A few Questions

I’m new to the site and am being swamped with tons of valuable information. I play many sports but am training for university rugby this fall. I want to start doing some olympic lifts and have read most of the articles related to these lifts.

  1. The Overhead Squat is recommended as an exercise to help with the snactch. I tried doing it with a 15 pound bar and found it really hit and hurt the lower back, is that how it should feel or am I lacking form or enough flexibility to do it properly. I just recently started training my rotator cuffs. Would these help? When I go down I have a slight forward lean as I have when I do a back squat. Is this the proper alignment as you only really see frontal pics of the overheard squat and not side views.

  2. I also came across a post regarding ankle flexibilty and how flexible ankles would help you with these lifts. What kind of exercises can I incorporate for more ankle flexibility.

  3. Lastly I have read about westside and the posterior chain. I already have done the deadlift variations for a while and am going to start incorporating good mornings as well. What exercises can I use for the hip flexors or are these included in the Dead and GM.

Sorry for the long post but I am eagre to ditch the menshealth style training for some more serious training. This site has been a true eye opener and thank you in advance for your help.

CrazyCanuck

This will be short, but you can PM me for more details. I play university rugby also, and since no one else has decided to take a stab at this, I will. Welcome to T-Nation.

[quote]CrazyCanuck wrote:
I’m new to the site and am being swamped with tons of valuable information. I play many sports but am training for university rugby this fall. I want to start doing some olympic lifts and have read most of the articles related to these lifts.

  1. The Overhead Squat is recommended as an exercise to help with the snactch. I tried doing it with a 15 pound bar and found it really hit and hurt the lower back, is that how it should feel or am I lacking form or enough flexibility to do it properly. I just recently started training my rotator cuffs. Would these help? When I go down I have a slight forward lean as I have when I do a back squat. Is this the proper alignment as you only really see frontal pics of the overheard squat and not side views.
    [/quote]
    You most likely are lacking form and flexibility. Olympic lifts are HARD to learn properly. Don’t get discouraged. Try to keep your chest “big” and also what helped me a lot is to pick a spot high up on the wall or ceiling to keep my eyes focused on. The flexibility will come, but only by working at it.

A nationally ranked Oly-lifter showed me a stretch that has helped my ankle/achilles flexibility. Drop into a olympic style squat (non-weighted). Concentrate on pulling your butt underneath you, keeping your chest out, your torso upright, and your head up. Put your elbows inside your knees and press out. Hold this position, all the while trying to force yourself more and more upright. Keep your weight balanced over the middle of your foot, and don’t let your heels or toes come off the ground.

I wouldn’t worry about specifically hip flexors. They get plenty of work with sprinting, which I assume you’ll be doing plenty of. You can incorporate full hanging pikes however.

For posterior chain, in addition to the dead and GM, I would recommend dumbell pull throughs, one armed snatch, reverse lunges, natural glute ham raises, and high pulls.

Side lunges and cross-under lunges will also help with power in lateral movements.

[quote]
Sorry for the long post but I am eagre to ditch the menshealth style training for some more serious training. This site has been a true eye opener and thank you in advance for your help.

CrazyCanuck[/quote]

If you are looking for a hell of a training program, look at Christian Thibadeau’s Athletic Pendulum article. Good luck with everything, keep posting.

RIT Jared