Twenty years ago one of my go-to “Get ‘er Done” workouts was picking up 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 strong 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 ( sculpts that ‘power look’)
[+] Your lower back ( protects from injury)
[+] Your hips and hamstrings (hike hills all day )
[+] Your abs/core (without a single crunch)
And when programmed properly it improves your heart health, your VO2Max, and strips off body fat… without spending hours a week on the treadmill or elliptical.
Which brings me to a question I got in an email the other day from Jason, in which he asked -
“My question is specifically regarding King Sized Killer. I can elaborate as to the program’s WTF factor, but can you cover what approach are you advocating this program be done in? I guess that is to say it’s a matter of choice 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 default to 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 aim of that style - efficiency. Honestly, I think most people "loosen" their technique as the reps get higher.
But yes, at the end of the day, it really is a matter of your focus.”
Furthermore -
“Sport” style is built to enable the competitor to complete as many Snatches as possible in 10 minutes.
In order to do so, the style is designed to limit fatigue - to spare energy, and to be as efficient as possible.
“HardStyle” or “Athletic” style is designed to boost power output on each rep. They’re not concerned with “energy efficiency.”
Most of us fellows need to be concerned with :
[+] Muscle preservation and Type 2x/2a fast-twitch muscle growth
[+] Keeping the body fat - especially stomach fat - away
[+] Improving our VO2Max
… And those more info 3 things are best targeted by 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, with my experience in an Olympic lifting background, that “Juice” was never worth the struggle.
It’s always just been more effective for me (and my clients and customers) to “EXPLODE!” using the HardStyle / Athletic Snatch.
If you’re new to the kettlebell Snatch, keep in mind the following:
1- Develop 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- Master how to “Tame the Arc” with the Clean
THEN…
Attack the Snatch.
And for Snatch programming?
Work out in the following order:
1- Technique
2- Strength
3- Conditioning
Stay Energized,
Geoff Neupert.