Ivan V. Lebedev: Two-Hand Assisted Kettlebell Snatch [1928]

In today’s StrongFirst SFG kettlebell system, we use the so-called kettlebell “cheat clean,” or assisted clean, as one of the best drills for learning the clean properly. You grab the kettlebell with one hand, cover that hand with the other hand, hike pass, extend the hips, and pull/guide the kettlebell to the shoulder, just as if you were throwing a backpack over your shoulder.

Back in the old days, they did not have a wide selection of kettlebells, and many beginning kettlebell lifters started with a fairly heavy kettlebell—24 kg or 32 kg. The coaching methodology therefore employed many assisted lifts to get used to the heavier weight, such as the assisted swing (different from two-hand swing!), assisted (power) clean, and assisted (push) press—covered in Lebedev 1928: Old-School Kettlebell Quick-Start Guide—as well as the assisted (power) snatch, called the overhead swing back in the old days.

When you see it, you think: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Apart from getting used to the weight and not fearing it, there are many advantages. By covering the hand grabbing the handle, you will keep the kettlebell closer to the body (taming the arc) and—which is important—on the centerline.

Here is Lebedev’s tutorial:

[Overhead] Swing-[Snatch] Lifting from Two Hands to One

The starting position is the same as when bringing the kettlebell to your shoulder with both hands. Swing it between your legs—backwards, forwards, and backwards—then swing-lift it with both hands, without pausing at your shoulder. Carry it upwards in front of you on partly bent arms until it is overhead, at the height of your fully straightened right arm.

Once the kettlebell reaches this height, brace your right shoulder and take your left hand off the kettlebell, leaving it supported by your fully straightened right arm alone. Hold it for a few seconds, then calmly lower it with the same hand to your shoulder and to the floor.

Do the same with your left arm. Repeat this movement several times in succession: it will rid you completely of your fear of the weight, and after a couple of days you will be able to swing-lift the kettlebell without help from your other hand.

Bear in mind that, as the kettlebell rises overhead, it may strike your forearm at the last moment [kettlebell hand image in the center]. Therefore, as it comes onto your straightened arm, smoothly turn your forearm—or, more precisely, your hand—inwards. The kettlebell will then slide along your forearm without bruising it and come to rest against its back [kettlebell hand image on the right]..

An excerpt from the Kettlebell VIP online course Snatch module (19:40)