Which is best for people like us - “HardStyle” or “Sport” Snatches?

Twenty years ago one of my top “Get ‘er Done” workouts was grabbing a 32kg KB and doing 10+10 Snatches for 10 sets with 2 minutes rest between sets outside on my deck.

It made me breathe hard … Gave me a good pump… And was the perfect precursor to “Pizza & Movie Night.” LOL.

The Kettlebell Snatch is considered the Tsar (Emperor) of the Kettlebell Lifts.

That’s because it enhances:

[+] Your grip and forearms (buh-bye limp handshakes)

[+] Your upper arms ( firms shirt sleeves)

[+] Your shoulders (so they no longer look like a clothes hanger)

[+] Your upper back and lats ( creates that ‘power look’)

[+] Your lower back (bulletproofs from injury)

[+] Your hips and hamstrings ( power through climbs )

[+] Your abs/core (without a single crunch)

And when programmed properly it improves your heart health, your VO2Max, and strips off body fat… without spending hours a week on the treadmill or elliptical.

Which brings me to the question I got in an email the other day from Jason, in which he asked -

“My question is especially regarding King Sized Killer. I can speak and testify as to the program’s WTF factor, but can you clarify what style are you advocating this program be done in? I guess that is to say it’s a matter of preference depending on your goals, but maybe your other online read more clients may benefit from you addressing this topic. I seem to prefer training hardstyle on the lower rep days, and then on the endurance phase my body seems to shift toward a more “efficient” method of sport-specific style. Thoughts?”

GREAT question.

Here was my response:

“I always advocate "HardStyle" or "Athletic" - if you know what that is. (Think Oly lifting.) And that's because it requires more effort .

I can see how your body defaults to "efficient" sport style, because that's the goal of that style - efficiency. Honestly, I think most people relax their technique as the reps get higher.

But yes, at the end of the day, it really is a matter of your priorities .”

Furthermore -

“Sport” style is created for the competitor to complete as many Snatches as possible in 10 minutes.

In order to do so, the style is designed to limit fatigue - to conserve energy, and to be as efficient as possible.

“HardStyle” or “Athletic” style is designed to boost power output on each rep. They’re not concerned with “energy efficiency.”

Most of us guys need to be concerned with :

[+] Muscle retention and Type 2x/2a explosive muscle growth

[+] Keeping the body fat - especially stomach fat - in check

[+] Improving our VO2Max

… And those 3 things are best managed with the HardStyle / Athletic type Snatch.

As you become more advanced, and if you want to do long-duration sets , you may want to learn the Sport style.

But for me, having a background in an Olympic lifting background, that “Juice” was never worth the squeeze .

It’s always just been more effective for me (and my clients and customers) to “EXPLODE!” using the HardStyle / Athletic Snatch.

If you’re new to the kettlebell Snatch, don’t forget the following:

1- Strengthen your hip and grip strength & conditioning through 1-Hand Swings

2- Improve your shoulder mobility / stability / flexibility through the TGU and Press

3- Master how to “Tame the Arc” with the Clean

THEN…

Tackle the Snatch.

And for Snatch programming?

Train in the following order:

1- Technique

2- Strength

3- Conditioning

Stay Resilient ,

Geoff Neupert.