[Gubernatrix]

The current BWLA lift of the quarter is the left hand barbell snatch, but this movement is fun at any time of the year!

Whether you are a weightlifter wanting to post an entry in this competition (and if you are an FK.WL member we hope you do) or you just want to try something a bit different, the left hand barbell snatch is an entertaining movement.

The barbell version of this lift was new to me, so I had to start from the beginning. Fortunately I had Bethnal Green weightlifting coach Giles Greenwood to help me not make a complete fool of myself.

Here’s a short video of my steep learning curve, from wobbly beginnings to half decent effort.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=-aMDDVvmzZg

As you see in the video, I started with a light olympic bar (it’s about 11kg) to warm up and practise the movement. If you don’t have a bar light enough to warm up or practise with, a dumbbell or kettlebell does the job.

I began by using the squat stance as that is what I’ve always done when doing the dumbbell version of this lift. However Giles suggested using split stance as it is more stable, and I found this much easier.

I worked my way up in weight with the split stance, but as the weight got heavier I was having trouble controlling the bar in the lockout position – it was waving around all over the place.

Giles suggested using hook grip to give me a better grip on the bar – although he pointed out that this is not always best for everyone as it does reduce the amount of bar surface area you cover with your hand. But for me, the improvement in grip strength more than compensated for any loss of surface area contact. I was able to keep the bar solid and locked out overhead without it tipping sideways.

So that was my lesson. Have a go and see what works for you. I can tell you one thing – it’s a fun way to spend the morning!

Check out FK’s left hand barbell snatch video guide.


View this on the website

[greg]

awesome work, your snatch looks very solid

remind me i need to work on the depth my my split snatch, might give this a try too

[Gubernatrix]

Sadly my one-handed snatch is much better than my two-handed version!

But yes, it's a fun way to work on your split - for the jerk as well as the snatch. We've got some great photos up in Bethnal Green of the lifters of old doing "mega splits".