Skill Transfer Exercises for the Snatch

By Coach Burgener

September 07, 2012

A group of five exercises will help improve the snatch, Olympic-weightlifting coach Mike Burgener says during this trainer course at CrossFit Invictus.

The exercises are: snatch push press, overhead squat with a Sots press if needed, pressing snatch balance, heaving snatch balance and snatch balance. All the movements are done from the rack.

This is where the down-and-up of the Burgener Warm-Up comes into play, Burgener says.

“There’s so many things that I learn from doing the down-and-up,” he explains. “I do the down-and-up for the snatch, the down-and-up for the clean, and the down-and-up for the jerk, and the down-and-up for the snatch push press. It’s the same.”

The snatch balance is Burgener’s No. 1 recommendation for CrossFitters hoping to improve their snatch.

“CrossFitters can overhead-squat the world,” he says. “They can’t snatch-balance for the dickens. So what I’m going to ask them to do is quit overhead squatting and do more snatch balances.”

11min 18sec

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Additional reading: Oly Optimization by Chad Vaughn, published Nov. 18, 2011.

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4 Comments on “Skill Transfer Exercises for the Snatch”

wrote …

Great video, question in regards to the weight. When working on these drills, when do you start putting weight on.... Or is it all just PVC Pipe and used for warm up?

Also, if shoulder mobility/strength is an issue would PVC Pipe be the best thing to work with or 45# bar?

wrote …

Beautifully explained. As always.

wrote …

Once again Burgener: Clear, Concise, and had great Content. I have been trying to incorporate the Snatch Balance once per week, or another technique variation for snatch practice one time per week for about 6 months and they are GREAT movements. I'm using them to gain confidence and to try to concentrate on pushing my body aggresively under the bar. I will start to incorate the zots press as well... anything to gain confidence, power and speed. The zots press looks and sounds like it will help build my base in the bottom position, which I can always use.
thanks coach again for a stellar presentation.
I've learned almost everything I know about Oly lifting from your videos... when I took my level 1, I asked Adrian Bozzman to stay a few minutes after the level 1 to give me some feedback on my Oly lifts. I was super raw then, and he was asking where I'd learned the movements... I told him from watching your videos only. I train on my own at a regular gym, with steel plates so dropping is NOT an option for the most part. YES that impedes my training with these movments, but it also helps me stay within myself and really work on the movements and not GO FOR IT, all the time.
I love/ hate the snatch balance. For me, it's ALL about confidence in jsut hitting the movment aggressively.
Thanks again.

Frank DiMeo wrote …

Thanks Coach B!