Snatch
An Olympic lift that takes a weight from the floor to locked arms overhead in one explosive pull, driven by the hips and legs, with the shoulders holding the catch.
Equipment
- Primary muscles
- Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Front delts
- Secondary
- Lower back, Traps
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Glutes, Hamstrings, Front delts, Lower back
- Secondary
- Traps, Abs, Forearm flexors
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Glutes, Hamstrings, Front delts, Lower back
- Secondary
- Traps, Abs, Forearm flexors
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
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Why do it
The barbell snatch is a technical lift for people chasing power and speed; learn it with a light bar or a coach and keep sets to a few reps. The dumbbell and kettlebell versions are one-arm, hip-driven moves with a much shorter learning curve, so they fit general conditioning and home training. Pick the kettlebell if you already know the swing, the dumbbell if you don't, and save the barbell for when you can practice it regularly.
How to do it (Barbell)
Stand with the bar over your midfoot, feet hip-width apart, and take a wide grip, well outside shoulder-width. Set your hips low, back flat and chest up.
Lift the bar by extending your legs, keeping it brushing your shins and thighs.
As the bar passes your knees, extend your hips, knees and ankles explosively and shrug.
Pull yourself under the bar, catch it overhead with locked arms in a squat, then stand up. The bar finishes slightly behind your head, stacked over your midfoot.
Keep the reps low; sets of one to three; and learn it with a light bar or a coach. The snatch punishes bad positions faster than any other lift.
Stand over a dumbbell with your feet shoulder-width apart and hinge down to grab it with one hand.
Drive your hips forward explosively and pull the dumbbell up close to your body, elbow high.
Punch your hand under the dumbbell as it passes your shoulder and catch it locked out overhead.
Lower it to your shoulder, then back to the floor between your feet. Finish all reps on one side before switching.
Stand over a kettlebell with your feet shoulder-width apart and hinge down to grab the handle with one hand.
Hike the kettlebell back between your legs, then drive your hips forward explosively like a swing.
As the kettlebell rises, pull your elbow up and back, then punch your hand through the handle so the bell lands softly on the back of your forearm overhead.
Lock out overhead, then let it fall back into the next swing. Finish all reps on one side before switching.
Common mistakes
Pulling with the arms too early
Bending your elbows before your hips and legs finish the drive cuts off power. Keep your arms long through the extension, then pull yourself under.
Letting the bar drift away from you
A bar that swings out in front lands too far forward to catch. Keep it brushing your thighs and finish it stacked over your midfoot.
Pressing out the catch
Catching with bent elbows and pushing up to finish leaves the weight unstable overhead. Punch your arms locked as you meet it.
Kettlebell crashing onto the forearm
If the bell flips over and slams your wrist, you're swinging it around instead of punching through. Pull the elbow up and back, then punch your hand through the handle.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
