead backwards to compensate, making the issue appear to be shoulders, when it's not.

    This actually applies to many people, they think shoulder mobility or stability holds them back, because this feels stretched, but if they could squat with an upright torso they wouldn't need to take the shoulders to extreme range, where its less stable.

    I can squat *kitten* to grass with straight torso. But I truly believe it's my shoulder stability. But thank you again. I'm gonna go try to see if I can fix it with the broom stick, then add the bar and if it keeps going well I might add the weight.
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    Really hard to tell without seeing, but if it's that, the simplest thing to try is narrow up your grip a little. Of course, this has impact on where the bar sits at the hip and therefore the pull, so you need to find a happy medium between a position thats stable overhead and still good to pull correctly.
  • Gimsteinn
    Gimsteinn Posts: 7,678 Member
    HelloDan wrote: »
    Really hard to tell without seeing, but if it's that, the simplest thing to try is narrow up your grip a little. Of course, this has impact on where the bar sits at the hip and therefore the pull, so you need to find a happy medium between a position thats stable overhead and still good to pull correctly.

    Now that is very useful. Thank you.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    HelloDan wrote: »
    Gimsteinn wrote: »
    There's nothing wrong with my mobility but the stability could be it.. The weight keeps pushing my shoulders back so the bar isn't over my head but over my back and *kitten*.. *kitten* that, I can take the bar all the way behind my back.
    I'm thinking I need to remind myself to push it forward instead of backwards like I've been doing..

    ...but is it iunstable overhead before you squat?

    If not, most likely your shoulders are fine, but you lean forward as you squat, so therefore move the arms overhead backwards to compensate, making the issue appear to be shoulders, when it's not.

    This actually applies to many people, they think shoulder mobility or stability holds them back, because this feels stretched, but if they could squat with an upright torso they wouldn't need to take the shoulders to extreme range, where its less stable.

    May or may not apply to @Gimsteinn but v. certainly applies to me - a real eye opener. Thanks for this info.
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    Glad to help, weightlifting is my thing, but it's not common here, so I don't usually post much. Just by chance I saw this thread, so I was happy I could contribute.

    If you have other questions about the lifts, or want any form checks or pointers, feel free to ask.
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