Shoulder Position in Snatch & Clean Start
Where should your shoulders be in the starting position of the snatch and clean?
Above the bar.
Remember we’re talking about the shoulder joint—if this is vertically above the bar, the front of the shoulder mass will be slightly in front of the bar.
This will make the arms hang approximately vertically if you’re looking from the side.
There’s a lot going on in the starting position—and every aspect of it affects the others. But this is the standard you should start with—you can make minor adjustments from here if needed.
Proportions and overall height will influence the exact shoulder-bar relationship that works best for each athlete.
Taller athletes are likely going to move the shoulders slightly farther forward—but the key word there is SLIGHTLY. I’ve never coached or even seen a tall lifter who actually needed a significantly forward position, and that’s including three men 6’ 3” and over, and three women 5’ 11” and over.
In no case do the shoulders need to be farther back than this, and there is no advantage to bringing them back more.
In many types of dynamic starts, it’s likely the shoulders will be slightly behind the bar when it first breaks from the floor—we could argue this isn’t ideal, but typically it’s not a problem if the dynamic motion continues to move the shoulders into the optimal position very soon after the lift begins, and it’s consistent among reps.
If you’re extremely tall—like 6’ 8” or something unusual—you may need a more significant forward shoulder position. But… if you’re that tall, honestly… this sport is not going to treat you well no matter what you do.
The longer your legs, the more likely your shoulders will need to move forward—just do what you need rather than going nuts and starting in what ends up being almost an RDL position totally unnecessarily.
Above the bar.
Remember we’re talking about the shoulder joint—if this is vertically above the bar, the front of the shoulder mass will be slightly in front of the bar.
This will make the arms hang approximately vertically if you’re looking from the side.
There’s a lot going on in the starting position—and every aspect of it affects the others. But this is the standard you should start with—you can make minor adjustments from here if needed.
Proportions and overall height will influence the exact shoulder-bar relationship that works best for each athlete.
Taller athletes are likely going to move the shoulders slightly farther forward—but the key word there is SLIGHTLY. I’ve never coached or even seen a tall lifter who actually needed a significantly forward position, and that’s including three men 6’ 3” and over, and three women 5’ 11” and over.
In no case do the shoulders need to be farther back than this, and there is no advantage to bringing them back more.
In many types of dynamic starts, it’s likely the shoulders will be slightly behind the bar when it first breaks from the floor—we could argue this isn’t ideal, but typically it’s not a problem if the dynamic motion continues to move the shoulders into the optimal position very soon after the lift begins, and it’s consistent among reps.
If you’re extremely tall—like 6’ 8” or something unusual—you may need a more significant forward shoulder position. But… if you’re that tall, honestly… this sport is not going to treat you well no matter what you do.
The longer your legs, the more likely your shoulders will need to move forward—just do what you need rather than going nuts and starting in what ends up being almost an RDL position totally unnecessarily.
