Clean grip snatch

[Allen Yeh]

In Mike Boyle's latest article:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1475529

Mistake #12 is Not teaching the athletes to snatch sooner - which after meeting Dan John, it seemed to make sense to me.

Mistake #13 - Starting to teach snatches with a snatch grip

That is the one I'd like some input on, I tried a clean grip snatch yesterday just a few to see how it'd go and I found it to be REALLY awkward. I'd much rather do a dumbell snatch than that a clean grip, I had to force myself to not clean it because that's what felt natural. With the clean grip I also felt like it was harder to keep the bar close to the body as with the snatch grip width.

Anyone actually use/implement these?

[Yuen Sohn]

Allen,
My coach has me doing close grip power snatches in moderation since my regular snatches tend to lack 'pop'. In my case, these aren't a substitute, but rather a training supplement.

FYI, as the weight gets heavier, my grip gets progressively wider.

Yes, they do feel awkward and yes I find it hard to keep the bar close to the body! But to get the bar overhead fast, I REALLY need to explode/extend hard and fast...which is the point.

An extremely strong and experienced Ukrainian lifter at the gym cautioned me about doing these too frequently with too much weight, as he said they were very taxing on his shoulders. Granted, he puts up a LOT of weight. At my current level, that isn't a problem.

Not knowledgeable enough to comment 'mistake 13'. I'll leave that to others.

[Pierre Auge]

The issue with this is that I would prefer to see an athlete develop a proper power position and scoop for the snatch rather than try and power the weight up from a less efficient explosion point. Efficiency in the skill is necessary to the extent that it allows you to put up the maximum weights for the application of your training. If for GPP than a good power position is necessary in my opinion, if for SST which is Coach Boyle's game than I'm not certain. I would have to look at the needs of the specific athlete but to me it doesn't make much sense to use an inefficient technique. The only advantage to a narrow grip that I can see is that once its overhead it is easier to support which is why I did it. BUT once you get into lifting real weights it screws you over because your wrists and shoulders get accustomed to supporting from a narrow grip yet you can't get under any real weights. The wide grip now becomes a position of compromise when you attempt to switch over and you move back to less significant weights in order to adapt.

Thats my take on it anyways, I'm pretty new and I don't have a problem teaching explosiveness but maybe I'm special in more than a few ways

[Allen Yeh]

I'll play with them a bit more today with some more progression rather than just an empty bar. Anyone else with any thoughts?

[Greg Everett]

clean grip snatches are good for athletes with temporary wrist problems who can't support a wide grip overhead. sage burgener did them for a long time when her wrist was jacked. keeps the motor patten sharp as much as possible. other than that, i don't really see a point. if yoon is doing themn because his snatches lack speed, i would choose a different variation such as high hang cleans or 2-positions, etc. to force more 2nd pull power instead of changing something as fundmental to the lift as the grip width.

[James Evans]

Greg,

did they ever figure out what was wrong with Sage's wrist or did it just get better by itself?

[Greg Everett]

Originally Posted by James Evans

did they ever figure out what was wrong with Sage's wrist or did it just get better by itself?

not really. just took tons of ice and time.

[Yuen Sohn]

Yup, trust me, they got me doing quite a bit of work from the hang, w/ standard snatch grip, to work on 2nd pull explosiveness...hmmm, where's the emoticon to represent "Man, I'm sick of doing these damn things from the hang"?

Didn't want to give the impression that the close grip work was a big part of what I'm doing.