Strength Training · Olympic Weightlifting · Functional Fitness
Power Snatch
The power snatch takes a barbell from the floor to overhead in one explosive movement, caught in a partial squat. It trains whole-body power, coordination, and overhead stability.
Higher injury risk. Read the safety notes before adding weight.
- Advanced
- Compound
- Higher injury risk
- Rest 3 min
How to do it
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and the bar over your midfoot.
- Take a wide overhand grip with your hips lowered, chest lifted, and shoulders slightly ahead of the bar.
- Push through the floor to lift the bar past your knees, keeping it close to your legs.
- Extend your hips, knees, and ankles explosively as the bar reaches your upper thighs.
- Pull yourself quickly under the rising bar.
- Catch the bar overhead with locked elbows in a partial squat, with your hip crease above your knees.
- Stand fully upright with the bar balanced over your midfoot.
- Return the bar to the platform to finish the repetition.
Form cues
- Brace before the bar leaves the floor.
- Keep your arms long through the drive.
- Push up firmly into the bar.
Common mistakes
- Jerking the bar off the floorStart with a smooth pull, saving your strongest acceleration for after the bar passes your knees.
- Knocking the bar forwardLet the bar brush your upper thighs rather than striking it outward with your hips.
- Arching your back overheadKeep your ribs stacked over your pelvis instead of leaning back to support the weight.
Safety
A missed overhead catch can cause the bar to fall onto you or pull you off balance. Excessive load or fatigue can also strain your shoulders, wrists, or lower back during the fast pull and catch.
- Practice with a dowel or light training bar before adding weight.
- Secure the plates with collars and keep the platform clear of people and loose equipment.
- Learn how to release a missed lift and move clear before loaded attempts; use bumper plates where dropping is permitted.
- End the set when your speed, timing, or overhead control deteriorates.
If you have shoulder, wrist, or back pain, or cannot reach overhead comfortably without arching, choose an unloaded drill and get advice from a physiotherapist first.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Barbell Collar
- Bumper Plate
- Knee Sleeves (optional)
- Olympic Weightlifting Barbell
- Weightlifting Platform
- Wrist Wraps (optional)
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 3–5
- Target
- 1–3 reps
- Rest
- 3 min
Use a weight that allows crisp repetitions, resetting your position before each pull.