Have problems doing the overhead squat portion of a snatch

Haffy13 · Post by **Haffy13** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:58 pm

So I am trying to incorporte the snatch in my routine and was working on the progression for it, the only problem is it is really difficult for me to fully squat with the bar over my head. Is this a flexibility issue?

Jason Nunn · Post by **Jason Nunn** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:36 am

Could be. A little more information is needed. Are your arms falling forward? Heels coming off the floor?

Post by **TimD** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 8:09 am

Jason's right as to needing more info on where you fail, or get sloppy. It's not uncommon for a newbie to have difficutly with the OHS, and it's usually tightness in several areas (shoulder girdle, hips, etc) I'd suggest just taking a wooden dowel or at most, an unloaded bar (I use a 7 foot wrecking bar for this) and just practice this move as part of the warm up. It can be done multiple times daily, as there is really no loading to speak of. Once you get full ROM with it, and are comfortable with it, work it into your progressions.
Tim

Haffy13 · Post by **Haffy13** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:57 pm

When I get about half way down in the suat I begin to lose my balance - my arms are wanting to come forward.

Haffy13 · Post by **Haffy13** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 11:28 pm

So I tried it with a wooden stick at the gym today. I think my grip was not wide enough. It was quite wide, but I noticed my hands wanted to move out further, so I let them. It went a little better this way, but even with an unloaded bar I could only manage a couple reps at most. I seem to have balance issues while doing this. I'll just keep working on it as part of a warm up every time I lift. Mabey I'll see if there's a broom around the house somewhere.

Thanks for the suggestions

Post by **TimD** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:37 am

You will need a wide grip. Also, try some towel dislocates. The idea in the OHS is to keep the weight above the center of gravity, which means your arms are going to be going back behind your head a bit to keep the bar center as the trunk leans a bit forward. Check out the videos of the OHS. Crossfit has some good ones over in their demo section. Just keep on using a long broomstick, unloaded bar as a warm up, and it will come.
Tim

Haffy13 · Post by **Haffy13** » Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:58 pm

OK, so I'm now having a much worse issue. When I try to overhead squat or do shoulder dislocations with a pvc pipe, I get a pain in my left hand, in my palm, toward the edge of my hand between my thumb and index finger. Like the the bar is pressing against something that it shouldn't be. The pain makes it intolerable to even overhead squat with just the bar. I've thought of somehow try to pad my hand in that spot, but that seems like a poor/temporary solution.

What's the deal?