How To Convert The CrossFit BB Snatch to Kettlebell Snatch

How to Convert the CrossFit BB Snatch to Kettlebell Snatch

Believe it or not, there are many different ways to snatch with a kettlebell. The most common one is swing style, but let’s see what’s more suitable for a CrossFitter to start with, i.e. translate from regular daily training with the barbell to the occasional kettlebells.

 

Improve your olympic barbell snatch with kettlebells; improve overhead mobility, stability and strength.

 

 

The Dead Snatch with two kettlebells is what you want to look at if you want to mimic the CF snatch movement patterns as closely as possible, or the hang snatch. One thing you need to have before you do so, and that’s having already some good overhead mobility, you need to be able to get those hands right above your shoulders, if you can’t, work on that first. Also make sure you don’t convert your 1RM bb to kb, as that won’t work like I discussed here.

Working on getting that arm locked out and straight. Working on squat depth. What you been working on today? ???

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You can very closely match the barbell movement of the squat snatch with the kettlebell, the biggest difference being weight distribution and the fact you need to corkscrew the weight around the hand into overhead position, forget all the banging you might have been doing up till now, there is no need for the kb to flip over the fist (watch the videos below).

You would think that working with one kettlebell is easier, it is if you’re lacking overhead mobility, otherwise it’s actually easier to work with two kettlebells. More on that in future articles.

Here are some of the variations you can kettlebell snatch with:

  • one kettlebell
  • two kettlebells
  • swing style (major difference to bb pulling)
  • pull style (hang or dead)
  • hip hinge (more posterior chain focus)
  • squat (more anterior chain focus)
  • full snatch (full drop)
  • half snatch (half drop; into rack)
  • squat under (different depths)
  • split

Try dead squat snatching one kettlebell into reverse lunge, after a while add an overhead squat. Awesome combination! Don’t stop there and start programming some WBKC’s in your WODs. Join our Facebook group where I answer any of your questions.

If you’re looking to run a workshop in your box covering most of what I spoke about above, check out Swing and Snatch Efficiency in CrossFit, also available on Amazon. I’m looking for one box that will implement this workshop within the next two weeks from publication date, I will personally be available for support, and you will also receive the full package as listed here. Video footage of the workshop required.

I leave you with some videos to watch:

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