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Learning to (Olympic)Weightlift on your own

tim290280

tim290280

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Hi All,
I found this on BB.com and thought I'd repost it here. It isn't exactly what I have used, but aspects are close. Plus the videos are very handy for those wanting to learn to snatch and clean and jerk correctly.

For more videos of excellent technique see this page: http://www.aceathlete.com/hatch/video.htm

Phase 1

Body Weight Squats

This is pretty straight forward, but here are a couple things to keep in mind. Start with your stance shoulder width and you toes pointed out slightly. Your knees must be able to move out to the side (follow your toes) this necessary for your hips to rotate correctly. If you keep your toes and knees pointed forward, you will not be able to squat all the way down. Try to think of sitting between your heels. You want to work on finding the most comfortable and deep position. This will involve changing your stance width, and changing the angle of your feet, until you are comfortable sitting in the squat position. You should look up a little, keep your back straight or arched, and I like to hold my arms out for counter balance. Feel free to adjust your stance between reps if needed, and also pause at the bottom to get comfortable with it.





Snatch Deadlift

Take a wide grip on the bar, look forward, arch your back, and pull your shoulder blades in a little. The first part of the movement will be the hips pushing back, your legs straightening, and your back angle remaining constant. Once the bar has passed your knees, push your hips forward, while straightening your torso. Remember your knees should be getting out of the way of the bar. Don't move the bar ahead of you to clear the knees. Start with a slow tempo, and gradually increase the speed of the second pull.





Drop Snatch

Take the bar out of the racks like you would with a back squat. Move your hands into the snatch grip position. (This will be a spacing that allows the bar to be held 12-20cm over your head.) Personally I take a grip that is roughly double biacromonial width so as not to be too wide but not too narrow to limit the mobility. Now push the bar over your head and squat down. It may be helpful to pause in the bottom position to build stability. The goal, over time, is to push very little with the legs, and to drop under the bar faster. Ideally you want to only use a toe raise to push the bar slightly, and drop all the way to the bottom to catch it.





Clean Deadlift

Use the same procedure as the snatch deadlift except use a narrow grip. Use a grip that will allow you to hold the bar at your shoulders, with your hands outside of your shoulders.





Overhead Lunges

Push the bar over your head using the clean grip. Take a long step out, and kneel down until your back knee is almost on the floor. Pause for a second and return to the start. Now repeat with your other leg. While you are at it, try to figure out which leg is more stable in the forward position. (In the video you will note that I am much more stable with the left foot forward.) This will be the leg you will put forward in the jerk. Follow a moderate tempo with these, and keep the back tight.





Front Squats

Take the bar out of the rack with it resting on the front of your shoulders. Your hands should be under the bar, in the clean position. Use the stance you established in the body weight squat exercise. Arch your back, look up slightly, and squat down. Keep your elbows up, so that they do not touch your knees. Go as low as you can and pause for a second before standing up.





Flexibility will generally be an issue, especially in the ankles and wrists. Hamstrings and hip flexors are often a problem too. If you cannot get into the proper positions, then you should stretch before your workout. You may have heard that stretching before a workout will reduce your strength. This is not an issue because the goal is to learn proper movement patterns. Stretching afterwards and on off days will also be helpful.

I recommend doing many sets with a light to moderate weight. This will allow for a good amount of practice. If you want to do lower reps, just make sure you do a total of 30 for each exercise. Follow this routine 3 days a week for 3 weeks. Start out using just the bar. Only increase the weight when you can perform an exercise correctly.

Most of the credit goes to http://forum.bodybuilding.com/member.php?u=70704
 
tim290280

tim290280

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Phase 2

Snatch High Pull

This movement is like the deadlift, however you will finish with a shrug and toe raise. Keep your arms straight until you are at full extension. This is a very important thing to learn now. After you've reached full extension, bend the arms and let the weight continue upwards. Do not perform this lift explosively at the beginning. This may sound strange, but remember that you are learning positions.





Hip Snatch

Deadlift the bar with a snatch grip. Now lower it slightly, pull into full extension (keeping the arms straight), and then pull yourself under the bar. This will be awkward at first, but it is one of the best drills for learning the snatch. Start light and make sure you hit the bottom position quickly on each rep.





Clean High Pull

Follow the same advice for Snatch High Pull.





Flip Clean

Deadlift the bar with a clean grip. Without lowering the bar, perform a simultaneous shrug and toe raise. This will elevate the bar only slightly and will force you to squat down and catch it. Be sure to catch the bar with it resting on your shoulders. Also keep your back tight and look up slightly in the bottom position.





Rack Jerk

Set the bar in the squat rack. Take the bar out of the racks with a clean grip, and the bar resting on your shoulders. Remember which foot should be going forward as established in the overhead lunges. DO NOT ALTERNATE FOOT POSITIONS. Now dip down (about a quarter squat distance), and immediately drive straight upwards. As soon as the bar leaves your shoulders, split your feet front and back, so you end up in the same position as the lunges. If you have to press the weight out to lock your arms, it is too heavy. A pressout is against the rules in weightlifting. You must learn to get into a deep slit to catch the weight.





Back squats

Use the same movement as the bodyweight squats, except with the bar on your back. Resist the urge to use a lot of weight. It may seem embarrassing to be using only the bar to squat. However it is vital for a weightlifter to squat all the way to the bottom. Remember that your current training is all about learning positions.





You can continue the Phase 1 workout, alternating with Phase 2. So Mon. would be Phase 2, Wed. would be Phase 1, Fri. Phase 2. Always start light until you feel comfortable, and you are performing the lift properly.
 
PrinceVegeta

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Nice find Timbo
 
kn609

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This article is really helpful for me, thanks!
One question, when doing the jerk, after the leg split when you're returning your feet to be inline with each other, is it okay to step backwards or is it a must to step forward?
 
tim290280

tim290280

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^^ I can't remember which is the way coaches prefer. I think it is to move the weight onto the front leg slightly to allow the trailing leg, which is in the weakest recovery position, forward then to move the front leg back and then bring the feet in level.

It makes sense but isn't the immediate way that you want to do it. Worth practicing as I've found that a good split will require a good recovery.
 
Skeptic

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Bump! Came in lookin for the vids and they gone! haha
 
tim290280

tim290280

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Just take the link and paste it behind this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

I tried to edit but it looks like I need to redo the entire thread, including rearranging posts. I'll probably redo it later as a new thread.
 

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