The Check List

My take on the Yogi Berra saying "You can't think and hit at the same time" is you can't think and lift at the same time. If you are thinking about the lift or a correction while you lift you will be too slow and not accomplish what you set out to do. You have to tell yourself one thing (at the most) to correct before you lift and then clear your head and get out of your own way.

Here is a checklist of basic items that need to be automated, memorized, internalized for every lift before you set up over the bar

Get Tight, Stay Tight :
• Keep the head in a neutral position
• Use focal point
• Keep the chest up and inflated
• Keep the lower back arched and tight
• Hook Grip
• Keep the elbows rotated out
• Keep the triceps flexed, elbows locked
• Keep the lat muscles flexed
• Keep the wrists curled/flexed

Think critically about the lift after the lift, not before, and only work on one correction at a time. Fixing one thing, like keeping the bar close when it drifted out last time, will often address a lot of other things that went wrong.

Two Big Lifts from the Arnold

19 year old Caleb Ward sets an American Junior Record with a 203kg clean and jerk.

Our good friend from East Coast Gold, Masters lifter Jim Storch sets a new American Masters record total of 286kg with this 162kg clean and jerk.

Hand Placement For The Snatch, The Overhead Squat and The Snatch Balance

There are a couple of methods used to establish a baseline snatch grip.  Feel free to adjust the width as your strength improves or as comfort dictates. Because the snatch involves lifting the barbell overhead in one motion, a wider grip must be used than for the clean or the jerk.

One method for determining grip width involves measuring across the lifter’s back from elbow tip to elbow tip while the arms are held out to the sides. This measurement is transferred to the bar and marked with chalk or tape. The lifter grips the bar such that the line falls between the index and middle fingers. Most lifters find this measuring technique results in a slightly too narrow grip, so adjust as follows: Adjust the grip so that when standing  upright and the arms are straight the bar contacts the lower abdomen above the pubic bone. When the bar is locked out overhead, the bar should clear the head by 6-10” depending on individual arm length and torso length.

A second method involves simply picking up the bar with a wide grip and while keeping the arms straight the lifter pushes the butt back and allows the knees to bend very slightly. Adjust the width of the  grip such that the bar sits in the crease formed where the legs and hips connect. Again, when the lifter  stands tall and straight the bar should not make contact with the pubic bone. Adjust the grip as necessary  to clear the pubic bone and allow for 6-10” clearance when the bar is held locked out overhead.

With either method, memorize the grip width and adjust as necessary for comfort. Again there are trade offs to consider: a wider grip requires less pulling height to lock out the bar overhead and requires greater shoulder strength but also decreases mechanical leverage off the floor. A narrower grip improves pulling leverages from the floor but requires more shoulder and upper spine flexibility to lock out the barbell overhead and the bar has to be lifted somewhat higher.

When just beginning to learn the lift, err on the side of gripping a little narrower. As your shoulder strength improves you may find that widening out the grip somewhat improves performance. Tall lifters or lifters with very long arms will need to move the hands nearly out to the collars. If you are one these lifters, that's as wide as you can go.You will have to make do! 

Grip Width For The Clean, The Front Squat, The Push Press and The Jerk

A good starting point for these lifts is to take a grip wide enough to place the index fingers and thumbs just outside the shoulders when holding the bar in the front squat rack position.The rack will be discussed in more detail later. Ideally, you will want to try to find one hand spacing that you can use for cleans, fronts squats,  jerks and presses. The advantage to finding one standard grip spacing is simplicity and efficiency. If the same grip can be utilized for all these movements, compound exercises such as the clean + front squat + push press can be performed with a greater degree of fluidity.

Not all lifters are able to achieve the "one grip fits all" goal. Many high level lifters will clean using one hand spacing that provides a more powerful pulling motion and then after cleaning the bar they will move the hands out wider to facilitate what is, for them, a better spacing for executing the jerk.

Grip width is all about trade offs. At the start of the pull from the floor, a wider grip will generally place the lifter's hips in a less advantageous position but the trade off for less advantage from the floor is the bar won’t have to be pulled as far because the wider grip places the bar higher when the lifter is standing erect. A narrower grip for the pull will likely be stronger off the floor, but will have to be pulled higher as a result. Additionally, the lifter may have to widen the grip after the clean to be able to jerk the bar successfully: just one more thing to think about.

A wider grip in the jerk may facilitate an easier lockout position overhead as well as a shorter distance the bar has to be driven overhead. However, the wider the grip the more stress is placed on the shoulder joints and the greater the shoulder strength that is required to hold the bar overhead. A narrower grip for the jerk is more stable but more shoulder flexibility is required to get the bar securely locked out overhead. Additionally, the bar has to be driven higher with a narrow grip and the lifter has to split wider/deeper to receive the bar.

As a general rule, avoid using an extreme grip spacing (wide or narrow) since extremes will likely stress the joints in potentially injurious ways. With experimentation early on and while using light weight, you will find a grip that will be comfortable for you and will allow you to execute the lifts properly. Endeavor to use a the above “starting point” grip and deviate from it gradually. You will not  likely decrease the spacing between the hands, but you may want to widen out slightly. A deficit of  shoulder flexibility and mobility is often a determining factor and should be addressed concurrently while  finding your preferred grip width.

Competition

The best way to focus your training is to enter a competition. Weightlifting competitions are a lot of fun and you will be surprised at how supportive and encouraging the weightlifting community is. You will also be surprised at how much more productive and meaningful your training becomes when you have committed to competing.

Below is a link to download the entry form for the upcoming Colorado State and Open Championships being held in Arvada, Saturday May 8. Plenty of time to prepare. David, Keith and I will be happy to help you set your goals and assist you with planning a program.

Thanks to Jesse Malcomb for passing along this information. Jesse competes regularly and trains here several evenings a week as a member of the weightlifting club.

Download CO 2010 State and Open Entry

Live From the Arnold

Olympic Weightlifting Live from the Arnold all weekend.

arnoldweightlifting on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

How to Miss, Part II

 How to Miss Snatches, Overhead Squats, Jerks and Push Presses

As I said in Part I, it’s not a matter of if you will miss a lift, but a matter of when you will miss. The same principles we discussed for missing cleans and front squats apply to the overhead lifts but there are a couple of additional factors that need to be  considered.

Because an overhead lift can be misplaced either in front of or behind the lifter (and occasionally, but less commonly, directly overhead) your first action is to simply move away from the path of the bar. Just allow the bar to drop in front or behind while pushing yourself away from the bar in the opposite direction. Think of your arms as analogous to the roll cage on a racing car. As long as your arms are straight the bar cannot hit you.

The first picture shows the athlete pushing herself away from a lift that was misplaced towards the front. Simply keep the arms straight or straighten them if they have bent, push away from the bar, and hop back using the bar’s downward force to assist pushing you away.

In the second picture the athlete has pushed herself away from a lift misplaced towards the rear. Keep the arms as straight as possible and hop forward. Again, use the bar’s downward force to push you away. For the split jerk the same rules apply for missing with the additional instruction to quickly move the back leg forwards if a lift is missed behind and continue moving forward as the bar drops behind you.

Eventually with practice all this will become second nature.You will soon learn the difference between a lift that can be saved with a minor adjustment versus a lift that needs to be missed entirely.Remember, never try to save a badly mispositioned lift. Just let it go.

How to Miss, Part I

How to Miss Cleans and Front Squats

As you start out learning the Olympic lifts, you will want to start out light. An important early skill to learn is how to safely miss an attempted lift. Missing attempts and getting rid of the bar safely is part of the sport. It’s not a matter of if you will miss a lift it’s a matter of when you will miss a lift. Learning how to miss safely early on will give you the confidence you need to progress and will also increase your enjoyment of the activity because you will know what to do automatically if a lift gets misplaced and needs to be dropped. 

It is an axiom in military circles that individuals revert to training in crisis situations so it is important to have practiced missing until your reactions are automatic. Once you have mastered missing, if a lift is out of  position you will be able to instantly and instinctively make the correct moves to safely get rid of the bar. Of course, the object of weightlifting is to make the lift not miss it. So while you want the ability to miss to be reflexive, you don't want missing lifts to become a habit!

The top picture depicts the athlete in the deep front squat or squat clean receiving position.To get rid of the bar from this position, rapidly and forcefully push the bar away from the body while hopping back away from the bar as shown in the bottom picture. The downward momentum of the bar combined with the straightening of the arms will assist pushing the body back and out of the way.Keep the elbows away from the knees!

You must perform this maneuver like you mean it. You must also strive to develop a “business as usual” attitude to a miss. It is  perfectly OK if you end up on the seat of your pants...it happens...just don’t try to miss at half speed...the bar drops very fast. Make your move and get out of the way!

NOTE: Anytime you are in the  deep front squat position keep the elbows high and away from the knees. If an elbow strikes a knee while front squatting or cleaning it can cause a severe wrist injury. 

The Hook Grip

 

All high level weightlifters use the hook grip and you should use it too. Because of the explosive nature of the lifts the standard overhand grip just isn’t sufficient, especially with the wide hand position the snatch requires. Additionally, the central nervous system will sense when the grip isn’t strong enough and will inhibit the degree to which you can explode. Your body will shut down the action. Another undesirable consequence of the overhand grip is the harder you squeeze, the more unwanted tension travels up the arms, causing them to bend at the elbows which will also cause a loss of power as you explode with the bar.

The hook grip solves these problems. Because it is more secure, you will be able to lift more weight and explode more powerfully using the hook and because you don't have to squeeze the bar as hard you will have an easier time keeping the arms straight during the pull. The hook also facilitates the desired “elbows turned out” position.

There is a break-in period for the thumbs and they will probably get sore at first and may even bruise but they will toughen up quickly with regular practice. Taping the thumbs can help. Some lifters always tape their thumbs and others almost never. Tape or no tape, the key to breaking in relatively pain free is to start learning to hook while the weights are still light...hook at least one or two reps every set and increase the number of reps you hook as your thumbs adapt. It will eventually become second nature.

New Maxes = New Training Weights

Congratulations to everyone who lifted Saturday in the Flatirons Crossfit Developmental meet. Wish I could have been there but I was in Atlanta representing Werk-San Barbells at a coaching clinic.

I hear from David that many of you accomplished new PRs. Congrats on that. But guess what? Now you have to increase your training weights. If you don't, you will back slide. But you don't want to over do it. There is an old saying, "Train hard but train smart." Another old saying is, "Failing to plan is planning to fail."

A training log and a program, even a simple program, will satisfy the intent of both these sayings. Even if you don't have designs on being a competitive weightlifter, having a plan and keeping track of what you do will allow you to work hard and also ward off the epic fail: injury.

Your training log is like a personal journal. Record what you want. It can be on your computer or in a essay book. The simplest log is just a written record of the exercises you've done, the sets and reps and weights. Some athletes find it useful to record how they feel, body weight, resting heart rate, sleep quality, etc. Whatever information you find useful, feel free to include it in your training log. If you are doing Crossfit WODs, make sure to record these too. Everything counts. If you have a heavy Crossfit week, adjust your weightlifting program accordingly. Remember: health first, then sport.

As far as organizing yourself, a very basic template is to push your lifts for three weeks, back off on the fourth week and test your maxes on the fifth. For example, since you just maxed at the meet, take an easy week this week and go no heavier than 65% of your PR (or your 1RM). Next week start your five week cycle. Go 70% for triples. The second week go to 80% for doubles. On the third week go 90% for doubles and singles. The fourth week back off to 75% and focus on technique and speed and on the fifth week max out and see if you can set new PRs.

We have other programs available too. Just ask. We are here Monday through Friday from 6:30PM to 8:00 PM so come in and take advantage of our coaching.