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 close to the thighs.
4. As the hips finish, shrug and pull the elbows high and wide, then pull yourself under the bar as you punch the arms straight.
5. Catch the bar overhead in a full overhead squat, arms locked, bar over the middle of the foot.
6. Stand up out of the squat with the bar still overhead, then lower it back to the blocks under control.

Common mistakes

• Catching too high and then sitting down. The full squat is the catch, not something you sink into afterwards; the pull under and the squat happen at the same time.
• Letting the bar drift forward off the blocks. The bar hugs the thighs; from knee height there is less time to bring it back if it swings away.
• Losing the lock-out at the bottom. The arms are straight and the shoulders are pushed up into the bar for the whole squat; a bend in the elbow at the bottom will not hold.
• Leaning forward in the squat. The chest stays up and the bar stays over the foot; a forward lean sends the bar in front and the lift is lost.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Quads

Secondary

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