"Hey, why don't we do full snatches at GPP?"
We have a hard time figuring out why we should do them. Full snatches are dangerous, man. Like, there really isn't a more dangerous move. There might be moves that are arguably as dangerous. But none more. Our theory with programming lifts for you at GPP is that the benefits of performing a lift ought to be higher than the risks - by a LONG shot. While there are certainly benefits of performing full snatches, we can duplicate these benefits by performing other movements (single arm snatches, cleans and jerks, etc.). Ones which are MUCH safer.
Look, ANY time you take a weighted bar above your head you put yourself in danger. There is always a remote chance that bar (in an accident) could come down on top of you. So, while it's up there you'd be smart to limit your risk of having that bar fall down onto the top of your head, neck, or back (or foot - see below) in the first place.
Think about it. If a 50lb bar fell on top of your head, neck or back from arms fully extended above your head you'd be lucky to get away with just a couple of bruises, or maybe a few stitches. A 50lb bar falling from just 18 inches above your head has the very REAL capability of exposing you to brain and spinal cord trauma - yes, even death. This is not even to mention the incredible exposure to injury incurred by the connective tissues of the knees, hips, low back and shoulders of the person performing full snatches due to incredible torsional joint forces experienced during the lift! This risk of injury compounds exponentially with heavier weights. So does the likelihood of having an accident in the first place.
Couple of examples of some wrecks we'd like to avoid at GPP (cont'd below):
As mentioned before (it bears repeating), our theory with programming lifts for you at GPP is that the benefits of performing a lift ought to be FAR higher than, if not completely outweigh, the risks. Full snatches do not fit this bill. In fact the rewards of snatching with a bar seem to be mostly related to being able to perform more/better/heavier snatches. And little else.
There is a REASON the snatch is one of the only TWO Olympic weightlifting events. A Full snatch is a VERY complicated and advanced lifting technique. Becoming proficient with it takes years of extremely dedicated practice and specialized coaching. Those who've taken the time and effort to master it become masters themselves. While we believe this is a noteworthy thing, we also believe it is very limited in it's scope of benefit and range of usefulness.
We don't value being masters of the obscure when it comes to health and fitness. As minimalists, we prefer a little more bang for our buck.
We also prefer to program lifts that don't encourage form slop. In their hurry to see progress physically, many people will skip learning the fundamentals of proper movement. This is always a mistake. It causes poor results and usually injury. Sometimes catastrophic injury. Since full snatches are extremely complex and require months and years of specialized training it's not uncommon to see people performing crap workouts (video below) seeking benefit outside of fundamentals. NSFW. The audio (though entertaining as hell) is profane. If you turn the audio down it becomes SFW and less offensive. (cont'd below)
Going OH can be accomplished in many different ways (press, push press, jerk). The benefits of going overhead are many. Especially since many of the functional activities of daily living occur above eye level. If you are going to do stuff above eye level, it is our opinion these things should be done in as safe and stable a manner as possible. Generating massive and explosive upward momentum on a bar while literally throwing yourself underneath it, and catching it in a position few of us can manage UNWEIGHTED, as with a full snatch, can be dangerous (if not properly learned and coached) and has very little value outside of snatching itself that cannot be attained elsewhere.