Coaching at Muscle Driver USA and owning Mash Elite Performance, I work with athletes of all ranges. I have current world-class lifters, some of the best youth in America, and adult CrossFitters learning the Olympic lifts for the first time in their lives. I coach over 200 athletes on the Mash Mafia Online Weightlifting Team. I see hundreds of mistakes every week. Some of the mistakes are slight miscalculations, and some of them are quite comical. One of the awesome things about coaching weightlifting in the modern area is that you never know what you are going to get.

Even though I see hundreds of mistakes, there are five common ones that seem to always surface. They are like a snapping turtle grabbing your toe and not letting go. I want to try and help you shake them loose. Today we will unmask these ugly creatures, and I will give you the weapons necessary to fight them off each and every day. Let’s face it, mistakes and difficulties in weightlifting are going to happen. The key is to fill your bag of tools, so that you have all the ammunition necessary to win the daily battle with the bar.

Mistake #1 Getting pulled forward off the floor

I see this from a lot of new lifters. If your body is pulled forward right off the floor, you are in a bad position from the start. This usually ends in a miss or an ugly lift at best.

FIX: The key to overcoming this demon error is to set your back tightly by anchoring your scapula back and down. The lats become a strong anchor if you know how to set them. Think about taking the shoulders and pinching them together and then locking them downward. Dr. Stu McGill was the one that explained that position to me. I was always told to pinch the shoulders, but no one told me to press them downward. It’s a great locking position.

The next way to fix this error is to start sweeping the bar back into your body immediately upon lift off. This slight movement will set you up to have the perfect bar path. This one change in your pull can equate to a 10 kilo or more increase if done correctly. All you lifters that didn’t realize this should send me a check for that tip.

Mistake # 2 Starting the second pull way too early

Most people allow their knees to go back too far during the initial pull while their butt rises and chest drops. This will completely take your legs out of the drive phase, and it will shift the entire load to your low back, glutes, and hamstrings.

FIX: The goal during the pull is to keep your chest facing the audience at all times. Off the floor, the lifter should only move the knees enough for the bar to clear. Once the bar clears the knees, then it is time to get the knees back and stay over the bar for as long as possible before beginning the rebend of the knees. At that point, guide the bar into the hip. Meet the bar with the hips in a scoop position, torso vertical, and shoulders behind the bar.

The way to fix this issue is the grueling three-position clean. During this exercise, pause right off the floor to ensure the chest is up and butt is down. Next position is right above the knee. At this point, make sure that you have cleared the knees, kept the chest up, stayed over the bar, and are preparing to begin the second pull. Last position is the Pendlay Position 1, or what you could call the power/scoop position (image below). The power position is when your shoulders are behind the bar, torso is vertical, knees are bent about five inches, and bar is resting deep into your hip.

During position pulls, I recommend keeping the reps around 3-5, the sets 3-5, and the weight around 90-100% as long as you can keep the bar in the correct positions. I recommend performing this exercise at least three times per week. You should perform the position pulls until the correct bar path becomes a regular event.

Mistake #3 Reaching the Hips for the Bar!

The two prior mistakes can make this mistake even more prevalent. However, athletes with a perfect start and pull still reach their hips and try to sneak under the bar.



The optimal position to make bar to body contact is the Pendlay Position 1 (image above). In this picture, my buddy Jon North is demonstrating the Position 1. Notice his weight is on his heels, torso vertical, his knees are bent about 5 inches, and the bar is pulled deeply into the hips. This position sets you up to scoop the bar vertical like an upper cut in boxing. If he were to reach his hips for the bar, the bar path would then be forced out and away from the body. Obviously at that point, the center of gravity is less than optimal.

FIX: The way to overcome this mistake is to sweep your arms back by engaging the lats right off the ground. Continue the sweep by squeezing the bar into your hips all the way to the top.

Another way to teach the lats to engage properly is by performing partner banded pulls. This exercise is performed the same as the position pulls. The only difference is a partner is standing in front with a band attached to the bar. The partner gently pulls the bar away from the body causing a counter movement from the lifter. The lifter is forced to pull the bar in, engaging the lats properly.

Mistake #4 Over-pulling

Once the hips have extended, the bar is now peaked. There will be a small moment in time where the bar is suspended in air, the prime moment to use the bar to pull yourself under the bar. Any wasted effort with over-pulling results in a wasted opportunity to get under the bar. This pull under the bar is known as the third pull. This pull is the most important, but it is also the hardest to master, requiring speed, mobility, and athleticism.

FIX: There are a couple of exercises that are perfect for perfect the third pull. The best one is “Paused at Position 1 Snatch.” With the bar on the floor, perform the perfect pull, pausing at Position 1. Then, violently extend your hips and pull under the bar. The lack of momentum forces you to pull under the bar instead of over-pulling vertically.

Another great exercise is Snatching off the high Blocks. The blocks should be set at a height that when you assume the Power Position 1 the bar is resting exactly in the crease of the hip. Once again, all you can do is extend the hips and pull under. This is a great way to perform multiple reps preparing you for the third pull.



The third pull takes courage and requires you to be completely aggressive. Like Donnie Shankle always says, the third pull is like ripping the head off of a lion. This is where the warrior will rise to the top, and the less courageous will find their place.

Mistake #5 Not anticipating the bar in the catch position.
There is nothing worse in weightlifting than to do everything correctly only to be slow in receiving the bar. Once the second and third pull are complete, anticipate the bar being overhead. By this I mean quickly extend your arms overhead reaching aggressively for the ceiling.

So often, an athlete will do everything right, and then passively receives the bar only to get crushed to the ground. To receive the bar, aggressively rip under the bar, and then just as aggressively receive the bar. Here is a pic of Leo Hernandez receiving the bar:



FIX: The Snatch Balance is a great exercise for learning to receive the bar. Starting with the bar behind your head in a standing position, push your body away from the bar into the catch position. This teaches the arms to move quickly into the receiving position. To strengthen the catch position, the best exercise is the Sotts Press. The Sotts Press is simply a behind the neck snatch press in the bottom position of a squat. Both the Sotts Press and the Snatch Balance are great exercises for learning to receive the bar.

The Snatch is a highly skilled athletic movement. It takes several years of practice before any athlete can hope to perfect the movement. These mistakes can be avoided by hard work, smart training, and by using the corrective exercises that I listed above. Weightlifting is a marathon! It’s not a sprint! Small victories daily add up to huge victories at the end of the road!