All About Position

We've been working a lot lately on the transition between the bar above the knee to the "high block" or "power position". This is a difficult spot in the lift and almost everyone has trouble with it at first.

Study these pics of Olympian Melanie Roach of what the transition phase looks like in the snatch. Chest is up and well ahead of the bar, back is tight and arched and the bar is kept close . Notice Melanie's toes have come up off the floor because her weight is back on her heels; weight on the heels is good, toes up not so good. Keep the feet flat on the floor. Check out how far above the knees the bar has traveled on the first pull from the floor. Don't be in a rush...be patient and finish the first pull well above the knees.

Now, notice what has happened in the second photo. Knees have been driven under the bar, the torso has been raised vertically and the bar is in contact very high on the thigh at the hip crease. The chest and shoulders are still well ahead of the bar. From here the explosive jump and shrug occurs. Melanie has gotten a little forward on her toes here, but remember the idea is to stay flat footed as long as possible from this point through the jump/shrug. 

The transition from above knee to the hips (as in these two photos) occurs in the wink of an eye. There should be no pause, no hitch, no resetting...the bar moves upwards continuously. Learning to execute this phase of the lift explosively while consistently arriving at the optimum power position is key to successful lifting, so practice!

Comments

[Amy]

Yay, bonus blogging from Randy! Glad Tim is taking advantage of your mad writing skillz.