I’ve been a lurker for a looong time in the forum, but i’ve decided to start posting because I need some advice. I’m an intermediate weightlifter (Snatch 110 C&J 140 @85), i’ve been training with weights for about 5 years but focusing on oly lifting the last two. The thing is that i’ve earned a scholarship for six months and here I am, in France, with no oly equipment near by. I have access to a decent gym with a power rack and all the good old strength stuff, except bumper plates…so my question is , what would you do to get better at Olympic Lifting without the possibility of doing the complete lifts?? I’ve been doing tons of squats, but again,what would you include in a program to gain strength for a later comeback to oly lifting?
Its seems your doing good by yourself, don’t know why you need our help.
What I would do, if I was in your situation, and this is just me. Squat everyday and deadlift 1-2 week/every week or so. and some bodybuilding stuff. The power versions and jerk if I could.
You are a more advanced lifter than me and most of the people on this forum so you probably know better than most! But I would say do an immense amount of squats, keep doing the bar work and keep yourself mobile. Do a lot of pulls of varying weight. If you can do the lifts with light weights that would be good too
Other than that do whatever you like. I think it’s very optimistic to actually get better at the olympic lifts. That’s probably unlikely, however you will be able to get stronger so when you get back to lifting you will have the potential to lift more so you can make fast progress on your return!
I’d hammer the squats
keep doing the bar work
lift to about 60-70% full lifts, so you keep your mobility and sharpness even though it’s light,
PS - hard to push with no bumpers
Rack Jerk - hard to push with no bumpers
But all of that apart from the squats will merely be to make sure you don’t go backwards in your form and mobility. It would be hard to improve without going heavy on the OLifts for you with your numbers.
The main builder will be your squats, pound it up.
Thanks a lot for all the advice guys, keep it coming!
I know the main thing to work on is the front squat, i’m doing the russian squat routine three times a week and back squatting (or front and back squatting) the other days.
Last week i’ve worked to FS 150x2, so i’m pretty happy, i’ll hope that with all the extra work i’ll be able to gain some valuable leg strength.
Besides that i’ve been working hard on pressing, my jerk has always been weaker than my clean so i know i need to bring my pressing numbers up (actually right now i can barely press 80x2)…Anybody know any good routines for pressing strength??
Thanks for everything! I’ll try to get a camera so I can upload some of my workouts
I think the main question is Which strength exercises (upper body mainly) would you recommend for improving weigthlifting performance in the long run?
Wrong exercises mate. Get a video of your CJ that will tell what you need to work on.
Work on your Jerk technique,
focus on dip and driving straight,
weight on heels - to the point where you are nearly falling backwards, lift your toes up, your toes don’t need to be in contact with the floor to dip and drive on your heels,
–I have a tendency to roll forwards on the drive phase = bar to arms length and falls down as it’s in front and my hips are behind
JACK UP YOUR FRONT SQUATS
No upperbody exercise will help you. You have done 140, which is solid. Last time I pressed was 85 @ 93 or something like that. Doubt I could double 80…Jerked 152.5 on Sunday, FS 177.5, Cleaned 167.5…yeah I’m a better Cleaner then Jerker also. Rack Jerk 147…but it’s coming together for me.
Hammer the FS mate. The upperbody stuff won’t matter to you imo but it’s hard to say without videos to see where your going.
150 x2 FS is okay. Smash that up to 160 for a double and your CJ will be that much easier. Got to make the Clean easy so push the Cleans up also. Do not let this lag. The easier the Clean the more chance you have of making the Jerk.
@Swolegasm:I’ll focus mainly on squats and deads, and i’ll try to push press oftenly or doing light jerks.
@Koing: I’ll work the FS then! I’ll post a video of my lifting when I get a camera,I often remember my coach words: “Let loose the arms in the jerk, just jump with the weight”…and also in the snatch and the clean, the arms should only act as “hooks”, you should just jump with the weight, so I understand what you mean, thank you for your advice! I’ll try to post a video when I get a +160FS.
P.S: I’m at Bordeaux right now, it’s a city close to Spain
When I break the bar off the floor my arms are not bolt tight, tense and not loose anymore. I use to lift like that but I prefer how I’m lifting at the moment.
Jerk all about leg drive and getting your hips under the bar properly. If you have that you can get the Jerk, if you don’t you will have to rush forwards to save the Jerk.
Aight. Too bad no clubs in Bordeaux. There are a few in Spain!
would it be worth switching press with push press? My strict press is pretty weak, and the only goal I have is to make the qualifying totals for nationals.
[quote]fleshfinder wrote:
would it be worth switching press with push press? My strict press is pretty weak, and the only goal I have is to make the qualifying totals for nationals.[/quote]
Definitely. There is a chance that strict pressing makes the situation worse, if you start to rely on strength instead of timing.
As Koing said. Film yourself from the side, and check the alignment. Personally, I lower the elbows when jerking, so hips, elbows and wrists are straight under the bar. Some jerk with the elbows high, but I never had that working for me. Also, check that the bar stays in the same horizontal position through the jerk (i.e. don’t go forward.).
Also. As far as I’m concerned, the jerk is the most timing dependent part of the lifts, so work on it 'til you puke. Set up a timing “measure”. I.e. “when the bar reaches the peak point, I will be fully lunged under the bar.” That is your goal. You can use the push press to practice timing, but doing the actual jerk of course has most carryover.
Also, if you’re serious about olympic lifting, never lift in front of the mirror. As soon as you start looking, you stop feeling.
