How to do a Kettlebell Snatch

Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About Kettlebell Snatch

Sets Logged
53,110
Popularity Rank
840th
Difficulty
Advanced
Shoulders Strength
85 mSCORE 47th
Equipment Required

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?

Alternative Exercises to Kettlebell Snatch

Filter By

  1. 1. Kettlebell Swing

    Photo of Kettlebell Swing being performed
    87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 54 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.

  2. 2. Kettlebell Overhead Press

    Photo of Kettlebell Overhead Press being performed
    46.2 mSCORESWAPPED 51 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.

  3. 3. Dumbbell Snatch

    Photo of Dumbbell Snatch being performed
    39.2 mSCORESWAPPED 43 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.

  4. 4. Kettlebell Upright Row

    Photo of Kettlebell Upright Row being performed
    75.4 mSCORESWAPPED 38 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.

  5. 5. Kettlebell Jerk

    Photo of Kettlebell Jerk being performed
    46.8 mSCORESWAPPED 28 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.

  6. 6. 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.

  7. 7. Kettlebell Clean and Jerk

    Photo of Kettlebell Clean and Jerk being performed
    74.6 mSCORESWAPPED 21 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.

  8. 8. Kettlebell Thruster

    Photo of Kettlebell Thruster being performed
    38.6 mSCORESWAPPED 19 TIMES

    This exercise is a variation on the more common Thruster. This exercise primarily targets your shoulders, triceps, and quads. By using a kettlebell in each hand, you ensure that you aren’t compensating for any strength discrepancies between sides. This is a great exercise for improving strength and power.

  9. 9. Kettlebell Power Clean

    Photo of Kettlebell Power Clean being performed
    53.6 mSCORESWAPPED 18 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.

  10. 10. Kettlebell Hang Clean

    Photo of Kettlebell Hang Clean being performed
    56.5 mSCORESWAPPED 15 TIMES

    This explosive compound exercise is a variation on the more common Hang Clean. It primarily targets muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body). By holding the weight in one hand, it forces you to stabilize your upper body to maintain good form, and prevent any rotation. It’s a great exercise for developing strength and power.