The Dumbbell Snatch
1 “Secret Weapon” for a Leaner Tummy and strong, sexy legs (and
maybe a new PR)
The
dumbbell snatch is a version of the Olympic lift, the snatch, performed with a
dumbbell in one hand. You move the dumbbell from the floor to above your head
in one explosive movement.
The
dumbbell snatch is a full body movement and most of the major muscle groups
come into play, particularly legs, shoulders and core.
As we wind down our run up to the Olympics I want to bring
some attention to an often overlooked Olympic sport: Weightlifting. “But Andy,
this is an endurance training blog! How can you put a power exercise in here?!”
Simply this: Training for Power is missing from most endurance athletes
workouts. Period! As an endurance athlete (triathlon, duathlon, marathon, half
marathon, long bike ride), if you train for power you can become more flexible
AND stronger while making your swim, bike and/or run form more efficient.
Let me explain: The Dumbbell Snatch is great for engaging the
core quickly while stabilizing the hips, shoulders and trunk for a seamless and
efficient transfer of power from the legs to the shoulders. The bottom (start)
position of the exercise requires a great deal of flexibility in the hips, low
back and shoulders, something that most endurance athletes are lacking. The
middle, movement portion, of the exercise require an explosive “opening” at the
front of the hips, an engagement at the core to control the weight as it is
lifted from the floor and passes to over head. At the top of the movement the
shoulder must be in a stable position with the best point of stability being at
the ground where the feet are in contact with the ground.
What this means for your sport: Across all sports this
movement is taxing to the Central Nervous System leading to better balancing of
the endocrine system. The endocrine system can be negatively affected by long
efforts like those associated with traditional endurance training. For cycling
the dumbbell snatch can give you the muscle to in your hips and thighs to power
over those longer hills and help you recover from a long day in the saddle. It
helps the cyclist, the runner and the swimmer have a more stable torso allowing
the legs and the arms to work more efficiently thru transfer of force thru the
core.
What this means for a flatter tummy: You can do crunches all
day and achieve some good results, but who has the time? The dumbbell snatch “forces”
all the muscles of the core to work almost in unison. The core muscles have to
fire to move the hips from a stable position (the starting squat position),
thru an unstable position (the “jump” phase), and then stabilize again with the
arm in an extended position (Stabilizing both the shoulder and the hips
simultaneously). You will burn fat all day if you do these in the morning by
stimulating the Central Nervous System to adapt to such a demanding exercise.
This demand can balance the hormones and improve the body’s efficiency while
running, swimming, biking or just having a healthy day.
Incorporate the Dumbbell Snatch into your strength workout
once a week for 6 weeks. Start with a light weight to get the form down and
then move to more challenging weights to see faster improvement and help your
athletic performance. Lean athletes are more efficient athletes.
So go move something heavy! And then move it fast!
Some
websites with pictures of the Dumbbell Snatch:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/DBSnatch.html
http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2007/11/one-arm-dumbbell-snatch/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1zGGVGkOEE&feature=related
