What could four years of Living Room's lifting do for you?

 The person seen lifting is Sjaak Smorenburg, a prolific writer, weightlifter, motorcyclist, and a train engineer. Smorenburg's lifting videos are published free on YouTube and other Internet sites. Google him or follow the printed and ebooks listed below.

Clean and Jerk

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The bar trajectory is now squeezed in the vicinity of the fall-line. (collapsed bar trajectory on the fall-line.)

No feet play or escape. Fine motor control is well established

The problem with stiffening the neck by looking downwards.
Looking downwards at the bar reduced the Trapezius stretch reflex.
The shallow elevation of the heels impeded shoulder heaving. The bar departed to the front during the initial Jerking.


Snatch From Hang

 
Feet escape is null. That means, coordination under load is advanced. You wiggle and shake if your muscles could not stand the stress.

The heel elevation is more aggressive than in the Clean. The head is stiff and never shot beyond the vertical fall-line.

The confidence and familiarity with the classical snatch is apparent in the perfection of the chest thrust. Pay attention to this chest contour and the corresponding contour in the next exercise, close grip Snatch.

 

Very efficient ascent after reception. 


The same trend of relaxed spine and perfect chest thrust which will be reversed in the next exercise. Here, the familiarity with the Classical Snatch put the mind at ease and allowed the musculoskeletal system to perform at its best.

Close Grip Snatch

 
First: Note the contrast between this new exercise and the previous ones. Here, the lifter appears in uncharted territories, with evident fragmentation of the mental processing. The attention at positioning the lower limbs far exceeds that of maintaining proper spinal support. The chest is soft and the shoulders are dismissed by the mental apprehension.

Second: Note that the start position on the close grip Snatch lacked the enthusiasm that was vividly demonstrated on the Classical Snatch.

Third: This is the high price paid in living in a modern society. The shoulder joints lack the muscular balance due the life style of living in contained environment where the arms are always kept below the shoulders. Chinese lifters have little problem with overhead resistance with narrow hand gripping.



First: You could tell that the new exercise is taking a toll on the concentration process. While Sjaak is consumed on arranging his legs, his chest, spine, and lower back are amiss.
Second: Instead of lowering the body by bending his knees, the chest cage keep drooping and the internal focus will never return to full gear as far as the chest is concerned. With the chest out of the lifter's full attention, the shoulders will fall into disarray.
Third: You definitely could keep your hands up and chest thrust during this stage. But the worry and concern towards an annoying intruder, such as the close grip snatch, suffice to snatch the self esteem of the lifter. It would require a whole cycle of desensitization, try and error, until you would find the route of least resistance. You know where the problem lies. Work your way around it.


Sjaak Smorenburg
 

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