Snatch Lift

Original Editor - Matt Huey

Top Contributors - Matt Huey and Vidya Acharya  

Definition

The snatch lift is one of two lifts that are performed in weightlifting or Olympic weightlifting. The objective of the snatch lift is to lift a barbell from the ground to a fully overhead in one continuous motion.

Technique

The lifter starts in a squat position with a flat back and their arms straight, gripping the bar wide. The lift is broken up into six phases:

1. The first pull. The athlete grips the bar with a wide grip (this is to help shorten the distance that the barbell needs to travel). This phase begins when the barbell is lifted from the ground to roughly the athlete's knee. The athlete pushes into the floor with their legs and glutes pulling the bar upwards close to their shins.
2. The transition. This phase is when the barbell is at about knee level and the athlete pulls upward into a power position around waist level.
3. The second pull. This phase has the most momentum of the barbell. The athlete exerts force to pull the barbell as high as they can. This is done with an extension of the ankles, knees and hips which accelerates the bar upwards
4. The turnover under the barbell. This is when the athlete drops into a deep squat position and pulls themselves under the barbell so the bar is overhead.
5. The catch phase. The athlete as their arms fully extended with the bar overhead.
6. The rising from the squat position. Once the barbell is under control and secure, the lifter stands upright so that their hips and knees are extended so once upright, the bar is directly over the lifter's head along their center of gravity.

Safety and Injuries

There is a belief that lifts like the snatch, have a high injury rate due to the technical ability to perform it and the increase of awareness through CrossFit. However, the overall injury rate for Olympic weight lifting (the snatch and clean and jerk) is roughly 2.4-3.3 injuries per 1000 hours of training which is relatively low compared to other sports. Contact sports such as American football and wresting have higher injury rates (9.6 injures and 5.7 injures per 1000 hours). Running has a higher rate of injury than Olympic weight lifting as well, 17.8 injuries per 1000 hours.

The low back, shoulder and knees were the most commonly reported areas of injury. This can be contributed to the technique of pulling the catching the bar which could cause an injury of the lumbar spine and the shoulder with the overhead position. The knees can be injured with dropping under the bar to catch it.

The good news is that the vast majority of injuries are acute in nature and lasted less than 3 weeks. Chronic injuries have been found to be around 5% of all injuries with olympic weight lifting.