Hello Nathan,

Thank you for your question. The starting location of the shoulder and its movement during the first pull is highly dependent on the lifter’s torso length and leg length. What is important is that the lifter maintains their center of balance near the forefoot. The lifter must move in a specific (to their build) way to maintain this balance and this will result in the shoulders moving in an appropriate manner.

In general, shorter lifters will be able to maintain a more upright position while maintain a forefoot balance while taller lifters will have their shoulders more over the bar in order to maintain balance.