Tip: Master the One-Armed Snatch

Here's an explosive Olympic lifting variation you can do even in a busy gym.

The barbell power snatch is the most athletic of the Olympic lifts. Moving the bar from the ground to the overhead position in one fluid motion is awesome to watch and helps develop tremendous coordination. But the barbell snatch is tough to do in a busy commercial gym.

Do the dumbbell version instead. Changing the implement from a barbell to a dumbbell closely replicates the lift while delivering a few extra benefits that the traditional snatch can't give.

By switching implements you'll be challenged not as much by the weight lifted, but by the challenge it places on your core. At the start position (near mid-shin like the power snatch) you have to call on your core to keep you from rotating from center. Once the pull is complete and overhead, you'll need to minimize lateral flexion just as you would in a heavy waiter's walk.