The #1 Simplest Cue to Improve Your Snatch and Clean
I know it sounds too good to be true, but I assure you that it’s not! There is one cue that can change your life, or at least your bar path and speed under your bar on both the snatch and the clean. What is the tip? Point your knuckles down (toward the ground) in your start position on both of those lifts!
The “Knuckles Down” Cue
The “knuckles down” position has an enormous impact on the upper body positions that you hit later on in the lift because turning your knuckles toward the ground forces your elbows to point OUT instead of in, which is one thing you should always be after, because it affects both your bar path and speed under the bar.
It doesn’t mean they have to be so far turned down that your wrists end up in a cocked position. Just think of turning them down a little further than you currently do and I bet your bar path and pull under speed will improve.
What happens when the knuckles aren’t down enough?
The common fault is to have the knuckles up or not down enough. When this happens, the elbow is tucked in. When you hit full extension like this, the wrist moves into a position that’s higher than the elbow very quickly resulting in a reverse curl looking bar path and making it nearly impossible to use your upper body to pull under the bar. Athletes who do this are left with no other option but to swing under the bar (as if it were a kettlebell swing) instead.
How “Knuckles Down” Improves Your Bar Path
The knuckles down position will instantly make your bar path closer to you because when you hit full extension, your elbows will be up high in the finish so you just need to make sure you’re holding on.
How “Knuckles Down” Sets You Up for a Faster Pull Under the Bar
Turning your knuckles down allows you to use all of your upper body musculature to pull yourself underneath the bar because your elbow position stays higher than your wrists for longer so you can pull yourself down. Because of all this space, you will be able to SHRUG and use your arms to PULL yourself underneath the bar, and improve your speed under the bar as a result.
Cue it up!
Try it out in your next lifting session to see for yourself how this one simple cue can change your life! And your snatch and clean. Join this Invictus Weightlifting cycle and submit your videos for coaching and feedback!
Would you rather watch or listen to this article? I broke this down in a weightlifting lecture for our Masters Athlete Camp earlier this year and we captured it to share with you.
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