Perfect for Football
A Moderately Outrageous Opinion by Don C. Reed As every advanced Olympic weightlifter knows, splitting is not the most effective way to snatch. The weight must be pulled very high: roughly to the base of the pectorals before the lifter jumps under, planting the feet front and back. a squat stylist can jump under the bar with far less top pull. extra few inches can be a very long way indeed, which is competition. HOWEVER. The split snatch itself is: A. probably the single most beautiful event in our sport, B. might become part of a national resurgence in Olympic lifting. As W.C. Fields probably never said, but should have, “Allow me to elucidate...”
First, aesthetically, split snatching looks incredibly athletic. If you have any kind of a good build, nothing makes you look more chiseled and muscular than ripping under a substantial poundage in a good low split. A great splitter makes you remember why you love to watch weightlifting.
Olympic lifts to learn (if you can breathe and remain vertical you can probably split snatch) is also the most spectacularly athletic lift in our arsenal In 1968-9, a little-known lifter named Kenny Moore was working out at the York Barbell Club. Kenny was never a great lifter, but he was a darn good one, and on one day, he touched greatness. Kenny was a stocky guy Olympic Lifter Faith Lamb Performing Split Snatch with short arms, a crewcut and a perpetual grin, and just tons of top pull. He used to do Power Cleans from boxes with 352 as a middleweight, which is a lot of Trap intimidatingly massive, lying there in the dents of the the collars. strength in anybody’s book.
The soft-voiced southern splintered wood platform, but Kenny didn’t waste any lifter switched back and forth between Squatting and time, just chalked up and stalked it.
Splitting, and his best snatch with either was 259. He He crouched and set his hook grip, locking fingers could zip 264 overhead in the Squat, but it would always around the backs of his thumbs, adjusted his balance roar over backwards, again and again, occasionally once to each side, breathed out and in - and ripped it. taking Kenny along with it.
In slow motion it could have been seen how the But on this particular day, Moore was doing Split violent upward tugging changed from pull into a push as Snatches in the York Barbell Club gym. It was a quiet the lifter tugged the bar up and then pushed himself Summer afternoon during the week and there were only a couple of us there. almost touching, but his right leg was taut, and the knee slow from the floor and when the bar got knee-high it well clear of the platform.
The bar seemed to freeze as his almost seemed to stop as the lifter re-positioned himself triceps locked it overhead, and then he was recovering, for maximal exertion - and then the second pull kicked gracefully, poised and standing, and this big old country in. With spinal erectors, trapezius and delts exploding in smile on his face. near instantaneous synchronization, the bar disappeared until Kenny was underneath it. He did 260 so smooth and quiet it did not dawn on me fora minute. “Hey, that’s a record for you, isn’t it?”
I have seen hundreds of thousands of lifts in my time. I saw Bob Bednarski jerk 500 from the racks at ten o'clock at night, saw Vasili Alexeev Clean and Jerk that same historic quarter-ton ofÏcially, saw Ivanchenko and “Yeah. Help me get 275,” he grinned, and we peeled Kolotov both on the same World Championship day - off some plates and slid on some more, and it all clanked but clear in my mind, 22 years after it happened, I can SPLIT SNATCH PERFECT FOR FOOTBALL still remember the athletic beauty of Kenny Moore and already been lifting weights for football, and has good the 275. overall body awareness, coordination and strength.
How Like the fencer’s lunge, or the boxer’s knockout punch, or the baseball pitcher’s speedburner fastball, the Split Snatch is the totality of the athlete: everything he or she can provide. long would it take to teach the basic moves of a Split Snatch? Maybe ten minutes.
Okay Joe, put your hands wide on the bar, and pull it I have seen films of the great world and Olympic champion Wlademar Baszanowski doing the Split Snatch (he went back and forth between the Squat and Split all through his career), and it was like a combination of up overhead without Splitting. Good. Now try it with your feet jumping back and forth. There. See how easy? ballet and truck-crashing. His fingertips fluttered as he Naturally, to achieve excellence in anything requires secured his wide, wide grip.
His crew cut head nodded years of practice, but the Split Snatch is such a natural once, twice, and then slender arms tightened, as he move that anyone of athletic coordination can figure the rocked, back, forth, back, forth — thighs and shoulders basics in one or two training sessions. ridged as he rose, slowly for the first two inches, then So now look what we have. We already know Percy faster and faster like a Power snatch, whip! His right hip can Power clean, and since he has strong shoulders from almost touched the back of his left heel; perhaps it did Bench Pressing, the jerk is readily teachable.
If we want to touch, and then he was shifting bodyweight back, and get fancy, we can have Percy do a front Squat after he the chiseled serratus musculature on his sides stood out, does a Power Clean, and gradually convert that toa definition like claw marks and every lifter was thinking, Squat Clean. Do that for a couple weeks and you have an dang! Why can’t I look like that? effective enough Clean to get the athlete started.
Explosive speed? Tests were done at the 1936 We just created an Olympic lifter.
Olympics, trying to figure who was the fastest moving Everybody wins. Percy gets what he wants: a way to athlete at the games. The boxer’s punch was tested, as make the weight training he needs be more enjoyable and was the sprinter’s lunge ~ and the fastest person was a result-producing; the coaches get what they want, i.e. for lifter, Stan Stanczyk — and the fastest movement was the Percy to show up in September jam-packed with two-hands split snatch. explosive power; and Olympic lifting gets somebody First, what are the two things lifting needs most? who can both be a good lifter, expanding our numbers; Cash and competitors, right?
Money and more lifters and maybe bring some bucks along, as that super-rich are the main ingredients our beloved sport is short on. Now. What sport has an overwhelming abundance of greenstuff? sport takes a closer look at Olympic lifting as the perfect endeavor for their off-season studs. Imagine what would happen if high school football What sport also has a virtually unlimited supply of teams competed in Olympic lifting in their off-season. strong young athletes, already established love of weight The best ones already train with weights year-round training? anyway, right?
Hint #1: The sport involves an oval-shaped leather And what if we could entice some professional object, which large people strenuously carry back and football players to compete in Olympic lifting. Think forth across a hundred yard lawn. what the media would do with such an event! What if Hint #2: The general public regards this sport as slightly more important than air. Therefore, why don’t we hook up with football coaches, and encourage them to encourage their athletes to participate in our Olympic contests. because it works the football muscle groups, is a fantastic developer of explosiveness, and is a fun way to increase strength fitness. national basis right now.
Olympic lifting, money will follow them; it would be good for lifting, and good for the football people as well. And with a lot of people practicing Split Snatches, some would get very good at it; and if you have never Football coaches love strength fitness, and are always power and explosiveness during their off season. All modern-minded coaches have their athletes practice Power Cleans, and Bench Presses, and some form of Squatting: so the strength is definitely there. Take Percy Potential. Percy is a linebacker, and needs a lot of quick reacting power, and explosive drive.
He has team sent nine men, they would probably do well on a Once we get some of these athletic titans interested in The Split Snatch is perfect for football players, looking for a way to increase their athlete’s two professional football teams sent their best lifters and challenged each other to a weightlifting contest: If each seen a really terrific Splitter in action, well, I hope you get the chance one day.
Split snatching is fun, fast, and it might entice the football folks... What do you think?
Special Thanks To Coach Kim Goss Of.
The U.S. Air Force Academy For Making, This Article Possible!
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From BFS Magazine — Summer 1991. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
