Power Snatch from Blocks

How to do it

1. Set the loaded bar on blocks so it rests at around knee height.
2. Take a wide snatch grip, bend the knees a little and set the back flat with the shoulders over the bar.
3. Push the floor away and drive the hips through, keeping the bar brushing the thighs.
4. As the hips finish, shrug and pull the elbows high and wide, then punch the arms up to lock the bar overhead.
5. Catch in a quarter squat with the bar locked over the middle of the foot, then stand.
6. Lower the bar back to the blocks under control and reset before the next repetition.

Common mistakes

• Pulling the bar out in front. From knee height the bar must still brush the thighs; if it loops forward, the catch is behind you and the shoulders take the strain.
• Bending the elbows early. The arms are ropes until the hips have finished; an early bend robs the drive of everything the legs put into it.
• Catching with soft elbows. The bar is locked overhead the moment it arrives; a press-out to finish it is a missed lift, not a slow one.
• Sitting into a full squat. The power snatch is caught high; if you need to drop under further, the load is too much for the pull.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Quads

Secondary

• Calves
• Forearm Flexors
• Forearm Extensors
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Spinal Erectors
• Shoulders
• Traps
• Triceps