Tommy Kono

Yesterday I stated that the Olympic Lifts are may favourite way of training for a strong triple extension of the hip, knee and ankle joints. So for today I have a detailed instructional video in one of these lifts, the Snatch.

The coach in this video is Tommy Kono, a World and Olympic Weightlifting Champion and coach in three Olympic Games.

Here are a few of the key points Tommy makes in the video:

1) In the starting position the shoulders should be higher than the hips and the hips should be higher than the knees.

2) Shoulders stay over the bar until the knees are almost straight.

3) The bar should remain close to the body throughout the lift.



Tommy also made a good point about why we need a strong back arch throughout the lift. Once the legs are almost fully extended (at the end of the first pull from the ground) the hamstrings are placed under a stretch. This stretch will result in the subsequent hip extension being more forceful. However, if the lifter starts to round the back the hamstrings will no longer be placed under such a great stretch and less force will be generated. The overall performance in the lift will suffer, as will the training effect.

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING CONSULTANCY - TIM EGERTON HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING SERVICES