Snatch Balance Exercise Guide: How to Master Snatch Balances

A snatch balance is a compound exercise that activates muscles throughout your back, shoulders, legs, and core. It’s a useful exercise to prepare you for more advanced Olympic weightlifting exercises.

Perform the snatch balance exercise by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees to dip your body under a weighted barbell. Unrack the barbell with a snatch grip (hands wider than shoulder-width apart), and rest the barbell against your upper back muscles. Drop your body into a squat stance while explosively kicking your legs into a shoulder-width squat stance. With a full extension in your elbows, hold the barbell above your body in an overhead squat position. Stand and place the barbell back on your shoulders to repeat the movement.

For snatch balances, begin by using a weight that you can control for 2–5 sets of 1–3 repetitions. Choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.

1. 1. Set up a barbell outside of the squat rack according to your height. The barbell should be slightly lower than your shoulders.
2. 2. While facing the barbell, step underneath it and place your hands on the bar. Your grip should be wider than your shoulders. The barbell should rest on the muscles of your upper back.
3. 3. Unrack the barbell and take a couple of steps backward. Your posture should be tall with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Your shoulders should be directly over your hips with a neutral head and neck position. Your chin should remain tucked throughout the movement, as if you were holding an egg under your chin.
4. 4. Evenly distribute your weight and grip the floor with your feet to create a stable position. Rotate your shoulders outward to engage your lats and upper back. Your elbows should be pointed toward the floor. Pre-tension your shoulders and hips and engage your core with a good inhale and exhale. All repetitions should begin from this starting position.
5. 5. Begin the snatch balance by bending your knees to lower your body a couple of inches while maintaining an upright body position. While maintaining an upright position, explosively push your feet into the floor and begin to straighten your legs as if you were jumping.
6. 6. As your legs straighten, allow the momentum of your legs to help drive the barbell overhead as if you’re performing an explosive overhead press.
7. 7. Push into the barbell to catch the barbell overhead while dropping into the bottom position of a squat. Only lower as far as you can maintain a level pelvis and a strong squatting position. The barbell should be slightly behind your ears, with your head and neck in a neutral position. Your shoulders and upper back should support the barbell in the overhead position. Your shoulders should finish over your hips.
   
8. 8. While maintaining a strong upper body position, stand tall to finish the movement as if you were finishing an overhead squat.
9. 9. Lower the barbell in a controlled manner and set up for another repetition.

Including the snatch balance in your strength-training program can have several benefits.

1. 1. The snatch balance can improve your snatch technique. Regularly practicing the snatch balance is a great way to improve your weightlifting technique and footwork for more complicated snatch exercises like the full snatch, power snatch, and muscle snatch.
2. 2. The snatch balance can increase your overhead strength. With proper form, the snatch balance can build strength in your upper and lower body for lifting heavy weights overhead. Remember to warm up with light weight plates first before adding more weight to your snatch balance exercises.
3. 3. The snatch balance can enhance your core stability. As you extend your arms in a lockout position and hinge your hips, knees, and ankles during the receiving position, you engage your core to stabilize yourself during the snatch balance.

The snatch balance targets your abdominal muscles, back muscles like the trapezius, and leg muscles like the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Once you’ve mastered the basic snatch balance, try one of these snatch balance variations.

1. 1. Drop snatch: Perform this variation by excluding the dip and push movements at the beginning of the snatch balance exercise. Simply drop into a squat position, receiving the bar overhead at the bottom of the movement.
2. 2. Heaving snatch balance: Practice the heaving snatch balance by moving through the same movement pattern as the snatch balance while maintaining a shoulder-width stance during the full duration of the exercise.
3. 3. Dumbbell snatch balance: If you’re having trouble performing the snatch balance or if you want to highlight any muscle asymmetries you may have developed using a single piece of equipment, consider practicing the snatch balance using a pair of dumbbells rather than a weighted barbell.

If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program. Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program, but you may need to modify each exercise to attain optimal results based on your individual needs. Always select a weight that allows you to have full control of your body throughout the movement. When performing any exercise, pay close attention to your body, and stop immediately if you note pain or discomfort.

To see continual progress and build body strength, incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program. Your results will ultimately be based on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. Rest for 24 to 48 hours before training the same muscle groups to allow sufficient recovery.

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