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I've searched this forum and can't find anything similar to what I'm about to ask, so will go ahead and do so.

I currently have a bodyweight snatch, so I don't think I"m doing too badly with the way I'm lifting at the moment, but whenever I'm about to initiate that big pull from the hips (the second pull?), the bar is never in my hips! It's actually in the lower portion of my thigh (i.e. close to my knees, sometimes mid-thigh).

If I stand up tall/straight with the bar in my snatch grip, it isn't in my hip crease, but mid-thigh somewhere. However, if I was to widen my grip so that the bar was in my hips, I just don't feel very stable in the overhead squat position and feel that the bar is too close to my head, and I don't think my wrists like the strain (as it is a particularly wide!).

Is this a case of getting my wrists accustomed to a wider grip? Or would it be a case of a premature arm bend before that final pull so that the bar gets into the hips? Or should I just continue snatching as I am? I just feel that the way I'm currently snatching is actually not making the most of the potential power I can generate if that bar was in my hips.

Thank you very much for reading and for any advice/guidance :)

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    Maybe try snatching and OHSing (lightly) with the wider grip for a while, to see if your wrists acclimate?
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 20:44
  • Check your posture, you might be rounding forward, try forcibly pinning your shoulders back and chest out?
    – John
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 9:57
  • As stated in John comment, check your posture. Until the bar-hip contact occurs, make sure you always stay over the bar. At the point of contact, make sure you properly enhance your upper back by shrugging back and up and by keeping an arched back. Check also your wrists (they must not be extended, but rather neutral or slightly flexed). And, as stated by Dave Liepmann, try an eventually wider grip so that the bar lies on your hip crease while standing up with almost straight arms
    – Kinka-Byo
    Commented Aug 4, 2022 at 6:44

2 Answers 2

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The main issue is this:

the bar is never in my hips! It's actually in the lower portion of my thigh

You hold the bar too narrowly, it's not just wrist strength and flexibility, but also shoulder flexibility that you need to work on.

The key to a good snatch is having a grip wide enough so that the barbell sits in your hip crease at the end of the first pull.

As ridiculous as it sounds, start practising with a long enough broomstick just to get the movement down.

Also look at doing snatch grip deadlifts to practise holding heavier weights throughout the first movement.

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    As a quick add, you can use wrist wraps for added wrist support, but ultimately you don't want to rely on them, you want to get your wrists stronger
    – Dark Hippo
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 12:53
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Some lifters use a slight bend in their elbows to get the bar into a better power position. Not to be confused with trying to lift the bar with the arms which is a common beginners' issue.

There is a youtube video from Catalyst Atheletics called Arm Bend in the Snatch & Clean.

But maybe working on a better overhead position with a wider grip can work, hard know without seeing a lift.

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