#GetTechnical // The Effects of Head Position in the Snatch for Olympic Weightlifting

Posted on Posted in GetTechnical, Olympic Weightlifting
Your head position and gaze can affect your lifts more than you might realize. The body will mostly follow the actions of the eyes and head.
Above is an illustration we made for one of our Remote Athletes to show the effects of a neutral gaze/head position on a lift versus looking down/wandering gaze/looking up (all over the place).
Here’s a breakdown on each “position”:
  1. Faulty set up with back flexed (versus slightly extended)
  2. Forward weight shift following the eyes looking down.
  3. Head swinging up and back to make up for forward shift creating more of a gap back and away from center.
  4. Body swinging forward to make up for backward shift/gap from #3.
  5. Neck contorted from eyes looking up which shifts the barbell forward overhead.
Since $#!+ rolls uphill in WL, this is why set up is very important — it either gets you through positions smoothly or sets off a chain reaction of errors. Keep your gaze neutral and follow us for more tips!