Snatch-Grip Deadlift

The snatch-grip deadlift is a deadlift variation done with a very wide grip on a barbell. It is an advanced strength exercise that targets your upper back, spinal erectors, and hamstrings, while also challenging your glutes, traps, and grip.

Set up with your feet about hip-width apart and the bar over your mid-foot. Take a wide snatch grip on the bar, usually with your hands near or outside the rings. Keep your chest proud, shoulders pulled back, and your back flat before you start. The wide grip forces you to start with your hips lower and your torso more upright than in a conventional deadlift.

Brace your midsection, then push the floor away with your feet to start the pull. Keep the bar close to your body as it rises. Drive your hips forward and stand tall at the top. Lower the bar by hinging at the hips first, then bending your knees once the bar passes them. Reset your starting position before each rep.

Take a breath in and tighten your core before every rep, holding that pressure throughout the lift. If your grip gives out before your back and legs, use straps. To make the movement harder, add a controlled pause just below your knees on the way up.

Fault: Your back rounds during the pull. Fix: Set up with a proud chest and tight upper back before the bar leaves the floor. This fights back rounding by loading the upper back and helps you keep a neutral spine through the longer range of motion.

Fault: Your grip fails before your back and legs. Fix: Reset your hands at the top of each rep, or use straps if grip limits the set. That keeps the focus on the target muscles instead of dropping the bar early.

Fault: The bar drifts away from your legs. Fix: Pull the bar back into your thighs with your lats on the way up. A bar that drifts forward pulls your shoulders down and makes it harder to keep your chest up.