Olympic lifting · exercise analysis

Hang power snatch analysis: four criteria, and six checks before any of them run.

This is the most tightly gated movement in the library, because it sits between three other lifts that look almost identical on video.

Pose skeleton overlaid on an athlete mid-repetition, with joint positions marked at the hips, knees, shoulders and elbows
Every threshold on this page is read from joint positions like these, never from the barbell.

What a camera can see in a hang power snatch

A hang power snatch starts above the floor, drives the bar overhead in one pull and catches it in a partial squat. Because a power snatch, a squat snatch, a hang power clean and a thruster all share parts of that shape, the identity gate runs six separate checks before anything is scored: on where the bar finishes, on the elbows at the start, on the catch depth, on the lockout and on the starting torso angle. What is then scored is straightforward — lockout, hip extension and catch height, all from the side.

How ScoreRep scores a hang power snatch

The rubric declares 4 scored criteria. The strongest single camera angle is the left side view. Every criterion below is available from that angle.

The score is the points earned divided by the points the recorded angle could support, so a clip filmed from a limited angle is never quietly marked down for what the camera could not see. At least 60% of the applicable weight has to be measured before a result is ranked at all.

Scoring criteria for a hang power snatch, version 2 of the rubric.
CriterionPointsMeasured from the athlete’s poseFull marks when
Overhead lockout30elbow angle in the finish position165° or more
Hip extension25largest hip angle in the rep172° or more
Power catch25knee angle at the bottom of the rep140° or less
Explosiveness20time taken by the lifting phase0.7s or less

Criteria that depend on the camera angle

These criteria are excluded, not estimated, when the recorded angle cannot support them. That is why the same set filmed twice from different positions can produce two valid scores out of two different totals.

  • Hip extension — needs a left side, right side, left oblique and right oblique view.
  • Power catch — needs a left side, right side, left oblique and right oblique view.

Does this hang power snatch rep count?

ScoreRep answers that in two separate steps. First, the clip has to read as a hang power snatch at all: every check in the table below has to pass, and a reading the camera could not take counts as a fail, never as a pass. A clip that fails is returned unranked with the reason attached, rather than scored low against the wrong rubric, and no template can override a failed check.

Second, the scoring criteria award points. Falling short of a full-marks threshold costs points, not the rep. Every number here is read from version 2 of the hang power snatch rubric, the same file the scoring engine runs.

Movement checks for a hang power snatch. All of them have to pass for the clip to be scored as one.
ReadingHas to beOtherwise rejected because
Vertical travel of the hips across the rep0.05 or morethe hip pull is not strong enough
Whether the hands finish above the shouldersyesthe bar does not finish overhead, so this is not a snatch
Elbow angle in the starting position130° or morethe elbows are in the front rack at the start, which reads as a thruster or a clean rather than a snatch
Smallest knee angle in the rep100° or morethe bar is received in a squat, which reads as a squat snatch rather than a hang power snatch
Elbow angle in the finish position155° or morethe elbows are not locked out overhead at the finish
Torso lean in the starting position20° or lessthe torso is too far over at the start, which reads as a power snatch from the floor rather than a hang snatch

What the recording has to contain

Eligibility decides whether a result can enter a leaderboard. Failing it does not block the feedback — the clip is still scored and returned, but marked unranked with the reason attached, so a bad camera position never silently becomes a bad score.

  • A pose has to be detected in at least 55% of the frames.
  • The camera angle has to be one of: left side, right side, left oblique and right oblique.
  • At least 1 complete repetition has to be detected.

What is deliberately not scored

Identity, repetition counting, eligibility and the score are derived only from the athlete’s pose. Measurements that come from tracking an external object — the path of a barbell, for example — are drawn on the review overlay but are deliberately outside the scoring contract, so they never affect the number.

Reading the result

If clips of this movement are repeatedly rejected, the starting position is usually the reason rather than the lift itself. A torso that is pitched over at the first frame reads as a lift from the floor. Standing tall before the dip, and starting the recording a moment earlier so the set-up is captured, resolves most rejections without changing anything about the lifting.

A technique score is educational feedback about visible movement. It cannot tell you whether a load is safe for your joints, whether pain means something, or whether a programme suits you. Those judgements need a coach or clinician who knows your history.

Questions

What athletes usually ask

Why are there so many identity checks on this movement?

Because four different lifts share its silhouette. Each check removes one of them, so a scored rep is unambiguous.

Does the recording need to include the set-up?

Yes. Two of the checks read the very first frame, so a clip that starts mid-pull is likely to be rejected.

What if I catch the bar in a full squat?

The clip is scored as a squat snatch. That is a different rubric, not a lower score.

Turn the next set into evidence you can review.

Analyse a hang power snatch

iPhone web app

Install ScoreRep

  1. Open this page in Safari.
  2. Tap the Share button.
  3. Choose Add to Home Screen.
  4. Enable Open as Web App, then tap Add.