Olympic Lifting 101
Many
athletes and coaches wonder about implementing Olympic lifting into their
programs, but may not know why or how to teach them. The following
article will help to clear up any confusion that exists with the Olympic lifts,
and how to teach them effectively.
The
Olympic Lifts
The sport of Olympic lifting is comprised of two lifts: the snatch and
clean & jerk. These lifts are both tests of power and strength and require
a great amount of technical expertise. In the snatch, the athlete must
move the bar from the floor to an overhead position. In the clean &
jerk, the athlete must first move the bar from the floor to the shoulders, and
then from the shoulders to an overhead position. Judges indicate whether
or not the lift is successful.
Strength
coaches use a variety of different techniques to improve athleticism.
They may employ techniques from bodybuilding, powerlifting, physical therapy,
pre-habilitation, track & field, and Olympic weightlifting. The
key detail to remember is that you are developing athletes and not Olympic
weightlifters; therefore, it's important to think of the Olympic lifts as just
a few tools in your toolbox that can be used to to aid in the development of
your athletes.
Benefits
for Athletes
Arthur Drechsler, author of The
Weightlifting Encyclopedia, the single most important book ever written on
Olympic weightlifting, hit the nail on the head when he wrote of the unique
value of the Olympic lifts for athletes. Drechsler listed eight benefits
unavailable to those using machines (1):
1.
Practicing the (Olympic) lifts [the snatch and the clean & jerk as well as
related lifting techniques] teaches an athlete how to explode.
2.
Practicing proper technique in the Olympic lifts teaches an athlete to apply
force with his or her muscle groups in the proper sequences.
3. In
mastering the Olympic lifts, the athlete learns how to accelerate objects under
varying degrees of resistance.
4. The
athlete learns to receive force from another moving body effectively, and
becomes conditioned to accept such forces.
5. The
athlete learns to move effectively from an eccentric to concentric muscle
action.
6. The
actual movements performed while executing the Olympic lifts are among the most
common and fundamental in sports.
7.
Practicing the Olympic lifts trains an athlete’s explosive capabilities, and
the lifts themselves measure the effectiveness of the athlete in generating
explosive power to a greater degree than most other exercises they can
practice.
8. The
Olympic lifts are simply fun to do.
Many
different coaches disagree on whether athletes should perform the Olympic lifts
the classic style (from the floor) or from the hang position (slightly above
the knees). Both starting positions have their benefits, but the hang
position seems to be suitable for all athletes, especially taller athletes who
do not possess the best body types for the sport of Olympic
weightlifting. The hang position is easier to teach and you do not
encounter the flexibility issues that become readily apparent when one performs
the lifts from the floor. Another benefit of performing the lifts
from the hang is that this is the position from which most athletes most commonly
apply force; the classic "athletic position" is characterized by the
feet under the hips, knees slightly bent, and butt back. Very rarely are
athletes required to produce force with a deep knee bend (as is encountered
with the classical style of Olympic weightlifting). This deep squat
position is, however, highly specific to football linemen, baseball and
softball catchers, and rowers. Nonetheless, the following teaching
progressions will be based on the hang position.
Snatch
Progression
1. Starting Position
The starting position for the snatch and the clean are identical.
The athlete begins in the power position, which is feet hip-width apart and a
slight bend in the knees. The grip that we will initially teach is the
clean grip, which is an overhand, closed, shoulder-width
grip. The traditional snatch grip is usually taught once the
athlete knows how to perform both the snatch and clean. The reason I
recommend teaching the clean grip first is that it will emphasize getting
maximal hip extension, because the bar will have to travel a greater distance
as a result of the closer grip. Also, the clean grip will help to
reinforce the grip for the clean and the jerk.
2. Picking up the Bar
This is one of the most important details in learning the Olympic
lifts. Picking up a bar and putting down a bar incorrectly can lead to
injuries, so it is imperative that you teach your athletes the proper
techniques in this regard. The athlete must pick the bar up with a tight,
flat back with the shoulders blades squeezed together. This will help to
provide support to the spine and lower back. Do not let your athletes get
lazy with this technique. They should use the same technique regardless
if they are picking the bar up from the floor, blocks, or training trays.
The next step in the progression is to teach hip separation, a term that I
learned from strength coach Chris West. This term is used to describe
separating the trunk from the hips. Trunk flexion/extension is completely
different than hip flexion/extension. When performing the Olympic lifts
from the hang, we initially want to get hip separation by performing hip
flexion by pushing the hips back to stretch the glutes and hamstrings.
This pre-stretch will allow a greater contraction of these muscles, when they
are recruited.
Getting back to hip separation, the exercise used to teach this is the Romanian
deadlift (RDL). As mentioned before, this exercise is used to stretch the
hamstrings and glutes. To accomplish this stretch, keep a slight knee
bend, tight flat back, and initiate the movement by pushing the hips
back. The bar should slide down the athlete’s thighs. A good
teaching cue is to tell the athlete that they should attempt to push their
weight onto their heels, or to try and touch their butt to the other side of
the room. As a coach, you should be watching to see if their hips backward;
if they don't, the athlete is simply bending at their trunk and not the hips,
and no hip separation is occurring.
Good
RDL Bad RDL
4. Jump Shrug
This next step in the progression is used to teach the athlete to keep their
arms straight and maximally use the lower body to accomplish the
movement. Begin the exercise in an upright position, and then perform a
RDL to the top of the knees. As soon as the bar reaches the athlete's
knees, he should explosively jump as high as possible by pushing the feet into
the ground and driving the hips forward. At the top of the jump, the
athlete should shrug their shoulders straight up. The arms should be kept
straight through the entire movement.
This exercise is used to teach the athlete to keep the bar close to the
body during the pull portion. The movement is similar to the Jump
Shrug. The main difference is that the athlete will now use their arms at
the top of the movement and explosively pull the bar up to the chin after triple
extension of the ankles, knees, and hips has occurred. The athlete does
not have to jump during the exercise; they should simply rise to their toes as
the arms begin to pull. Again, watch to make sure that the arms are
straight until triple extension has occurred, and the bar stays close to the
body.
6.
Overhead Squat
The overhead squat is great for teaching the catch position. It is
very important to make the athlete comfortable with the bar overhead; just as
importantly, this exercise develops movement-specific torso stability to
maintain the bar overhead while keeping the arms straight. The athlete
should move his feet out to a “strength position,” which a stance outside of
shoulder-width. The arms should be straight overhead with the bar
slightly behind the head. A good teaching cue is that the biceps of the
arms should be even with the ears. The athlete then should descend into a
squat by initiating the movement by pushing the hips back and bending the
knees.
7. Snatch
The final step in the progression is to put all the steps together in a
cohesive movement. The athlete begins with the feet under the hips,
shoulders back, and a slight bend in the knees. He then pushes the hips
back until the bar reaches the top of the knees. The athlete then jumps
as high as possible; at the top of the jump he violently shrugs his shoulders
and pulls the bar up overhead, all the while keeping it close to his
body. As the feet hit the ground, they should be moving to a point where
they are slightly outside the shoulders; the arms are straight, punching into
the bar overhead. The bar should then be brought down to the shoulders
and then lowered back to the thighs for the next repetition.
Progression
for Clean
Since the snatch was taught with a shoulder width grip, the initial
steps are all the same to teach the clean. This is why I prefer to teach
the snatch first.
1.
Front Squat
The Front Squat is the catch position for the clean. The athletes’
feet are slightly wider than shoulder width apart and the bar begins at
shoulder level. The elbows should be held high (ideally the upper arm
should be parallel to the floor), and pointing straight ahead. The bar
should rest on the shoulders, and not in the hand. The hands are simply
there so that the bar is not dropped. Some athletes’ will experience some
discomfort through the wrists due to inflexibility, but they should be
encouraged that it is common and they will get past it. One particular
stretch that is effective is a behind the back prayer stretch. Attempt to
close your hands together behind your back, as shown in the picture
below. Begin the movement by pushing the hips back and bending at the
knees to a point where the upper thigh is parallel to the floor. The
athlete must get used to catching the bar on the shoulders and not in the
hands.
2. Clean
The clean begins in the same manner as the snatch. The athlete begins
with his feet under the hips, shoulders back, and a slight bend in the
knees. The athlete then pushes his hips back until the bar reaches the
top of the knees, and immediately thereafter jumps as high as possible.
At the top of the jump, he violently shrugs his shoulders and pulls the bar up
his body. As the feet hit the ground, they should be moving out to a
point where they are slightly outside shoulder-width; the arms should be
rotating under the bar until it rests on the shoulders. The bar should be
brought down to the thighs in a controlled manner to reset prior to the next
repetition.
Progression
for Jerk
Once the snatch and clean have been taught, the jerk is quite easy to
learn, as it combines a few of the techniques from the former two exercises.
One begins
in the catch position of the clean; the bar is on the shoulders and the elbows
are held high. The finish of the jerk is an overhead position similar to
the snatch. How the bar gets from the shoulders to overhead is a little
different. Moving the hips back and simultaneously bending the knees
creates a pre-stretch of the hip and knee extensors to initiate the
movement. The athlete then violently jumps up and moves the feet out
while the bar is traveling overhead. The athlete should imagine punching
his hands into the bar to finish in an overhead position. A helpful cue
for the jerk is to “dip & drive;” the dip is short and fast, and
facilitates the drive portion of the lift. The keys to the dip are to
make sure the heels stay flat and the hips move slightly back to engage the
glutes.
Start
for
Jerk Good
Dip 
Bad Dip Jerk
Finish
(i.e. snatch & jerk: feet land at the same time the arms are straight and
overhead; clean: bar hits shoulders at the same time the feet land)
Variations & Alternatives
I explained the basic Olympic lifts exclusively with a barbell from the
hang, but that does not mean this is the only way to perform the lifts.
There are a number of variations that are listed below:
1. 1-Arm DB Snatch/Clean/Jerk
2.
2-Arm DB Snatch/Clean/Jerk
3.
1-Arm DB Rotational Snatch/Clean
4. Alt.
1-Arm DB Rotational Snatch/Clean
5.
1-Arm BB Snatch/Clean/Jerk
6. BB
Split Snatch/Clean/Jerk
7.
1-Leg DB/BB Snatch/Clean/Jerk
8.
1-Arm/1-Leg DB/BB Snatch/Clean/Jerk
The above examples can be combined to make very interesting exercises and
challenge an athlete. These especially come in handy with athletes who
may be injured and therefore unable to perform the regular Olympic lifts.
All are means to the same end in terms of using the Olympic lifts for athletes;
each trains individuals to increase rate of force production, or explosive
power.
Coaches
must feel comfortable performing and teaching the Olympic lifts prior to
recommending them to athletes. Nonetheless, even if you still do not have
confidence in teaching these lifts, there are alternatives. Many
plyometric exercises (such as box jumps) can be used in place of the Olympic
lifts. Other alternatives include medicine ball throws that emphasize
triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips. Some examples are listed
below:
1. MB Clean & Jerk (throw ball straight up)
2. MB Scoop Throw (throw ball straight up, underhand)
3. MB Overback Throw (throw ball behind head)
4. MB Shot Putt (throw ball horizontally forward)
Conclusion
Implementing the Olympic lifts into your athletes’ programs can make a
huge difference in improving their power, athleticism, and confidence.
They teach the athlete how to functionally use their entire body to produce
force into the ground; load their hips; balance; and coordinate complex
movement schemes. Use the Olympic lifts as one of the many tools in your
toolbox. Remember that the goal is to make a stronger, powerful,
injury-resistant athlete, not an Olympic lifter. The lifts should be used
in conjunction with a solid program emphasizing all the other parameters of
sport performance.
Drechsler, A. The Weightlifting Encyclopedia. A is A Communications,
Brijesh Patel, MA, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (NSCA) and USA Weightlifting Club Coach (USAW), has been a Strength & Conditioning Coach at the collegiate level since 2000. Currently employed at the College of the Holy Cross, Brijesh has also worked with Mike Boyle at his professional facility in Massachusetts, the University of Connecticut, and with the Worcester Ice Cats of the AHL (American Hockey League). Brijesh has trained a variety of athletes ranging from middle school to the professional and Olympic levels. Brijesh has been published in magazines and has presented on the regional level.
Check out his website at www.sbcoachescollege.com
To contact Brijesh email him at brijesh@sbcoachescollege.com
The articles at GolfFitnessProducts.net are for informational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for direct examination and exercise prescription by the appropriate health professional. It is strongly recommended that you do not perform any exercise program without the consent of your personal physician.
