Barbell Snatch Pull
What Is the Barbell Snatch Pull?
Barbell Snatch Pull is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, glutes, quads and hamstrings and also engages the calves, lats and adductors. It is an intermediate-level movement in which the lifter pulls a barbell from the floor with a wide snatch grip and drives it upward through a full extension of the hips, knees and ankles, but never pulls under the bar or catches it overhead.
Weightlifters use it as the main strength exercise for the Barbell Snatch and Barbell Power Snatch. It repeats the snatch's pull with the same grip and positions, and because there is no catch to limit the weight, it can be loaded at or above the lifter's best snatch. It usually comes after the competition lifts in a session and before squats, for sets of 2 to 5 reps. A review of weightlifting pulling derivatives lists the snatch pull among the catch-free lifts that can teach the full lifts in simpler steps and train hip, knee and ankle extension for athletes who are not competitive weightlifters.
The wide grip is what separates it from the Barbell Clean Pull. With the hands set wide, the bar hangs lower against the body, so the lifter starts with the hips lower and the knees more bent, pulls the bar through a longer distance and finishes with it at the hip crease rather than the upper thighs. The upper back and lats work harder to keep a wide bar close, the grip is harder to hold, and the absolute loads are lighter than in a clean pull because a lifter's snatch is lighter than their clean.
The Barbell Deadlift (Snatch Grip) uses the same grip but is heavier and slower, and it ends standing tall without the rise onto the toes and the shrug. The Barbell Muscle Snatch carries the same pull on until the bar is pressed out overhead. Lifters new to the movement should first be able to hold a flat back in a snatch-grip deadlift and a Barbell Romanian Deadlift before adding speed to the pull.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Femoris
- Primary
- Erector Spinae
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Upper Trapezius
- Primary
- Vastus Lateralis
- Primary
- Adductor Magnus
- High
- Semitendinosus
- High
- Vastus Medialis
- High
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Medium
Instructions
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and the barbell over the middle of your feet.
- Take an overhand grip well outside shoulder width, wide enough that the bar would sit in your hip crease when you stand tall with straight arms.
- Squat down to the bar with your hips low, shoulders slightly in front of the bar, back flat and arms straight.
- Push the floor away with your legs, lifting your hips and shoulders together and keeping the bar close to your shins.
- Keep the bar brushing your thighs as it passes the knees, bringing your torso upright while your knees stay slightly bent and your feet stay flat.
- From mid-thigh, drive explosively through your hips, knees and ankles, rising onto the balls of your feet.
- Shrug your shoulders up toward your ears at the top, keeping your arms straight so the bar finishes at your hip crease.
- Lower your heels, then lower the bar to the floor under control and reset your position before the next rep.
Common Mistakes
Bending the arms early
Pulling with the arms before the hips and knees have finished extending slows the bar and turns the lift into a high pull.
Hips rising first
Letting the hips shoot up off the floor before the shoulders tips the chest forward and moves the load onto the lower back.
Bar drifting forward
Letting the bar swing away from the shins and thighs makes the pull longer and pulls the lifter forward onto the toes too early.
Wrong grip width
A grip that does not put the bar in the hip crease at the finish changes where the bar meets the body and the positions the snatch pull is meant to train.
Cutting the extension short
Stopping before the hips, knees and ankles are fully extended and the shoulders are shrugged skips the part of the pull the exercise exists to train.
Leaning back at the top
Throwing the shoulders far behind the bar and arching the lower back at the finish replaces a tall, vertical extension with spinal extension.
Injuries
Barbell Snatch Pull is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The lower back takes the most strain, especially at the bottom, where the wide grip puts the hips lower and the spine has to stay flat through a longer pull. Hips that rise before the shoulders, or a back that rounds off the floor, shift that load from the legs onto the spine. The hamstrings can also be strained by fast, heavy pulls, and a hook grip on a wide bar can leave the thumbs sore. Because the bar is never caught, the wrists, shoulders and knees take far less stress than in the Barbell Snatch.
Warm up with lighter pulls and raise the weight in steps, and drop the load as soon as the back position or the bar speed starts to fade. Straps can save the hands on heavy sets. Keep the bar close so the lower back is not levering a bar that has drifted forward.
If the full pull is too much, start with the Barbell Deadlift (Snatch Grip) or the Barbell Romanian Deadlift, or begin the pull with the bar at the knee to shorten the range. Progress to heavier pulls or to the Barbell Muscle Snatch and Barbell Power Snatch once the positions hold. Stop if you feel sharp pain in the lower back, pain or tingling that runs down a leg, or a sudden pull in the back of the thigh.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How heavy should snatch pulls be?
Coaches commonly program them at about 80 to 110 percent of the lifter's best snatch for 2 to 5 reps. Go heavier only while the start position, bar path and speed of the finish still hold.
- Q: Should the heels come off the floor?
In the version shown, yes, at the finish: the feet stay flat while the bar travels from the floor to the thighs, then the lifter rises onto the balls of the feet as the hips, knees and ankles extend together. Some coaches teach a flat-footed finish instead, and either works as long as you do not rock onto your toes before the hips and knees have extended.
- Q: Should the elbows bend at the top?
No, not in this version. The arms stay straight and the shoulders shrug up, and bending the elbows to pull the bar higher turns the lift into a snatch high pull.
- Q: How is a snatch pull different from a clean pull?
The wide grip lowers the start position, lengthens the pull and brings the bar to the hip crease instead of the upper thighs, and the loads are lighter. In a study of competitive weightlifters, isometric pulls held at the floor and mid-thigh positions produced slightly lower peak force with a snatch grip than with a clean grip, though the difference was trivial. If you want the clean-grip version, see the Barbell Clean Pull.
- Q: Can I use lifting straps?
Yes. A wide grip is harder to hold, and straps on heavy sets keep the hands from limiting the pull, while lighter sets are a good place to practice the hook grip used in the snatch itself.
- Q: Do I need to know how to snatch first?
No. The snatch pull is often taught before the full lift because it has no catch, and athletes who never compete in weightlifting use it to train an explosive hip, knee and ankle extension, but they should first be comfortable with the Barbell Deadlift (Snatch Grip).