How to Set Up a Snatch Block for Pulling
Competitors in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting use snatch pulls as a training tool to help strengthen their snatch. The snatch is an explosive movement, and one of the two lifts contested in Olympic Weightlifting. Snatch pulls enable a competitor to strengthen the snatch by practicing the pull phases of that lift with more weight than she can use in competition.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Variable-height snatch blocks
- Standard sized barbell
- Rubberized Olympic weights
- Lifting platform
- Wrist straps
- Olympic lifting shoes OR flat-soled shoes
Instructions
-
-
1
Adjust the height of the snatch blocks for which phase of the snatch pull you want to focus upon. If executing snatch pulls from the hang, or "power position" (where the barbell starts at the top of the thigh), you will want to set the blocks higher from the floor than if you were performing snatch pulls from below the knee.
-
2
Set up the blocks on the platform, placing them about three feet apart. Load rubberized weights onto the barbell and then put the loaded bar onto the blocks.
-
-
3
Get set into the start position of the snatch. Place your hands about a foot outside shoulder-width and wrap the wrist straps around the barbell. Keep your head neutral (looking forward), your chest puffed out, and make sure that your shoulders are in front of the bar and not behind it. If you are performing snatch pulls from the hang, you should bend your legs until your thighs touch the bar; if doing snatch pulls from below the knee, bend your legs until your knees almost touch the barbell.
-
4
Explode upward. If you are performing the pull from below the knees, then straighten your legs until the bar reaches a point slightly above the middle of your thigh. Then forcefully extend your hips and back until you go up on your toes. Once on your toes, shrug hard with your shoulders to pull the bar up to mid chest. If you are performing snatch pulls from the hang, explode upward from that position, extending up onto your toes and then shrugging the bar forcefully.
-
5
Replace the barbell onto the snatch blocks. Repeat the snatch pull for the desired number of repetitions and sets.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Make sure that you do not bend your elbows until after you have shrugged with your shoulders. Also, refrain from jumping backward. You should finish the lift with your feet in the same position as where you started. Avoid rounding your back at any point during the movement.
If performed incorrectly, the snatch pull can result in injury to the lower back.
