CT,
My daughter, age 9, is jacked about learning the clean, jerk and snatch. She saw some youtube videos last winter, and was hooked. I only let her train with me 2 days a week, she also in dance team.
For learning the lifts, we started with a broom handle from the 2nd pull (hip crease), using the “Pendlay” method. She now has the power versions down, including a 26kg PwrCn + PwrJ at 35kg bodyweight.
However, she is a former gymnast and very posterior-chain dominant. She struggles to get into position for a deeper catch. She had trouble maintaining position in a full squat with 20kg, so I regressed the movement to body weight box squats, and then goblets from an 11" box. I am focusing on getting right firing sequence for a solid squat, not worried so much about muscle at this stage, given her age.
At this stage, I am concerned about her getting too ingrained with a hamstring-dominant Cn and Sn she’ll have to unlearn later as her squat catch up.
If you had a pre-teen female learning weightlifting, how would you approach it? Does this seem like a sound approach? Would you require her to be able to do the full lifts with a very light load, then increase load until they match her PC/PSn before allowing the power versions in training?
Also, how would you program to address weakness in this type of trainee? Bodyweight Squats? Lunges?