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how to do a snatch
The snatch tends to be a pretty scary looking exercise.
You take a bar stacked with weights, load up on the ground, and throw it over your head before catching it at its apex, arms extended and body in a catcher’s stance.
From there, you hold the bar like Atlas did the world and stand up, tall and mighty for all to see. See, pretty scary.
It’s not even like the clean and jerk, which at least has the bar stopping to rest on your shoulders, like a layover in New York for your flight from Los Angeles to England, where you get to stretch your legs and take a break instead of making the flight in one hellish ride.
That’s why we’re here, to make the snatch a little less scary and a little more known. It’s a great exercise that uses the entire body and is a common component of CrossFit WODs.
Understanding the reasoning behind the exercise - as well as how to actually do it with great form - is a great way to become comfortable with one of the best full-body lifts out there.
What Is A Snatch?
You walk in the CrossFit box. Early dawn light trickles through large windows looking out on the parking lot. You’re nervous.
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You’ve been going to CrossFit for a while now, but this is the first time you’ll be doing any snatches. Your CrossFit coach wouldn’t stop talking about them last WOD, and now the day is here.
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The only problem is you have no idea how to do snatches, and they look terrifying.
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Chet, the guy in the gym built like the Incredible Hulk, warms up his snatches in the corner, lightly going through the exercise with what looks like roughly 14 tons.
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You start sweating. Did someone turn up the heat?
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You think about making up an excuse, like maybe your dog ran away or your house is simultaneously on fire and flooding, but your CrossFit coach slaps a hand on your shoulder and steers you towards the Assault Bike.
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You’re stuck. You end up just being honest, telling your coach you have no idea how to do a snatch.
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He says you’re fine and pulls up this handy little instruction manual on snatches by WOD Recovery for you to look through while you warm up.
The snatch is 1 of 2 main Olympic lifts - the other being the clean and jerk.
The objective is to move a barbell loaded up with weights from the ground to over the head in one deft movement.
It is one of the most physically demanding lifts in the world, and requires skill, strength, and power working in tandem in order to be performed properly.
The 3 Snatch Benefits
Snatches are a great overall exercise that uses the entire body - and a staple of CrossFit and Olympic lifting because of its athletic movement - but there are 3 main benefits that come from the movement.
1. Builds Strength
The snatch is a great way to build overall body strength. It uses the legs, core, arms, and torso in a major way, activating every major muscle group you have.
Olympic lifts are a great way to build powerful, explosive muscles that are as functional in everyday life as they are pretty to look at in the mirror.
As well, as snatches are such a high-intensity exercise, they quickly build muscle with a low amount of reps and sets.
There’s nothing useless about snatches. They’re not a bodybuilders dream, focusing on one small muscle.
But what they are is an amazing exercise for people who are looking to build their overall strength and functional muscle mass.
2. Increases Explosiveness
Anyone who has done a set of snatches knows that it spikes your heart rate. From the first rep, you know you’re in for a long WOD.
They’re physically demanding and within seconds your lungs are pumping like twin bellows.
Snatches do wonders for the cardiovascular system.
Due to their high workload and quick, full-body movements, they work your cardiovascular system and your muscles at an incredibly high rate.
3. Burns Fat
High-intensity exercises like the snatch - which combines a cardiovascular component and a strength component - are a great way to burn fat.
As the body realizes it needs a high amount of energy over a short period of time to feed all of the muscles being worked, it converts to burning more fats to get the huge amount of energy needed.
This results in you burning all the fats that you would in a slow cardiovascular exercise or traditional weight-training exercise, but in half of the time!
Of course, these are only three of the major benefits of snatches, not a complete database of every benefit a snatch will give you.
They also increase lactic acid tolerance, build mental strength, and give you a feeling of confidence and accomplishment while you shuffle out of the CrossFit box like a zombie after your WOD.
How Do You Do A Snatch?
Well, you’ve gotten this far and are probably now thinking this is all well and good, but when are you going to get around to actually teaching me how to do a snatch?
You’re in luck. This is the section you were waiting for.
Now that we’ve talked you into seeing the snatch as a worthy suitor for your time and energy, it’s time we get into the actual movement of the snatch itself.
The power snatch, which is what you see in the Olympics and starts from the ground, can be broken down into 5 key parts:
Snatch Start Positon
Start with hips higher than knees, holding the bar, which is resting on the ground. Hands gripping the bar wide apart.
Feet should be hip-width apart. Back in a neutral position and chest and head lifted.
Arms are straight and relaxed.
Lift Off
Move the bar from the floor to just above the knees by pushing with your legs.
The bar should stay against your shins and not leave your body, similar to a deadlift.
As the bar moves upwards, hips and shoulders move up at the same time.
Arms stay straight and you do not pull through them. Back remains neutral.
Snatch Power Position
After the bar gets above the knees, the knees quickly and slightly rebend to prepare for the explosive part of the movement.
The torso now becomes upright.
Through exploding upwards, you accelerate the bar up your thigh. Arms are still straight.
This is your Power Position.
Power Position To Finish
Now comes the truly explosive part of the movement.
Push through your legs as if jumping, keeping the bar close to the body.
At the end of the jumping movement, shrug shoulders to transfer the bar.
The bar will continue upwards. Drop into a deep squat below the bar.
Keep the bar close to the body throughout this entire movement.
Catching Bar Overhead
Catch the bar overhead by receiving the weight of the bar on straight arms in a deep squat at the same time as your feet hit the ground.
You are now in an overhead squat position.
To complete the snatch, stand up with the bar overhead.
After the rep is complete, drop the bar or - if light enough and you are in a workout space that does not like bar dropping - carefully lower the bar back to a starting position.
Repeat as necessary.
Variations Of The Snatch
The major variant of the snatch that is commonly seen in CrossFit gyms is the hang snatch.
It is almost identical to the power snatch, except you start with the bar in the air slightly below the knees.
This movement is a bit easier to get the hang of and a quicker set up.
What Should Your Reps And Sets Look Like?
This is both a simple answer and a complicated answer: Listen to your body and use common sense.
While snatches - especially in regards to Olympic lifts - are usually done at low reps and high weight in order to maximize explosive movements, that is not always the case.
Some CrossFit WODs may call for lower weight, higher repetitions.
This may be done for upwards of 5 or more sets, meaning if you load up the weights, you’re setting yourself up for unachievable failure and, even more importantly, an incredibly high risk of injury.
So listen to your body and use common sense. CrossFit is all about pushing yourself, but it is not about putting yourself in harm’s way.
If after 5 reps you feel your form going wonky, your knees buckling, and your back aching, maybe you need to take a step back and look at lowering the weights, the reps, or both until your form and conditioning is better.
If you are a high-level athlete who has been performing CrossFit or other sports that frequently use snatches as part of the training regiment, then you can look at moving that weight up while maintaining great form.
Everyone is different. So take into account your personal fitness level and amount of training in the exercise and go from there.
Safety Tips
Snatches are only a good exercise if you’re doing them properly and not constantly getting injured. Keep these tips in mind for next time you perform the exercise:
1. Form Over Everything
When we say over everything, we really mean over everything.
Snatches quickly turn into an injury machine when performed poorly, so focusing on the proper form is key during the lift.
As you are catching a bar filled with weights in a locked-arm squat over your head, loading up the weights and hoping for the best is not the best idea in the world.
First, focus on the form. Once you have that down, focus on the form a little more. Then, finally, start moving that weight up as you progress.
While progressing, keep focused on, you guessed it… the form!
2. Breathe
Make sure you breathe throughout your set.
Holding your breath throughout the set may seem like it allows you to go faster, but this is actually counterproductive for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, you need air too, you know, survive for more than a minute. This is essential for snatches, CrossFit, and generally the life of everything on Earth.
So breathe during your exercises.
Secondly, breathing is essential for keeping up our pacing. When we stop taking in fresh oxygen, our muscles fill with lactic acid and grow sluggish.
So take breathes before starting the lift, and then again after catching the bar while in a squat.
You heard it here first: breathing is important for humans
3. Focus On Each Movement
A snatch may seem like it is almost over before it begins, but that is not quite the case.
It is a collection of movements, all linked together into one smooth motion. Each movement needs your full attention.
Injuries occur when we are not engaged with the activity at hand.
No matter how many times you’ve done a snatch, if you find yourself thinking about other things or only caring about how many reps you’ve done and not the form with which you are doing them, you are at a higher risk of injury.
Think about the proper form while you go through the movement. Be focused and attentive to how your body moves.
Wrap It Up
Snatches are a great overall exercise and a key exercise in both Olympic lifting and CrossFit.
So, learn how to do them, practice until you have the form down in your sleep, and maximize the movement to grow as a CrossFitter.
They’re not that scary once you get to know them, we promise.
If this article helped you in any way, be sure to check out the Body Recovery Masterclass by 2x CrossFit Games athlete Jason Carroll.
It's a PHD level course that will take your body recovery to an elite level.
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WOD RECOVERY © 2020 | 428 Gaslamp, Inc.
Disclaimer: All hemp-derived products contain 0.0% THC
The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from health care practitioners. Please consult your health care professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act require this notice.
WOD RECOVERY RX © 2020
428 Gaslamp, Inc.
Disclaimer:
All hemp-derived products
contain 0.0% THC
Contact | About | Wholesale
Shipping & Returns | Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions | Lab Results | FAQ’s
Veterans | Affiliates | Ambassadors
The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from health care practitioners. Please consult your health care professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act require this notice.