An exercise in the hard style kettlebell training toolkit that I believe to be massively underutilized and underappreciated is the half snatch.
In this article, I will outline why I believe the half snatch is a worthwhile training focus beyond simply being a tool to help one learn how to snatch, but rather, a main exercise in its own right.
What is the Half Snatch?
First, some clarity on what the half snatch is.
The half snatch begins exactly as the ‘full’ snatch does. The kettlebell is hiked between the legs, and ballistically sent vertically into the overhead position by the force of the hips. However, instead of being sent back down into the hike position ballistically from overhead, the kettlebell is pulled down into the rack position like the active negative of the military press.
From the rack position, the kettlebell is then dropped back into the hike before being re-snatched overhead for another rep or parked on the ground if ending the set.
The Benefits of the Half Snatch
I believe that there are three primary benefits to training the half snatch that one will miss out on if his snatch training only includes the full snatch, and I will break each of these down in turn.
These are:
- Training the movement pattern of the military press.
- Upper body hypertrophy.
- More power development in the hips.
Training the Movement Pattern of the Military Press
The first main benefit of the half snatch is perhaps the most obvious one. Provided that the kettlebell is controlled from overhead into the rack position slowly like the negative portion of the military press (and not ballistically dropped into the rack like in the jerk), there is a direct carryover to one’s pressing strength.
Speaking from experience, the first time I ever pressed 36kg (my SFG level II strength test kettlebell) for singles on both sides, I had done zero military press training for close to a year beforehand.
What I had been focusing on were snatches and half snatches (as per my “A+A Light” snatch protocol, at the time with 28-32kg), as well as some one-arm pushups done in a grease the groove fashion, as outlined in Pavel’s The Naked Warrior.
Admittedly, the one-arm pushups would likely have carried over to my first successful 36kg presses, but it was the half snatch that paved the way for this carryover to occur, by grooving the vertical press pattern.
Upper Body Hypertrophy
In the context of grinds (slow lifts like presses or squats), it is commonly stated that the eccentric, or lowering portion of the movement, is where the most muscle tissue breakdown occurs. As a result, it is the eccentric that is the primary stimulus for hypertrophy, or an increase in muscle size.
If this is the case, then it stands to reason that the half snatch would induce an increase in mass, especially in the upper body, as one is essentially accumulating a whole lot of the eccentric portion of the military press.
I’m no bodybuilder and have never focused specifically on muscle growth in my training. As such, I personally couldn’t care less about the exact science behind how one would maximize muscle size.
What I can say however is that when I introduced half snatches as a variation within my snatch practice, I experienced a notable amount of hypertrophy in my traps, shoulders, triceps, and lats over the subsequent couple of months. And I wasn’t the one who initially noticed this, but multiple others around me who pointed it out.
A word of warning on introducing half snatches into your training: ease in gently, because this is strong medicine.
I have historically used snatches and half snatches in equal measure, and many of my students do the same. That means that a given session might include up to 100 total half snatches (sum of both sides). I advocate for really controlling the descent of the kettlebell from overhead into the rack, and when done for up to 50 reps per side, a great deal of the aforementioned muscle tissue breakdown can occur.
If this is a new stimulus for the individual, there may be a significant amount of soreness in the shoulders and triceps after a half snatch session.
Like any new stimulus, though, the body does adapt, and soreness shouldn’t be an issue after a short break-in period. Even so, I advise you to start slow and not do too much too soon.
More Power Development in the Hips
The final benefit of training the kettlebell half snatch that I’d like to draw attention to is one that many readers may not have considered.
The half snatch can allow one to more effectively train the hips to produce power.
When the kettlebell is ballistically dropped from overhead into the hike position at the start of each rep, there is a substantial stretch reflex on the muscles of the posterior chain, increasing the power of the subsequent hip extension.
This stretch reflex is lessened when the kettlebell is instead dropped into the hike position from the rack, as we see in the half snatch. As a result, a more forceful contraction of the hips is required to send the kettlebell overhead.
Think of this like jumping on a trampoline. You will bounce higher if you jump onto the trampoline from two meters above it compared to two feet above it.
To really drive this point home, readers need only imagine how much more concentric effort is required to perform a dead snatch, when the kettlebell is not hike passed, compared to the snatch proper, when there is a hike pass.
The half snatch requires the kettlebell to be sent vertically overhead on each rep from what is closer to a dead start. This is an excellent additional stimulus for power production.
Conclusion
In my humble opinion, the name half snatch should not make trainees think that it is an inferior exercise to the full snatch. Depending on your own background and individual strengths and weaknesses, you may, like me, find that the half snatch with a given weight is harder than the full snatch.
Whether you want to break through a plateau in your military press training, add some muscle mass to your upper body, or develop a more powerful posterior chain, the half snatch is a valuable exercise that I would encourage readers to spend some time with.
See the SPEED METAL online course for training plans where
you can use and apply the half snatch
A former competitive amateur boxer and Muay Thai practitioner, Harry still enjoys recreational practice of the striking martial arts and offers one-to-one boxing tuition alongside his kettlebell instruction.
His own strength and conditioning practice is built upon the hard style kettlebell snatch, and he has been known to regularly snatch a 40kg bell at a bodyweight of well under 80kg.
Harry’s coaching focuses on helping people from all backgrounds to become strong, well-conditioned, and confident enough to handle whatever life throws at them.
Minimalist in nature, Harry’s approach ensures that his students get the maximum benefit from their training in a strategic, time-efficient manner. This leaves them with plenty of time and energy to tend to their other priorities and responsibilities.
