Unlock Perfect Technique: The Vardanian Snatch
A great training program capitalizes on efficiency, from both a programming and technical standpoint. In a great program, nothing in the workout generates a negative effect on performance or puts the athlete at unnecessary risk of injury. Technical changes are also addressed to increase the athlete’s efficiency.
The Vardanian snatch — a variation of the snatch that removes hook grip, bar-body contact, and foot movement — checks all of the boxes when it comes to efficiency and effective use of training time. That’s exactly why you should include it in your next workout.
Is Yuri Vardanian the Greatest Weightlifter of All-time?
Yuri Vardanian is believed by many to be the greatest weightlifter of all-time (GWOAT), and for good reason. A video from our great friend, Seb Ostrowicz of Weightlifting House, captures the argument perfectly. This video details the accomplishments of Armenia’s Yuri Vardanian, including:
- 43 World Records
- 406.5kg Total at 82.5kg
- 7x World Champion
- Olympic Gold Medalist
- 5x European Champion
Along with piecing together nearly an untouchable singular performance, topped only by Turkey’s Naim Süleymanoğlu, he moves with deadly precision, cleaning 97.4% of his squat. That means he’s front squatted 230 kg and cleaned 224 kg. Those numbers are unbelievable and true. Someone can only manage weights so heavy — at such a high percentage of the squat — with truly masterful technique.
The (Bar) Path to Efficiency
Technique of the classic lifts (snatch/clean and jerk) is difficult to master, but easy to identify. There are a handful of criteria that signify efficiency and mastery. Most coaches can pick up on this, commenting generally on errors made or aspects of the lift well executed. Here are a few key technique elements (specifically for the snatch, since that is the focus of this article):
- Hips and shoulders move at the same rate from the floor to the knee
- Feet stay flat until the lifter reaches the power position
- Shoulders are on top of the bar when it reaches the hips
- Ankles, knees, and hips extend fully by the end of the explosion
- Elbows are pulled up and the bar stays closer as the lifter squats under
- Arms lockout and the lifter in balanced in the catch
If these basic points are adhered to, the lift is on its way to being pretty efficient. Common errors occur frequently throughout the movement, but most commonly during the explosion phase – with the legs not extending and the bar being pulled by the arms incorrectly.
Learning from Yuri Vardanian
The thing that separated Yuri from his competitors was his unmissable bar path. From start to completion, he displayed movement mastery. Weightlifting House put together a great sequence photo illustrating just this:
You can easily see the embodiment of impeccable movement in each frame. We can learn from the way he executed the details of the movement, alongside the foundational elements.
Variations for a Cause
Learning proficient technique isn’t just about doing the classic lifts over and over again. Movement variability, as in using variations of a particular exercise (e.g., block snatch above the knee instead of a classic snatch) aids in maximizing skill acquisition. Given that, consider variations that effectively teach, train, and develop the aspects of movement that we want.
For both snatch and clean pulls, most people make one (or more) of these common problems:
- Shoulders are behind the bar when it reaches the hips
- Ankles, knees, and hips aren’t fully extended by the end of the explosion
- Elbows are pulled down and the bar moves away from the lifter as they initiate the squat under
All three of these issues can be resolved with the right exercises or set of exercises. In this case, we can combine a few different variations to create the most effective lift for teaching or developing the technique of the pull.
This is the Vardanian Snatch.
No Hook, No Feet, No Contact
The Vardanian snatch combines the most potent movement constraints, including, no hook grip, no foot movement, and no contact.
Removing those aspects of each lift makes for a longer, more fluid, correctly timed snatch. Here’s how:
No hook
Having a simple grip on the bar (no hook grip) keeps the athlete from swinging the weight out with their hips.
No feet
Removing foot movement keeps the lifter grounded longer, allowing for a complete extension and fluid movement under the bar.
No contact
Removing hip contact keeps the athlete from moving their shoulders behind the bar, allowing for a straighter and longer bar path.
Yuri and Norik Vardanian both use this variation extensively, as well as derivatives of it. Other combinations could look like:
- No hook grip, no foot movement
- No foot movement, no contact
- No foot movement
- No contact
- All of the above, but as power variations
Considering these constraints, it greatly modifies the load lifted, shifting its place within a weightlifting program.
Programming Magic
Fitting this exercise into a program can be simple and effective. Since it is meant to be lighter, using it before major snatch sessions would help prime more efficient technique. In this case, it looks like:
- Vardanian Power or Full Snatch
- 3-5 sets of 1-3 repetitions at 40-60% of your best snatch
Incorporating this more fully into training sessions, it could be used on lighter technique days. With more of the training resources allocated to this lift, it would have a larger effect on technique and aspects of pulling strength. A more technical snatch session would be:
- Vardanian Snatch
- 3-5 sets of 2-3 repetitions at 60-70% of your best snatch
For something more resembling a “testing session”, this variation could be used with higher intensities, and slightly modified:
- Vardanian Snatch or NH NF or NF NC or NC
- 3-5 sets of 1-2 repetitions at 65-80% of your best snatch
For frequency, it could vary based on the place within a training week (e.g., primer movement vs a lighter session), but starting with two to three exposures could quickly have an impact on your movement quality.
Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough
With anything, there is rarely “perfect”, but always “good enough”. For weightlifting, this holds just as true. Often when coaching, athletes are reminded that all weights do not need to look perfect, but if the weights that do look perfect should get incrementally heavier over time, that’s a win. Said differently, the weights that look ragged, rough, and just plain crappy should also get heavier as the weeks and months pass. Higher percentage lifts can be barely made, duck walked, or pressed out, but it should be 90% one mesocycle and 94% the next.
Use the Vardanian Snatch to improve your “good enough” and strive not for perfection, but for a few more well-executed kilos.
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
