Martial Conditioning: The Kettlebell Snatch

The kettlebell snatch holds the title of most efficient and valuable overall exercise a martial artist can use for any purpose, in addition to having the goofiest name of any exercise yet considered by this author.  To correctly describe optimal form for this movement would exhaust many volumes by many authors (there is already an industry of authors doing exactly this work), to identify all key muscles used by the movement would require multiple studies (these studies are currently being conducted around the world), and the reasons why a martial artist should bother to incorporate this movement into training are innumerable.  Therefore, a comprehensive examination of this movement in one post would be a jejune waste of time.  Instead, I will list some epiphanies my practice of this movement has uncovered over the past 3 years.

*If the physical movement of the deadlift is analogous to the action of a crane, the movement of the kettlebell snatch is analogous to a tethered catapult.  The hips propel the bell forward, the back controls the arc of the bell, and the upper body 'catches' the bell in the top position.  Every other muscle in the body is involved to a greater or lesser degree as well, from the feet to the hands (the significance of which is likely not lost on my TaeKwonDo readers).

*The snatch can serve different ends across trainees.  Athletes who desire maximum explosive strength (football players, wrestlers) should use a bell heavier than 50% of their bodyweight (usually more than 32 kg, or 70 pounds) for low repetition snatches (25-40).  Athletes desiring maximum endurance or health (runners, cyclists, the elderly) should use beginner weights (less than or equal to 16 kg or 35 pounds) for as many repetitions without rest as possible (100 +).  Athletes who desire general power endurance and strength (most martial artists and adventurers) should use a bell approximately 30% of bodyweight for as many repetitions as possible.  For this author, that bell is 24 kg, or 54 pounds for 100-200 repetitions per workout, twice per week, and was sufficient training to prepare for a 13 mile obstacle run with teammates from multiple branches of the US military.

*The high repetition snatch with 30% bodyweight is man medicine.  Lightweight martial artists will gain weight, strength, and muscle.  Overweight martial artists will lose weight and gain stamina.  All trainees will become harder in body and mind.  Regardless of the size of person, everyone suffers equally from this movement as it readily exposes all physical weak links from strength to endurance and every capacity in between.  This movement will ferret out and strengthen loose grips, hypertensive hearts, wobbly cores, weak lungs, and skinny legs.  If a trainee has courage enough to endure the pain for high repetitions, this movement alone will burn out every part of the body until it has forged a man of strong will and durable frame.  There are parts of Russia where the measure of a man is his number of k-bell snatches in 10 minutes with 24 kg.

*The Russian tundra does not lend well to traditional endurance activities common to countries below the frost line.  Running and swimming require hazardous exposure to the elements.  The k-bell snatch, by contrast, requires only a heated garage with a few feet of space, or even a little courage corner in one's bedroom.  That the results gained by this movement are superior to running or swimming is merely a fortunate side effect.

*The k-bell snatch is time efficient.  In 15-20 minutes, a trainee can work every muscle in the body while developing work capacity and cardiovascular health.  This advantage holds great appeal for those who have jobs, activities, and social obligations beyond lifting weights.  A martial artist can incorporate the snatch as a brief warmup to receive all the benefits of weightlifting in one movement.

*The k-bell snatch optimizes breath control and efficient use of oxygen.  Unless the breathing is tightly regulated, high repetition sets are impossible.  Therefore, the movement teaches a balance of tension and relaxation for increasingly long periods of time.  This self control carries over into all stressful situations, allowing a trainee to keep their head during those moments of pain, panic, and desperation which would defeat a lesser person.  Therefore, this movement develops both physical and behavioral strength.  In the physical sense, it translates to greater capacity for lifting weight.  Behaviorally, it translates to greater resistance to punishment.

*The k-bell snatch increases absolute strength.  Most professional k-bell lifters are capable of deadlifting impressive weights (400+ pounds) despite rarely lifting a weight heavier than 70 pounds in training.  This owes to the intensity of the movement over time as well as its integration of every body system.  This fortunate carryover also allows a trainee to build superior strength without subjecting the spine to unhealthy loads.

*The snatch conditions every body system to a ridiculous extent.  When I accomplished 200 snatches over 20 minutes with 24 kg using a 1:1 work/rest ratio, neither my muscles nor my cardiovascular system reached failure.  My kidneys reached the point of rhabdomyolysis due to the length of training.  I had caused such cellular damage in my body that I pissed brown for two days.  In other words, the k-bell snatch allowed me to make my muscles, lungs, and heart more fit than my kidneys could process.

*Few nondangerous things are more painful than the high rep k-bell snatch with 24 kg.  This is the exact weight and movement used by the Russian military and the US Secret Service for testing the overall toughness of recruits.  If a soldier can subject themselves to this level of pain for long periods of time with discipline, they are assumed to have a great capacity for delivering comparable pain to their enemies while withstanding most battlefield tortures.  If every US man traded endless shots of alcohol for endless sets of 20 k-bell snatches, our culture would be much improved.

*Unlike most weightlifting movements, the snatch does not incentivize useless mass.  Observe the physique of Valery Fedorenko, one of the strongest kettlebell lifters in the world who has set numerous records:


This man is physically unremarkable, yet has pushed the boundaries of human weightlifting endurance.  I challenge all readers to learn and train with this movement.  The benefits are well worth the investment.