Book of Cues The Snatch and Clean DOWNLOAD

A collection of whiteboard sketches and captions illustrating cues,
movement sequences, and skill transfers.

Whiteboard Daily Book of Cues: The Snatch & Clean Volume 1
About Whiteboard Daily

This book contains a collection of sketches that I’ve drawn to communicate
movement. They include coaching cues, movement sequences and skill transfers
that I’ve posted on Whiteboard Daily - @whiteboard_daily, an Instagram page that
has served as the catalyst for this entire project. I created Whiteboard Daily to be a
resource for valuable coaching content to help others learn and teach movement. I
felt the use of a whiteboard was the perfect medium to display this information as
it is the common gathering place for the beginning of many exercise classes. My
hope was to provide illustrations of movement information that coaches could use
on their own whiteboards, and help their athletes better understand.
About Coaching Cues
Similar to arrows in a quiver, the more cues a coach has to offer, the more likely
they can find one that works and effectively communicate movement. Since there
is no “golden cue” that works for everyone, it is important for a coach to have a
wide variety of cues in mind. Every athlete is unique and will respond to instruction
differently.
There are four primary categories of cues:
Verbal - Spoken word command; “Jump!”

Visual - Physical demonstration by coach or another athlete; “Watch the bar path
on this next rep.”
Tactile - Use of a target for the athlete to touch; “Push your knee against my hand”
Mental - Relating a physical movement to imaginary action; “Imagine your elbows

are lasers.”
Cues should be:
Short - Use as few words as possible.
Specific - Say what you want, not what you don’t want.
Actionable - Identify the body part and what you want it to do.
Coaching is not simply cueing. However, a large part of coaching is teaching

movement and cues are an extremely valuable tool. I hope you find the content in
this book valuable for both learning and coaching movement.
The information provided here is for the general population. Everyone is different and these cues may not apply to each person. This content is not intended to be a substitute for
1
Table of Contents
Click on the title to jump to the corresponding page
3 - Snatch
27 - “Like Driving A Car”
5 - Power Snatch
29 - “Bar Speed Builds”
6 - Clean
30 - “Patience”
8 - Power Clean
32 - “Trap Door”
9 - “House of Weightlifting Fundamentals”

33 - “Jump Hard Not High”
11 - “Oly Mechanics Hierarchy”

35 - “Jump The Gap”
12 - “Peace Fingers”
36 - “Plane On The Runway”
14 - “Knuckles to the Floor…”

38 - “A Gnat’s Ass"
15 - “The Area of the Base"

39 - “Jump Up, Shrug Down”
17 - “When the Arms Bend, the Power Ends”

41 - “Get Tall Before You Get Small”
18 - “Avoid the Stripper Booty”

42 - “Jump Hard, Land Hard”
20 - “The Three Best Friends”

44 - “Meet The Bar"
21 - “Arms Are Ropes"

45 - “Foot Is A Bumper Plate”
23 - “Rubber Ball Bounce”

47 - “Hear Your Feet”
24 - “Brush Not A Bang”

48 - “The Bounce"
26 - “Less Hump, More Jump”

50 - About WBD / Karl Eagleman
2
3
Previous page:
“Snatch”
Points of Performance
Set Up:
- Hip width stance
- Hands in overhead squat width with hook grip on bar
- Shoulders slightly in front of bar
Movement
- Lumber curve maintained
- Hips and shoulders rise at same rate, then hips extend rapidly
- Shoulders shrug, followed by a pull under with the arms
- Bar received in bottom of an overhead squat
- Movement complete at full hip, knee, and arm extension with bar over the middle of foot
Next page:
“Power Snatch”
Set Up:
- Hip width stance
- Hands in overhead squat width with hook grip on bar
- Shoulders slightly in front of bar
Movement
- Hips and shoulders rise at same rate, then hips extend rapidly
- Bar received in partial squat
- Movement complete at full hip, knee, and arm extension with bar over the middle of foot
4
5
6
Previous page:
“Clean”
Set Up:
- Hip width stance
- Hands about one thumb’s distance from hips
- Hook grip on the bar
- Shoulders slightly in front of the bar
Movement
- Hips and shoulders rise at same rate
- Heels down and arms straight until hips and legs extend
- Then hips extend rapidly
- Bar received in a squat
- Complete at full hip, and knee extension with bar in rack position
Next page:
“Power Clean”
Set Up:
- Hip width stance
- Hands about one thumb’s distance from hips
- Hook grip on the bar
- Shoulders slightly in front of the bar
Movement
- Hips and shoulders rise at same rate
- Heels down and arms straight until hips and legs extend
- Then hips extend rapidly
- Bar received in a partial squat
- Complete at full hip, and knee extension with bar in rack position 7
8
9
Previous page:
“The House of Weightlifting Fundamentals” - picked up from the @burgenerstrength Level 1 Certification Course
What does this mean?
“The way I see it, stance is the foundation of the house. Grip is the walls. Position is the roof. Without a firm foundation,
everything else will just crumble.” - @looneycody
“The fundamentals of weightlifting consist of stance, grip, and position. Stance is a critical fundamental because it can
be said that 90% of misses are due to improper footwork.” - p. 5 of the @burgenerstrength Level 1 Certification Training
Guide
Next page:
Olympic Weightlifting Mechanics Hierarchy - picked up from @wilfleming
First: Position
Then: Speed
Finally: Load
“This is the hierarchy of how you should think about your lifting. First you must master the positions, but go slow and
go light. Once those are comfortable add speed to the equation, so now you have good positions done quickly. Finally
add load, so in the final stage you have good positions, done quickly, with a lot of weight.” - @wilfleming
10
11
12
Previous page:
“Peace fingers”
When?
Hook grip
“For the pull of both the snatch and the clean, this method of gripping is an eventual necessity to maintain control of
the barbell during the violent explosion of the second pull.
Press the webbing of the hand between the thumb and index finger against the bar; wrap the thumb about the bar as
far a possible; grab the thumb with the index and middle fingers; use these first two fingers to pull the thumb farther
around the bar; grip the bar with the remaining fingers.” - Greg Everett in “The Hook Grip: Why & How to Do It
Correctly” on the @catalystathletics website
Using the cue of “peace fingers” ✌ may provide a relevant visual for your athlete.
Next page:
“Knuckles to the floor, not to the door” - picked up from @daine.mitchell
When?
1st and 2nd pulls of the clean or snatch
“Turning your knuckles down towards the ground enhances our pull throughout the Olympic lifts. By doing this it forces
the bar to stay closer to our body and allows the elbows to track out and up rather than back behind the body too
early. Give this a try by practicing some pulls from the floor first and then if feeling good, try with your clean or snatch.”
- Mitchell
13
14
15
Previous page:
“The area of the base” - @mikeburgener / @burgenerstrength
When?
Teaching bar path for Olympic lifts
How?
“The area of the base is a rectangular box around the feet. It extends out about 6 inches. The toes are marked and the
heels are marked.” - Burgener
Why?
At no time during the pull should that bar go outside the area of the base. That way we know the bar is lifted with the
most efficiency. It’s lifted with the least line of resistance.” - Burgener
Next page:
“When the arms bend, the power ends” - picked up from @mikeburgener @burgenerstrength
When?
During the first and second pull of the clean or snatch
If the arms bend prior to hip extension in the clean or snatch, the weight of the bar is transferred to the arms rather than
the major muscle groups of the core and legs.
16
17
18
Previous page:
“Stripper Booty”
When?
This is a movement fault seen primarily during the first pull of a deadlift, clean, and snatch. Upon initiation of the first
pull, the hips rise faster than the shoulders placing the athlete in a weak position.
Why?
Hips and shoulders should rise at the same rate and the angle of the back should remain the same until the bar reaches
the top of the knee.
Solution
A common fix is to slow down the first pull. Many times, the cause of this fault is the athlete rushing the first pull which
may cause the hips to shoot up first.
Next page:
“The Three Best Friends” - picked up from the @burgenerstrength Level 1 Certification Course
When?
During the first pull / loading phase (floor to knee) of the clean and snatch.
“Throughout the loading phase of the clean and snatch, the BAR, the HIPS, and the SHOULDERS are the three best
friends that anyone could have. They rise at the same rate. They go everywhere together.” - @sageburgener
19
20
21
Previous page:
“Arms are ropes” - picked up from @burgenerstrength
When?
During the down and finish of both the clean and snatch
“The shrug at the top, after the hip extension (2nd pull), is the signal to press your body under the barbell as fast as
possible! The shrug pulls you under the barbell fast. Arms are like ROPES, hanging long but relaxed, so the barbell
does not bounce out with hip extension. Arms do not bend until after the jump and shrug (shoulders lead arms follow)!”
p. 20 of the @CrossFitTraining Weightlifting Training Guide
Next page:
“Rubber ball bounce” - picked up from Gregg Everett @catalystathletics
When?
Addressing bar contact/path
“During the pull of the snatch, the bar will contact the body in any properly executed lift (hips with snatch, upper thighs
with clean).”
“The bar must be as close the body as possible prior to contact without dragging. The closer the bar is before contact,
the closer it will naturally stay, just like a ball bouncing.” - Everett
For more information please read “Hips, Meet Bar: Bar-Body Contact in the Extension of the Snatch and Clean” on the
@catalystathletics website
22
23
24
Previous page:
“A brush, not a bang” reminded of this by @voodooweightlifting
When?
Describing hip contact with the bar during extension of the clean or snatch
During extension of the clean or snatch, the bar should BRUSH up the hips rather than BANG against the hips.
Next page:
“Less hump, more jump” - picked up from @sonnywebstergb
When?
Snatch
“A common mistake that beginners will make is thinking they need to smack the bar off the hips in the snatch.
Starting in this position means that all the weight is actually loaded into the back, causing you to when you fire the hips
through, kick the bar away from the body, which is nay good.
All you actually need to focus on in your set position as the bar comes past the knees is keeping the bar touching in
close. Therefore we can use the legs to drive up through the second part of the lift meaning that all the force goes
vertically instead of horizontally.” - Webster
25
26
27
Previous page:
“Bar speed = driving a car”
When?
Teaching bar speed to your athlete for Olympic lifts
You wouldn’t just hop in your car and slam on the gas. The same applies for pulling the bar off the ground in the
Olympic lifts.
Just like driving a car, you maneuver through the parking lot (1st pull), which leads to the highway (2nd pull), then the
on-ramp for the interstate (3rd pull).
Bar speed BUILDS with each pull.
Next page:
“Bar speed BUILDS” (Speedometer visual)
When?
During the first and second pulls of the Olympic lifts
You wouldn’t just hop in your car and slam on the gas. The same applies for pulling the bar off the ground in the
Olympic lifts. CONTROL.
Building speed through the first and second pull allows the lifter to place the bar at the highest position at the right
time, initiation of the third pull.
28
29
30
Previous page:
“Patience”
When?
Throughout the second pull of the clean or snatch
“The most common fault we see is that the ‘pull’ is taking place before the hips extend. Knowing this, the best cue in
Olympic weightlifting is PATIENCE!” 
“We must wait for the legs to push into the floor and the hips to violently extend before we begin to pull on the bar.” -
Bryce Smith @therealbrycesmith in “Patience in Olympic Weightlifting” on the @crossfitinvictus website.
Next page:
“Trap door”
When?
Transitioning under the bar in the snatch or clean
During the snatch or clean, imagine you are standing on a trap door. As soon as you jump it opens and you must
position your feet on either side of it (squat stance: landing/receiving position) to avoid falling in!
31
32
33
Previous page:
“Jump hard, not high” - from @mikeburgener / @sageburgener / @burgenerstrength
When?
Leaving the ground at triple extension in the Olympic lifts
“Jumping in weightlifting is about a credit card height off the ground.” - Mike Burgener @mikeburgener
“I’m not necessarily telling you to lift your feet way up into the air. I'm saying make them separate from the platform
enough that you can replace them flat and aggressively in the correct location.” - Greg Everett @catalystathletics
REFERENCES:
“Analysis of the Transition” - @CrossFitTraining Journal: February 20, 2009
“Move Your Feet: The Third Pull of the Snatch & Clean” - by Greg Everett on the @catalystathletics website
Next page:
“Jump the gap” - picked up from @iamchrisharris
When?
Timing for the clean and the snatch
What does the mean?
“The timing of the “jump” plays a big part in the success of your lift. Jumping” too early will cause you jump forward or
miss the bar out in front. But if you’re patient enough to get the bar into your hips, the chances of you making the lift
are much higher.” Harris
34
35
36
Previous page:
“Plane on the runway”
When?
Use this cue if the athlete is having a problem finishing their pull on the clean or the snatch.
How?
Compare the bar path along the body to that of a runway. A plane needs the entire length of the runway in order to take
off with full power.
Why?
Not finishing the pull leaves “power on the table” and may send the trajectory of the bar path out in front of the athlete.
Next page:
“Gnat’s ass” - picked up from @sageburgener during the @burgenerstrength Level 1 Certification
When?
Describing space between the bar and body through the pull off the ground to lightly brushing up against the hips for both
the clean and the snatch
“Efficiency is key in the Olympic lifts. The only way to ensure efficiency is through a very specific bar path. Keeping that
bar as close to the body as you can, will help it get from point A, to point B in the least amount of time possible, in the
BEST way possible. So, how close do we keep it? As my dad @mikeburgener likes to say, keep that barbell a “gnat’s ass”
away from the body.
37
38
39
Previous page:
“Jump UP - Shrug DOWN” - picked up from @sageburgener / @burgenerstrength
When?
Getting under the bar in the snatch and clean
“So you need to be all the way here (triple extension), my legs have fully driven all the way, as much as they can, and
then I shrug and pull to get myself moving down.
So I don’t want to see JUMP - PULL - DOWN
I want to see JUMP UP - PULL DOWN
That pulling against the bar is what whips you underneath it.” - Burgener
Next page:
“Get tall before you get small”
When?
Transitioning from triple extension to receiving the bar
Why?
“Snatching, cleaning, and jerking is nothing more than a jump (triple extension) and a land.” - Coach Mike
Burgener @mikeburgener
40
41
42
Previous page:
“Jump hard, land hard” - @sageburgener
When?
Transitioning to receive during clean and snatch
“When you jump hard against the ground that’s what begins and creates that acceleration on the barbell.
When you think about landing hard that’s what KEEPS the acceleration on the barbell.
That’s what KEEPS the speed and the momentum all the way through that turnover.
Landing hard gives us a chance to really STABILIZE strong underneath that barbell and it forces us to keep that
aggression not just through the middle, but all the way through the end.” - Burgener
Next page:
“Meet the bar” - picked up from Greg Everett @catalystathletics
When?
Receiving the bar in the clean
“The goal is to bring the bar and shoulders together smoothly so the lifter can absorb the weight and maintain position
and rigidity. In other words, to meet the bar at whatever height it’s been pulled to.” - Everett
43
44
45
Previous page:
“Foot is a bumper plate” - adapted from a cue I picked up from Oleksiy Torokhtiy @torokhtiy
When?
Foot position when landing during the catch
When we land with a full foot, the catch is stable from the ground up - similar to a bumper plate that hits the floor flat.
When we land toes or heels first, this leads to instability from the ground up - similar to a bumper plate that hits the
floor on its edge.
Next page:
“Hear your feet” - Glenn Pendlay @glenn_pendlay
When?
Learning the Olympic lifts
“For a high level weightlifter, jumping and stomping is not necessary. While we are learning… I want to hear your feet.
The reason that I do that is because that it is far more common for beginners that are just learning the lifts to make the
mistake of pulling the bar up with the arms instead of relying on the hips and legs and a jumping motion to put the bar
over your head.
You can’t stomp your feet without being in the air. You can’t be in the air without jumping.” - Pendlay from “Glenn
Pendlay: Do you need to stomp in weightlifting?” on the On Target Publications website
46
47
48
Previous page:
“The Bounce” - technique for driving out of the bottom of a squat or clean
“The bounce is the use of the elastic rebound at the bottom of the squat or the clean to recover from the bottom
position more easily and with more speed.
It is the combination of the actual bounce of the upper leg off the lower leg, the stretch shortening reflex in the muscles
of the legs and hips and the elastic whip of the bar.” - Greg Everett @catalystathletics
“We need shocks, meaning that you meet the bar at anything above that buried position, the legs then absorb the
weight, relax for a split second at the change of direction point, to then re-fire and hopefully stand the load.” - Chad
Vaughn @olychad
“This is a skill that takes a ton of practice to maintain a high level of tension so I always recommend working with a
coach to make sure this technique modification is right for you and performed correctly.” - Dr. Aaron Horschig
@squat_university
REFERENCES:
“The Bounce - Using Elastic Energy for the Clean & Squat in Olympic Weightlifting” - Greg Everett @catalystathletics
“Is It Okay to “Bounce” Out of Your Squats?” - Chad Vaughn @olychad on the @barbend site
“Should You Bounce Out of Your Front Squat?” - Dr. Aaron Horschig @squat_university
49
About Karl Eagleman

Whiteboard Daily was created by Karl Eagleman to be a valuable resource for coaches,
athletes, and anyone who wants to improve their own movement. A lifelong athlete,
Eagleman has a passion for coaching, but also for being a student and learning from
others. He started doing CrossFit in 2007 and has been a coach at CrossFit
MANA (Palmerston North, New Zealand), Derby City CrossFit (Louisville, KY)
and CrossFit NapTown (Indianapolis, IN).
Since launching WBD in August of 2017, Eagleman has posted over 1,000 educational
boards covering movement cues, coaching education, and perspectives. Additionally, in
an effort to provide more opportunities for coaches to pursue continuing education, he
created the Whiteboard Daily Coaching Education Grant. Five rounds of this grant have
been awarded so far.
Eagleman's credentials include:
• Master's in Kinesiology (2011, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN)
• Teaching Certification - Physical Education (2006, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN)
• Bachelor's in Communications (2001, Bellarmine University - Louisville, KY)
• CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (2018)
• Active Life Professional Coaches Immersion Course
• Burgener Strength Weightlifting Level 1 (2020)
• The Gymnastics Course Certificate (2019)
• CrossFit Gymnastics Certificate (2018)
• Currently pursuing NSCA CSCS
To contact Karl, please email karl@wbd.tips
50
Special thanks to:
My wife for always being supportive of this passion project of mine.
My parents for always encouraging me to be creative.
My brothers for inspiration as they pursue their own creative endeavors.
Jason Ackerman and Nate Totten for being the engine to push this and many more future projects across the finish line.
Remember team, a high tide lifts all boats so together let’s keep raising the tides.
Karl Eagleman
Whiteboard Daily LLC
To order printed posters or high resolution downloads of

any of the images you see in this book, please visit:
WBD.tips
51

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A collection of whiteboard sketches and captions illustrating cues,

movement sequences, and skill transfers.

About Whiteboard Daily

About Coaching Cues

There are four primary categories of cues:

Verbal - Spoken word command; “Jump!”

Mental - Relating a physical movement to imaginary action; “Imagine your elbows

Cues should be:

Short - Use as few words as possible.

Coaching is not simply cueing. However, a large part of coaching is teaching

9 - “House of Weightlifting Fundamentals”

11 - “Oly Mechanics Hierarchy”

14 - “Knuckles to the Floor…”

15 - “The Area of the Base"

17 - “When the Arms Bend, the Power Ends”

18 - “Avoid the Stripper Booty”

20 - “The Three Best Friends”

21 - “Arms Are Ropes"

23 - “Rubber Ball Bounce”

24 - “Brush Not A Bang”

26 - “Less Hump, More Jump”

- Hip width stance

- Hands in overhead squat width with hook grip on bar

- Shoulders slightly in front of bar

- Lumber curve maintained

- Shoulders shrug, followed by a pull under with the arms

- Bar received in bottom of an overhead squat

- Hip width stance

- Hands in overhead squat width with hook grip on bar

- Shoulders slightly in front of bar

- Lumber curve maintained

- Shoulders shrug, followed by a pull under with the arms

- Bar received in partial squat

- Hip width stance

- Hands about one thumb’s distance from hips

- Hook grip on the bar

- Shoulders slightly in front of the bar

- Lumber curve maintained

- Hips and shoulders rise at same rate

- Then hips extend rapidly

- Shoulders shrug, followed by a pull under with the arms

- Bar received in a squat

- Hip width stance

- Hands about one thumb’s distance from hips

- Hook grip on the bar

- Shoulders slightly in front of the bar

- Lumber curve maintained

- Hips and shoulders rise at same rate

- Then hips extend rapidly

- Shoulders shrug, followed by a pull under with the arms

- Bar received in a partial squat

What does this mean?

What does this mean?

1st and 2nd pulls of the clean or snatch

What does this mean?

Teaching bar path for Olympic lifts

During the first and second pull of the clean or snatch

What does this mean?

What does this mean?

What does this mean?

Addressing bar contact/path

What does this mean?

What does this mean?