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Barbell Olympic Lifts?

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Olympic Weightlifting is awesome!
If you’re willing to put the time and effort into it, it’s definitely a worthwhile pursuit.

I don’t train the lifts exclusively as I used to, but it’s always fun to play with the lifts on a variety day or when I’m in between training cycles.
 
As a seasoned Oly lifter who's had more than his share of injuries training for competition, that's prevented me from competing, I can definitively say that Oly lifts are great and fun, BUT - BEWARE - they will find your weaknesses, and will make you "pay" for them if you don't address them. One of the many reasons I like the double KB lifts. Easier on the body. Still LOVE the O-lifts though. :)
 
Geoff Neupert said:
As a seasoned Oly lifter who's had more than his share of injuries training for competition, that's prevented me from competing, I can definitively say that Oly lifts are great and fun, BUT - BEWARE - they will find your weaknesses, and will make you "pay" for them if you don't address them. One of the many reasons I like the double KB lifts. Easier on the body. Still LOVE the O-lifts though. :)
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@Geoff Neupert thanks for the advice.

I’ve had more success following your programs than anything my whole life. I’m not exaggerating. So, I really respect your opinion.

I think I’ve got a solid coach and will approach the O-lifts with humility. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll drop it.

I’m not looking to put up big weight. I know that my body wouldn’t tolerate it. But, I would like to get to a reasonable working weight.
 
Nate said:
I'll provide the Yes, but.. argument to make sure all the bases are covered.


So just make sure you're on the right side of "it depends".
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I look at it as an adaptive response to training. Its all about movement speed with a relatively specific load % of your rep max. Is it worth pursuing? Yeah, for most of us it sure is. Can I get roughly the same benefit with a shorter learning curve and a lot less risk by using sandbags? Again, I think the answer is yes.
 
Nate said:
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".
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Thanks for that perspective. Very valuable
 
I’m very happy to report that my foray into the world of Olympic weightlifting was a complete success. The people at Las Vegas Barbell were very welcoming and immediately put me at ease.

The facility was a dream. Not too big, but nearly all of it was devoted to lifting platforms, with just a few power racks. No music, no vomit buckets, just serious looking people putting in work.

My coach and I spent the entire hour working on the snatch. Some of it came easy to me while others were extremely challenging. My coach helped me on two technical aspects in particular.

  1. Footwork. Prior to the jump, Coach watched my feet and had me put more weight on the big toes. I was bad on my heels too much. I failed to understand that the jump needs to be set up as a jump. After the jump, coach stressed to get my feet down fast and that the catch should be in an athletic position (I.e. some knee and hip bend, not all planked out).
  2. Shoulder position. Internal rotation was something that I read about, but failed to grasp. I needed my coach to explain it, show it to me, and then coach me during my attempts. The pinching of the shoulder blades together was hard for me to even do. I couldn’t recall another time when I asked my body to manipulate itself into this position. It was a painful and took many tries to get there. The muscle back there was screaming the rest of the night. It was an “ah-ha” moment when I learned that this was the key to unlocking the overhead squat.
Overall, I was extremely pleased. I went in with doubts as to whether this was something I could do or should do. The doubt is gone. Now I’m shopping for a barbell and bumper plates for home. Can anyone recommend a barbell that is not a $800 Eleiko?
 
@ShawnyUT Amazing! I remember coming away incredibly fatigued from my first every weightlifting session just from putting my shoulders in the correct position for the overhead squat. It does get easier and it sounds like your coach knows what they're talking about.

As far as bars for O-lifting go, you can get away with a bushing bar (i.e. one without bearings) as long as you keep the sleeves lubricated. I was using a cheap York bar at home when I first started and it was all right although it was 30mm thick so I pretty much had to use straps when snatching.

A 28mm bar would be ideal but a 28.5mm bar (Rogue Ohio bar) should be all right. Weightlifting House sell a very affordable and good quality weightlifting barbell: https://www.weightliftinghouse.com/shopusa/product-category/weightlifting-bars/. They're sold out at the moment, unfortuantely, but will probably be offering preorders soon if you can wait that long. Check out eBay/Craigslist etc. as well; you never know when you might get a chance to snap up a bargain.

Pretty much any bar that doesn't have the sleeves bolted on will be fine for a beginner who's using sub 100kg loads and won't be dropping it. Just make sure it has Olympic weightlifting knurl marks and that the knurling is decent or you'll have a heck of a time getting your grip right and holding onto it.
 
Glad to hear your first session was such a success @ShawnyUT !

In terms of barbell recommendations, I currently have the Rogue Pyrros Bar - 28mm Stainless Steel
($595 with free shipping in the USA) and have been very happy with it. The only thing is the knurling is a little bit on the aggressive side for higher volume practice.
If you want a softer knurl and aren’t married to the idea of having the center knurl, I’d recommend the Rogue Olympic Weightlifting Bar - Stainless Steel (same pricing as Pyrros Bar).

Honestly, great bars for a very reasonable price. Of course, if you’d like to invest a bit more in your barbell, you can’t go wrong with an Eleiko. =)
 
Nate said:
I know guys who can snatch 305 or C/J 365 and look great.
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Wait, are those pounds? ;)

I've been competing in Olympic lifting for 7 years now (I'm 50) -- one of the first things I had to do as a newbie was to switch to "kilo thinking".

I think of my bodyweight in kilos, my bar in kilos, my plates in kilos, my collars in kilos....and I only buy KB kettlebells. :)

There are three other things I would say to newbies, especially in middle age:

1. Take mobility seriously. The work with the barbell is only half the job once you're over 35. I do mobility work a minimum of 2 days a week throughout the year, and 4 days a week during competition season. As you get up in skill and get closer to your genetic max in strength, the winner is often the lifter who can go lower and get under the bar faster.

2. Take nutrition seriously. It's a weight class sport. My off season weight is about 4-5 kg over my competition weight, but I don't let it get any farther than that. On the other hand, going ultra low carb may be great for weigh in, but can sap training strength. Finding the right balance can be tricking, but take it seriously.

3. GTG on accessories with broomstick / PVC / war bar on your off days, in addition to the mobility work.
 
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Owen Chau said:
Glad to hear your first session was such a success @ShawnyUT !

In terms of barbell recommendations, I currently have the Rogue Pyrros Bar - 28mm Stainless Steel
($595 with free shipping in the USA) and have been very happy with it. The only thing is the knurling is a little bit on the aggressive side for higher volume practice.
If you want a softer knurl and aren’t married to the idea of having the center knurl, I’d recommend the Rogue Olympic Weightlifting Bar - Stainless Steel (same pricing as Pyrros Bar).

Honestly, great bars for a very reasonable price. Of course, if you’d like to invest a bit more in your barbell, you can’t go wrong with an Eleiko. =)
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Those are great starter bars, and the Pyrros is also a USAW competition bar.

After a few years in the sport, it's pretty common to end up with a collection of whatever competition or near-competition bars are used in your geography.

I keep Uesaka, Rogue, and Eleiko bars around because they're all used in the region I compete in. I switch to training exclusively on whichever one will be used in the next meet as part of the competition prep cycle.

And then there are the competition collars....;)

And don't forget the shoes!
 
ShawnyUT said:
  1. Shoulder position. Internal rotation was something that I read about, but failed to grasp. I needed my coach to explain it, show it to me, and then coach me during my attempts. The pinching of the shoulder blades together was hard for me to even do. I couldn’t recall another time when I asked my body to manipulate itself into this position. It was a painful and took many tries to get there. The muscle back there was screaming the rest of the night. It was an “ah-ha” moment when I learned that this was the key to unlocking the overhead squat.
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Like many people, I have a desk job that is horrible for snatch shoulder position. Not to mention other things in modern life -- driving, looking at cell phones, etc.

To undo that, and maintain my snatch, I pretty much work on snatch shoulder positioning, all year round, even in the off season.
 
watchnerd said:
Like many people, I have a desk job that is horrible for snatch shoulder position. Not to mention other things in modern life -- driving, looking at cell phones, etc.

To undo that, and maintain my snatch, I pretty much work on snatch shoulder positioning, all year round, even in the off season.
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I keep a broomstick handy so I can do shoulder dislocates; it makes a big difference.
 
Chrisdavisjr said:
I keep a broomstick handy so I can do shoulder dislocates; it makes a big difference.
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Pretty much the same, although I splurged $13 on a plastic Rogue War Bar just because it's exactly barbell diameter and has fake 'snatch knurling' so I can match my hand position to what I would use with a barbell.
 




FWIW, I agree with Oleksiy's point that the degree of chest forward on the snatch may vary by height of the lifter, but I may be biased as we're the same height and same weight class.

Coincidentally, we're also both power jerkers, which is probably due to similarities in limb/torso ratios.
 
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