7 Useless Exercises You Do & Snatch 50 Approved Replacements

Lots of us go to the gym trying to become the best version of ourselves we can, or at least the version that username @bestestlifter102folyfe thinks we can be. (Click here to learn how you can be an empowering internet lifting coach like the generic username I just gave in seven simple steps!) We go and work towards our fitness goals day in and day out, steadily climbing towards the pinnacle of human perfection: Snatching 50 kilograms.

And then we repeat the process, every single day.

It’s an arduous process and no simple task, yet we strive to achieve this lofty goal. But what if our efforts are not making the progress we want? Not all exercises are created equally, and some will have minimal benefits, or just simply have much better alternatives.

Over the years of my weightlifting training, both specific to weightlifting and also to general strength and conditioning, I’ve noticed some such exercises being less effective, and more effective exercises and movements are glossed over in favor of these movements. So allow me to set the record straight. Here are seven exercises that you don’t need to do, and #snatch50everydayprogram approved replacements that will get you those gainz you’ve been searching for, bro.

1. Crunches

Crunches used to be a staple of abdominal exercises, but in recent years it’s been shown to be one of the least effective. The range of motion stifles the ability to get any real benefit from crunches, aside from doing, like, a thousand of them. And then the benefit is just being sore for a while.

There are many more exercises that both increase the range of motion of the abdominals, or incorporate the full trunk to strengthen the entire core. When a situp is a better alternative, you know that the crunch is simply an outdated tool.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: Overhead Squat

The Overhead Squat can be brutal to one’s trunk and core. The amount of stabilization needed, along with coordination and balance, for an overhead squat makes it a truly unique core exercise. Most coaches call it less of a leg exercise like most squats, and more of a core exercise. Which makes it a perfect replacement for a crunch.

If a guy with “Coach” in front of his last name says it’s good, then it can’t be bad for you, right? …Right?

Plus, overhead squats work on your core, and “core” is such a hip and happening term in fitness regiments these days that you just can’t avoid it. Unfortunately, elite weightlifters feel that the overhead squat has limited benefits when you get to that level of eliteness, leaving the overhead squat to the plebeians. To these elitists, I would say that they just haven’t read enough internet articles with words like “core” and “mobility” sprinkled throughout and italicized for emphasis.

Get some culture, elite weightlifters.

I would recommend using about 50 kilograms for this exercise.

2. Smith Machine Squats

There is nothing wrong with a squat, unless it’s done without a band or a chain. What makes the Smith machine worse is that their squat is done without bands, chains, AND without any planes. Keeping the squat in one plane of motion severely limits the benefit to all leg muscles. It takes away the challenge of stabilizing throughout the movement. Those little stabilizer muscles get nothing out of a Smith machine squat.

A squat is vital in weightlifting and snatching 50 kilograms every day, but you want the challenge of having to stabilize the weight forward, backward, and side to side, not just up and down. Your squat should be able to move like the electric slide; if you do it right, you gotta feel it. It’s electric, but the Smith machine, alas, is not.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: Hang Snatch

A hang snatch is so electric, although some will say it’s mystic, and a movement you can’t resist. It is very electric, though, boogie woogie.

The hang snatch starts at the hips, dips down to the knees, then flies up as the hips shift forward and drive upward, and then the lifter drops under, catching the weight overhead, and then stabilizing on the way up. There is so much moving around going on!

The smith machine does not require nearly as much moving around, and is a futile exercise to have in your arsenal. If you want to snatch, use the hang snatch. Use 50kg at your own discretion for this challenge.

3. Leg Press

The leg press, like the Smith machine, severely limits the range of motion of the legs. Whereas the Smith machine excludes any sort of stabilization work, the leg press turns the range of motion into a quarter squat.

And you’re not even standing to do it.

The leg press is the lazy man’s movement, and laziness is going to get you nowhere in the #snatch50everydayprogram. There are many more movements better to get that leg strength built up.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: Power Snatch

If you are into quarter squats and leg presses, maybe a power snatch is for you. The power snatch is like a snatch, except you catch the weight high instead of at the bottom of an overhead squat. A lot of coaches and lifters say these power movements are to practice being explosive in the hips enough to catch weight higher, but I feel like that is just a likely excuse to not squat, and be a little lazy in a training session.

However, if you’re into partial movements, this might be the one for you. But just make sure you’re getting the most you can out of the movement: use 50 kilograms.

4. Wrist Curls

So you want to build up your forearms? Wrist curls have to work then, because just regular curls beefed up your workout bud’s biceps really well, right?

WRONG! There’s lot of moving parts in the wrist and forearm, and a lot of them are muscles. Trust me; I looked it up on WebMD awhile back. Also, I’ve been looking at my forearm while moving my hand around for the last ten minutes, and there is definitely a lot of moving stuff under the skin. Just saying.

The best thing to do to bulk up your forearm is to work on your grip and grip strength, and the wrist curl is too stationary a movement for that.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: Snatch Complex

Try a Snatch Pull – Snatch Pull – Snatch Pull – Snatch Pull – Power Snatch – Overhead Squat – Snatch Balance – Hang Snatch – Hang Snatch – Snatch Balance – Heaving Snatch Balance – Muscle Snatch – Snatch Pull – Hang Snatch – Power Snatch – Snatch w/ Pause at Knee – Snatch – Snatch – Snatch – Overhead Squat complex. If you hold onto and throw around a bar for ten minutes, you’re bound to improve your grip strength, along with all those moving muscles underneath your skin! I’d recommend starting with 50 kilograms, but you could use 110 pounds if you’re in a pinch.

If you feel this might be too challenging of a complex, try a Snatch Pull – Snatch Pull – Snatch Pull – Power Snatch – Overhead Squat – Snatch Balance – Hang Snatch – Hang Snatch – Snatch Balance – Heaving Snatch Balance – Muscle Snatch – Snatch Pull – Hang Snatch – Power Snatch – Snatch w/ Pause at Knee – Snatch – Snatch – Snatch – Overhead Squat complex instead.

5. Bench Press

Sure, the bench press might be a good upper body exercise, but really people do it so that if they are asked what their bench is, they have a respectable answer. I know when I tell people I weightlift, they will inevitably ask how much I bench, and I am ashamed to tell them my answer. To be able to abide by the #snatch50everydayprogram, I have to make sacrifices in my training. And the bench press is one of them.

Some might say it builds some upper body and pec strength, but really, outside of showing off, there’s not much use for a bench.

Plus, improper use of the bench press can get the shoulder involved much more than they should be and cause shoulder injuries: strains, tears, and, even worse, boo-boos. The bench can be debilitating to the snatching of 50 kilograms, and therefore isn’t really worth the risk.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: Muscle Snatch

The muscle snatch is a good snatch exercise that requires some muscles – hence the name. But particularly, the muscles can be the upper body. The bar is taken from the floor to overhead in one swift movement, like any snatch. However, the muscle snatch limits the movement to no squatting under the bar; once the legs are locked out, you have to rely on the momentum of the bar as well as your upper body to get that bar locked out overhead. This is a great alternative to the bench with that slight pressing motion at the top of the snatch, which becomes more and more exaggerated, the heavier you get on the movement.

As an added bonus, going too heavy on a muscle snatch can put a lot of stress on the shoulders, due to less momentum being generated from the legs. Done improperly, and a muscle snatch can be just as injurious to you as a bench press can!

So next time someone asks your bench, tell them you don’t bench: you muscle snatch!

Use 50 kilograms for this exercise.

6. Clean & Jerk

I know what you’re thinking. But writer, the clean & jerk is a competition lift, I have to do it if I want to be good! Wrong. You’re not going to improve your snatch by clean and jerking.

Sure the pulls are almost the same, and sure there are direct transfers between the two lifts in their explosiveness, but face it: they’re vastly different. Different names, for one.

But more importantly, the snatch is one smooth, fluid movement, almost a dance (electric). By contrast the clean & jerk is TWO smooth, fluid movements. You won’t be able to learn to snatch by doing a clean & jerk, simple as that.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: Snatch

When training for your competition clean & jerk, you should be snatching, and you should be snatching 50 kilograms. The snatch is the explosive culmination of an explosive amount of explosive strength. Don’t think of these as separate movements. Think of a clean and jerk as a snatch that you rest at the shoulders with. If you have ever seen my jerk grip, you know this is very much my mentality.

If you can start thinking this way, your lifts will hit the next level.

7. Literally Anything that Isn’t Snatching 50 Kilograms Every Day

A wise man once told me that to learn to play the piano, the best method was to play the piano. Practice makes perfect; it’s a golden rule of any sport. And it just lends itself that to learn something, you must practice and work at that activity.

Who was that wise man? Not sure. Probably @bestestlifter102folyfe.

The same can be said for lifting. To perfect a lift, you must dedicate time and effort to that movement. Anything that strays from that movement – is it really helping you? If you are an advocate of the #snatch50everydayprogram, you should be dedicating that time to your craft.

SNATCH 50 RECOMMENDS: #snatch50everydayprogram

Snatches. Every day. 50 kilos. This is the programming of magic. To perfect this movement and this weight, and all aspects and goals of your gym life, snatching 50 will help you get there. If you are serious about lifting, then this is how you get to where you want to be. Read more about the program here.

The snatch, particularly with 50 kilograms, is one of the most functional movements out there. It’s also one of the most versatile, as demonstrated throughout this article. The snatch and its variations can easily replace these seven exercises, along with countless others.

Maybe not donkey calf raises.

But most other exercises and movements out there, do a snatch instead. It’s great for you. And this website of weightlifting satire is dead serious: this program works. Hopefully you have learned something today.

Until next time, find some yellow 15s, and happy lifting!

Email us at caine@snatch50.com to suggest future article topics to Caine.