Extension, Drive & Pull
How the legs and hips are supposed to work together in the pull of a snatch or clean can seem frustratingly mysterious, so look at this.
This is simultaneous hip and knee extension—extending both together.
This is leg drive—pushing vertically into the floor.
And THIS is a pull—pushing into the floor while you extend the hips.
Don’t try to think your way through it—guide the bar close to your body as you push vertically into the floor with your legs and extend your hips on top of them.
Simultaneous hip and knee extension produces very little upward force and a lot of horizontal force—this is how you swing a kettlebell or lockout a deadlift.
Leg drive gets the bar moving in the right direction but creates limited acceleration.
The properly combined leg drive and hip extension produces maximal upward acceleration of the bar with minimal horizontal force.
See how the knees move forward as the trunk gets vertical? Let it happen. Don’t intentionally move your knees forward. That motion is natural and unavoidable if you’re pushing vertically with the legs.
And yes, in an actual snatch or clean, the trunk will be leaned backward to bring the shoulders behind the hips somewhat rather than the whole body extending vertically as in this demo.
This is simultaneous hip and knee extension—extending both together.
This is leg drive—pushing vertically into the floor.
And THIS is a pull—pushing into the floor while you extend the hips.
Don’t try to think your way through it—guide the bar close to your body as you push vertically into the floor with your legs and extend your hips on top of them.
Simultaneous hip and knee extension produces very little upward force and a lot of horizontal force—this is how you swing a kettlebell or lockout a deadlift.
Leg drive gets the bar moving in the right direction but creates limited acceleration.
The properly combined leg drive and hip extension produces maximal upward acceleration of the bar with minimal horizontal force.
See how the knees move forward as the trunk gets vertical? Let it happen. Don’t intentionally move your knees forward. That motion is natural and unavoidable if you’re pushing vertically with the legs.
And yes, in an actual snatch or clean, the trunk will be leaned backward to bring the shoulders behind the hips somewhat rather than the whole body extending vertically as in this demo.
