Olympian Chad Vaughn offers tips for attacking the heavy dumbbell snatches and hang cleans at the Reebok CrossFit Games Regionals.
I remember being very surprised when the Regional events included heavy dumbbell snatches.
My trade is, of course, getting a barbell over my head with two hands, not raising a dumbbell with one, so I was actually unsure that I could even handle the 70-pounder. Obviously, I had no choice but to try, and in the end it actually wasn’t that bad. It was mostly just a matter of comfort with the movement.
But I can definitely understand why so many have struggled, though many more have handled the 70s and 100s far more comfortably than I would have predicted. In the end, I believe 70 and 100 lb. were the right weights—and great separators.
As for technique with a movement like the one-arm dumbbell snatch, is it important? As always, absolutely!