Best Snatch Warm Up Routine: Ultimate Guide

If you’ve so much as glanced over any article that explores anything related to working out and staying active, you know you can’t start without warming up first, and if you’re serious about lifting, you can’t start without a snatch warm up. Breaking a sweat isn’t the point of this, though, its purpose is to prime your muscles and joints for the workout.

We’ll cover everything you need to know about warming up the muscles you’ll use for the snatch, and by the end of this guide, you’ll have a well-rounded warm-up routine that will prepare you for the exercise, both mentally and physically. 

Let’s warm up!

Warm-Up for Snatch – Why It’s Important?

Warming up before a workout is important in general, and that includes warming up before the snatch. It’s a foundation for an effective, safe session. 

If you take the time to warm up properly, you’ll increase the blood flow to the muscles, improve their flexibility, and get them ready for the explosive movements that you’ll do during the snatch. It will also help activate and engage the muscles you’ll be using, so all in all, you’ll be 100% ready for action. 

Apart from boosting your performance, which is what most people are after, a good warm-up will reduce the risk of injury by a lot, so you can expect less strains or tears. 

Remember – the main benefit/outcome of a good warm-up, regardless of what it does specifically, is to REDUCE THE RISK OF INJURIES. 

Warm-Up Structure for Snatch

You can’t have a good workout if you don’t warm up! That’s why we’ll break down all key components of an effective warm-up you can do before the snatch, or any Olympic lifting in general. 

1. General to Break a Sweat

Cardio elevates your heart rate, so things like running, cycling, and rowing are a great way to warm up. It will also increase the blood flow and prepare your muscles for the more intense exercises that will follow the warm-up. This is your foundation, or in other words, this is how you get your body ready to handle the snatch. 

Here’s an example of a warm-up routine: 

• Run: 4-5 minutes at a moderate pace. Keep it light and easy, just enough to feel warm, or
• Cycle: 5 minutes at a steady, moderate pace. You can use a stationary bike or even cycle around if you have the space, or
• Row: 4-5 minutes in a steady rhythm. Focus on engaging your entire body with each stroke

Tips From the Champ

I always start warm up with PVC to activate key muscle groups and improve range of motion before progressing to heavier weights.

Oleksiy Torokhtiy

Olympic Weightlifting Champion

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2. Mobility and Dynamic Stretching

You didn’t think cardio was it, right? Once your body is warm, the next thing to do is to focus on mobility and dynamic stretching. In this phase of the warm-up, your goal is to enhance your range of motion and prepare your joints for those explosive movements that you’ll do during the snatch. 

Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretches will have you constantly moving, which is better because your muscles will be prepped for the lifting session ahead. Static stretches work better during cool-down. 

This phase of your warm-up will last for about 5-15 minutes depending on the individual needs, and it will loosen up the muscles and joints. It will make them more flexible and less prone to injury. The great thing about these movements is that they mimic the ranges of motion you’ll use during lifts. 

Here’s an example:

• Leg swings: 10-15 swings per leg, front to back and side to side. This will open up your hips and improve leg mobility
• Arm circles: 15-20 circles in each direction. Focus on large, controlled movements to loosen up your shoulders
• Hip circles: 10 in each direction to mobilize your hip joints
• Lunges with a twist: 10 lunges per leg and add a twist to engage the core
• Torso twists: 20 twists while keeping your core engaged to loosen up your spine and prepare your torso for rotational movements
• Kettlebell Windmills: 10 a side to get your shoulder moving
• Turkish Get-ups: 10 reps alternating to challenge and test your stability

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3. Specific Warm-Up

Now it’s time to get more specific and do exercises that have some things in common with the snatch. You’ll use an empty barbell to do different complexes and drills that target the muscles that are used in the snatch. It will help to engage the relevant muscles even more and refine your technique. 

This will take about 10 min, so you have more than enough time to perfect the movements. And since you’re using an empty barbell, you can work on your form a bit. These exercises will do a great job at preparing your muscles for the snatch, but they’ll also promote good technique, which is key for effective and safe lifting. 

Of course, we’ve prepared a few examples for you to choose from: 

• Empty bar complexes: do 3 rounds to engage your muscles and practice coordinated movement patterns.
  • Hang High Pull: 3 reps. Bar path is the key.
  • Hang muscle snatch: 3 reps. Work on pulling the bar overhead with as little leg movement as possible
  • Overhead squat: 5 reps. Keep the bar stable overhead and squat as deep as you can
• Muscle snatch: 2 sets of 3 reps and focus on a smooth, continuous motion
• Drop snatch: 2 sets of 3 reps. Practice dropping under the bar quickly and stabilizing in the bottom position
• Snatch balance: 2 sets of 3 reps. Drive the bar overhead and catch it in a stable overhead squat
• Power snatch: 2 sets of 3 reps. Work on exploding up and catching the bar in a half squat
• Overhead squat: 2 sets of 3 reps and squat deeply
• Sots press: 2 sets of 5 reps. This helps improve shoulder stability and strength in the overhead position

4. Adaptive Sets for Main Lift

This is how you go from warm-up to your working sets. With the adaptive sets, you increase the weight gradually to help your body adapt to the heavier sets while still keeping your form correct.

This phase doesn’t take long ~ 10 minutes, depending on how many sets you do and how much time you need to recover between the sets. 

Here’s an example: 

• Set 1: Muscle snatch at 40% of working weight for 3 reps
• Set 2: Power snatch at 50% of working weight for 3 reps
• Set 3: Power snatch at 60% of working weight for 3 reps
• Set 4: Full snatch at 70% of working weight for 2 reps
• Set 5: Full snatch at 80% of working weight for 1 rep

…

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3 Common Snatch Warm Up Mistakes

Believe it or not, mistakes aren’t reserved for just the main part of your workout – you can make them during warm-up, too.

Let’s see what the most common ones are. 

❌ Using Static Stretching to long

Static stretching is fantastic – for the cool-down. Don’t use static stretches during the warm-up for more than 30-60s, especially not if you’re doing explosive movements later on. 

Instead, do dynamic stretches to increase the flexibility and the temperature in your muscles without reducing their strength. 

❌ Not Doing Specific Movements

Although a general warm-up works great, if you’re doing something like the snatch, you need to include exercises that will target specific muscles that are involved in the snatch. Part of your warm-up movements should mimic movements you will perform during your sessions

Snatch drills and bar complexes are an absolute must if you want your warm-up to be as effective as possible. 

❌ Rushing

We’ve all been guilty of this at least a few times. Yoo want to get to the main part of your workout, so you rush through the warm-up, and oh-oh! Where did that sprain come from and why has it happened when you’ve warmed up?

Well, you didn’t because you rushed through it. Take the time to complete each part fully, otherwise you’re just wasting time.  

Conclusion

Hopefully, now it’s clear how important the warm up is and you won’t skip it in the future. If you stick to a structured routine, you’ll set yourself up for success. Remember not to do long static stretches until the cool-down, don’t rush, and don’t focus on just the basics – include some specific movements to target the muscles you’ll use during the snatch. 

The warm-up is the secret sauce to better lifts, so why not do it properly, right?

Let’s see what you think of this! Will you tweak your warm-up based on these tips and how? Have you noticed any changes in your performance when you warm-up properly? 

Leave a comment and let’s get the conversation started! (Then go warm up!)

References:

1. Health Promotion Board (HPB) “Prevent Injuries with Proper Form During Workouts,” Singapore University Health Center, https://www.nus.edu.sg/uhc/articles/details/prevent-injuries-with-proper-form-during-workouts (accessed July 9th 2024)
2. Hyoung-Kil Park, Min-Kyung Jung, Eunkyung Park, Chang-Young Lee, Yong-Seok Jee, Denny Eun, Jun-Youl Cha, and Jaehyun Yoo. “The effect of warm-ups with stretching on the isokinetic moments of collegiate men.” Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation 14, no. 1 (2018): 78–82.
3. Mayo Clinic Staff, “Weight training: Do’s and don’ts of proper technique,” Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/weight-training/art-20045842 (accessed July 9th, 2024)
4. “The (Many) Benefits of a Cardio Workout,” Cleveland Clinic, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-many-benefits-of-a-cardio-workout (accessed July 9th, 2024)
5. “Understanding the Difference Between Dynamic and Static Stretching,” Cleveland Clinic, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/understanding-the-difference-between-dynamic-and-static-stretching (accessed July 9th, 2024)
6. Photos by Torokhtiy Media Team.