Benefits of The Snatch – Highly Beneficial!
Have you ever heard of Olympic lifting? If so, then there is a high probability that you have heard of the snatch! Within this article, I will be giving applicable information on the benefits of the snatch so you can apply it to you and your training!
Let’s get to the article, shall we?
Power Training:
The snatch is an absolutely incredible exercise for developing power. This is especially true in relation to many sports. You see, during the snatch, we have a triple extension between the ankles, knees and hips. This is done quickly as the speed is needed to propel the bar.
When the bar gets to the power position (lower abdominal area) we must execute a powerful pop against the bar with our body. Try your best to get the timing/positioning down properly as it is zero fun when the bar makes contact with your pubic bone, haha!
Progressively overloading this exercise via weights/reps/sets will allow you to continually develop your power by using this specific exercise!
Stability Benefits:
The snatch is an extremely stability demanding movement. This is demonstrated throughout all areas of the lift.
You need stability from the floor in the sense of keeping your positioning. This is kept mainly by your core. You need to have glute and upper back stability during the power position to control the bar path and get enough height on the lift before dipping under it.
Lastly, another major stability demanding part of this exercise would be the catch position after you have gotten the weight overhead. Not only do you need to provide a stable base from your feet to your knees to your hips to your shoulders; but you also need to control and stabilize the weight overhead before standing it back up!
Throughout the entire lift, core stability is tremendously important. However, there are different areas in the lift where different muscle groups need to effectively contribute to stabilizing the movement.
Performing the snatch and progressively overloading it will allow you to develop this stability optimally. With the snatch being such a technical lift, it will have good transferability to other more simplistic movements such as the squat when it comes to bracing and stabilizing them.
The ability to maintain stability throughout different positions of the snatch is also great for sports performance. You are getting used to adjusting while on the move and bracing/stabilizing in less than standard positions.
It Is So Fun!
The last major benefit of the snatch is… IT IS EXTREMELY FUN! Once you have the technique down pat, it is even more of an enjoyable exercise. I find this to be the case as there are so many moving parts to the exercise. In addition to that, when you become better at the movement, standing up a lift or overall progress gives you a high feeling of satisfaction! This because it is quite a complex lift that is not easy to perform.
Even if you are not performing the snatch for competitive reasons, it can be a great exercise to keep you engaged in training and to help build your bodies power, strength and ability to stabilize!
A quick disclaimer: We all know that the snatch is an extremely technically demanding exercise. With that being said, if you plan on performing it, it is quintessential that you learn how to do so properly. I would highly recommend hiring an in-person coach. If that is not a viable option for you, there are quality informative videos in which I will link below, but you need to start with zero weight (not even the bar) and become proficient with the technique before progressing.
I say all of this to help reduce your risk for injury, as these risks are higher with technically demanding exercises. At the end of the day, you need to make the decision if an exercise is worth implementing or not.
Technique Videos:
Wrapping Up:
Well folks, there you have it! The benefits of the snatch! My goal with this article was to highlight just how awesome the snatch is! Do you think I did a good job?
What do you think of the snatch? Are you eager to work on it/try it out?! Let me know in the comment section! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article, I am so glad to be in a position where I can help educate others on topics such as training. As always, if you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to leave them below and I will be sure to reply!
Until Next Time,
Kohl Johnson
Please refer to my liability disclaimer to ensure you know who is responsible for use of this information after reading.
Support is much appreciated if you benefited from this:
Great article about snatch lifting and its benefits, I appreciate the info. I haven’t done it yet, but my opinion is pretty much the same as yours. It can improve overall strength and body balance, which is what I’m looking for. I watched another video a few days ago about the guy from South America who became Olympic Gold medalist in this discipline. It took him years, but it was amazing to see the progress he made. What’s your recommended weight for a newbie?
Hi Ivan, my pleasure! It is incredible what the Olympic calibre weightlifters are able to accomplish!
As for your question, with any exercise (especially technique demanding ones such as the Olympic lifts), I would suggest getting your form down pat first with no, to little weight used.
As you get more comfortable with your technique and ability to perform the movement, you can use your logical judgment and start slowly adding weight.
Having a reputable personal trainer who is knowledgable in the Olympic lifts can also help with solidifying form and giving recommendations.
Thanks so much for your detailed information. My son is super athletic and participates in several sports competitively. Most of them require that he works out with his team in the weight room. If I wish to have any form of communication with him and actually understand what he’s talking about I have to educate myself some in the area of weight lifting and work out in general lol.
Your article finally made clear to me what exactly my son means when he talks about ‘the snatch.’ The videos you included were really helpful for me. I have bookmarked your site so I can catch all your future articles. Thanks again!
Hi Shan, yes the different weightlifting terms can be difficult to keep up to speed on, haha!
I am so glad my article has been able to help you and I look forward to seeing you around the site!
Hi Kohl, This is so interesting and it is obvious that you really need good balance and abdominal muscles to be able to do the snatch. I guess it would be a good idea to first work on getting strong before even attempting to do the snatch.
As with most exercises the more careful, you are and the more you practice the better you become. I have always found watching the people perform for the Olympics or other games that it is amazing what people can achieve.
I recall getting a new exercise apparatus and just trying all the exercises out without reading the instructions which distinctly said do four or five, to begin with. Well, I went through the whole lot and could not walk for about a week.
A great reason to have a qualified instructor to see you through until you have the hang of things.
Hi Jill, the snatch certainly does require strong abdominal muscles, along with many more! It is absolutely an exercise where technique should be sufficient before adding weight and applying progressive overload.
Muscle soreness is common when just starting out, or if performing new exercises. It is called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). However, it is always a good idea to get the technique of an exercise down before increasing weight and applying progressive overload. A reputable personal trainer can defintley help with this.
Like!! I blog frequently and I really thank you for your content. The article has truly peaked my interest.
Thanks for checking out the website!
~ Kj