Practice, practice, practice !!! There is no magic on how to get the bar from the ground or thighs to overhead! It takes practice and muscle memory to get there ! If you are at all uncomfortable with getting under the barbell, especially when it starts to get heavy, then you need more reps and time with this lift. With additional practice, pulling under the bar will start to become second nature so get your PVC and practice good technique.
To get better at snatching practice a FULL SNATCH SQUAT! This will help you be more comfortable and confident when you receive the bar from a ground to overhead squatting position. However there are some things that might be limiting you! Such as your mobility! If you cannot get into a deep, comfortable overhead squat with an empty barbell then you have a mobility problem. It could be your shoulders, but more than likely it’s the ankles or thoracic spine.If you are rounded over at all then it will be very hard to catch anything overhead in a proper position. Your performance will always be capped by the particular problem. Even if you become stronger overhead this doesn’t fix a mobility issue ! When given the option, perform more full snatches with the squat than not. By training and practising power snatches to improve time, you’re undoubtedly reinforcing the technique without a squat. If you want to be able to lift more, you’ll need to catch low. So focus on always snatching with a full squat, regardless of how many you must do, or how heavy the bar is.
Many people think that once the barbell leaves your thighs a miracle happens and it arrives overhead. But this isn’t true. If you want to snatch well then you have to actively, powerfully shrug your shoulders. You have to pull yourself underneath the barbell, keeping the load very close.This is why the muscle snatch is an excellent assistance exercise. In a Muscle snatch you mimic this same motion, which teaches you how to pull under. With time and practice on the full squat snatch you can get better, and then quicker.You can also do snatches from the power position, or tall snatches. Here you initiate the lift with the arms, pulling under very quickly…because you have to. The power position pull is also a particularly good way to improve time and the transient from floor to this pulling under phase.
You need to master pulling under. If you’re afraid to do that with heavy weights, or if you just don’t know how, then you’ll always miss lifts that shoulder otherwise be routine and easy.How heavy should you lift? That answer is simple. Use the heaviest load that you can lift with perfect form. If you keep missing heavy attempts over and over because you’re not quite nailing the movement, then you will only cement these bad habits into place. Practice and refine your pull, all the way from the ground to overhead. In time your skill will build and you’ll be able to handle heavier loads with confidence.
Quick Tips !
Speed and a low catch will increase efficiency in the snatch.
Driving the bar up drives the body down.
Extending the body up will drive the bar down.
References:
http://www.crossfitwestmount.com/snatch-a-k-a-squat-snatch-drills-to-catch-the-bar-low
http://daily.barbellshrugged.com/get-bar-faster-snatching-np/
http://www.olympicweightliftingguru.com/2014/01/09/gaining-speed-getting-under-the-bar-in-the-snatch/