Today we are going to start a special “pack” of articles in which we will try to explain as best as possible the three basic movements that can be made in weightlifting : the snatch, the clean or loaded and the jerk or clean .

These three exercises are very important to perform with an impeccable technique , because they are exercises that if we do not perform perfectly, we can injure ourselves with great ease (this does not mean that they are harmful exercises, but we must have a good execution technique).

What is the snatch or snatch?

Basically we could define snatch or snatch as a mix of squat and military press . The main objective of this exercise is to raise a bar above our head while doing a squat, hence we point out that it is a mixture of the two mentioned exercises.

One point to consider before performing this exercise is that we must perform a good warm-up, especially at the level of the shoulder rotator cuff to avoid injury. Performing a previous mobility job can also be a good help if we have suffered or suffer from any injury or problem in this joint.

Musculature involved in the snatch

From the point of view of the muscles involved in this exercise, we could define the start as a complete exercise:

• Our lower train will be involved in the part corresponding to the squat, since to stand up with the bar on our head we will need powerful quadriceps.
• Core work is going to be fundamental when it comes to preventing injuries. Given that the weight is going to be placed on our head, and that during the pull to raise the bar we will make a half moon, our core will activate and help avoid back arches.
• Our upper train will be in charge of lifting the bar and, once it is placed on our head, slow down the movement and maintain the alignment of the bar with respect to our body. Here we must point out the importance of the rotator cuff musculature , responsible for giving stability to the glenohumeral joint and that if it is not in a good physical tone, it can lead to injury.

How to make the start? Technique and advice

The first thing we are going to do before going on to explain the snatch technique, is to talk about one of the most important elements involved in weightlifting: footwear . At the time of practicing weightlifting, the footwear becomes very important because it is not a footwear to use, but usually has a small wedge or lift in the back to prevent, if we fail in our attempt to perform the lifting we can unbalance and fall back, with the risk that the bar will fall on us and cause us a serious injury . Therefore, choose your shoes well before putting yourself under the bar.

• One of the points in the learning of the technique that make it easy to learn, is that this exercise we will learn by repetition , so learning and internalize movement patterns from the beginning will contribute to our position and execution are correct from the beginning and the risk of injury is minor.
• Another point to keep in mind when we talk about the technique is the type of grip, which in this exercise will be the so-called ” hook grip ” (consistent grip around the bar with our thumb and this one with the other four fingers), because thanks to him we will avoid that the bar can turn us inside the hands when we are raising it.
• The starting position of our buttocks will also be of great importance, not having to place them below the horizontal of our knees. That is to say: our quadriceps should be in a parallel or almost parallel position to the ground (in the image this parallel line would correspond to the red dotted line).
• To avoid injury to the back, our back must remain at all times in a neutral position , that is, as straight as possible and with a fixed view to the front.
• Finally, when we make the pull up the bar we must avoid excessively separating the bar from our body , as this will multiply the weight exerted by it and we will be unable to execute the lift in addition to posing a high risk of injury. When blocking the bar above our head we must pay attention that this is not placed behind our head, as this will cause us to fall backwards and we may suffer suffering a serious shoulder injury (at least).As we see in the image, the bar should be on the vertical of our legs, represented by the red dotted line.