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Barbell Olympic Lifts?

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ShawnyUT

ShawnyUT

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Greetings,

I’m looking for input on whether learning weightlifting (snatch/clean&jerk) would be a worthwhile pursuit.

I’m 43 years old and have never done it before. There is a very reputable coach here who has a gym. So, I’m thinking that some one-on-one sessions from him would be a great way to get started.

This may sound bad, but I’m really looking for a new hobby and adding the Olympic lifts to supplement my training just seems fun.

Any weightlifting enthusiasts here have a good pitch for me?
 
I'm one year into weightlifting myself, and loving it! There is so much to learn, and it's been the perfect new focus for me in this crazy year of 2020. I'd say go for it. Having a good coach available is a great opportunity. I'm 52 yrs old so 43 is definitely not too old :)

Your previous training will help, but you have to be willing to be a beginner (not be very good at it for a long while) and make slow progress. It's actually a very well-rounded sport with many avenues to pursue -- focus, programming, strength, power, quickness, hypertrophy, technical knowledge, supplementary exercises, equipment, etc. -- All leading to the tip of the iceberg, that ever-increasing Snatch and C&J.
 
Yes. Because you said you are interested in it (passion is very important) and because you have qualified coaches available too.

You could compare A to B. For example, powerlifting to weight lifting. Or kettlebells to Olympic lifting. Or bodyweight to Olympic lifting. Or strongman to Olympic lifting. Etc... One may be better than the other, for your specific goals. And I, as well as probably most folks, have their own opinion on what is "best". But that delta between A and B is small, certainly smaller than the importance of your passion and having qualified coaches nearby.

Regards,

Eric
 
Thank you all for the input. It is so nice to have knowledgeable people to bounce ideas off of.
I’m going to give it a try. The coaching is $75/hour for one on one. Seems quite reasonable to me.
I’m going to give it a try and see what happens.

I will say I’m a bit troubled by my inability to overhead squat a piece of pipe in my garage. Hopefully my coach has some mobility training skills.
 
ShawnyUT said:
I will say I’m a bit troubled by my inability to overhead squat a piece of pipe in my garage.
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Yeah, I was too! Suffice to say the overhead snatch grip position has very little in common with anything in kettlebell training. It's a whole new thing... And there are many more, as you'll find.

ShawnyUT said:
I’m going to give it a try. The coaching is $75/hour for one on one. Seems quite reasonable to me.
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Sounds great. Once you've got the basic instruction down, I will highly recommend my coach @randyh for ongoing remote coaching! I'd be happy to answer any questions via PM.
 
ShawnyUT said:
Greetings,

I’m looking for input on whether learning weightlifting (snatch/clean&jerk) would be a worthwhile pursuit.

I’m 43 years old and have never done it before. There is a very reputable coach here who has a gym. So, I’m thinking that some one-on-one sessions from him would be a great way to get started.

This may sound bad, but I’m really looking for a new hobby and adding the Olympic lifts to supplement my training just seems fun.

Any weightlifting enthusiasts here have a good pitch for me?
Click to expand...


Benefits of starting weightlifting:

1. Huge upper back. Nothing will induce more hypertrophy to your upper back than snatch and c&j.
2. Full body explossivenes and power.
3. Carryover to all the other exercises.
 
At my previous gym there was this old guy, at least in his 70s and possibly early 80s. His program was singles of the Olympic lifts, mainly clean and jerk. The weight was modest and every rep textbook perfect. About 10 - 15 singles each workout with 2 - 3 minutes between each (he would walk off and chat to people in between the reps). The only other thing he did was get on the treadmill for a few minutes before and after, so he was out of the gym in under 45 minutes and I think he turned up about twice weekly. That was it, that was his program. I asked him and he said he didn't do anything else. So simple! And he looked FANTASTIC, very impressive. He was obviously very fit and had a great physique! That's when I decided the olympic lifts might be THE way to go
 
ShawnyUT said:
@LukeV
That’s pretty inspirational. I’m feeling enthusiastic about starting.
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I asked someone this afternoon who goes to that gym how old they think he is and they said he celebrated his 70th birthday quite a few years ago so I reckon he's 75+. Apparently he was a competition lifter in his day, which explains the technical proficiency
 
I'll provide the Yes, but.. argument to make sure all the bases are covered.

One one end of the spectrum is your 75 year old bad-a#@. The other is Mike Boyle saying introducing adults into olympic lifts has a bad cost/benefit ratio for most.

If you want the sport, then there's no substitute & your answer is obvious. If you're technically & structurally sound, then sure!

I know guys who can snatch 305 or C/J 365 and look great. But I've had several friends get USAW instruction then proceed to get seriously injured. Their technique was clean but their physical structure was not solid.

As for physique, the 300s lifter were obviously jacked, but I had people outlift me that barely looked like they lifted. I could bodyweight snatch, but it was a muscle snatch that simply came from being able to press & snatch 1/2 bw kettlebells. I could barely overhead squat 135 so there was no good ability there... I tried a Bob Takano Masters program, but weightlifting just leaves me beat up. I have too much mileage in certain areas & haven't worked with someone who could fix it by now (mid-40s).

So just make sure you're on the right side of "it depends".
 
Starlord said:
It depends. Do you like the thought of having big traps, quads, posterior chain and immense explosiveness?

Of course you do.

Even if you just learn the power variations it will still serve you well.
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Yes, a full snatch maybe out of reach for me. But, I think I could get still get benefits from the power snatch.
 
@Nate
Definitely something to consider. I will look up that Boyle material.

I imagine that kettlebell will remain the center of my training.

My first O lift coaching session is scheduled for Friday. We’ll see how it goes.
 
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