Olympic Lifts

I’m considering getting into the Olympic lifts (clean and jerk/snatch). I’ve never done them before, but I’ve been lifting for a while, so in a sense I’m new to this.

My first (of probably many eventually) question is if I can simply try to start with the lifts themselves, or if I should do certain exercises before I try them, to get my body used to the motions?

Most of the exercises basically seem to just be certain parts of the lift isolated and repeated. I would think doing this would help me toss around more weight when I actually got started with the real lifts, but I would think just starting light and staying with it would eventually have the same result.

You guys have any ideas?

my advice would be to try the movements with a broomstick a few times before goin to the empty bar. just 3-5 times and then the empty bar and start light until you get the movements down. the motions require a lot of quick power and if something is off you can tweak something pretty easily. start with a hanging clean/snatch which is where you take out the deadlift part of the lift. instead of starting from the floor, you start with your arms hanging so the bar is a little bit above your knees.
i worked with the olympic weight lifting coach jim schmitz and that is what he had me do, worked great, it really helped my form. just dont get cocky like i did, i did one wrong lift with max weight and gave myself the beginnings of a hernia.

i love that more people are getting into olympic lifting!
happy lifting
Kasomak

[quote]Kasomak wrote:
my advice would be to try the movements with a broomstick a few times before goin to the empty bar. just 3-5 times and then the empty bar and start light until you get the movements down. the motions require a lot of quick power and if something is off you can tweak something pretty easily. start with a hanging clean/snatch which is where you take out the deadlift part of the lift. instead of starting from the floor, you start with your arms hanging so the bar is a little bit above your knees.
i worked with the olympic weight lifting coach jim schmitz and that is what he had me do, worked great, it really helped my form. just dont get cocky like i did, i did one wrong lift with max weight and gave myself the beginnings of a hernia.

i love that more people are getting into olympic lifting!
happy lifting
Kasomak[/quote]

Thank you!

Not to try to sap you for information… ok ok, I’m a liar… my goal is to learn as much as possible…

anyway, how often would you suggest training the O’s? Both on the same day or split, etc?

Also, how critical would you say assistance exercises are? My main goal is to get my body to work more harmoniously, I’d really like to toss out as many isolation movements as possible.

http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-003-training

http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-059-training

This articles should help you get started, I also would start working with hang cleans then move on to power cleans, also try one arm-snatches which are a lot easier to learn than a full snatch.

I would say make sure you have the fexibility and technique down for performing front and overhead squats with proper depth and form first before bothering to try to learn the lifts. If you’ve tended in the past to do front squats with the “bodybuilder” rack position, then it may take a few weeks of stretching/practice to get the olympic rack comfortable and second nature. With the ohead squats you should start with a broomstick or empty bar. As you get down into the hole you will be surprised at how weak and unstable you are at first. It shouldn’t take too many weeks though before you can get a (relatively) decent ohead squat up though, assuming you have a base.

[quote]poolcook wrote:
http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-003-training

http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-059-training

This articles should help you get started, I also would start working with hang cleans then move on to power cleans, also try one arm-snatches which are a lot easier to learn than a full snatch.[/quote]

Thanks!

yeah man get into the olys, it’s like crack.

I second the “do fronts and OH squats.”

If you can’t OHS it you will have a bitch of a time snathcing it. and if you break your fingers racking a weight… that would suck.

Also, hook grip everything, chinups, DL’s, lunch box, penis… everything.

I also suggest doing big push press, snatch grip behind the neck press (in case you have to recover a snatch that you cant throw away), DL high pulls for speed.

Lots of overhead supplementary shoulder stuff helped me be able to hold those snatches. good luck.

-chris

By all means, go to the official USAW site HERE:

http://www.msbn.tv/usavision/displayPage.aspx?id=730

–find a registered club near you, and get somebody to teach you proper technique. You can still get some benefit out of the lifts by trying to figure them out on your own, but pretty much everyone who tries this–no matter how bright or talented they are–misses some important point that a good coach could have fixed, and spends a lot of time relearning it properly later.

Even if you don’t want to compete, it’s good to have the technique down, and you may some pretty strong people lifting there, which is always inspiring not matter what you’re lifting for.

[quote]etaco wrote:
I would say make sure you have the fexibility and technique down for performing front and overhead squats with proper depth and form first before bothering to try to learn the lifts. [/quote]

yes, flexibility is huge. if you are flexible enough, it makes it A LOT easier! if you dont do front squats, make sure you start because that will help your wrists a lot. Your wrists need to be able to bend back with a lot of weight to catch the clean and if your wrists arent ready, it can make them rather sore and stiff. Also front squats will help loosen up your calves and ligaments in that area to give you stability. If you cant do a front squat without your heels coming off the ground, bring a piece of wood about 3/4-1 inch thick to put your heels on until you become more flexible. DONT USE THE WOOD WITH ANYTHING BUT A SQUAT, YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF! as dumb as that sounds, i told a guy about the wood idea and he used it for a snatch and it caused him to fall. look up pictures of proper technique that are taken with a high speed camera to help you get the idea. also i like the idea posted of finding a gym that has the know how for olympic lifting to help someone teach you. if you fuck up you fuck up hard cuz everything must happen fast.

as for when you should do what, i have my regular lifting days and then one day set aside for olympic style lifting. on my other days i will use some light olympic lifts to warm up because they really do use almost your whole body. i hope all the stuff up here helps you out.
Kasomak

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html

Update

I kinda got started today, I was doing some jump shrugs (working up to cleans).

First off, the hook grip is tough. I was just using the bar and I couldn’t hold it that way for long. I really hope it gets easier to use that grip.

Also: Is it normal that I naturally shrug when I thrust my hips foreward and come up off my heels?

don’t wory about your natural shurg, it’s ok. Make sure you get tons of power from those calves and shrugs.

Oh yeah the hook grip gets better… in a month or two. Hook grip everything.

-chris

[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
Update

I kinda got started today, I was doing some jump shrugs (working up to cleans).

First off, the hook grip is tough. I was just using the bar and I couldn’t hold it that way for long. I really hope it gets easier to use that grip.

Also: Is it normal that I naturally shrug when I thrust my hips foreward and come up off my heels?[/quote]

Go to Mike Burgener’s and Gayle Hatch’s websites.

Burgener has a questions forum, and a workout of the day that he posts for the O-lifters he coaches.

not trying to steal the thread or anything but i’ve got another question about hook grips:

I’ve been trying to incorporate them into my workouts and i tried them for my shrugs as my grip always lets me down there but when i do them it feels as if my thumb nail is going to be ripped off. Is this just part of gettin use to it and also should i start of with hook gripping lighter weight instead of straight away using it for shrugs

Also realpenutbutter, you said to hook grip everything but does hook gripping involve the forearms as much as normal grip?
If i wanted to involve the forearms as much as possible should i only hook grip the exercises where my non-hooking grip stregth undermines the weight i am able to use?

[quote]Dilligaf wrote:

Also realpenutbutter, you said to hook grip everything but does hook gripping involve the forearms as much as normal grip?
If i wanted to involve the forearms as much as possible should i only hook grip the exercises where my non-hooking grip stregth undermines the weight i am able to use?[/quote]

Kono actually suggests not hook gripping in training to develop grip strength, so that you get a sort of extra boost in the weeks leading up to competition and the competition proper.

This is as close an oly lifter gets to ‘putting on his bench shirt,’ I guess–LOL.

However, I haven’t actually seen anyone put this advice into practice. Everyone I know hooks everything, all the time.

Update

Tried the front squats today, real light (20 lbs). Couldn’t do all four sets with my hands in the Olympic style, my wrists were killing me.

Whenever I see pictures of people doing it, their elbows are straight out in front of them. But when I had the bar up, I couldn’t do it, my elbows were down by my ribs. Is this an issue with flexibility in my shoulders or something?

I did my last set the crosshand bodybuilder style, I think I may stick with that for a little while.

Dude f*k that shit. Keep up the oly style FS’s. Just be sure to warm up your wrists before. move them around in circles and flex your forearms. Leave the bar on the hooks and just grab it oly atyle and stretch your wrists real good and then do your FS’s.

you can do it dude. did you get some OH squats in? mucho imporanto.

-chris

[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
Update

Tried the front squats today, real light (20 lbs). Couldn’t do all four sets with my hands in the Olympic style, my wrists were killing me.

Whenever I see pictures of people doing it, their elbows are straight out in front of them. But when I had the bar up, I couldn’t do it, my elbows were down by my ribs. Is this an issue with flexibility in my shoulders or something?

I did my last set the crosshand bodybuilder style, I think I may stick with that for a little while.[/quote]

Yeah I do OH squats on fridays. I started with just the bar lol.

[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
Update

Tried the front squats today, real light (20 lbs). Couldn’t do all four sets with my hands in the Olympic style, my wrists were killing me.

Whenever I see pictures of people doing it, their elbows are straight out in front of them. But when I had the bar up, I couldn’t do it, my elbows were down by my ribs. Is this an issue with flexibility in my shoulders or something?

I did my last set the crosshand bodybuilder style, I think I may stick with that for a little while.[/quote]

are you releasing your grip to rack the bar on your shoulders ? check these vids :

http://www.aceathlete.com/hatch/video.htm

1/2 way into the front squat vid they cut to a side view. you can see his thumb is released and his pinkies aren’t even touching the bar. same thing in the c&j vid. you see his grip release as he racks the weight. then re-grips for the jerk.

it shouldn’t take long for your wrists to do this. 3 or 4 sessions at most.