Elbows Up & Out - Snatch & Clean with Oleksiy Torokhtiy
Pulling the elbows up and out does 4 things:
1. Keeps the bar close after contact;
2. Stops the body’s upward movement quickly;
3. Accelerates the body down under the bar;
4. And preserves more of the bar’s upward momentum through the turnover.
And all of that means quicker, easier lifts with bigger weights.
This motion has been the subject of a lot of argument, and in my experience, it all stems from people misunderstanding what exactly is (should be) happening.
First: This is part of your movement DOWN under the bar—it is not part of the effort to move the bar up.
Second: Your elbows don’t actually move straight up—they move approximately in line with your trunk, i.e. toward your shoulders. Since your trunk will be leaned backward at the top of the extension, this is not vertical. They will also start moving back as they near the top, both because you’re squeezing your shoulders back, and because of the limits of internal rotation mobility.
Third: How much the elbows bend depends on a number of factors. A vertical trunk at the top of the pull, a narrower grip, longer arms/taller lifter will mean more bend; more backward lean of the trunk, a wider grip and shorter arms/lifter will mean less elbow bend.
Fourth: How high the elbows get will vary based on mobility and the point above. We’re looking loosely for near shoulder level before the turnover motion really begins.
This motion is much less pronounced in a clean typically (there are notable exceptions, such as Lasha Talakhadze)—it only takes a very brief motion in this direction to ensure the turnover can be effective. So the basic movement should be the same, just abbreviated. (And you can get away with a lot more in a clean than a snatch.)
Pulling the elbows up and out does 4 things:
1. Keeps the bar close after contact;
2. Stops the body’s upward movement quickly;
3. Accelerates the body down under the bar;
4. And preserves more of the bar’s upward momentum through the turnover.
And all of that means quicker, easier lifts with bigger weights.
This motion has been the subject of a lot of argument, and in my experience, it all stems from people misunderstanding what exactly is (should be) happening.
First: This is part of your movement DOWN under the bar—it is not part of the effort to move the bar up.
Second: Your elbows don’t actually move straight up—they move approximately in line with your trunk, i.e. toward your shoulders. Since your trunk will be leaned backward at the top of the extension, this is not vertical. They will also start moving back as they near the top, both because you’re squeezing your shoulders back, and because of the limits of internal rotation mobility.
Third: How much the elbows bend depends on a number of factors. A vertical trunk at the top of the pull, a narrower grip, longer arms/taller lifter will mean more bend; more backward lean of the trunk, a wider grip and shorter arms/lifter will mean less elbow bend.
Fourth: How high the elbows get will vary based on mobility and the point above. We’re looking loosely for near shoulder level before the turnover motion really begins.
This motion is much less pronounced in a clean typically (there are notable exceptions, such as Lasha Talakhadze)—it only takes a very brief motion in this direction to ensure the turnover can be effective. So the basic movement should be the same, just abbreviated. (And you can get away with a lot more in a clean than a snatch.)
