Barbell Snatch

Place the bar over midfoot and take a wide snatch grip. Keep your shins close to the bar and your chest up, with your hips high enough to drive from your legs.

Do not pull with your arms; push through your whole foot to bring the bar above your knees. Once it passes your knees, keep it close as you guide it to your upper thighs.

At your upper thighs, powerfully extend your hips, knees, and ankles together to lift the bar. Move immediately under it to catch it overhead, then fully straighten your elbows and stabilize the bar with your shoulders.

The snatch uses lower-body power to lift the bar, then your core and shoulders to stabilize it overhead. If you feel your arms lifting it, lower the weight and focus on the timing of hip extension.

Pulling hard with your arms too early moves the bar away and forward. If you do not get under the bar quickly, the catch is late and it becomes difficult to stabilize the weight.

Once set, take a deep breath and brace your core before starting the pull. After locking the bar overhead, exhale briefly and reset your breath before lowering it.

Before adding weight, practice hang snatches or snatch pulls to learn how the bar travels close to your body. It helps more to master the timing of lifting the bar straight and getting precisely underneath it than to chase speed.