I am an aspiring powerlifter but I also take an interest in olympic lifting. I don’t have a desire to compete in it however I would like to build some power and burn some fat. I enjoy powerlifting but i want to be athletic enough to still play baasketball football work on my parkour ect… So my question is, as a beginning casual oly lifter what excercises would u suggest and is it really nessecary to learn from a professional or would u guys say its safe to teach myself using youtube and articles on thsite?
I think the most important thing is that you have to have feedback on your lifts, that means recording them or asking someone knowledgeable to watch you lift.
Fwaaaark mate, of course you can teach your self. Don’t listen to those dickheads that make out that Oly lifting is so hard its nearly impossible to do, that’s bull shit. The main thing to remember with Oly lifting is that its about using technique along with strength to move the weight in the most efficient way possible to complete the required lift.
If your gonna do it for training than as paper clip says, post vids and get feedback on your form, if you want to compete later than get some coaching as you will be going up against people who are doing this for more than staying fit, they want to beat your ass so they will perfect each lift as much as they can. So many faggots say Oly lifting shouldn’t be done without coaching …PFFFFT, tell them to harden the fuck up and do it. You won’t learn how to perfect any lift without doing it.
JUST REMEMBER TO USE COMMON SENSE, DON’T TRY TO SET RECORD LIFTS UNTIL YOU HAVE THE LIFT DOWN PAT AND CONSISTENT.
I don’t think you really need to find a coach if you are just using O’Lifts to supplement your current training. That being said, do some research, get the general idea of the movement and practice with light weights. You can get someone in the know-how to correct you or give you pointers, there are plenty of guys on these forums who would be more than capable. I also find that filming myself when practicing KravMaga allows me to pick up on things that I am doing incorrectly but would otherwise not notice unless I saw it from a third-person perspective.And as said above don’t be stupid and try to move heavy until you have decent form.
My opinion is that if you can get a coach, that will have you learn the lifts faster. You can learn without a coach, but it will take longer. It doesn’t really matter what you do, you can learn lifts either way, whether you learn them for competing or for general fitness. And, don’t listen to people who say that if you’re not planning on competing then coaching is not necessary.
Coaching is a personal choice. Some people learn the lifts without planning on competing, but then want to compete. However, by then, you have built in bad habits that the coach then has to remove. I always recommend getting a coach, but sometimes that is not possible. In Maryland, you should be able to find a coach willing to teach you. Go to USAW’s website and look up clubs.
If you are going to self teach yourself make sure you learn how to lose the weight before you learn how to lift it. Its not fun having a heavy ass snatch over your head then having it drop on your back/neck/face etc. because you don’t know how to lose the weight properly behind your back. I self taught myself in Afghanistan this year. Its easier than people think.
[quote]T11 wrote:
If you are going to self teach yourself make sure you learn how to lose the weight before you learn how to lift it. Its not fun having a heavy ass snatch over your head then having it drop on your back/neck/face etc. because you don’t know how to lose the weight properly behind your back. I self taught myself in Afghanistan this year. Its easier than people think. [/quote]
Ok then, lets see some video evidence of how easy weightlifting is…
To the op, You can learn yourself, by that I mean it is possible but your life will be so much easier lifting with a coach and/or training with experienced lifters. If you have no access to these you can upload videos and get critique, you just have to be prepared for slower progress and the building of a fair amount of patience.
Good luck!