Kettlebell Snatch
A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.
- Equipment
- Kettlebell
This is a technical lift, best learned under a coach’s eye before loading heavy.
HOW TO PERFORM
- Set up and hike the bell back between the legs as you would for a one-arm swing.
- Snap the hips forward and let the bell travel up close to the body, pulling the elbow high as it passes the chest.
- PUNCH the hand up through the handle as the bell goes overhead so it rotates around the hand instead of slamming onto the wrist.
- Finish locked out with the arm by the ear and the bell settled on the forearm.
- Guide it back down into the next hinge.
FORM TIPS
- One movement from the hinge to overhead with no press at the top. If you have to press it out, the hips did not finish.
- The punch through the handle is what saves the wrist. A banged forearm every rep means the bell is flipping over rather than rotating around the hand.
TARGET MUSCLES
Primary
- Glutes
- Shoulders
- Hamstrings
Secondary
- Traps
- Lower Back
- Forearms
Log it in Ægir Iron to track your PRs and estimated 1RM, and to see the sets each muscle gets every week. Free for individual lifters.