My coach calls this movement the “Muscle Squat Snatch” but there are a couple other names for it including “Smooth Snatch” or “No Feet Snatch.” This exercises serves a couple of different purposes on top of those gained through the basic muscle snatch.
First, this movement serves to help lifters maintain downward pressure in their feet. It forces lifters to continue the leg drive and sustain their power output for as long as possible. This happens because the goal of the movement is to keep the feet flat and pressing down as long as possible. For lifters, like me, who struggle to maintain a leg drive this exercise can be critical to improvement in power output.
Second, this movement helps lifters to understand the timing and proper way to engage the arms to aid in the third pull. The Muscle Squat Snatch takes away much of the explosive power found at the hips as the goal is to barely touch the hips, if at all. Due to this aspect of the movement, much of the power at the hips is taken away. This requires the lifter to be extremely quick to the bottom of the squat and utilize the pull down of the arms to get there. It’s one of the best ways I know, alongside the tall snatch, to create speed in the third pull.
Give this exercise a shot in your training if you struggle with any of these areas. Also check the demo video out below for a better explanation of the movement.
Developing Power & Strength through the use of the Olympic Lifts.
