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Kettlebell Snatch being performed with proper form
Kettlebell Snatch demonstration video — proper form for the full movement.

How to do a Kettlebell Snatch

Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About this exercise

Sets Logged
55,822
Popularity Rank
798th
Difficulty
Advanced
Shoulders Strength
85 mSCORE 47th
Equipment Required

Workouts with Kettlebell Snatch

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Shoulders
    Secondary Muscles
    Triceps, Trapezius, Lower Back, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves

    Instructions for Proper Form

    Kettlebell Snatch is a variation on the more standard Snatch. Similar to Snatch, this is a compound explosive movement that targets a wide range of muscles throughout the body. Because you’re performing this exercise with one arm at a time, it requires more core activation than some other variations, and can be a great way to improve stability. In addition, this is a great way to identify and address imbalances between sides in your Snatch. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to work towards, or simply improve their Snatch.

    1. Stand upright with a pair of kettlebell outside your feet with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart angled out slightly.
    2. Maintain a braced core and neutral spine throughout the exercise.
    3. Hinge your hips backward and extend your arms to grab ahold the kettlebell with your palms facing in.
    4. Swing the kettlebells behind you before explosively extending your hips, knees, and ankles to raise the kettlebells overhead.
    5. Dip underneath the kettlebells to lock out your arms with your palm facing forward before standing upright. Lower the kettlebells back to the starting position.

    Common Form Mistakes

    • Full Body Exercise

      Remember this exercise is a full body lift. There’s a tendency to overuse your upper body strength in order to move the weight. Focus on generating force with your lower body first.

    Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

    Average Kettlebell Snatch standards by male, female, weight, age and height

    Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.

    • beginner
      8
      reps
      20
      lbs
      1 Rep Max
      25
      lbs
    • intermediate
      8
      reps
      22.5
      lbs
      30
      lbs
    • advanced
      8
      reps
      25
      lbs
      30
      lbs

    Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight

    How is this calculated?

    Alternatives & Variations to Kettlebell Snatch

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    1. 1. Kettlebell Overhead Press

      Photo of Kettlebell Overhead Press being performed
      46.2 mSCORESWAPPED 42 TIMES

      Kettlebell Overhead Press is a variation on the more standard Shoulder Press. Like other variations, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders. By performing the exercise one hand at a time, you add some instability to the movement, and will need to recruit your core for stability.

    2. 2. Kettlebell Swing

      Photo of Kettlebell Swing being performed
      87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 38 TIMES

      Kettlebell Swing is a compound, explosive movement that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes. This is a great exercise for improving power and explosiveness. It's especially helpful in developing glute drive which can help improve a number of different exercises, and sport performance.

    3. 3. Kettlebell Upright Row

      Photo of Kettlebell Upright Row being performed
      75.4 mSCORESWAPPED 34 TIMES

      Kettlebell Upright Row is a variation on the more standard Upright Row. This compound exercise primarily targets your shoulders. The benefit to using a Kettlebell is the ability to pull the handle in opposite directions at the top of the movement. This can help improve muscle activation compared to other variations.

    4. 4. Kettlebell Halo

      Photo of Kettlebell Halo being performed
      26.5 mSCORESWAPPED 26 TIMES

      Kettlebell Halo is a compound exercise that primarily targets your shoulders. The exercise involves raising a kettlebell, and circling your head with it. This is a great exercise for improving shoulder mobility in both the short and long term, and can be a great warm up exercise for anything that requires a lot of shoulder mobility. Because the kettlebell isn’t always inline with your center of mass, it requires some core stabilization.

    5. 5. Dumbbell Snatch

      Photo of Dumbbell Snatch being performed
      39.2 mSCORESWAPPED 26 TIMES

      Dumbbell Snatch is a variation on the more standard Snatch. Like other Snatch variations, this exercise is a compound, explosive exercise that targets a wide range of muscle groups. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise much more accessible to anyone unfamiliar with Snatches in general as you can use lighter weight. In addition dumbbells can help more advanced lifters build stability, as well as identify and address imbalances between sides.

    6. 6. Kettlebell Jerk

      Photo of Kettlebell Jerk being performed
      46.8 mSCORESWAPPED 22 TIMES

      This explosive compound exercise is a variation on the more common Jerk. Holding the weight in one hand makes it easier to identify and address any imbalances between sides. It’s a great exercise for developing strength and power, as well as improving your Jerk specifically.

    7. 7. Dumbbell Front Raise

      Photo of Dumbbell Front Raise being performed
      98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 17 TIMES

      Dumbbell Front Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, more specifically the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder). This is a very common shoulder exercise, and can work well to isolate the shoulders to build strength and muscle mass. By using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.

    8. 8. Kettlebell Clean and Jerk

      Photo of Kettlebell Clean and Jerk being performed
      74.6 mSCORESWAPPED 17 TIMES

      This explosive exercise is a kettlebell variation of the more common Clean and Jerk. Like the standard version, this is a full body exercise. However, by holding a single Kettlebell instead of a Barbell, you increase the need to recruit your core to prevent leaning to one side. This improves core activation, as well as helps you identify and address imbalances between sides.

    9. 9. Alternating Single Arm Kettlebell Swing

      Photo of Alternating Single Arm Kettlebell Swing being performed
      58.3 mSCORESWAPPED 15 TIMES

      Alternating Single Arm Kettlebell Swing is a variation on the more common Kettlebell Swing. Like Kettlebell Swings, this is a compound, explosive exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes. By performing this exercise with one arm at a time, you add a significant amount of instability to the movement, which requires good core activation to stabilize.

    10. 10. Kettlebell Power Clean

      Photo of Kettlebell Power Clean being performed
      53.6 mSCORESWAPPED 13 TIMES

      This explosive exercise is a variation on the more standard Power Clean. Like the Power Clean this exercise targets a variety of muscle groups. By holding the kettlebell in one hand, you add some instability to the movement, and increase the demand for core activation in order to stabilize your upper body.