Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › ***Straight back (vertical) in the bottom of a snatch and OHS***

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    • 02/25/2014 at 3:52 pm #70817
      AvatarMark Hardie
      Participant

      Hello all, I’m currently having a crisis and I don’t know how to fix it.  I want to get more into oly lifting and possibly do a meet in the upcoming future but I feel like my positioning is holding me back.

      First off I have long legs, femurs, and arms (which really sucks).  When I hit the bottom of a snatch my butt sticks out like crazy and my chest collapses onto my knees.  This happens quite a bit in my ohs squats as well.  I found with the “Leopard Test” (ohs with kettlebells) that I can achieve the position that, but the second I get under a barbell everything folds.  Here are some videos of my snatch and of the “Leopard Test”.  http://youtu.be/FJ8YbZ7S3oU (snatch), http://youtu.be/-_XR4FuWCco (test).

      You can see the two extreme angles and what I’m trying to achieve.  If anyone has ever had troubles with this and fixed it please let me know.  There have been multiple articles (the best one I’ve read so far, http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/04/23/fixing-the-snatch-and-overhead-squat-position/) on this and I’m still stuck and can’t find out what my problem is.

      Thanks for your time!
    • 02/27/2014 at 4:00 pm #74226
      AvatarNathan Richer
      Participant

      hmm some thoughts/questions:

      1. if you were to try snatches with lower weights, do you exhibit the same outcome?  what is the max weight that you can snatch where you can remain more upright?
      you may want to back off and practice with a lower weight and slowly rebuild weight but enforcing form.
      2. it seems on your leopard test you have a slight butt wink at the end. this means some mobility issue right at the deepest part. are you working on hip mobility, as well as all the downstream stuff to your ankles?  are you driving your upper legs outwards (or in the old language, knees out)? 
      3. i cannot see the width of your stance. it may be that you should take a wider stance than now to help drop your pelvis down between your legs. perhaps you can shoot a front view sometime and post it.
      4. if you are getting a butt wink at the bottom of the leopard test, you may be subconsciously avoiding the lowest position on the snatch which it seems like you are avoiding going all the way down. that may be why you’re compensating by pushing your upper body down to get under the bar.
      5. on the leopard test, your loose shirt is tough to see through, but it looks like you are a bit extended in the spine. practice good bracing of the core and proper posture and try again. try to raise your arms above your head without losing proper posture. if you have to arch your back to get your arms overhead, then there is some not yet diagnosed mobility issue there.
       the other part is it looks like you may have an anterior tilt to your pelvis before you start.  when you brace the core, you should also squeeze glutes 20% to give a slight posterior tilt to neutral to the pelvis. then descend. this will help you avoid butt wink as well.
      good luck and report back!
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