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Exercise library · Full body

Snatch

Explosive lift for the whole body with a barbell.

How to do it

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Wide grip, bar over midfoot

  1. Starting position

    Stand hip-width with the bar over mid-foot, bend your knees and take a wide grip with a straight back.

  2. The movement

    Pull from the floor, extend fast and catch the bar overhead with straight arms in a deep squat, then stand.

Most common mistake

Don't let the bar swing forward, keep it close to your body and catch it directly over your shoulders.

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Muscle group
Full body
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

In the snatch you take the bar from the floor to straight arms overhead in a single pull. The pull uses the same muscles as a clean, with your thighs and glutes straightening your hips and knees. The wide grip gives your traps and upper back more to do as you pull yourself under the bar. In the catch, a deep squat with the bar overhead, your shoulders, upper back and trunk work hard. That takes good mobility in your shoulders, upper back, hips and ankles, and for many, mobility runs out before strength.

Common mistakes

  • Your grip is too narrow. The bar must then travel higher and tends to catch your chin. A common guide: standing tall with straight arms, the bar should sit in the crease of your hips.
  • You wait for the bar. Pull yourself under it straight after the extension, elbows high and out, and meet it at the bottom.
  • Your elbows are soft in the catch. Pressing out afterwards strains your shoulders and elbows, and in competition the lift does not count. Punch up into the bar and lock your arms the moment you land.

Variations and alternatives

  • The power clean has the same pull with a narrower grip and a catch on the shoulders, needing less mobility.
  • The clean and jerk is the other competition lift, where you can handle more weight.
  • The kettlebell swing trains the fast hip drive with far less technique to learn.

Sets and reps

Do 4 to 6 sets of 1 to 3 reps with full rest, so every lift stays fast and clean. If you start missing, lower the weight or call it a day. Sets and rest are covered in the guide to sets and reps.

Start with a stick or an empty bar and practise the catch first, ideally with a coach watching. A thorough warm-up of shoulders, hips and ankles pays off. Add weight in small steps, only when your technique holds, so you get progressive overload without grooving in faults. Learn to miss too: let go of the bar and move the other way, which needs bumper plates and space. If your shoulders or wrists ache beyond normal effort, end the session and ask a doctor or physiotherapist to assess them.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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