Why do we snatch?

Today, our Crossfit class introduced the snatch, which is lifting a weighted bar from the ground over your head in a violent but fluid motion. It is the one of two Olympic lifts that are practiced in Crossfit.

Olympic weightlifters spend their entire careers working on this movement. For many decades, the snatch was unknown outside the weightlifting world; it was deemed a move that was too dangerous to be done by “the casuals.” But Crossfit has brought on a renaissance to Olympic lifting and has been able to capture the attention of “the casual” and elite athletes into the discovery, practice, and routine of snatching.

“To snatch” means “to seize something quickly,” and it is apparent how this quickness translates into success when faced with a heavy, external object.

You might wonder why, in strength and conditioning program that emphasizes “functional movements,” we include this technical, skill-specific Olympic lift so regularly into our routine.

Well, here’s my take:

The ten recognized physical skills are cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. As you balance and become proficient at all of these, you will become fitter and increase general physical preparedness. (I liken it to a video game character; you don’t want the character who has top speed but no strength, nor the one with awesome moves but no accuracy. You want the one with the leveled attributes who can fight any opponent and exploit their weaknesses.)

Unique to the snatch is the necessity to be competent in most, if not all, of the ten physical skills. Right off the bat, you need strength, power, flexibility, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy just to complete the lift once. When you’re doing 30 snatches for time (we named her “Isabel”), you’re going to want cardiovascular and respiratory endurance to get you through.

But here’s where the snatch captures our attention; we can’t become good at the snatch just by repetition. We must build other areas of strength; deadlifts, cleans, overhead squats, front squats. We must build other areas of flexibility; mobilization of the joints, balance of the weight, coordination and finesse of our pulls. We must build more elements of power; training our nervous system, improving our agility, transferring momentum to an external object. But the “quickness” comes with proficiency in the clean, the deadlift, the overhead squat, the hip drive and power, coordinating a vertically-flying bar with your body, being able to receive and balance the bar over your head; to do that, you’ll need the diligence to constantly seek improvement in all ten physical skills.

The snatch then is no longer the end-state, but becomes a collateral achievement of our progress in other realms of fully functional fitness.

To some beginners, I like to give some words of humble advice:

As we all experience, Crossfit is a lot more about lifting things up and putting them down. There’s a lot of technical skill, mental fortitude, finesse, and down-right primal fighting instincts involved during a grueling WOD. But, unlike yoga or pilates, it doesn’t get easier with time. Diane and Fran will always kick your ass; thrusters and burpees will always suck; and AMRAPS and chippers will always leave you humbled, gasping for air. But you will get stronger. And you’ll crave the suck. As long as you keep with it...

Leave your ego behind. Stress mechanics before weight. Stress form over everything. Make checklists in your head and always run through it before each pull. Not only will dialing in your technique prevent bad habits, it will protect you from injury, provide you finesse and elegance, and help you progress in weight a lot quicker than crappy snatches will ever.

Find an expert to watch you, critique you, and give you cues. You won’t get this looking in a mirror. Don’t forget that people get paid big bucks to get this lift right; you’re not going to get it perfect, but having someone to coach you through and lock the technique into your head will have you progressing faster.

In the beginning, the snatch will elude you. You’re going to have to get up and keep trying. You’re going to have to convince your mind what your body already knows. You’ll spend your time rehearsing your movements and dialing in your technique, countless hours watching Olympic weightlifting videos online, critiquing everyone else’s snatch, making videos of your own, and practicing variations on boxes, with bands, your broomstick, medicine balls, kettlebells. You’re going to try to front squat and power clean weighs almost double someone’s body weight just to hit a snatch that is barely three-quarters of yours.

But have faith; if you put patience, determination, and diligence into improving all elements of physical fitness, you will be rewarded with a snatch of finesse that brings pride to your efforts. Find good resources, trust in your coaches, and let the knowledge of others guide your way! That’s what this community is for, isn’t it? We don’t have to be going to the Olympic Games in 2016 to learn this majestic movement; we just need to be present, in mind and body, and we need to get out there and do what it takes!

I won’t be competing in Olympic lifting events anytime in the near future, but it always reminds me to look introspectively into my strengths and my weaknesses. It build my confidence and tracks my progress and keeps me dedicated to the chase; not for a perfect snatch, but for a holistic style of fitness and strength I’ve never experienced before Crossfit.

I won’t be standing on any podiums anytime soon, if ever, but for now it keeps me humble, constantly digging for improvement, inspires to give it all everyday, and stay wholeheartedly dedicated to the art of Crossfit.

Keep snatching, fellow athletes. Keep Crossfitting!