Welcome to our weekly Move of the Week series. Every Monday, we’ll be sharing with you one of our favourite exercises – how to do them, what muscles they work and why they should be a regular part of your workout regime. This week: dumbbell snatches.
A snatch may be associated with Olympic weightlifters who throw huge barbells overhead, but it’s actually a great move for everyone to include in their training. That’s because it requires you to be explosive – moving quickly through a large range of motion. That skill is transferable to all walks of life and sport, maintaining your ability to spring into action whenever needed.
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What is a dumbbell snatch?
The dumbbell snatch involves taking a weight from the floor to over your head in one smooth lift.
The exercise is great because:
It’s a compound move: it works pretty much every muscle in the lower body, core and upper body.
It improves power and strength: you have to be explosive to move a weight through such a large range of motion.
It builds stability and co-ordination: as you work one side at a time with heavy load and speed.
What muscles does a snatch work?
A snatch works your whole body, but particularly targets:
- Quads
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Abdominals
- Shoulders (rotator cuff, deltoids)
- Back (traps, lats, spinal erectors)
- Triceps
- Biceps
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How to do a dumbbell snatch
- Place a dumbbell on the floor between your legs.
- Roll your shoulders back and down, engage your core before hinging at the hips and bending your knees to grab the dumbbell in one hand.
- Press through your heels to stand, moving your hips forwards and straightening your legs and pulling the dumbbell off the floor.
- As the weight comes to your collarbone, your elbow should be bend so it is in line with your shoulders.
- Then straighten your arm above your head.
- Bend your elbow to lower back down to shoulder height, and hinge at the hips and bed the knees to lower the dumbbell to the ground.
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