The Oly Encyclopedia 41

The Value of Limited Bar Drop

When you watch lifters at top international events like the World Championships, you cannot help but be struck by the variety of techniques used by the very top lifters. However, upon closer study a number of common characteristics can be identified. One of the most important is a minimal bar drop. What is bar drop? I define it as the distance the bar travels from its highest point in the lift before it is brought under control by the lifter. The distance tends to be shortest in the jerk, longer in the snatch and longest in the clean. Generally speaking, the shorter the bar drop, the more efficient the technique on a number of levels. The issue of bar drop is harder to detect and less important in the clean because the bar must be allowed to drop over a relatively long distance in order to amortize the downward force of the bar. Because heavier weights are used in the clean than in the snatch (thereby reducing the distance the bar can be thrown during the later stages of the pull), the bar will fall a greater in the clear distance before the lifter can bring it under control. But there is a significant difference among lifters as to how long this descent takes in the same lift. What are the variables that affect the distance a bar drops? One variable is the velocity at which the bar is traveling when the lifter begins to descend under the bar. If the bar has a greater velocity, it will rise for a relatively longer period and the athlete has a better chance (longer time) to get under the bar and "fix" it before it drops a great distance. The second factor affecting the drop in the bar is the time it takes the lifter to drop into the receiving position. That time interval is a function of the distance the lifter has to travel; the speed of the switchover from the explosion to the squat under phase, the speed with which the lifter executes the squat under and the speed with which the lifter can begin to exert upward force against the bar in the squat or split position so that the weight can be caught. The higher the lifter's body before the drop begins and the deeper the position to which the body descends, the greater the distance the lifter needs to travel. Whatever that distance, the faster a lifter switches from the explosion to the squat under phase and the faster the lifter moves into the catch position, the less time the bar will have to drop. One of the surest signs that the body has been overextended or held too long in the extended position during the pull is that there is a "pressing out" in the snatch or the bar "crashes" on the lifter in the snatch or clean; the bar seems to be moving falling very quickly by the time to lifter is in a position to receive it, making the catch more difficult to execute and placing undue strain on the joints. This crashing motion is proof that the bar has picked up too much downward speed before the lifter was in a position to stop the bar's downward descent. Another indicator of this problem is when the coach is able to clearly see with the naked eye the lifter fully extend his or her body during the final explosion phase of the pull. Lifters with proper timing appear to barely reach a position with the body fully straightened before they squat under (although film analysis may show the lifter fully straightened and somewhat on his or her toes).

A third factor that affects bar drop is the amount of force that is applied to the bar as the lifter drops, which can occur as a result of the interaction of the bar and body (e.g., the force applied to the bar as the body makes first contact with the ground). As was mentioned above section in "Moving Under The Bar," there is also a point toward the end of the explosion in which the lifter can feel a reaction from the explosion, a force which seems to push the body back down from the bar. If the lifter can learn to align the timing of the squat under to coincide with that reaction force, its speed and effectiveness will be significantly enhanced.

The shorter the bar drop, the better is the athlete's performance in the technique variables described above. Therefore, bar drop is one important measure of how far a lifter has traveled in terms of technical mastery. In addition, the shorter bar drop is much easier on the body in terms of the effort needed to decelerate the bar. All things being equal, the longer the bar drops, the greater speed the it gains. More speed means more force will be required to stop the bar's downward travel. At the very least this will tire the lifter more quickly, and at the worst it can lead either to acute injury or to a chronic accumulation of microtrauma, making the body susceptible to injury over time. Consequently, the lifter is well advised to master the shorter bar drop.

One final advantage of a shorter bar drop is that the lifter can fix the bar at a lower point. For example, if a lifter pulls the bar so that he or she requires a 5" drop before the bar can be brought under control, the bar will have to be pulled 2" higher than if the lifter needed only a 3" drop to fix the bar.

How can the lifter minimize bar drop? There are four basic means. First, the greater the momentum the lifter can apply to the bar before descending under it, the more time the lifter will have before the bar begins to fall. This momentum is achieved both by improving the lifter's explosive power through training and by making sure that the lifter is performing the final explosion at a point where the body's capability for delivering maximum force is greatest. For example, if a lifter can achieve the same bar height by exploding violently with the bar at mid-thigh or by accelerating the bar more gradually and pulling longer, the former approach is preferred. Consequently, the timing of the switchover between the final explosion and its follow through and the squat under must be both optimal and precise.

A second important factor in minimizing bar drop is to shorten the distance the lifter has to drop. This is accomplished primarily by avoiding overextension of the body (e.g., by not going unnecessarily high on the toes or leaning back excessively at the top of the pull, from which position the lifter has to travel a greater distance to get under the bar in a position that is suitable for receiving the weight). Another is method is to assure that the lifter goes no lower than is necessary to fix the bar. This does not mean that the lifter should not gain control over the bar and then use a comfortable stopping distance to decelerate the downward motion of the bar. Rather, it means that the lifter should not jump into the lowest possible squat under position immediately, whether or not the bar's position requires it. Some lifters actually pull the bar down on themselves in a race to beat the bar down to the bottom position. This movement both increases the bar's downward velocity and places the lifter in a weaker position in which to catch the bar.

A third way to reduce bar drop is to minimize the time spent in the unsupported squat under phase, which means that he or she must cover the necessary distance in the smallest possible time. This generally involves focusing on moving under the bar as quickly as possible, interacting energetically with the bar so as to use it as a basis for increasing the speed of the descent and using the forces generated by the body itself in order to increase the speed of the descent (e.g., whipping the elbows quickly to create an opposite downward force on the body).

The last way to minimize bar drop is to exert upward force on the bar as early as possible in the squat under phase of the pull or jerk. This helps to transmit force from the floor to the bar and to cause the bar to achieve greater height than it would merely through the force applied during the explosion phases of the pull or jerk thrust.