Quest for Fitness

Tonight’s skills practice at the Cincinnati Weightlifting Club continued to work on the Snatch.  My shoulders were tight after some of the ring pushups and pullups that I squeezed in yesterday, but they eventually loosened up.

I am one session ahead of Penny, so while she focused more on stuff I did last session, I spent most of the time on overhead squats and hang/shrug snatches.  A couple of things I was working on: keeping my feet from going too wide when I “jumped” into the Snatch squat; keeping the pull/shrug flat up my chest then “snapping” my wrist and pulling myself under the bar.

Gotta keep working the timing and balance, all the while, keeping my shoulder blades pulled back and stretching the bar lengthwise.

Tonight was more Oly Weightlifting skills practice at the Cincinnati Weightlifting Club.

The first half of practice, I focused on Overhead squats with a tight core/back arch, good shoulder/hand positioning, nice upright back.  I have some inflexible ankles right now, so by slipping a small weight under each heel, I can get the positioning a lot better.

The 2nd half of practice was spent working on the bottom of the snatch, from the top down.  So I did some “jump” shrugs… not jumps really, but just “driving through the heels” and imparting some momentum to the bar.  Next, the “Snatch Deadlift” position.  This differs from what I’m used to with the “Powerlifting Deadlift” start position.  The knees get spread more at the bottom, and rather than the vertical shins I’m used to, the shins go a bit more over the bar with the butt closer to the ground.  I guess it makes sense… the Snatch is a great deal less weight coming off the ground than what someone’s Deadlift PR would be.

The technical nuances of the lift are way beyond anything I’ve yet encountered since getting into barbell lifting about 6 months ago.  I’m starting to see why I’ve read that someone never perfects the Snatch or Clean & Jerk, they just keep practicing the lifts and cleaning up their technique.

Good stuff!  I like the focus needed so far!