MOVEMENT TIP: The Hang Snatch

While the Snatch is executed from the ground, the Hang Snatch, demonstrated here by CrossFit Seminar Staff member James Hobart, is a variation of the movement which is started from a ‘hanging’ position i.e. above ground level in any of the following start points:

High-Hang: Upper thigh
Mid-hang: Mid-thigh
Hang: Top of knee caps
Knee: Bar at knee caps
Low: Bar just below knees

If nothing is specified, the hang snatch is typically done from just above the knee.

The hang snatch is often used in the initial months of working on the snatch to ensure proper positioning and balance and by more experienced athletes as a training exercise to produce more explosive force in the hip extension.

Points Of Performance

• Stand on feet with hip-width apart
• Hands wide enough that the bar rests in crease of hips when legs and hips are extended
• Hook grip on the bar
• Lumbar curve maintained
• Deadlift the bar to hang position
• Extrend hips and legs rapidly
• Heels stay down until hips and legs extend
• Shoulders shrug, followed by a pull under with the arms
• Bar is received at the bottom of an overhead squat
• Complete at full hip, knee and arm extension with the bar over the middle of both feet