WHY?

Weighted Pullups 3-3-3-1-1-1

Speed Deadlift 10×2 @ 60-65%

5 Rounds For Time:
50ft Sandbag Lunge 80/50
10 Burpees 

    The other day I was helping Xenia with her olympic lifting and she told me that while she rehearsed the Burgener warmup, she could no't tell the difference between a good and a bad rep.  It occurred to me that in order to get better at these movements and perform the assistance exercises with purpose, one must understand WHY we perform them the way we do.  With that said, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk 'yall through the snatch and, if I can recall, point out some common flaws.

Setup: Your weight should be sitting in the middle of the foot and not quite on the heel.  The lats should be active (this is when I tell you to "squeeze a ball" in your armpit) and that imaginary ball should be sitting over the bar–not behind it which is common amongst you.  The knees should be pressed out just like when you squat (this helps activate the hip) and the gaze should be ahead.  Prior to your first pull you should take in a breath and brace down hard.  The setup is an important component in your o-lifting and more difficult than you'd expect.  Earlier this week I saw many folks set up improperly which limited their potential to get into strong positions and ultimately weakened their lifting ability.  Ask a coach to watch your setup next time…if you've never thought about this before then you're probably doing it wrong.

First pull: The first pull starts when you begin to lift the bar from the ground and ends once you clear the knee.  The purpose of this pull is to clear the knee and get you self into a position where you can start to accelerate the bar.  The first pull should be slow and you should maintain your back position with your lats over the bar.  I too often see the first pull ending mid-thigh rather than at the top of the knee.  This is often followed by a slowing down of the bar and a bump off of the thigh, causing the bar to end up in front of us rather than directly above.

Second Pull: The second pull begins when the bar has cleared the knee (not mid thigh!!!!!!!!!-that's me frustrated) and ends once full extension has been reached.  The purpose of this faze of the lift is to generate speed on the bar.  The more speed, the higher the bar, and if the bar is higher then the athlete has more time get under the load and stabilize.  The athlete's weight should still be on their mid-foot and should not come up onto the toes until the very end.  Common faults include: starting to generate speed mid thigh rather than once the bar clears the floor *coughadamcouch*, lifting the feet too early because it sounds powerful and your athletic career is heavily routed in tap-dancing *coughalancough*, or finally not coming to full extension of this hips leaving yourself with limited time to find your way under the bar *coughcheevercough*.

Third Pull: The third pull takes the athlete from full extension to the squatted position with the bar overhead.  It is called a "pull" because the athlete is literally expected to use the weight of the bar to pull themself underneath the load.  Newer athletes especially do not use this advantage and rather drop slowly to the position rather than actively pursuing speed to the squat.  Common faults here include early arm pulling (when the arms bend the power ends, core to extremity…this is basic stuff people), not keeping the bar close (this is where the bar swings away) – this is why we do elbows high and outside…to learn how to keep the bar close, and finally receiving the bar with active shoulders.  If you're soft in the bottom then you'll likely lose it.

Sorry if this got a bit lengthier than planned but I had a lot to say.  Also, if you could post to comments some of the cues that have worked for you as well as those that haven't that would be most helpful.  I'm still relatively new at this and would like some feedback as to what kind of things work. Thanks!