Exercise of the Week – Dumbbell Snatch
by Tia Dewick in Training
How to perform the dumbbell snatch
- First of all, stand with your feet shoulder width apart, then bend your knees and lower your hips down into a squat position whilst keeping your back straight with the dumbbell sitting on the floor directly below your chest
- Keeping your chest and head up, then grip the dumbbell with an overhand grip (ie palm facing towards the body
- Then, in an explosive movement using predominantly the legs and back, lift the dumbbell vertically off the ground whilst beginning to extend the legs
- Once the dumbbell becomes hip height, you then begin to use the arm to continue to lift the weight, making sure that when the dumbbell becomes shoulder height, you flick the elbow underneath the weight and lock out the elbow once the weight is directly overhead
- Complete your reps and then change hands
Key benefits of the dumbbell snatch
Better core stability
The core plays an essential role within the body to help stabilise a wide range of movements and the dumbbell snatch is a fantastic exercise to help enhance core stability
Improve body composition
Due to the high speed, energy and muscle recruitment required to perform the dumbbell snatch, it’s a fantastic exercise to really boost the metabolism and burn fat
Improve posture
The dumbbell snatch helps encourage a straight back, shoulder retraction and tight core which together helps to improve back strength and posture which can also help reduce the risk of back pain
Improve Mobility
This exercise challenges the range of motion in almost every body part such as the ankles, hips and shoulders which helps to improve mobility and reduce the risk of injury
Speeds up reflexes
The dumbbell snatch recruits fast twitch muscle fibres throughout the body and with practice can therefore help us produce more rapid muscular contractions. This in turn will help improve running, jumping, sprinting and throwing performance which is particularly beneficial to help you burn calories quicker by performing at a higher intensity and also to improve sport performance such as football