The kettlebell Snatch is a tricky movement to get the hang of – I know I got my fair share of bruised wrists when I was learning it.

I stumbled across this video from Jason C. Brown of KettlebellAthletics.com that shares a couple of great tips to help perfect your Snatching form:

To summarize:

Drill 1:

Grab a light kettlebell. Do a bottoms-up Clean with it – so the ‘bell should end up with the bottom facing towards the ceiling and racked at about shoulder level. Now, ‘punch’ your hand around the kettlebell from shoulder level up to being locked out overhead. The idea here is to practice actively getting your hand around the KB, instead of just letting it come over the top and crash down on your wrist.

Drill 2

You want to base the Snatch exercise off of the high pull – in other words, the arc of the ‘bell should be like that of a High Pull vs. a Swing (watch the video to see a demonstration). If you base the Snatch off of the Swing, the arc will be too far in front of your body.

So you can do a progression to work your way into doing a Snatch: Do a Low Pull, do a High Pull, and then a Snatch. I actually use that progression with folks all the time with a lot of success.

Remember: Practice makes perfect. Don’t just blast through your KB workouts with no regard for form; strive for perfection. And if you’re having trouble getting the hang of the kettlebell Snatch, the two tips mentioned in this video should help you out.

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