How to Do Barbell Snatches: Proper Form, Variations and Common Mistakes

Barbell snatches can exhaust your body but can promote weight loss and help build strength and stabilise the core.

To do snatches, you must have already worked with the barbell and done certain exercises using the barbell, such as overhead press, squats and upright rows. These exercises will prepare you for almost all the motions involved in barbell snatches.

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Correct Form of Doing Barbell Snatches

To do snatches, you need a barbell and weights, preferably bumper plates. The starting position will be similar to that of a deadlift. However, you’ll need a wider grip.

To grab a barbell, bend down; place the barbell right above your shoelaces, and engage your core.Pull the barbell upwards, replicating the motion of a deadlift. However, you’ll need to use your hips and your glutes and hamstrings.

While pulling the barbell upwards, move past your hips, and focus on pulling it all the way up to your shoulders, replicating the motion of an upright row. At this position, your hips should be extended, and you can also be on your toes at some point.

Once the barbell is near your ears, push it above your head, replicating a shoulder press, but ensure to quickly flip it over, so that your palms can face forward.

However, it’s crucial to ensure that the weight doesn’t pull you down. To do that, keep your core engaged, and hold the barbell above your head. To take control of the weight, you can slightly squat before pushing your body upwards with your quadriceps.

Once you’ve done that, you can slowly lower the barbell to move back to the starting position. When you’re doing barbell snatches, it’s advised that you start with only the barbell. You can add weights as you become stronger and your body can withstand the entire motion.

It’s important to have elbow and shoulder stability and core strength to execute the snatch.

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Variations of Barbell Snatch

Variations help you break out of plateaus and work your muscles from various angles. Once you’ve mastered the basic movement, you should move to variations.

PVC Snatch

This is the first one you should focus on, even before using a barbell. It requires you to do the entire movement with a PVC pipe, as it helps in identifying where your shortcomings are and fix them. Barbells also have weights which might make it difficult to identify these issues.

Pause Snatch

This variation requires you to pause at key moments during the overall movement. Several athletes choose to either pause at the top of the deadlift motion or at the top of the upright motion (but twist the barbell to rest it on the shoulders). The higher up you move the barbell, the more difficult it gets to pause with heavy weights.

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Common Mistakes During Barbell Snatch

If you want to master an exercise, you need to be aware of the common mistakes that one can make during it. Here're the common mistakes during barbell snatch:

Incorrect Timing

The entire motion depends on timing. You need to pull and push at the proper time.

When you’re lifting the barbell off the ground, your hips need to be in play, but when you’re pushing it over your head, your shoulders come into play.

You must be able to shift your muscle-mind connection to the muscle group which is in play during the entire motion. If your timing is wrong, you';; lose balance due to incorrect push or pull.

Using Too Much Weight

If you’ve not done this exercise before, it’s absolutely important to start with lighter weights. Too much weight in the beginning can be unsafe. CrossFit movements are heavy compound movements that can be injurious if not done correctly, so you must move at your own pace.