The Double Kettlebell Snatch
Masterclass
Within the wold of Hardstyle kettlebell training, the Double Kettlebell Snatch (DBSN) reigns supreme for full-body explosiveness. Requiring high skill, precision, and mental toughness, the DBSN offers direct power and power endurance benefits.
Mastering the DBSN as a part of MED Kettlebell Chains, MED Kettlebell Chains Reloaded (coming soon), or as a standalone exercise, delivers a potent conditioning effect: improving aerobic, glycolytic, and anaerobic thresholds.
The DBSN is also safe in its execution; relying on a powerful concentric action of the bells, then a safe lowering to the rack before subsequent repetitions. And because the movement is concentric-focused, the DBSN doesn’t overly tax the body.
In this article, I will focus on the progressions for learning the DBSN, warming up for the DBSN, and how to program the DBSN into your current training.
DBSN Technique
Mastering the DBSN is a product of coordinated timing and proper sequencing of the kettlebells. The double kettlebells must fluidly move from the backswing into a redirected vertical trajectory before the athlete strongly fixates them overhead.
Because the kettlebells must produce high amounts of work from the backswing to overhead, owning a powerful hip drive is a prerequisite for the DBSN. The athlete should be able to match their two-handed swing load while using double kettlebells.
Drills
Before attempting the full DBSN, there are a few choice drills that I recommend.
The Double Kettlebell Low Pull
The Double Kettlebell Mid Pull
The Double Kettlebell High Pull
The Double Kettlebell Low Pull
Standards:
The Double Kettlebell Low Pull is performed with intention: relying on technique, total-body tension, and with beautiful and crisp form.
The athlete demonstrates power breathing as the hips extend out of downswing.
The athlete Low Pulls the double kettlebells to navel height while maintaining contact of the elbows to the ribcage.
The athlete maintains gluteal, quadriceps, and abdominal bracing at the top of the Low Pull.
The Double Kettlebell Low Pull requires the athlete to maintain contact between the elbows and the ribcage during a double swing. As the kettlebells leave the backswing, they will be projected to a 90 degree angle relative to the torso.
Principle: The Double Kettlebell Low Pull teaches the athlete how to keep the bells’ path close to the body instead of projecting them horizontally toward chest level.Key Points:
The Low Pull is a “short armed” Double Kettlebell Swing.
The athlete might need to dial down their double kettlebell swing power and actively engage the lats and keep the elbows connected to the ribcage.
Practice: Perform 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the Low Pull.
The Double Kettlebell Mid Pull
Standards:
The Double Kettlebell Mid Pull is performed with intention: relying on technique, total-body tension, and with beautiful and crisp form.
The athlete demonstrates power breathing as the hips extend out of downswing.
The athlete performs a Low Pull but allows the elbows to displace from the ribcage. Mid Pulls bring the double kettlebells to chest height.
The athlete maintains gluteal, quadriceps, and abdominal bracing at the top of the Mid Pull.
The Double Kettlebell Mid Pull is similar to the Low Pull, but the athlete allows the elbows to “peel” off from the 90 degree angle as practiced in the Low Pull. As the kettlebells leave the backswing, they will be projected to a 45 degree angle relative to the torso. They bells wills apex at chest level.
Principle: Performing the Double Kettlebell Mid Pull teaches the athlete how to project the bells more vertically than the low pull. The major difference from the Low Pull is that the bells project to 45 degrees at the top of the movement with the elbows “peeled” off the ribcage. This requires more power than the Low Pull.Key Points:
The Mid Pull is very similar to the Low Pull but adds more vertical displacement.
There is more finesse than the Low Pull, requiring the athlete to gently allow the elbows to displace from the body, then reattach on the downswing.
Practice: Perform 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the Mid Pull.
The Double Kettlebell High Pull
Standards:
The Double Kettlebell High Pull is performed with intention: relying on technique, total-body tension, and with beautiful and crisp form.
The athlete demonstrates power breathing as the hips extend out of downswing.
The athlete high pulls the double kettlebells above head height with a momentary float at the apex of the movement. The kettlebells point (nearly) straight up at the top of the movement. The movement is reversed into the downswing.
The athlete maintains gluteal, quadriceps, and abdominal bracing at the top of the High Pull.
The Double Kettlebell High Pull, is the last progression in our series. The High Pull should mimic the Mid Pull as stated above, but with even more power. The High Pull harnesses the momentum of the bells from the downswing to a float above head level.
The High Pull is a potent double kettlebell ballistic. The athlete should strive to have their high pull practice mimic the arc practiced on both the Low Pull and Mid Pull. The arc’s terminus is above head level during the High Pull.
As the bells reach their apex, the sequence should be reversed following the same arc as the ascent. The bells must stay tight to the body on the way up and down to safely perform High Pulls.
Principle: Performing the Double Kettlebell High Pull teaches the athlete the necessary power to project the bells high enough for a DBSN. There should be enough vertical force in the High Pull that the athlete could simply punch through the bells’ handles to finish the DBSN. Key Points:
Unlike older iterations of the High Pull, the athlete aims to project the bells above head level at a vertical or near vertical angle. The athlete does not pull the elbows backward like the Face Pull exercise.
The athlete must use more hip power than the Mid Pull to achieve the desired height of the High Pull.
The athlete must produce an above head high float of the bells before reversing the movement into the downswing.
Practice: Perform 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the High Pull
After practicing each drill individually, the athlete should string them together. The sequence would look like this:
Low Pull + Mid Pull + High Pull
Practice: Perform 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the Low Pull + Mid Pull + High Pull
Double Kettlebell Snatch
Standards:
The Double Kettlebell Snatch is performed with intention: relying on technique, total-body tension, and with beautiful and crisp form.
The athlete demonstrates power breathing as the hips extend out of downswing.
The athlete snatches double kettlebells overhead with a strong lockout. Before subsequent reps, the athlete must lower the kettlebells to the rack before returning them to the downswing.
The athlete maintains gluteal, quadriceps, and abdominal bracing at the top of the Double Kettlebell Snatch.
When the Double Kettlebell High Pull becomes proficient, the athlete should practice reps of High Pull + High Pull + Snatch. Since the bells will have enough power to float above head height, the athlete may “punch” their hands through the bells’ handles to complete the fixation overhead.
When double snatching, make sure that the arc of the Low Pull, Mid Pull, and High Pull sequence occurs simultaneously with hip extension. This allows the athlete to perfectly synchronize the body for a powerful lockout.
Key Points:
The athlete must immediately pull the elbows in after the kettlebells leave the downswing. Doing so will allow a coordinated vertical projection.
Instead of allowing the kettlebells to float like in the high pull, the athlete will punch their hands through the handles as they near their apex. This action will forcefully lock out the bells with packed shoulders and straight arms.
The athlete will perform the negative portion of a double kettlebell military press to re rack the bells before subsequent DBSNs.
Principle: During the DBSN, the athlete must immediately change the horizontal force of a normal double kettlebell swing to a vertically projected force. Once the kettlebells have been redirected upward, the athlete will forcefully punch their fists through the handles of the bells. The lockout should be powerful, with packed shoulders and fully extended elbows.Lastly, when performing multiple reps of DBSN, make sure to actively push the kettlebells into the downswing with force. This active overspeed effect will give the hips more power when reversing to the upswing.
Practice: Perform 3 sets of 5 repetitions of The Double Kettlebell Snatch
DBSN Warmup Drills
After practicing the above progressions, the athlete should be well-versed in the intricacies of the DBSN. And although one could practice the above drills before their DBSN training, I recommend advanced athletes to perform the DBSN Warmup Drills listed below to ensure tight and accurate form prior to training.
Double Kettlebell Hikes
Practice: Perform 2 sets of 5 repetitions of Double Kettlebell Hikes
Double Kettlebell Dead Stop Swings
Practice: Perform 2 sets of 5 repetitions of Double Kettlebell Dead Stop Swings
Double Kettlebell Swings
Practice: Perform 2 sets of 5 repetitions of Double Kettlebell Swings
Double Kettlebell Overhead Holds
Practice: Perform 2 sets of 10” holds of Double Kettlebell Overhead Holds
Programming
In discussing DBSN programming, I want to offer two methods that my students and I have had great success with: Ladders and On The Minute (OTM) training.
Ladders
A segmented approach based on one block (a ladder) and multiple sets in that ladder (rungs). My go-to ladder scheme is 3 ladders with rungs of 2, 3, 5 written as 3 x 2, 3, 5.
Example: 3 x 2, 3, 5 = 3 ladders with 2 reps in rung 1, 3 reps in rung 2, and 5 reps in rung 3. (→ 3 blocks with one set of 2, one set of 3, and one set of 5)
Here is an example of how a DBSN ladder training would be organized:
FIRST LADDER
1. 2 reps
2. 3 reps
3. 5 reps
SECOND LADDER
4. 2 reps
5. 3 reps
6. 5 reps
THIRD LADDER
7. 2 reps
8. 3 reps
9. 5 reps
3 x 2, 3, 5 totals 9 sets = 30 total reps.
The athlete can tweak their ladders toward power and strength using 1, 2, 3 rungs. 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 reps total per ladder. The athlete will decide their total desired rep count prior to training, and adjust accordingly.
For instance, if the athlete decided to perform 18 total reps for power and strength, they would perform 3 x 1, 2, 3 - total = 18 reps
The athlete could also bias their ladders toward power endurance/conditioning by implement 3, 5, 8 rungs. 3 + 5 + 8 = 16 reps total per ladder. The athlete will decide their total desire rep count prior to training and adjust accordingly.
For instance, if the athlete decided to perform 48 total reps for power endurance/conditioning, they would perform 3 x 3, 5, 8 - total = 48 reps.
Rest Periods
The athlete should rest as long as needed during their ladder training. Most of my students find it intuitive that between reps 2 and 3, they won’t need as much rest as they would between 3 and 5 or 5 and 2.
My general recommendations are resting between 45” and 180,” but that will be determined by the current conditioning of the athlete and their desired workload.
On the Minute
Once an athlete has a firm grasp of DBSN technique, I like to use OTM training for glycolytic and anaerobic conditioning. OTM denotes that the athlete should perform a designated number of reps at the top of each minute.
For instance, if the athlete decided that they would perform 3 reps for glycolytic training at the top of each minute for 10:00min, they would perform a total of 30 reps.
For instance, here is how OTM for 10:00min would look:
00:00 - 3 reps
01:00 - 3 reps
02:00 - 3 reps
03:00 - 3 reps
04:00 - 3 reps
05:00 - 3 reps
06:00 - 3 reps
07:00 - 3 reps
08:00 - 3 reps
09:00 - 3 reps
Total = 30 reps
The athlete could use progressive overload in subsequent training sessions by adding a minute or two each session.
Finally, the DBSN can be used as a standalone exercise ie; 5 reps x 5 sets for practice reasons. But because the DBSN is such a powerful tool for power, power endurance, and overall conditioning, I prefer the ladder and OTM programming.
Onward
In the next few months, I will have MED Kettlebell Chains Reloaded completed! We will be implementing the DBSN as apart of our MED Kettlebell Chains for advanced levels of strength, power, and conditioning.
Have any questions or feedback? Make sure to let me know in the comments or on Instagram.
John Parker
June 5, 2022