Oly Analysis: Slow-Motion Snatch With Chad Vaughn

Alongside CrossFit Media’s Carey Peterson, two-time Olympian Chad Vaughn dissects his 285-lb. snatch via slow-motion footage.

As he settles into his start position for his heaviest snatch of the day, he’s thinking three things: build tension in the back, feel the shoulders in front of the bar, and be aggressive on the extension. As he takes a deep breath and locks in his back, he feels the tension he’s created, he says.

“My awareness is with the bar,” says Vaughn, part owner ofCrossFit CenTex in Belton, Texas. “Now I’m really trying to feel my shoulders staying in front of the bar—that’s gonna help me create that vertical shin position the best that I can up above the knee.”

Once he’s above the power position, it’s go time.

“Now I’m focused on giving everything I’ve got,” he says. “I’m just gonna let myself be wild right here on the extension.”

Then, Vaughn pulls himself under the bar and locks out his arms at the bottom of the overhead-squat position. Preferably, he notes, he would have met the bar slightly higher.

“The timing of the catch that we’re really looking for, ideally, is locking out at about parallel and then riding it down. And what it is is using your legs as shocks rather than brakes,” he explains. “Because I have the experience in the lifts that I do and because I’m so comfortable and strong in that rock-bottom position, I’m able to get away with this … where most people are probably gonna miss it right there.”

Originally published – April 2013