Jason Asks: I started weightlifting through CrossFit, and unfortunately had picked up some bad habits that took me a long time to unlearn (my own fault). One of the things I'm struggling with right now is achieving something that looks like one of the four acceptable bar paths in the snatch. Specifically, when the bar breaks from the floor, it is almost impossible for me to get it to travel backwards the requisite couple of inches without adopting some ridiculous, centre-of-mass-way-behind-the-bar posture with my shoulders behind the bar in the starting position. I know this is not the correct starting position, so I'm wondering about what a better starting position is for me, and what cues I should be thinking of before and immediately after the bar separates from the floor. I'm 6 feet tall, and have what I think are equally-proportioned legs, arms and torso for someone of that height. Thanks in advance for any help. 
Greg Says: Don’t become overly-focused on bar path in great detail. It’s a good way to drive yourself crazy and miss the forest for the trees. Instead, focus on being balanced and keeping the bar as close to your body as possible throughout the lift. Those are what matter—the bar path is a result of that, not the other way around.
 
Make sure in your starting position that the bar is over the balls of the foot rather than farther back, and that the shoulder joint is directly above the bar or very slightly in front of it. If the bar starts farther back over the foot, forcing it backward off the floor means you have to shift your body back, and that means your balance moves too far backward as well. The idea is to be able to essentially stand straight up—as you stand, the knees and shins move back, which means the bar has space to move back and become approximately centered over the foot.
 
If the bar begins over the center of the foot, it should not move backward in the first pull—that would be moving it from where it needs to be to too far back. This is a good example of a problem arising from focusing too much on the bar path—maybe you can create a path that looks like what the textbook shows, but you’d be out of balance, and you’ve therefore missed the point.
 
In the second pull, you’re simply trying to minimize forward bar movement as the bar and body come into contact—this means maximal proximity prior to contact, a proper contact point in the hips, and continued upward drive of the legs.
 
In the third pull, the same is true—the goal is maximal proximity as you and the bar pass each other, which is accomplished first with a properly executed second pull, and then an active pull with the arms to preserve the existing proximity. Finally, the third pull must actually bring the bar backward somewhat into position overhead, and there’s your final curve of the bar path.
 
Again, if you remain balanced in the pull, the bar stays as close as possible all the way through the lift, and you finish in the proper overhead position and balanced, you will have created a “correct” bar path.