The snatch is for sure a hard technical movement - doesn't seem like it should be, but catching that bar low is hard.

at oly class - they break it down by section.

start with snatch grip and go from ground to knee - do this for a couple of reps, shoulders high, back straight, butt low

then do snatch pull, so from knee using shoulder shrug pull the bar, don't do the drop - this pull is what's going to move that bar - if you don't have a good vertical jump, you won't move that bar much to be able to drop - you can do this 2 ways - do the movement without coming off the ground and then do it while trying to come off the ground with as much height (pull) as possible

Then do snatch balance work - bring the bar to behind your head and drop catch

then try doing the snatch

knowing the components helped me jump from 70lbs to 90lbs - but this is still a completely weak lift for me

good luck!

I just started learning it, one piece at a time, using a plastic dowel. I can't do much more than the dowel though, because even that little jump is hard on my back so adding weight will probably paralyze me :P

We do similar to what BrendaB posted. I'm very weak with snatches; they kind of scare me.

My coach also recommends working on improving snatch grip deadlift and overhead squat before trying to snatch heavy.

any video with Coach Burgener helps tremendously. And hearing him break down the components of olympic weightlifters squats really helped me too. Form is key. My snatch went up really quickly once I got the form down. My best snatch sits at 125 right now, but I really feel that I could get more if I wasn't afraid of throwing my shoulder out (I am crazy flexible and my arms go really really really far back behind my head when doing snatches). Also work on overhead squats, the balance you use in those is a great help when snatching.

I'd say get really really comfortable with the movement. And get really fast with it. It is an incredibly explosive lift and if you take it too slow, you're going to move less weight. Keep the bar close to your body as well, like it's a razor and you're trying to shave off any and all body hair with it (as my coach says).


Hope that maybe one of these things helps. It will come with time and practice, no worries

Yeah, learn it in stages.

To be honest, why don't you go for the Clean and Jerk first, and get the hang of Olympic lifting. Even Hang power cleans will give you a bit of a grounding.

Then the technique you pick up on the clean will help you understand what's needed when snatching and squat snatching, which you'll probably need to go heavy.

is this squat snatch or power snatch? I worked on squat snatch today and it was far less than my 1RM Power snatch!

My coach posted this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rZV5P3cAa4&feature=youtu.be.

is this squat snatch or power snatch? I worked on squat snatch today and it was far less than my 1RM Power snatch!

I think that's common at first, because the action of getting under the bar into a full squat is really intimidating. That being said, you want to get comfortable with a full squat snatch because that is the way you'll lift the most. Look at the olympics, they maximise that action as much as possible

When I first started I could barely Snatch 80lbs.

I've found my Snatch stays at about 5-10 pounds less than my push press, but the Snatch is catching up quicker. It gets much easier when you get the form right.

Just got a new 2RM today at 115, and could easily go up. Maybe 3 days rest and going over my cals was good for me :P

EDIT: For reference, I way 163 Lbs

That's awesome! My snatch is up to about 100lb at the moment, which is no where near my other lifts. I had a mental barrier to it for a long time, but it seems to be coming together in the last few weeks. How is your clean and jerk? I find it so much easier!