Barbell Power Snatch

How to do it

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart and the bar over mid-foot, gripping the bar wide with a flat back.
2. Pull the slack out of the bar, brace your core, and take a deep breath into your belly.
3. Drive the legs into the floor and accelerate the bar up the body as the hips extend explosively.
4. Pull yourself under the bar quickly and catch it overhead with arms locked out and elbows tight.
5. Stop the catch in a quarter-squat position with the bar stable directly over the middle of the foot.
6. Stand fully tall, then lower the bar back to the hips and down to the floor under control.

Common mistakes

• Pulling with the arms early instead of driving the legs and hips first, which kills bar speed.
• Catching the bar with bent or soft elbows, which collapses the lockout and risks shoulder strain.
• Letting the bar swing away from the body, which forces the lower back to recover the lift.
• Catching too low into a full squat, which turns the power snatch into a regular snatch.