Wall Balls! Yay, wall balls!
A lot of people get focused on one element of the clean and the snatch (and the jerk, for that matter) in being able to move big weight.
What is it?
It’s spending too much time pulling up. In this case, too much time is boiled down to fractions of seconds…
…you can call it floating, but whatever you call it, it’s keeping you from moving bigger and bigger weights.
WHILE STRENGTH IN SQUATTING COULD ALSO BE A PROBLEM, THE FOCUS HERE IS ON GETTING UNDER THE BAR. AND IT IS JUST THAT, YOU NEED TO GET YOUR BUTT UNDER THE BAR.
As the bar gets heavier [and closer to your bodyweight], it becomes leverage. What I mean by this is the bar becomes a point you can pull against to lower your body more quickly.
Let’s face it, if you can get under the bar quickly, you should be able to move more weight, yes?
MATTER OF FACT, THE GAME BECOMES ‘WHOEVER CAN GET UNDER THE BAR FASTER HAS THE POTENTIAL TO LIFT MORE WEIGHT.’
So, you’ve hit triple extension. The bar is continuing to ascend (even if it is only slightly). Your JOB now is to pull your body under the bar. Not just drop, but you need to pull your body under the bar.
This serves two purposes:
- You get lower more quickly (remember, whoever drops lower faster, wins)
- You can be more accurate with your lifts (think accuracy in the snatch)
There’s a number of things you can do to work on this [and certainly technique and mechanics is a must], but the cue is simple:
PULL YOURSELF UNDER THE BAR. DO NOT SIMPLY DROP UNDER THE BAR. PULL YOURSELF UNDER IT.
He [or she], pulls under faster, wins!
Happy lifting!
MetCon
Fight Gone Bad (last done on 9/24/15)
3 Rounds for Total Reps
Wallballs (20/14)
SDHP (75/55)
Box Jumps (20″)
Push Press (75/55)
Row (calories)
Rest
*1min per station
Fitness on fitness on fitness!
