What is the difference between a snatch and a power snatch?

A snatch is caught in a full squat with the hips below the knees, while a Barbell Power Snatch is caught above parallel. Because the full squat lets the lifter meet the bar lower, most people can snatch more weight than they can power snatch, but the full version demands more mobility and timing.

How is the snatch different from the clean?

The snatch takes the bar overhead in one movement with a wide grip, while a clean racks it on the shoulders with a narrower grip before the jerk drives it overhead. A study of 10 elite weightlifters lifting 80% of their competition best found the snatch bar traveled farther and moved faster at the end of the second pull, while the clean produced higher ground reaction forces and more leg muscle activity.

How wide should my snatch grip be?

A common starting point is a grip wide enough that the bar sits in the crease of your hips when you stand tall with straight arms. Go a little narrower if your shoulders feel unstable overhead, or a little wider if the bar sits too low on your thighs.

Should I use a hook grip for the snatch?

Most weightlifters do, wrapping the thumb around the bar and trapping it under the index and middle fingers, because it holds the bar securely while letting the arms stay relaxed. It feels uncomfortable for the first few weeks and usually stops hurting as the thumbs adapt.

How many reps should I do per set?

Keep most sets to 1 to 3 reps, since timing and bar path deteriorate quickly with fatigue. Higher-rep snatches belong only at light loads and only once the technique is consistent.

What if I can't get into the bottom position?

Work on the Barbell Overhead Squat with a snatch grip and on shoulder and ankle mobility, and use the Barbell Power Snatch in the meantime. Once you can hold a deep overhead squat comfortably with an empty bar, start catching lower.

Barbell Snatch

What Is the Barbell Snatch?

Barbell Snatch is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, back, glutes, quads and hamstrings and also engages the core, calves and triceps. It is an advanced-level movement that takes the barbell from the floor to arm's length overhead in one continuous motion, with the lifter dropping into a full overhead squat to receive the bar before standing up with it.

The snatch is one of the two competition lifts in Olympic weightlifting, alongside the Barbell Clean and Jerk, and it is contested first. It is also a staple of CrossFit programming, and strength coaches use it and its variations to train explosive hip and knee extension. Because it depends on speed and precise timing, it usually sits at the start of a session, when the lifter is fresh.

The legs and hips do most of the work: the glutes, quads and hamstrings push the bar off the floor and then extend violently to accelerate it, while the trapezius and upper back keep it close and finish the pull. The shoulders and triceps then punch the bar into a locked position, and the legs and trunk stand the weight up from the bottom of the squat. Receiving the bar in a full squat means it does not have to travel as high as in the Barbell Power Snatch, which is caught above parallel, so most lifters can snatch more weight than they can power snatch. Starting from the hang, above the knee, shortens the pull and puts the emphasis on the final extension and the turnover.

The full snatch suits lifters who already squat well and have the shoulder, thoracic and hip mobility to hold a bar overhead at the bottom of a deep squat. The Barbell Overhead Squat with a snatch-width grip is its receiving position and the best test of readiness, and a solid Barbell Deadlift teaches the flat-back starting position. Most coaches teach the lift from the top down, with an empty bar or a dowel, adding the hang and then the floor once the catch is consistent.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Biceps Femoris: Primary
Deltoid: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Upper Trapezius: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Vastus Medialis: Primary
Erector Spinae: High
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): Medium
Rectus Abdominis: Medium
Triceps Brachii (Long Head): Medium

Instructions

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and the bar over the middle of your feet.
Squat down and take a wide overhand grip, wide enough that the bar would sit in the crease of your hips when standing.
Set your back flat, chest up, shoulders slightly in front of the bar and arms straight.
Push through the floor to lift the bar, keeping it close to your shins and your back angle steady until it passes your knees.
As the bar reaches your upper thighs, extend your hips, knees and ankles explosively so the bar brushes your hips with your arms still straight.
At full extension, pull yourself down under the bar, driving your elbows high and out to the sides and keeping the bar close to your body.
Move your feet slightly wider and drop into a full squat as you punch your arms straight, catching the bar locked out overhead.
Steady the bar in the bottom with your hips below your knees, chest up and the bar over the back of your head.
Stand up with your arms locked until you are fully upright, then lower the bar under control or drop it onto a platform.

Common Mistakes

Bending the arms early
Pulling with bent arms before the legs and hips have finished extending turns the lift into an arm pull and robs the bar of speed.
Letting the bar swing away
A bar that drifts forward off the thighs or loops out in front has farther to travel and pulls the lifter forward in the catch.
Hips rising first off the floor
Letting the hips shoot up before the shoulders tips the chest over the bar and leaves the lower back to finish the pull.
Cutting the extension short
Dropping under the bar before the hips and knees have fully extended leaves it too low and too slow to catch.
Pressing out the bar
Catching with bent elbows and pushing the bar up afterwards strains the shoulders and elbows and counts as a failed lift in competition.
Losing the overhead position in the squat
Letting the chest drop or the bar drift forward of the head in the bottom makes the weight impossible to stand up and is a common cause of missed lifts.

Injuries

Barbell Snatch is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The bar is caught at arm's length overhead with a wide grip at the bottom of a deep squat, so the shoulders, wrists, lower back and knees take the most stress. In competitive lifters, a systematic review of injuries in weightlifting and powerlifting found 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of weightlifting training, most often at the spine, shoulder and knee, a rate similar to other non-contact strength and power sports and low compared with contact sports.

Most problems come from pulling with a rounded back, catching the bar with soft elbows or with the bar drifting forward of the head, and trying to save a lift that is already lost. Build the overhead position first with the Barbell Overhead Squat, learn with an empty bar or a dowel, and use bumper plates on a platform so a missed lift can be dropped. Learn to miss safely before loading up: if the bar goes forward, push it away and step back, and if it goes behind, push it back and jump forward out from under it. Keep sets to 1 to 3 reps, because timing breaks down quickly with fatigue.

To regress, use the Barbell Power Snatch, which needs less depth and mobility in the catch, or snatch from the hang to shorten the pull. Progress by adding load in small jumps once the catch is consistent. Stop if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the shoulder, wrist or elbow, if you cannot keep the elbows locked overhead, or if the bar keeps landing forward of your head.

Overview

Primary Focus: Full body
Equipment: Barbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Advanced

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Barbell Snatch

The Barbell Snatch is also known as:

Squat Snatch
Full Snatch

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between a snatch and a power snatch?: A snatch is caught in a full squat with the hips below the knees, while a Barbell Power Snatch is caught above parallel. Because the full squat lets the lifter meet the bar lower, most people can snatch more weight than they can power snatch, but the full version demands more mobility and timing.
Q: How is the snatch different from the clean?: The snatch takes the bar overhead in one movement with a wide grip, while a clean racks it on the shoulders with a narrower grip before the jerk drives it overhead. A study of 10 elite weightlifters lifting 80% of their competition best found the snatch bar traveled farther and moved faster at the end of the second pull, while the clean produced higher ground reaction forces and more leg muscle activity.
Q: How wide should my snatch grip be?: A common starting point is a grip wide enough that the bar sits in the crease of your hips when you stand tall with straight arms. Go a little narrower if your shoulders feel unstable overhead, or a little wider if the bar sits too low on your thighs.
Q: Should I use a hook grip for the snatch?: Most weightlifters do, wrapping the thumb around the bar and trapping it under the index and middle fingers, because it holds the bar securely while letting the arms stay relaxed. It feels uncomfortable for the first few weeks and usually stops hurting as the thumbs adapt.
Q: How many reps should I do per set?: Keep most sets to 1 to 3 reps, since timing and bar path deteriorate quickly with fatigue. Higher-rep snatches belong only at light loads and only once the technique is consistent.
Q: What if I can't get into the bottom position?: Work on the Barbell Overhead Squat with a snatch grip and on shoulder and ankle mobility, and use the Barbell Power Snatch in the meantime. Once you can hold a deep overhead squat comfortably with an empty bar, start catching lower.