Snatch Set-up (Part 1): Overview

In the coming weeks I plan on releasing a series of short, easily understandable blog posts about the snatch starting position in weightlifting.  I want to take you through my research as it pertains to the snatch starting position in hopes that you can learn along with me, peeling back layer by layer of the set-up to my favorite lift.

What I hope to accomplish is to first paint the general picture of what a proper set-up should look like (Part 1), then dive into specific aspects of the set-up such as foot position, shoulder position, hip angle, etc.  The goal is to provide the reader with resources from knowledgeable and/or informed sources, supported by science if and when possible, about all things related to the most efficient starting position.

As I dive into targeted research about different aspects of the starting position, my hypothesis is that certain considerations (such as hip angle) may ultimately differ from athlete to athlete due to bio-mechanical considerations (i.e., length of femur, total height, etc.).  An aim of this research, however, is to expose the most efficient starting position for the average athlete to highlight this as an ideal for each lifter.  My hopes are that we can all analyze our current starting position, understand where we need to be for maximum efficiency (the “ideal set-up”), then dissect why there may be differences between where we are and where we need to be – for example, is your ankle mobility holding you back from achieving a better set-up?  I will do my best with including remedies for poor positioning considerations when available.

So let’s look at a few starting positions snagged from a good ol’ Google search.

Exhibit A: Bryan Diaz – Starting Position (Snatch)

http://fubarbell.tumblr.com/post/47701459780/bryan-diaz-2012-crossfit-games-competitor

Exhibit B: Diane Fu (San Francisco CrossFit, FuBarbell Club) – Starting Position

https://www.facebook.com/sanfranciscocrossfit

A few things I’m taking note of while looking at these two pictures (Exhibit A and Exhibit B, above):

    -Foot position: feet under hips, toes pointed slightly out (not straight ahead but not too wide).
    -Knees: out, out, OUT!
    -Arms: locked, knees touching inside of arms (or close to touching).
    -Chest: proud, reaching towards sky.
    -Shoulders: front shoulder caps just slightly in front of barbell (vertical alignment).

Now let’s look at the “lines” of the starting position:

Exhibit C: Diagram of Vertical Plane Considerations
(South Brooklyn Weightlifting Club)

http://southbrooklynwc.com/2011/05/13/startpositionolympicweightlifting/

Note: I cannot tell if Exhibit C is a snatch or a clean set-up, however, I posted the picture for side view considerations of the vertical alignment (which may be similar for the two lifts).

Exhibit D:  Nadezhda Yevstyukhina at the 2011 European Championships

http://southbrooklynwc.com/2011/05/13/startpositionolympicweightlifting/

Below is a segment of the article linked from Exhibits C and D:

“It is very important in the start position to make sure that forces generated from the body will be maximized. The spacing of the feet and hands will contribute to maximizing these forces. lf one studies pictures of advanced lifters from head-on, one can see that the lifters place their feet under the bar with their foot placement equidistant from a mid-sagittal plane coursing through the body and center of the bar. The lifter also places their hands on the bar equidistant from a mid-sagittal plane coursing through the body in the center the bar.”

So where should you start with understanding the most efficient set-up for the snatch?  As usual, Greg Everett outlines various set-up considerations (and corresponding principles) for the snatch.  The article (linked below) is a great read and is what drove the observations I made for Exhibits A and B above – as well as showing me that I couldn’t attack the snatch set-up in just one article. 

"The Olympic Lift Starting Position" by Greg Everett

http://www.catalystathletics.com/articles/article.php?articleID=49

In closing to this initial post about the snatch set-up, it should be emphasized that a strong starting position is crucial to the success (i.e., efficient transfer of forces) of the snatch.  This is the reason I chose to start my study of the snatch, and corresponding blog post, at the set-up position.  Simply put: a good starting position enables a good lift, a bad starting position ensures a bad one.

Now go forth and lift!

Note:  I’d like to remind the reader that I am hardly a qualified resource to be preaching on the best practices for weightlifting - which is why the details in these posts link to information from more experienced resources.  As such, please correct me if I am wrong about any detail included in these posts.