Top Three Mistakes In The Hang Clean and Snatch
The hang variation of the olympic lifts are a fantastic variation for developing power output, force absorption, and potentially overloading the clean or snatch. However, these benefits our drastically diminished when performed incorrectly. Here are a few mistakes to avoid.
Mirror the Positions In The Lifts
First, understand that the Hang Clean/Snatch is not a different lift, it is a variation of it. This means that the Hang variation should be performed in a way that EXACTLY mirrors the classic lifts. The positions you hit during the lift should be the exact same, so much so that if someone were to watch film of both a full and a hang with the descent to the knees cut off and both videos started at the knee, you would not know that one was a hang and the other was not. The positions in the pull that need to be maintained are a vertical or mostly vertical shin when the bar is at or above the knee, the shoulders above the hips, and the bar close to the body. The foot pressure should be midfoot, NOT back on the heel as is all too often taught. The power position should have the torso mostly vertical with a slightly leaned forward torso. The top of the pull should still be vertical or slightly leaned back, but never leaned forward.
Mirror How You Move From These Positions
Like with the positions above, how you move from them should mirror the classic lifts. However, starting with the descent to the knees, as this is not done in the main lift, it should be an exact reverse mirror image of the pull. This means that the lifter should first bend the knees slightly and lean the torso forward to find the power position, then the lifter will hinge their torso forward and push their knees back slightly to ensure a vertical or mostly vertical shin, maintaining the midfoot pressure. As you get to the knee, the body should then begin to push through the ground with the legs, and maintain the same torso position for as long as possible. The Lats should be engaged to keep the bar close, but should not overly pull the bar into the hips. The hips should not push the bar forward, instead the legs should drive the bar up. It should look EXACTLY like a proper lift from the ground.
Replicate The First and Second Pull Of The Lifts
The last, or rather first, mistake that lifters make in the hang variations is how they pull the bar from the ground to get it to the hips before they “start” the lift. Often, lifters will lazily pull the bar to their hips. However, we should think of hangs as a complex of a pull+hang clean/snatch. We must treat every pull we perform as an opportunity to perfect and strengthen the proper positions in the clean/snatch from the ground, in this way, my advice would be to treat the pull to the hips as if it were as important as the hang lift, because it is.
Get access to world class programming and coaching with our online team! Click the button below to sign up for as little as $19/mo!