Training the Power Snatch Get this free article on advanced technique!

In the BFS program, the power snatch is considered an advanced auxiliary exercise that can be used in place of the power clean. Both exercises develop the same muscles and increase power, and in fact improving your ability in one lift with improve your performance in the other. The power snatch, however, offers several advantages over the power clean and other types of explosive lifts.

Power is the ability to display strength quickly, and can be defined by the formula Force x Distance ÷ Time. Because relatively lighter weights are used, the power output for a power snatch is higher than a power clean. In fact, the second pull of the snatch produces five times the power output of back squats and deadlifts. Squats and deadlifts are essential to a total athletic development program, but in terms of developing power, the Olympic lifting movements are superior.

One of the advantages of the power snatch over the power clean is that some athletes, often due to the relationship of the upper arm to the lower, have a difficult time racking the bar on the shoulders. The power snatch catch position circumvents this problem as the bar is held overhead. Also, straps can be used on the power snatch to reinforce the grip – they should never be used on the clean as they can cause injury.

Next, because a wider grip is used in the power snatch, the athlete must bend their knees more and as such begin the lift from a lower starting position than the clean. As such, the legs move through a greater range of motion than the clean...

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