I was talking to one of my uncle’s who has been working out for nearly 12 years now and he was telling me about the clean and jerk; proper technique etc. He then went on to say how I should start off doing dead-lifts to gain some more overall muscle mass before I do clean and jerk’s as there would be less risk of injury.
Just wondering if anyone else had some input on this, and whether anyone knows of an instructional video for proper technique of deadlifts/clean and jerks (I’ve searched around youtube/google, but since I don’t know what I’m looking for, I would be taking their “proper form” on faith)
There are several articles on proper deadlift form on this site just use the search. The clean and jerk is much more complicated and requires much more flexibility then the deadlift; and really only way you’ll ever have good technique is with a good coach.
In terms of clean and jerk vs deadlift, not sure what your getting at. What are your goals? The deadlift is a simpler exercise, and for a beginner you will get much more out of the deadlift then you will in the clean and jerk.
I agree with your uncle that you should just avoid the clean and jerk, unless your interested in sport of olympic weightlifting. You will gain more overall mass and strength faster from the deadlift.
Clean and Jerk is complicated. Your uncle is dead on. Start with deadlifts and train those for a while. I’d stay away from the Olympic lifts until you’ve been training for at least a year. The Olympic lifts are a great overall workout, but are complicated, and potentially dangerous. As for deadlifts, this site has loads of instructions. Keep your back flat when doing them, and most importantly lift with your LEGS, not your back, not your shoulder, and not your arms.
Do a search on this site, there are full articles dedicated to teaching both of these lifts. Some have videos, if you want a really good video for Oly lifts like power cleans, look for a Dan John video. He has written for this site as well if you want to browse his articles.
Deadlift is pretty easy to learn and it will likely become your strongest movement fast. Just make sure to back off if you feel sharp pains in your lower back and let them heal up before doing more. Lower back stiffness will def occure but more of the pain should move to the glutes and hamstring once you become used to the weight.
Power cleans are fun but very hard to get good form on, especially since its hard to find someone who can judge your form. Having a heavy dead however will help build your cofidence since the weight you can clean will be less than half of what you can dead lift. You could def start to learn this lift now though if you wanted to try to figure out the movement patern since it takes a while to pick up the basics anyway. Just use the bar with no weights or maybe even a PVC pipe.
[quote]shizen wrote:
There are several articles on proper deadlift form on this site just use the search. The clean and jerk is much more complicated and requires much more flexibility then the deadlift; and really only way you’ll ever have good technique is with a good coach.
In terms of clean and jerk vs deadlift, not sure what your getting at. What are your goals? The deadlift is a simpler exercise, and for a beginner you will get much more out of the deadlift then you will in the clean and jerk.
I agree with your uncle that you should just avoid the clean and jerk, unless your interested in sport of olympic weightlifting. You will gain more overall mass and strength faster from the deadlift. [/quote]
Alright, thanks for the advice of avoiding the clean and jerk.
And as to my goals, it is to gain more overall mass. I am also trying to work my legs, which I currently do not have a set plan for (I’m just starting). I can’t do squats as I workout at home with no rack, so my uncle told me that the deadlift would be a great alternative for legs (I’m just looking for even more opinions/suggestions).
[quote]shizen wrote:
There are several articles on proper deadlift form on this site just use the search. The clean and jerk is much more complicated and requires much more flexibility then the deadlift; and really only way you’ll ever have good technique is with a good coach.
In terms of clean and jerk vs deadlift, not sure what your getting at. What are your goals? The deadlift is a simpler exercise, and for a beginner you will get much more out of the deadlift then you will in the clean and jerk.
I agree with your uncle that you should just avoid the clean and jerk, unless your interested in sport of olympic weightlifting. You will gain more overall mass and strength faster from the deadlift. [/quote]
Alright, thanks for the advice of avoiding the clean and jerk.
And as to my goals, it is to gain more overall mass. I am also trying to work my legs, which I currently do not have a set plan for (I’m just starting). I can’t do squats as I workout at home with no rack, so my uncle told me that the deadlift would be a great alternative for legs (I’m just looking for even more opinions/suggestions).
-This may be a double, as my browser crashed trying to upload the first one-
I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s less risk of injury if you start with deadlifts, but deadlifts are absolutely fundamental to any strength training progress. It’s like the alphabet; you’ve got to learn it before you can learn how to use punctuation, but both are important in the long run.
So deadlift first, clean and/or jerk later (tackle them individually first), and you’ll be fine.
Charles Staley-approved clean and jerks: (the first video is Staley himself)
That should give you a general idea of it. It’s really two distinct exercises that should be addressed separately first. The clean and jerk (as one smooth unit) is one of the most challenging things you can do in the weight room.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
RebornTN wrote:He then went on to say how I should start off doing dead-lifts to gain some more overall muscle mass before I do clean and jerk’s as there would be less risk of injury.
I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s less risk of injury if you start with deadlifts, but deadlifts are absolutely fundamental to any strength training progress. It’s like the alphabet; you’ve got to learn it before you can learn how to use punctuation, but both are important in the long run.
So deadlift first, clean and/or jerk later (tackle them individually first), and you’ll be fine.
Just wondering if anyone else had some input on this, and whether anyone knows of an instructional video for proper technique of deadlifts/clean and jerks (I’ve searched around youtube/google, but since I don’t know what I’m looking for, I would be taking their “proper form” on faith)
Charles Staley-approved clean and jerks: (the first video is Staley himself)
That should give you a general idea of it. It’s really two distinct exercises that should be addressed separately first. The clean and jerk (as one smooth unit) is one of the most challenging things you can do in the weight room.
[quote]StolyElit wrote:
Do a search on this site, there are full articles dedicated to teaching both of these lifts. Some have videos, if you want a really good video for Oly lifts like power cleans, look for a Dan John video. He has written for this site as well if you want to browse his articles.
Deadlift is pretty easy to learn and it will likely become your strongest movement fast. Just make sure to back off if you feel sharp pains in your lower back and let them heal up before doing more. Lower back stiffness will def occure but more of the pain should move to the glutes and hamstring once you become used to the weight.
Power cleans are fun but very hard to get good form on, especially since its hard to find someone who can judge your form. Having a heavy dead however will help build your cofidence since the weight you can clean will be less than half of what you can dead lift. You could def start to learn this lift now though if you wanted to try to figure out the movement patern since it takes a while to pick up the basics anyway. Just use the bar with no weights or maybe even a PVC pipe.[/quote]
Do I need to worry about imbalance-issues with the dead-lift? Like I know that if you bench a lot then you should do back work, but is there an opposite for dead-lifting?
–Is that what the other post was referring to with the military press?
The Oly lifts are the bomb because of how complicated they are. You can break down a clean and jerk into its parts:
deadlift, front squat, jerk.
You can break break the jerk down to push press and then down to shoulder press.
The point being to learn the constituent exercises on their own before doing the Oly lifts.
But, you can practice the Oly lifts with just a PVC pipe.
Also, you’ll need bumper plates for the Oly lifts. You will dump the bar sooner or later. Until you get there: Do deadlifts, front squats and overhead press.
Without a rack, you should probably learn how to clean, just so you can add front squats in as one or your core lifts to go along with your deadlifts. Its not that hard to learn, and just watch every video you can find and read every article you can find on it. Practice it, starting light, then work up with weight as you build confidence.
Front squats are a good balance for deadlifting to as they are a more quad dominant movement, and the deadlift is more hip/glute/lower back. You won’t run into any structural balance issues though if you just deadlift, it is just nice to have another core lift you can base a workout around.
If you feel like spending some money, I would recommend their Olympic Weightlifting Seminar DVD. I purchased it myself and it is a pretty good beginners intro to the basics and a lot of other technique issues that you probably won’t be able to pick out of a video unless you are looking for them.
[quote]theuofh wrote:
Without a rack, you should probably learn how to clean, just so you can add front squats in as one or your core lifts to go along with your deadlifts. Its not that hard to learn, and just watch every video you can find and read every article you can find on it. Practice it, starting light, then work up with weight as you build confidence.
Front squats are a good balance for deadlifting to as they are a more quad dominant movement, and the deadlift is more hip/glute/lower back. You won’t run into any structural balance issues though if you just deadlift, it is just nice to have another core lift you can base a workout around.
If you feel like spending some money, I would recommend their Olympic Weightlifting Seminar DVD. I purchased it myself and it is a pretty good beginners intro to the basics and a lot of other technique issues that you probably won’t be able to pick out of a video unless you are looking for them. [/quote]
Nice website there, I could use a lot of those video’s as guide’s. I was wondering though if you mean using the front squats as it’s own workout, on its own day. Or if you are suggesting augmenting a dead-lift day with it?
[quote]skw wrote:
The Oly lifts are the bomb because of how complicated they are. You can break down a clean and jerk into its parts:
deadlift, front squat, jerk.
You can break break the jerk down to push press and then down to shoulder press.
The point being to learn the constituent exercises on their own before doing the Oly lifts.
But, you can practice the Oly lifts with just a PVC pipe.
Also, you’ll need bumper plates for the Oly lifts. You will dump the bar sooner or later. Until you get there: Do deadlifts, front squats and overhead press. [/quote]
Oly lift’s would be the dead-lift, front squats, and jerk? Or is there a more complicated maneuver using these lifts that is considered “Oly lift’s”? Not quite sure what you guys mean with this.
On another note, I’m going to integrate the dead-lift/front-squats/overhead press into my workout ASAP.
You don’t need to do all the lifts in each workout. You can just do 1 movement per workout. Make sure you front squat with your elbows up and finger tips under the bar. Don’t do the arms crossed way.
[quote]skw wrote:
There are two Oly lifts: Clean & jerk and Snatch.
Watch the videos on youtube on Oly lifts.
Snatch is overhead squat dominant.
You don’t need to do all the lifts in each workout. You can just do 1 movement per workout. Make sure you front squat with your elbows up and finger tips under the bar. Don’t do the arms crossed way. [/quote]
Alright thanks for the tips so far. Might I ask what the benefit of the elbow and finger front squat is in comparison to the arms crossed method?
[quote]RebornTN wrote:
skw wrote:
There are two Oly lifts: Clean & jerk and Snatch.
Watch the videos on youtube on Oly lifts.
Snatch is overhead squat dominant.
You don’t need to do all the lifts in each workout. You can just do 1 movement per workout. Make sure you front squat with your elbows up and finger tips under the bar. Don’t do the arms crossed way.
Alright thanks for the tips so far. Might I ask what the benefit of the elbow and finger front squat is in comparison to the arms crossed method?[/quote]
develop flexability and get used to having the bar there.
[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
RebornTN wrote:
skw wrote:
There are two Oly lifts: Clean & jerk and Snatch.
Watch the videos on youtube on Oly lifts.
Snatch is overhead squat dominant.
You don’t need to do all the lifts in each workout. You can just do 1 movement per workout. Make sure you front squat with your elbows up and finger tips under the bar. Don’t do the arms crossed way.
Alright thanks for the tips so far. Might I ask what the benefit of the elbow and finger front squat is in comparison to the arms crossed method?
develop flexability and get used to having the bar there.[/quote]
Make’s sense. Is it necessary to have those huge Olympic plates when deadlifting?
I notice he say’s its standard amount of space from the floor to the bar, but is this for competition purposes or will I risk injury from using smaller plastic filled with concrete weights?
[quote]RebornTN wrote:
zephead4747 wrote:
RebornTN wrote:
skw wrote:
There are two Oly lifts: Clean & jerk and Snatch.
Watch the videos on youtube on Oly lifts.
Snatch is overhead squat dominant.
You don’t need to do all the lifts in each workout. You can just do 1 movement per workout. Make sure you front squat with your elbows up and finger tips under the bar. Don’t do the arms crossed way.
Alright thanks for the tips so far. Might I ask what the benefit of the elbow and finger front squat is in comparison to the arms crossed method?
develop flexability and get used to having the bar there.
Make’s sense. Is it necessary to have those huge Olympic plates when deadlifting?
I notice he say’s its standard amount of space from the floor to the bar, but is this for competition purposes or will I risk injury from using smaller plastic filled with concrete weights?[/quote]
injury is doubtful. I would still get oly plates asap.
