Power Snatch

Exercise Details for Push Jerk

  • Primary Muscle
    Lower back, Gluteus
  • Secondary Muscle
    Hamstrings, Quads, Traps
  • Equipment
    Barbell
  • Level
    Hard

Why Should You do Power Snatch?

The Power Snatch involves lifting as much weight as quickly as possible from the ground up over your head. It is an advanced and challenging exercise to set the technique correctly before you start running with a lot of weight. Preferably talk to an instructor or experienced lifter before starting doing it yourself. Unlike the usual snatch, you should not go down entirely in a squat when you catch the bar. This makes the exercise a little easier to perform, but you will not lift as much weight as snatch.

The exercise trains several of the body’s muscles at the same time. Your legs, buttocks, lower back, trapezius and forearms will all be trained during the exercise.

Performance

Stand with the bar over the center of your feet. Grab the bar with an overhand grip and keep it wide between your hands, much wider than when doing, for example, deadlifts. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and point forward.

It would help if you did not pull the bar up from the floor but initially pull it up with your thighs. Press your feet into the floor until the bar rises above your knees. Hips and shoulders should move upwards simultaneously because it is your legs that do the movement. Once the bar is over your knees, accelerate fully by pushing your hips forward. Now the bar should have reached up to your pelvis, which you pushed forward so that it easily hits the bar. It would help if you then continued by pulling your elbows up towards the ceiling, pulling your shoulders up in a shrug while you push away with your calves so that you make a little jump. When the bar has reached the sternum, the bar should be so fast that the next one floats weightlessly. The bar is on its way up, and you are on your way back from your jump. You should then rotate your elbows towards the floor so that your arms are straight over your head, and with bent legs, you should get under the bar. Your upper body should lean slightly forward when you land, and your straight arms should lie behind your head seen from the side. The palms of your hands should point toward the ceiling and not straight ahead. You should land on your feet simultaneously if you stretch your arms; the lift should be over when you land with your feet. It would help if you now had reached a position where you, with slightly bent legs, hold the bar over your head with straight arms. The last step is to straighten your legs, and the movement is complete.

Power Snatch is a difficult exercise. Always seek the help of a trainer or an experienced lifter before starting with heavier weights

Tips for Push Jerk

  • Do not jerk at the beginning of the lift; pull the bar off the floor
  • In the beginning, your legs should do the lift, but after knee height, the rest of the body takes over
  • Your hips and shoulders should move at the same time at the beginning of the lift
  • Make sure to get proper speed through the hip
  • You should pull the bar next to your body at all times, do not drop it in front of your body.
  • Remember to have the bar behind your head seen from the side when you extend your arms.
  • Power Snatch is a difficult exercise. Always seek the help of a trainer or an experienced lifter before starting with heavier weights.

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