Dominique Asks: When I land my split jerk, my hips do not face forward, the actually turn about 15 degrees to the right. Should I be concerned or work to fix it? I tried only once to keep my hips forward, but it was unsuccessful.

Greg Says: I would definitely work to correct the problem—my concern would be loading your back in an oddly rotated position. It may never actually cause an injury, but it also only takes one time for something to go wrong.

The first thing that comes to mind is not actually mobility, but that you may be trying to split too long. If you’re overreaching your legs, it will pull your hips into rotation like that. Check that in your split position, your lead shin is vertical or slightly behind vertical (knee slightly behind ankle), your lead thigh is about 20-40 degrees above horizontal, your back knee is at least slightly bent, your back heel off the floor, your weight is balanced evenly between your two feet, and your torso is vertical. If you’re meeting all of those criteria, you shouldn’t be able to get into a rotated hip position.

To practice and strengthen this proper split position, there are a few things you can do. First, the push jerk behind the neck in split will help reinforce the correct position and balance as well as strengthen the legs and hips to support it. You can also do press in split and press behind the neck in split as simpler versions or as warm-ups. Next, you can use the jerk balance to practice stepping through into the split position correctly.

All of these exercises can be trained on their own at any time, but you may find it most helpful to use them as technique primers—perform a few sets immediately before any split jerks you’re doing in your workout to get you primed to perform them properly.

Lauren Asks: I have a much higher Power Snatch than Snatch and find that my difficulty resides in catching the barbell in a low squat position. I have been doing snatch balance to help this, but am not sure if that is the fix or if I should be doing other things to improve my speed in the drop and confidence in the catch/lock out. I also wonder if this is simply a mobility issue considering I have tight reduced ROM in my hips and shoulder. So, my question is: Is there a good drill for this weakness and/or should I be focusing solely on mobility?

Greg Says: This problem, which is common, is usually the combination of a lack of mobility and confidence (the latter often the result of the former and the consequent lack of experience in the bottom position).

First, until you resolve the problem satisfactorily, never do another snatch without a full squat. That means no more power snatches in training, and even if you end up receiving a snatch high (i.e. a power snatch), sit in to the bottom of the squat before dropping the bar. Even worse, hold the bottom position of every single snatch for three seconds before standing.

Second, yes, a lot of mobility work, and don’t forget your ankles. Check out this article for more on that.

Finally, some exercises that can help are hang snatches, particularly mid-thigh and higher, the same positions from blocks, and dip snatches. All of these will limit how much elevation you can get on the bar and force you to pull under more aggressively and farther. Also shore up your overhead strength and confidence with overhead squats and snatch balances—hold these in the bottom for three seconds like your snatches.

Aaron Asks: Greg just to see if you could point me in the right direction for a good back squat program?

Greg Says: We have several squat-emphasis training cycles on our site here. You can select one based on how much time you want to commit to the cycle, how much volume you can manage, and what else other than squats you need to focus on during the cycle.