Twenty years ago one of my favorite “Get ‘er Done” workouts was grabbing a 32kg KB and doing 10+10 Snatches for 10 sets with 2 minutes rest between sets outside on my deck.
It made me sweat … Gave me a good pump… And was the perfect precursor to “Pizza & Movie Night.” LOL.
The Kettlebell Snatch is considered the Tsar (Emperor) of the Kettlebell Lifts.
That’s because it develops :
[+] Your grip and forearms (buh-bye limp handshakes)
[+] Your upper arms (tightens shirt sleeves)
[+] Your shoulders (so they no longer look like a clothes hanger)
[+] Your upper back and lats (builds that ‘power look’)
[+] Your lower back (bulletproofs from injury)
[+] Your hips and hamstrings ( endure long walks)
[+] Your abs/core (without a single crunch)
And when programmed properly it enhances your heart health, your VO2Max, and strips off body fat… without spending hours a week on the treadmill or elliptical.
Which brings me to the question I got in an email the other day from Jason, in which he asked -
“My question is particularly regarding King Sized Killer. I can elaborate as to the program’s WTF factor, but can you explain what method are you advocating this program be done in? I guess that is to say it’s a matter of personal taste depending on your goals, but maybe your other online clients may benefit from you addressing this topic. I seem to prefer hardstyle training on the lower rep days, and then on the endurance phase my body seems to shift toward a more “efficient” method of sport-specific style. Thoughts?”
Solid question.
Here was my response:
“I always advocate "HardStyle" or "Athletic" - if you know what that is. (Think Oly lifting.) And that's because it requires more power .
I can see how your body favors "efficient" sport style, because that's the point of that style - efficiency. Honestly, I think most people let go of their technique as the reps get higher.
But yes, at the end of the day, it really is a matter of your objectives .”
Furthermore -
“Sport” style is created for the competitor to complete as many Snatches as possible in 10 minutes.
In order to do so, the style is designed to reduce fatigue - to spare energy, and to be as efficient as possible.
“HardStyle” or “Athletic” style is designed to optimize power output on each rep. They’re not concerned with “energy efficiency.”
Most of us men need to be concerned with :
[+] Muscle maintenance and Type 2x/2a fast-twitch muscle growth
[+] Keeping the body fat - especially stomach fat - away
[+] Improving our VO2Max
… And those 3 things are best managed with the HardStyle / Athletic type Snatch.
As you become more advanced, and if you want to do extended reps , you may want to learn the Sport style.
But for me, having a background in an Olympic lifting background, that “Juice” was never worth the struggle.
It’s always just been simpler for me (and my clients and customers) to “EXPLODE!” using the HardStyle / more info Athletic Snatch.
If you’re new to the kettlebell Snatch, don’t forget the following:
1- Build your hip and grip strength & conditioning through 1-Hand Swings
2- Build your shoulder range of motion / stability / flexibility through the TGU and Press
3- Understand how to “Tame the Arc” with the Clean
THEN…
Attack the Snatch.
And for Snatch programming?
Focus your training in the following order:
1- Technique
2- Strength
3- Conditioning
Stay Powerful ,
Geoff Neupert.