I'm destroyed. Today i had a bad day, failed a 140kg FS and got my wallet stolen. But thats not going to stop me. I'm starting this thread in seek of advice so I can get my dreaded 100kg snatch.

Now, a bit of me:

BW: 92-95kg

Bench: 118kg

Back squat: 170kg

Front Squat: 135kg

C&J: 113kg

Snatch: 87kg (catched the bar with my legs at 90º, not completely full snatch, i have problems catching the bar in the hole)

Snatch Balance: 87kg

Power snatch: 85kg (easy)


My weaknesses are so far:

+Technique

+Legs/quad strenght?

+tightness in the achilles tendon, making almost impossible to get in a full squat with my spine vertical to the flor.


As you can see im pretty new to this sport. I have been practicing for about 10 months. I also practice judo 2-3 times per week.

Now, here are some vids showing my technique, keep in mind that I'm working with about 70%1RM

Snatch:

Overall I'd say you look pretty damn good. The only thing I would suggest as far as the full lifts go, is that your hips are a little high in the start position. Lower them until your shoulder joint is vertical over the bar and keep your weight back on your heels so you don't go into hip extension prematurely. This will take time and just doing reps with lighter weight.

As for mobility, check out the san francisco crossfit channel on youtube. Kelly Starett is hands down one of the best when it comes to performance and mobility.

Hope this helps! Good luck lifting!!

agreed, your hip turnover is very good and you seem very athletic. I would love for you to get your hips down a bit at the start of the pull, enough that your shoulders are just above or slightly behind the bar. This will cause your back angle to be about 45 degrees in this start position (it will rise naturally as it needs to, via leg extension of the first pull).

edit: also, x2 on Kelly's mobilitywod.com. He has great stuff for the achilles/calves.

Nice lifts! I think you are being way too hard on yourself in saying that technique is a weakness. Pretty impressive to be where you are in just 10 months as well. Keep up the good work!

Anyway, I agree with weighty...your shoulders should definitely be out a little bit past the bar. I think you should continue to focus on getting stronger and bring those squat numbers up. Obviously, technique is important too, but I think your current form is adequate to achieve your goal. Your primary emphasis should be on getting stronger especially in lifts like the back squat and snatch grip deadlift.

Mobility is also very important, though there were not any glaring restrictions in the videos you posted. However, if your achilles is bothering you, you should definitely get that worked out before simple tightness leads to pain/something more prohibitive...

Again, really nice job with the lifts...I look forward to hearing back from you when you hit that 100kg snatch!

Thanks all for your support! I really appreciate it :)

While my tech looks "fine" in the vids I posted, i really start having trouble over 85-90% of my max. I start to "hit" the bar with my hips, and i dont go down "stable enough" or don't go down at all. I'll post one as soon as possible.

Also, i was thinking that my C&J could be way bigger if i start training the front squat more. Take a look, i have a very big difference between my back squat and my front (170kg vs 135kg). I got stuck on the middle in the 140kg FS, so i belive i need more quad work. Or maybe more front squats.

Also, about my shoulders; my coach always say that the shoulders should be ahead of the bar, not in a vertical to the bar.

As far as my training goes:

Train 6 times per week

Workout A:

Snatch variation

C&J variation

Back Squat

Snatch pull

Workout B:

Snatch variation/assistance

C&J variation/assistance

Front squat

Clean pull

__________________________________

I work with percentages, i think my coach likes the russian/cuban method or something.

Also i do bodybuilding work after every workout

1 Chest+bis

2 Back+tris

3 quads+abs

4 Shoulders

5 Arms+abs

6 FFA day (wrist curls, reverse curls and stuff like that and more abs)

Looking forward to a 100kg snatch and become a lean 94 ;) so i can win a medal in the national college tournament on october

I'll have to disagree with most on here, as I think the shoulders should be vertical over the bar. This is where I changed my start position and it has worked very well. When you start with your shoulders directly over the bar, the bar will then sweep into the body as you start the first pull and the shoulders will end up in front of the bar, as your coach says.

Research Coach Don McCauley and his thoughts on starting position and technique. It basically mirrors the Eastern European lifters!!

Most Euro lifters are SHORT as well...most Elite lifters are short...

Behind, over, just in front, whatever, makes little different where you start, the most important is WHEN you break the bar off the floor, your shoulders should be over, tad in front, not too far back, as long as you get them ABOVE the bar it'll be good to go for the 2nd pull.

OP you look good mate, post up some videos of your heavier lifts it's much more telling what your doing at limit. Your technique looks solid at those %.

Turn over faster under the bar and you'll nail 100. You can PS 85, you should be able to Sn 100 RIGHT NOW :D

FS is a bit weak, quad strength, FS more. That will limit what you will CN. This other guy I know does a 135 FS but he can double 170! wtf?! He does 95 Sn and 125 CJ.

Keep it up man!

Koing