Intermittent snatching

An overlooked article from Rostov site, Alternating Snatch by Rustem Hairullin, PhD. From Kazan. http://www.fgsrostov.aaanet.ru/10_stati.htm, under No.17.

According to Hairullin GS snatch is a relatively simple and technically the most accessible lift. However despite of its seeming simplicity the snatch carries a few negative moments. During snatch the muscles of arms and the back are subjected to significant forces, which may lead to trauma. One of the most unpleasant moments is tearing of calluses on the palms. This may deter some women from taking up GS.

According to the rules the snatch is performed by one arm and then another. Sometimet during competition due to several reasons the bell flies out of the hand, and if this has happened during snatching with the first arm, the athlete gets zero points for the lift.

To avoid this unpleasant complication Hairulling suggests changing the rules of competition for women and offers the Intermittent Snatching, where the bell changes hands after every rep.

The technique is as follows:

From starting position the bell is snatched to overhead position. When the bell is lowered the palm of the free hand is applied to the dorsal area of the gripping hand, and the bell continues moving down. With the bell between the legs – the precise position may be chosen individually – the bell is transferred from one hand to another. The snatching continues. Positives of such lifting are considerable decrease of the load on the muscles of the arms and the back and the palm of the hand. Thye chance of trauma of working muscles is reduced, as they don’t get worked up to serious failure. Less chance of dropping the bell with the consequent disappointment, therefore better opportunity to realize the athlete’s potential.
Hairullin believes that for women snatching should be performed this way, intermittently. This way of lifting may also be beneficial for some junior groups and veterans, as it may reduce the compression load on the vertebral column.

According to Hairullin, this way of snatching fully supports the slogan “do not harm” and may facilitate further development and popularization of GS, one of the most accessible traditional sports.

And a very modest comment from me. Changing hands every rep (or every other or more) is a nice way to prolong the set and keep the cardiovascular workout going. All that without killing yourself. Very useful for easier sessions. Hairullin didn’t know when writing this article that many AKCers already do long sets of one armed lifts. In any case, another trick in the hat, at least to fight boredom.