1. build a movement foundation first It’s fun to go heavy in the snatch, clean and jerk, but don’t rush your progress in these lifts. You’ll never reach your full strength without first taking time to drill position, technique, speed and engagement of the barbell. You need a proper movement foundation before you can express your strength. Without that you’ll quickly hit a performance plateau BOE Jt doesn't matter how much strength work you do. Anyone who has struggled to improve their snatch record can relate to this. You might be a great squatter, but there’s only one right way to get a really heavy barbell from ground to overhead. Practice good movement as often as you can. Use intensive, weightlifting specific warm-up drills like the 5IBDLFS"#$ .FUIPEbefore every single training session.
If you’ve got nothing better to do, do it on your rest days too! Don’t skip the heavy squats, presses, and pulls from the floor 5hat’s what makes you strong! But as a novice weightlifter, most of your snatch, clean and jerk specific barbell work should be focused on drilling technique until it becomes second nature for you. Until you get comfortable with the fundamentals nothing else matters. Don’t try to get fancy with your programming. Don’t pull with bent arms *t doesn’t matter who you saw do it. And it’s probably not a good idea to start squat jerking all the time because you saw a really ripped lifter from China doing it. Fundamentals come first.
2. get strong in every position Weightlifting is a strength sport. To be successful you have to be very strong. But that strength is not limited to how much you can squat, deadlift or press. You also have to be very strong and comfortable at all key positions of the snatch, clean andKFSL If there is a weakness in your technique it will breakdown under heavy loadBOE there’s no way around that. So, the next thing you have to do once you can move well is build consistency with moderate training loads. Th at steady stimulus of successful lifts will make you very strong all over, but it will also expose many common errors and imbalances that you might miss if you spent too much time training light.
Most of your snatch, clean and jerk work should be within 70-85% of your best. Training at these loads will help develop the strength necessary to maintain technique at larger loads when accompanied by a program targeting raw strength improvement.
3. squat the right way One mistake a lot of novice weightlifters make is low-bar squatting. It’s usually based upon preference. This position makes it easier to move more weight in a shorter range of motion. You don’t have to dip into a deeper, more vertical, relatively weaker squatting position. But that’s just what happens during heavy cleans and snatches.
You will likely crumble in the bottom of your lifts if you don’t spend the time getting strong in that range of motion. Lift according to your goals. If your front, back, and overhead squat stances are all wildly different, that is going to harm your consistency. Squat at least twice a week, and squat with the bar high on youS back.
4. learn exactly when to push and pull A big error many novice lifters make is pulling the bar off the ground too quickly. The first pull is more of a push with the legs. You need to lift the barbell up into a position where you can pull more effectively. Learning to pull the slack out of your body and push the barbell off the floor with balanced feet can take a lot of time to learn. But it comes with practice. Try to imagine the floor is like a trampoline surface, and you have to use the barbell to pull your feet down into it. Push the floor away. Another thing that hinders proper pulling is staying on the heels too much. In this position iths easy to end up pulling with the shoulders on top of or behind the barbell, which doesn’t allow you to stretch and load your hamstrings very well during the second pull. That kills performance.
5. be focused in training You have to set clear, measurable goals to be accomplished within a specific time frame. Trying to work on a bunch of different, sometimes conflicting things at the same time is Uhe easiest way to fail. Also, you have to follow programing that addresses your goals and what you want to accomplish. For example, if you want to be a great weightlifter you need to constantly refine your technique with progressively heavier and heavier loads. So, it wouldn’t make sense to follow programming that focuses excessively on conditioning or high reps performed for speed. You just do not get enough heavy repetitions to get strong, and it’s far too easy to develop bad habits under fatigue. The solution is to follow a program that matches up with your goal. If you want to be a great weightlifter then you have to follow a weightlifting specific program. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on conditioning or strength. It’s quite the opposite. You have to be in great shape to lift well.
However, you have to make sure that everything you do in the gym contributes to the goal of becoming a better weightlifter. Take a step back from all other pursuits. Focus 100% on weightlifting for a while. Once you’ve made some real progress you can take on other training goals, like improving your overall conditioning. You will be be much stronger and fitter overall because of it.
Q: What should my diet look like as a Weightlifter? Pretty much the same as any athlete. Eat high quality, whole foods. Make sure to eat enough protein (shoot for about 1g per pound of body weight), and moderate carbs and fat. Most importantly, eat to match your goals. If you aren’t looking to gain or lose weight, just eat enough to maintain your current weight and the demands of your programming. If you feel yourself tanking during your workouts, you may need to eat more. If you are trying to gain mass to add more muscle, add more carbs to the meals around your workout times. Rice and sweet potatoes are excellent “clean carbs” to add to your diet if mass gain is your goal. If you are trying to lose weight to lean out, focus on eating less overall FTQFDJBMMZUIFIJHIDBSC GPPET
Q: How many days of training should I devote purely to Weightlifting? If you’re a beginner and relatively new to the sport, you probably can see a good deal of gains with at least three 1 hour sessions a week of dedicated weightlifting practice. The rest of the days of training can be used to improve your strength and/ or conditioning. If you are really serious about improving your weightlifting or thinking about taking it to a competitive level, you should be putting in no less than five 1hr to 1.5 hour sessions a week. Being a good weightlifter takes practice and time. You have to put in both to see the results.
Q: Will my conditioning and gymnastics suffer if I just focus on Weightlifting? Not necessarily. The stronger you become the less effort will be required to move the weight. For example, if your best clean is 275 lbs, cleaning 135 lbs 30 times as quickly as possible will be much easier than if your best clean was only 185 lbs. Also, the better your technique, the more efficiently you can move a barbell during a workout which allows you to do more reps faster and unbroken. As for gymnastic movements, again, you won’t necessarily see losses there either. The most important benefit of Weightlifting is that it trains the body to fire more muscle fibers simultaneously making handstand pushups, pull-ups, muscle ups and etc. a lot easier. As you get stronger, you may find that many of your gymnastic movements become easier and that you can do more work faster. If you only Weightlift, sure your conditioning may decrease a little, but you can easily add in some short, intense conditioning workouts a few times a week or gymnastic movements such as handstands or static holds as accessory work to complement your Weightlifting training to help maintain your tank and muscular endurance. Maintaining conditioning/muscular endurance + getting stronger + improving weightlifting = Killin’ WODs
Q: What supplements do you recommend taking and how much? Make sure to eat high-quality food.
Q: Do I have to use the hook grip? To quote Greg Everett here: “Get stronger and faster and you’ll find out.”
Supplements are exactly that, supplements, and are not meant to replace really awesome, highquality food.
When you start getting stronger and faster, the tremendous amount of power and speed can rip that bar right out of your hands.
As for supplements here’s some that we take:
Initially the hook grip is very uncomfortable, but you can’t just choose to not do it everyday.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: We take the good high-potency stuff and about 0.5 gram of Omega 3s (DHA/EPA) per 10 lbs of body weight.
Toughen up and use the hook grip daily. It will feel much better after a few weeks of practice.
Vitamin D: We’re healthy and athletic adults so we aim for about 4000 IU per day. Creatine: 5 mg a day. No need to load or cycle off. ZMA: 3 capsules right before bedtime for the guys. 2 for the ladies.
Q: What accessory gear do I need for weightlifting? Technically you don’t really NEED any accessory gear to lift but the following can help you reach your maximum potential: 1: Weightlifting Shoes: In addition to being very rigid to give you a solid platform for squatting, weightlifting shoes have an elevated heel, usually about 3/4 inch. This heel enables you to get into a more upright position during the squat which is essential to receive a snatch or a clean. Weightlifting shoes will help you lift better by reducing the effects of mobility restrictions and improving range of motion but they aren’t a fix for poor mobility. Make sure you are working on improving your mobility JOBOZ trouble areas, especially in the hips and ankles.
2: Wrist Wraps: Wrist wraps are used to support the wrists for pressing or overhead exercises if you have sore or achy wrists. Leather XSaps are more secure, but elastic wraps with Velcro provide the best fit. If you wear wrist wraps, wear them on both wrists (even if only one wrist is hurt), as this can affect lifting mechanics. Again wrist wraps are not a cure. If you have trouble with your wrists, make sure you are mobilizing your wrists often.
3: Weightlifting belts: Belts can be useful for max effort squats, cleans, deadlifts or overhead presses. The belt works by allowing you to increase the amount of intraabdominal pressure when you take a deep breath and push your belly full of air against it (Valsalva maneuver). The pressure helps better stabilize the spine which can allow you to lift heavier weights and protect the lower back from injury so it can be a very useful tool when going really heavy. But you don’t have to lift with a belt. In fact, it can be very beneficial to train without it in order to properly strengthen and train the core muscles when lifting.
4. Lifting Straps: Straps will help save your grip and hands from excessive wear if you are performing high repetitions of heavy snatch or clean pulls or deadlifts during training. They allow you to focus on the lift instead of your grip or your sore hands. You can also use them for the full snatch lift but we don’t recommend using them for the clean (you might have seen what happened to our friend Zach Krych). You shouldn’t use straps all the time and definitely not with warm-up weights unless your hands are really beat up. If you’re a beginner you don’t really need to use straps at all. Take the time to build up your grip strength. If you have more experience with the lifts, use straps sparingly throughout training and stop using them a couple of weeks before a competition or a testing week.
Q: Do I need a weightlifting coach? Olympic lifting is highly technical and having a knowledgeable coach to guide you through the learning process definitely helps. If you don’t have access to a coach, you could always go online and watch elite lifters and try to mimic their style, but are you 100% sure you are doing the lift correctly "re you sure that their style, which they have developed over decades and may be unique to them, is best for you? You could also find a good coach online who is willing to help you with your technique and programming remotely. And should you get injured or sign up for a weightlifting competition, a good coach can help you get through those as well.
Q: How do I get better at catching snatches and cleans in a full squat? The full clean and snatch will allow you to move more weight than the power versions. Receiving a clean or a snatch at the bottom of your squat requires you to be able to get into a proper front squat or overhead squat position. Possessing adequate speed, footwork, and mobility are all necessary. Before you attempt to full snatch, you should be comfortable with overhead squats. You should have good wrist, ankle, hip, shoulder, and thoracic mobility. If you have the mobility to perform a good overhead squatUhere are many assistance exercises that can help you receive the snatch in a better position. Snatch balances and drop snatches are great as you don’t need to worry about the bar path
from the floor. Tall snatches can also help you improve your timing between the 2nd pull and the catch. These exercises can help with your timing to the bottom of the squat and increase your level of comfort with receiving heavy weights in an overhead squat position. Receiving a clean at the bottom requires you to be able to get into a proper front squat position. You can also do front squats with a pause at your lowest position to help you get more comfortable in the bottom. Having a strong front squat will help you be comfortable in the bottom of a clean with heavy weight. To help with timing, perform tall cleans which are basically just tall snatches but you use a clean grip and receive the bar in a front squat.
Q: Can’t I just max my Snatch and Clean and Jerk every time I do them and get stronger? 5Iere are plenty of folks out there who love to lift, but lack the direction of being on a welldesigned program. What we see happen a lot is lifters going into the gym, not knowing what to do, so they max their lifts. While this can net you strength gains for a short while, it does nothing for mechanics that need to be worked on or improve consistency. You’ll find new lifters who go heavy all the time usually can’t hit 80% or more for a quick double, and then they will fail to hit their maxes on the platform. Being consistent and precise is crucial to this sport. The saying “the little things kill” couldn’t be more true. Get on a program, and stick to it. Patience is key, and that can be tough in the “I want it now” society we live in. In short, you may get stronger for a while maxing out daily, but it’s not going to do anything to fix your lifts. The point of a program is to build you to be more consistent at heavier weights over time. Put in the time!
Q: How do I get faster in weightlifting? Speed is probably the most difficult to master. With more practice and familiarity with the lifts and more consistency with your technique, you will get faster. You will get faster the stronger you get as well. Don’t fear, there are a number of drills and exercises you can add to your training to help you get faster. Snatches or cleans off of blocks or from the hang are commonly used to improve speed. If you’re a beginner, don’t worry so much about moving fast as much as moving properly and with consistent technique. The speed will come. Focus the majority of your efforts on honing your technique and getting stronger.
If you’re at an intermediate or higher level, where your technique and strength are already solid, then yes, you should definitely train to increase speed.
Q: Should I do a dedicated squat cycle? Let’s face it, we all need to squat more weight. However, if you are on a good lifting program, squats should be a regular part (at least 2x/week) of your training, so getting your reps in shouldn’t be an issue. Your lifting program should provide challenging squats and often. Early on in your weightlifting journey, doing high volume squats can help you figure out how you squat, and that will allow for consistency while building a base of strength.
Q: What weight class should I be? If you aren’t a competitive weightlifter or compete in the sport of Cross'Jt, you don’t need to worry about your body weight in terms of competing. If you’re a competitive weightlifter you’ll need to compete in particular weight class in order to qualify for national meets. What body weight you will enter a weightlifting competition will depend on quite a few factors that you should probably discuss in more detail with a coach.
Q: Where can I find information on competing as a weightlifter? Typically you’ll need to go to your nation’s governing body for Olympic Weightlifting. In the United States, you can find all the information you need to register as a competitive athlete as well as information on competitions at USA Weightlifting.
Q: What accessory exercises should I be doing? There’s really no set prescription. A lot of it depends on what your personal weaknesses are and it helps having a coach pinpoint those weaknesses or strength imbalances. There are several great accessory exercises that will help just about everyone.
Good mornings, Romanian deadlifts, glute ham raises and back extensions are a favorite amongst Weightlifters for developing and strengthening the posterior chain muscles in order to improve pulling heavy weights from the floor. Most sound weightlifting programs will include various accessory exercises so your best bet is to get on board a solid program and then get with a knowledgeable coach (online or in-person) to tweak your exercises to fit your needs.
the clean: starting position
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the clean: first pull
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the clean: the transition
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the clean: second pull
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the clean: the catch
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the jerk: the dip
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the jerk: the drive
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the jerk: receiving in the split
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the snatch: starting position
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the snatch: first pull
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the snatch: the transition
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the snatch: second pull
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
the snatch: the catch
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
click play to watch video instruction of this part of the lift
Week 3 of Flight
This early phase of training is devoted to preparing the body for heavy training. The overall volume is high with most skill work focused on improving the snatch and clean pull. This is the quickest way to increase work capacity and performance in the Olympic lifts, and it allows us to limit injury risk long-term. Shoulder injuries and restrictions are very common in athletes. For that reason, explosive overhead movements are minimized in training for now. Instead, tempo work and static holds are utilized to improve mobility, stability, and connective tissue strength. This not only makes the shoulder more durable but also improves upper body position and allows the athlete to put heavier barbells overhead.
Another important component of this early phase of training is gymnastics work. Weightlifters typically focus on strengthening the back, glutes and hamstrings so that they can pull more effectively. That’s great, but you also have to spend a lot of time developing your anterior muscles. Incorporating some fundamental gymnastic movements helps improve core strength and motor control, which further increases performance. Take your time. Build your base. You’ll only grow stronger because of it.
Week 33 of Flight This is the beginning of a competition or testing phase. The athlete should be strong in each key position with no significant movement limitations. At this point, heavy training loads can be programmed on a regular basis to accelerate strength gains. The overall goal is to go as heavy as possible in the snatch, clean & jerk. This is one of the most intense phases of training because the barbell will start to get heavy very quickly. It is also one of the most rewarding phases because this is when strength development and attention to the fundamentals of position and technique will pay off. Every Friday is a “Max Out Day” where record attempts will be taken on the competition lifts. The four days that come before max out day are devoted to building overall speed and strength.
Carefully prescribed assistance exercises are utilized to address weaknesses and raise 1-RM performance. Maxing out every Friday sounds like it would zap you, but it’s actually not that tough. It’s just the fastest way to build strength skill. The following day of training is actually much harder. This high volume day is designed to keep the athlete in shape during the final realization phases of training, which helps to peak performance and keep injury risk low as the competition approaches.
You can become a great weightlifter. We believe in you. We believe in your dream to become a truly great weightlifter. Not just so you can do snatches better than the next guy or girl at your gym, but so you can live a healthier more fulfilled life. This pursuit of greatness in weightlifting and fitness will overflow into many other aspects of your life. Trust yourself and stay the course. You have everything you need to get started, so don’t give up on yourself and don’t quit. Everything is doable with time and practice. We’ll be cheering you on and hope that you’ll keep in touch as you progress in your weightlifting career. With love and respect, Barbell Shrugged
