The First Pull

First off, the snatch and the clean are not like the deadlift, technique for one is not the same for the other. The basic principle applies to both the snatch and clean but for simplicity I will only discuss the snatch, for which the setup is obviously different from the clean. To setup for the snatch first walk up to bar so it touches your shins, with feet hip width apart. Grip the bar so that it will pop right out of your hip crease during the second pull (about 2" below the belly button when standing). you can point the toes out and flair your knees out slightly to allow you to get closer to the bar with a more upright back position. Make sure you breathe in deeply and hold it in your belly when you get into this position so your core is tight. The first pull must be initiated with leg drive. From the setup you use only your legs to lift the bar, maintaining your original back angle until the bar reaches the top of your knees (legs will straighten continuously). It is a common mistake to initiate the lift by elevating the butt causing the legs to straighten and the back to become horizontal as the bar reaches the knees. The problem with this alignment is that the butt must drop and tension released in the hamstring (huge power loss) so that "rebend" of the knees may occur to get the bar in the correct position for the second pull.

What not to do-


What to do -