The 2nd Pull

I generally don’t care how fast you perform the first pull as long as you prioritise position and it doesn’t compromise the energy you can put into the second pull, so while for me the first pull is about control and optimal position, the second pull is about acceleration, aggression and power.

The Second Pull

The second pull occurs, funnily enough, right after the first pull (if you haven’t read my article on the first pull, go do so) and is the final acceleration and upward explosion once the bar has passed the knee, with the aim of the lifter to hit maximum speed and extension before the drop under the bar.

Just like in the first pull, or any movement endeavour, there are certain things that will always need to happen for this to all happen and to be effective.

For the second pull the knees will move forward, the shoulders will move back, contact will be made at the hip and the lifter will extend tall into ‘triple extension’ while maintaining balance all the way through the movement and the system.

However, unlike the first pull which is generally thought of as 'the first pull’ and is generally taught as one continuous movement, the second pull is often broken down into a couple of different phases.

I find it best to think of these as positions you move through rather than separate segments and would teach the whole thing as one continuous movement from above the knee to full extension, focusing on my cueing and movement stipulations to do the work, and only breaking it down into its subsequent parts if necessary.

From here, for the sake of this article, I’m going to talk about the usual segments the movement is broken into, but know that for me, its all one fluid movement to accelerate through and while I will select movements to work on specific areas, I rarely teach a specific power position and have never taught a lifter how to perform the ‘double knee bend’ or ‘scoop’.

The ‘double Knee Bend’

Lets get the elephant out of the room first off…

The double knee bend is the moment in the second pull where the lifter starts to open up. The bar will move up the thigh, the hips will come forward and the shoulders back as the lifter travels through to the power position. During this motion the knees will remain at approximately the same angle as the hips extend and the knees move forward. What this looks like will entirely depend on lifting style and proportions.

There are a couple of key points that are important as you move through this position and are what I’m most likely to focus my time on when coaching a lifter.

They are:

That the feet remain in full contact with the ground with the weight distribution remaining in the mid foot.
The arms should remain long and loose.

Failure to meet these points will generally mute power output as you make contact with the bar, or lead to a less than optimal bar path.

Its good to know what the ‘double knee bend’ is and to understand what is happening through all parts of the second pull, but ultimately if the first pull is executed correctly and you get to the power position then the ‘double knee bend’ should of happened naturally, which is why I don’t teach it and very rarely explain it unless a lifter specifically asks about it.

The Power Position

The whole second pull can be a confusing subject, mainly because it can be broken down into so many parts and key positions.

Just as there’s some confusion regarding the double knee bend, theres also confusion about what the ‘power position’ actually is, mostly in relation to torso angle and whether it should be vertical, or whether there should be a slight lean.

Before we go into the torso angle i’m first going to cover the ‘non-negotiables’ of the power position for the Snatch.

The feet are flat with the weight in the middle of the foot.
There is a slight bend in the knee.
The bar should be at the crease of the hip with with the torso vertical-ish.

Moving onto torso angle, and disclaimer, this is my own opinion on the subject.

The Power Position, just like the double knee bend before, is a position you move through rather than a clearly defined position like the start position, the start of the second pull, or the catch.

This is probably where the confusion comes from and along with the fact different coaching systems define the power position slightly differently, the reality is everyone will look slightly different dependant on proportions.

My thoughts on the matter are that as long as the points above are hit, they’ll generally not be a problem.

Again, while its important to know what it is, much like the double knee bend I won’t outright teach it to my athletes as a specific movement and this is especially the case for beginners.

I approach the second pull as a whole and if there’s something to fix around that position I’m likely to go from the hang, high hang, or put stipulations on the lift rather than flat out using the power position as a teaching tool.

Contact

Remember back in the prerequisites when I described how to decide your Snatch grip width? Well, this is why… Theres genuinely nothing worse than hitting the hip or pubic bone with a steel bar while accelerating as hard as possible towards it.

The legs should be driving vertically against the floor and the torso will be pretty much vertical at contact and as long as the bar stays close and arms remain loose, contact in the Snatch should happen quite naturally as the knees move forward, shoulders move back and hips move up and towards the bar.

This isn’t a slam into one another, but a transfer of power from the lower body to the bar with the aim of the bar and hips to meet while minimising any horizontal movement of the bar.

Due to the nature of the contact there will always be some horizontal displacement, but we can negate this through keeping the bar as close to the thigh as possible as the bar moves up the leg through the second pull and by continuing to accelerate upwards after contact.

I think it was Greg Everett who likened it to a ball bouncing of the floor where changing the angle of the throw will change the angle of the bounce. Its Newtons 3rd law and if all the force applied to the bar is horizontal, then the bar will leave the body horizontally affecting the optimal bar path and ultimately how easy efficient and fast the catch is.

‘Triple Extension’

Triple extension is defined as full extension at the ankles, knees and hips, you’ll see loads of weightlifters pictured in this position, like the one below, and it comes from the act of continuing to drive vertically after the initial contact is made. Its the final position before you turn the bar over and drop into the catch.

Again, I rarely teach triple extension in a weightlifting capacity. Most people know what it is already and I’m much more likely to teach it using a cue specific to the lifter. Something like:

‘finish tall’

‘get the shoulders behind the hips’

‘commit to the pull’

That last one being one of Cyril Martins favourites. I find giving something a little more practical in terms of instruction a lot more useful, especially with beginners.

In terms of position if we were to freeze frame a lifter right before they were about to drop, you’d be looking for pretty much vertical legs, which signals that they've driven vertically rather than horizontally, which in itself will negate the horizontal displacement of the bar after contact. I also look for the shoulders to be behind the hips. From there, we’d drop into the catch, which i’ll cover in my next post.

Summary

For me teaching the second pull is much less cut and dry than teaching the first. I find you can teach the first pull just by getting the lifter in a good start position and explaining what a they need to do.

I find that in teaching the second pull, the cueing is usually a lot more creative and while you can explain what needs to happen, ultimately I find its more about putting stipulations on lifts and finding the right cue for the lifter to create the change.

Ultimately and regardless of how i’ve broke this down into phases, the second pull should be one fluid motion and all the positions I’ve described are simply positions that are moved through to get to the end point of maximal force and maximal extension before the turnover and catch. I say this because I see lots of lifters have really segmented pulls and while its understandable that beginners would have these problems, I believe these are often compounded by trying to break down the movement a little too much.

My advice is to learn what to look for in the key positions, but treat the second pull as one smooth movement where keeping the bar close and balance in the system are the most important points.

Below are some simple principles for performing an effective second pull:

Keep the bar close
Weight in the middle of the foot
Arms long and loose
Look to finish tall

Obviously these only work if you’re in the right position at the end of the first pull.

Hopefully this all makes sense because I found it a lot harder to write than my previous posts.

Up next… the turnover and catch… I have no idea how i’m going to describe the turnover in writing and still make sense, its something I think you very much learn by doing and being in the correct positions both before and after, but I’m going to try.

Adam Johnston, 30th June 2020