The Olympic Lifts generally are often not given the credit they deserve and often neglected in majority of training programs. In fact, for the past 4 years that I was lifting weights, I not once thought about doing a Clean and Jerk or the Snatch. But then again these two lifts are two of the most complicated lifts and
not anyone can just teach them and you don't learn them overnight or even months for some as they are very technique-based.
However, today I visited my first "clinic", a three-hour course run by Olympic WeightLifting in Dubai headed by Coach Derrick Branford & Coach Ikaika Paakaula, in coordination with Evolve UAE. Both coaches have been Olympic Lifting for 10-15 years each. Although having traind with Derrick earlier and with Ikaika recently, I have learnt greatly about Olympic lifts more so today.
Quick Tip: Both lifts require weights being lifted from the ground to an overhead position.
Before getting into the lifts, we started with a general warm-up - which is important to prevent injuries and warmed up the muscles that will be used in the lifts. After that we spent the first hour learning how to "snatch." To practise the lifts, we used PVC pipes and used light weights as the main goal was to learn the technique and not how much we can lift. We worked through the different progressions on getting the lift. The snatch uses a wide-grip and starts from a Deadlift position.
Tips for the Snatch were:
- Always keep the bar close to your body.
- As you pull the bar from the ground until you reach your knees, your upper body stays in the same position and only your leg moves.
-As you reach over your knees, your shoulders would come forward
- Drag the bar up your body and just before you go for the pull, the bar slightly moves away from the body
- Then you use your hips to generate a pop that will drive the bar upwards (not forward or you will miss the lift!)
- Then you go under the bar to catch it overhead with locked out arms
- Then down into an overhead squat.
- You finish by standing with the weight lifted overhead.
ps: The Snatch is considered a much more complicated lift than the Clean and Jerk.
The Snatch is actually on of my personal weaknesses and just yesterday after two months of hard work I was able to get my half bodyweight Power Snatch:
After we were done with the Snatch, we moved on to the Clean&Jerk which priniciple is pretty much the same. The first part of the Clean is similar to the Snatch in terms of the first pull, which is from the deadlift position up until the pop from the hips, where the second pull takes place. However, the clean and jerk has a narrow-stance and you have to move under the bar and catch the weight on your shoulders first and then drive down into a front squat.
During the class, we learned the push press and the split jerk - which is a movement in which you use your legs to generate power to push the weight overhead.
Tips on the Clean and Jerk:
- Stay patient with the bar until you reach your second pull.
-Keep your back upright and straight while doing a front squat (don't lean forward)
- Derrick said during the class that the amount of weight lifted overhead in a push press has nothing to do with upper body strength, it's all legs.
- To recover from the split jerk movement, always bring the front foot forward (otherwise you will lose balance), and slowly recover in small movements both legs.
Here is a video of me doing a 40kgs Power Clean. FYI - The 40kgs lift was not pretty lift (i.e. I didn't get under the bar to catch it):
To wrap up the course, both Derrick and Ikaika demonstrated The Snatch, Clean&Jerk, and Back Squat which you can view HERE in their facebook page. They were MAD! Lifting up to 150kgs.
In a quick chat with Derrick, he said that he spent more than a year just lifting with a broomstick before he actually lifted with weights. The movements are complicated and take time to learn. As he said "It's like riding a bicycle." Once your central nervous system gets used to it - your body never forgets it. So it's best to learn these lifts with good habits from the beginning, as opposed to bad habits which will eventually lead to injury.
Derricks advice to me was simple = stronger legs makes a huge difference. Champions never went a day without squatting. So SHUT UP AND GET YOUR ASS TO GRASS!
I recommend anyone serious about getting stronger, fitter, serious about weightlifting - and improving their oly lifts technique to take part in the next clinic which will be announced in Olympic Weightlifting Dubai Facebook page...and the cool thing? You also get a....
Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999fitness
However, today I visited my first "clinic", a three-hour course run by Olympic WeightLifting in Dubai headed by Coach Derrick Branford & Coach Ikaika Paakaula, in coordination with Evolve UAE. Both coaches have been Olympic Lifting for 10-15 years each. Although having traind with Derrick earlier and with Ikaika recently, I have learnt greatly about Olympic lifts more so today.
Quick Tip: Both lifts require weights being lifted from the ground to an overhead position.
Before getting into the lifts, we started with a general warm-up - which is important to prevent injuries and warmed up the muscles that will be used in the lifts. After that we spent the first hour learning how to "snatch." To practise the lifts, we used PVC pipes and used light weights as the main goal was to learn the technique and not how much we can lift. We worked through the different progressions on getting the lift. The snatch uses a wide-grip and starts from a Deadlift position.
 | |
| Derrick in action after the second pull |
- Always keep the bar close to your body.
- As you pull the bar from the ground until you reach your knees, your upper body stays in the same position and only your leg moves.
-As you reach over your knees, your shoulders would come forward
- Drag the bar up your body and just before you go for the pull, the bar slightly moves away from the body
- Then you use your hips to generate a pop that will drive the bar upwards (not forward or you will miss the lift!)
- Then you go under the bar to catch it overhead with locked out arms
- Then down into an overhead squat.
- You finish by standing with the weight lifted overhead.
 |
| Ikaika in an Overhead Squat position |
ps: The Snatch is considered a much more complicated lift than the Clean and Jerk.
The Snatch is actually on of my personal weaknesses and just yesterday after two months of hard work I was able to get my half bodyweight Power Snatch:
After we were done with the Snatch, we moved on to the Clean&Jerk which priniciple is pretty much the same. The first part of the Clean is similar to the Snatch in terms of the first pull, which is from the deadlift position up until the pop from the hips, where the second pull takes place. However, the clean and jerk has a narrow-stance and you have to move under the bar and catch the weight on your shoulders first and then drive down into a front squat.
During the class, we learned the push press and the split jerk - which is a movement in which you use your legs to generate power to push the weight overhead.
Tips on the Clean and Jerk:
- Stay patient with the bar until you reach your second pull.
-Keep your back upright and straight while doing a front squat (don't lean forward)
- Derrick said during the class that the amount of weight lifted overhead in a push press has nothing to do with upper body strength, it's all legs.
- To recover from the split jerk movement, always bring the front foot forward (otherwise you will lose balance), and slowly recover in small movements both legs.
Here is a video of me doing a 40kgs Power Clean. FYI - The 40kgs lift was not pretty lift (i.e. I didn't get under the bar to catch it):
To wrap up the course, both Derrick and Ikaika demonstrated The Snatch, Clean&Jerk, and Back Squat which you can view HERE in their facebook page. They were MAD! Lifting up to 150kgs.
In a quick chat with Derrick, he said that he spent more than a year just lifting with a broomstick before he actually lifted with weights. The movements are complicated and take time to learn. As he said "It's like riding a bicycle." Once your central nervous system gets used to it - your body never forgets it. So it's best to learn these lifts with good habits from the beginning, as opposed to bad habits which will eventually lead to injury.
Derricks advice to me was simple = stronger legs makes a huge difference. Champions never went a day without squatting. So SHUT UP AND GET YOUR ASS TO GRASS!
I recommend anyone serious about getting stronger, fitter, serious about weightlifting - and improving their oly lifts technique to take part in the next clinic which will be announced in Olympic Weightlifting Dubai Facebook page...and the cool thing? You also get a....
Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999fitness
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