Super Sweet Exercises - Chapter 1, Volume 1 - Barbell Movements - Snatch Grip Deadlifts

David Fleming

Introducing Mr Fleming's own personal series on some of the best exercises out there. This series takes a look at a number of exercises that are brutally effective and will give one excellent value for money. Mr Fleming calls them super sweet, most would call them f'ing hard - either way they are worth learning!

The intro waffle...

While I'm gagging to write a technical article on the tri-plane biomechanics of foot function and it's effect on the rest of the kinetic chain, I appreciate that's not necessarily what the readers of More- Athletic magazine fancy browsing over during their lunch break.

So, instead this is the first installment in a series of articles that will highlight several super sweet exercises that you should be using in your training. I intend to cover barbell, dumbbell and bodyweight movements. Kettlebells are awesome but I'll leave those to the kettlebell guys.

Remember, when it comes to training for performance, strength and power you train movements, not muscles so I won't be giving a break down of chest exercises or biceps blitzers. Instead I will make reference to the dominant chain of muscles that will be emphasized during each movement because true isolation is not only nearly impossible but also a waste of time unless you're a bodybuilder or a body pump instructor. It's safe to say I am neither!

Barbell Movements - Snatch Grip Deadlifts

The deadlift is a classic lift and should take up a large proportion of your training time. Unless you're involved in Olympic weightlifting it's rare that you'll see much good technique in this lift. Powerlifters often display a slightly different technique in the deadlift starting from a high hip position, grinding through the lift to the lock out position.

A long, slow pull from a high initial hip angle with flexion (rounding) of the thoracic spine (mid to upper back) and eyes bulging is a common site on the visual bible of everything - YouTube (some rounding of the thoracic spine in powerlifting style deadlifts is inevitable and acceptable as the bar isn't expected to continue on another path. Once it reaches lock out at the hips, it's done and that's the point!).

A snatch grip deadlift on the other hand is an all together different beast.

Snatch grip refers to a wide grip on the bar. A quick way to determine how wide your grip should be is to stand erect with the barbell at arms length, then widen your hands equally until the bar rests at the top of where your zip would be on your trousers.

Nailing a Snatch Dead

A picture can say a thousand words so please check the video:

For those of you who aren't visual learners here's a quick break down of the technique used in the lift:

The feet should be placed approximately at hip width and turned out slightly and bar should be positioned over the metatarsal/phalangeal junction (where the toes meet the foot) with the knees pushed wide, sit deep enough into your hips that your torso is inclined at around 25-50 degrees in relation to the floor. The elbows should be locked and turned outwards with the shoulders pulled back and down. This takes a little practice but with a little playing around you will find this position. The lower back should arched and held tight with the mid - upper back relatively straight. Keep the eyes fixed ahead or slightly up and don’t arch the neck as this can actually inhibit the recruitment of the hamstrings and glutes. This is known as the extensor reflex for all you body geeks like me.

From this position rock back and forth slightly until you feel your weight distributed around the middle to the rear of the feet. It is important that your shoulders maintain a position either directly over or slightly ahead of the bar. This will ensure that you are in control of the bar as you lift and not the other way around. Take the slack out of the bar by tensioning your body, take a breath, hold it and gradually press the bar from the floor by driving your feet in to the ground and pushing the knees out. Your back position should remain constant throughout the movement. Use mirrors or a training partner to give you feed back on your form. It's really important to take the time to learn technique correctly. Poor form will ultimately limit your strength potential, flexibility and increase the chance of injury and looking a plonker.

Two common mistakes in any deadlift variations are starting the lift by shooting the hips up and back and then levering the weight from the floor with the back by negating the use of the legs and starting the lift with a rounded back. If you don’t have adequate flexibility to get in to the right position, elevate the bar on to blocks and start from slightly higher up. Over the weeks aim to reduce the height of the blocks until your strong and flexible enough to lift from the floor.

When it comes to performing a new exercise I am typically a proponent of lower repetitions over multiple sets to learn the technique. Start out with a moderate weight that allows you to display perfect form & work between 3-6 reps for anything between 5-8 sets.

If you've never thought about how strong your grip is, it will be highlighted with this lift. As you fatigue you may find your hands slipping in closer & closer together on the bar. I'm not a huge fan of lifting straps but appreciate they are necessary at times. Just don't rely on them, get some chalk (magnesium carbonate) to help you grip the bar and work on your grip strength as a priority as it will have profound effects on shoulder stability and strength.

Why?

Reasons for using this lift in your training are as follows:

1 : It's a great movement for teaching proper lifting mechanics from the floor.

2 : It's a total body movement that moves through a large range of motion and as such recruits a large no. of motor units that activate big slabs of muscle

3 : It can help to pack on muscle right where most people need it - the entire extensor chain. That's everything from your calves up to the base of your skull on the back of your body, with the added bonus of recruiting the scapulothoracic (muscles that run from the upper-mid- spine to the shoulder blades) & scapulohumeral (muscles that run from your shoulder blades to your arms) musculature. It plays a hugely important role in endless sporting endeavours & primarily strengthens the hips helping to increase power & low back stability.

Progressions & Variations - Snatch Grip Shrug Pulls

In this progression of the snatch grip deadlift you simply continue to pull the barbell vertically by further extending your body & shrugging your shoulders.

The initial press off the floor should be slow & controlled, with the acceleration of the bar increasing as you clear the knees & continue to stand. Instead of locking out when you reach your hips, continue to pull explosively by coming up on to your toes & shrugging hard with your shoulders. Remember to maintain the straight arm, elbows turned out, chest up & shoulders back & down position.

For those of you interested in a little Olympic lifting, you can continue to pull even further by performing a high pull. Following the shrug, continue to try & pull the bar up to roughly chest height by bending the elbows.

There is actually a little more to this than simply ripping the bar up as high as you can. The idea is to try & practice the first phase of pulling yourself underneath the bar. This would be the transition phase from full extension (standing tall) to dropping in to a full squat to recieve the bar in the overhead squat position. It's quite tricky & only makes sense with adequate weight but if you've mastered the first 2 parts of the lift, see how you get on with this.

Single Leg Snatch Grip Deads

In this variation we look to focus the work on one leg at a time. Position yourself as you would to perform the bilateral (double leg) version but place one foot directly back, roughly in line with the heel of the opposite foot. Remain on the toes of the non working leg & concentrate on the technique of the stance leg. This is a great way to iron out imbalances in strength & adds a higher stability component to the lift. Reduce the load accordingly & cycle in this variation for 2-4 weeks of your program to help break a plateau or to simply increase your numbers.

About the Author

David Fleming is one of London’s top strength and conditioning coaches. He has studied and learned from the best strength coaches in the world. He is happily married and can lift heavy weights. His mother is very proud of him and he writes a good article. It took him until the age of 30 to pass his driving test, but other than that he is a solid chap.

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