Power Snatch from Blocks
The Power Snatch from Blocks is an explosive Olympic lifting variation where you lift a barbell from elevated platforms to an overhead position in one fluid motion. It targets the posterior chain and shoulders, emphasizing speed and power development by shortening the range of motion compared to lifting from the floor.
Because this movement requires immense neural drive and coordination, your AI coach analyzes your HRV and sleep data to determine if your nervous system is recovered enough for explosive training. If your recovery scores are low, the app may automatically adjust the weight or volume to prevent injury, while real-time performance tracking ensures you maintain the necessary speed and intensity without hitting technical failure.
Form Cues
- Set feet hip-width apart with toes turned slightly out
- Keep your chest up and shoulders slightly over the bar
- Explosively extend your hips and knees to drive the bar up
- Pull yourself aggressively under the bar as it reaches peak height
- Catch the bar with arms fully locked out overhead
- Don't pull with your arms before your hips fully extend
- Don't let the bar swing away from your body in an arc
- Don't catch the bar with bent or soft elbows
- Don't look down at the floor during the lift
- Don't let your knees cave inward upon landing
Common Mistakes
- Bending arms too early (early pull)
- Swinging the bar away from body
- Incomplete hip extension
- Catching with soft elbows
- Setting up too far from the bar
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily builds explosive power in the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps through rapid hip and knee extension. It also heavily recruits the upper trapezius, lateral deltoids, and triceps to pull the body under the bar and stabilize the heavy load in the overhead position.
Primary
Secondary
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