Many trainers and coaches like to talk about the 2nd pull and how it’s the most important aspect of the Olympic lifts. While this maybe true for sports performance training –training a sport athlete– I wouldn’t hold this 100% true for Olympic weightlifting athletes.
Pull
While some lifters can get away with an extreme extension. The majority of lifters are amateur or just starting off, because of this, I believe these weightlifters need to learn the basics:
- Good first pull
- Bar tight
- Straight Extension
- Meet the bar
Keep in mind I’m not talking about the exceptions, some people naturally implement the ‘catapult’, over-extension, hop back, or whatever you want to call it and are efficient at it. With that said thought, I’ve found in most cases teaching a specialized movement to a beginner, novice, or any low to medium level lifter (most people fit in this category) will most likely stunt their long term progress.
Efficiency
As you can see from the above sequence from a gold medalist and world record holder has a straight up and down position. There isn’t a catapult or a focus on a strong long pull, the lift is straight up- straight down = efficient. It’s not fancy it’s a pretty text book lift and yet Lu is still one of the top lifters in the 77k category. I’m not quite sure why newbie lifters quickly overlook the basics??? Maybe because its “mundane” or it’s some how beneath them? In either case, to excel further you need to learn the basic fundamentals of any sport or movement FIRST. Stop wasting your time looking for some secret program or method and respect the fundamentals! Put in time and effort to that you have a strong foundation in the fundamentals, THAN you’ll find where you need to tweak based on your lifting style…
*Lu however does do the squat jerk, an unconventional method, never the less he’s a technician in the lifts and one of the best in the sport that trains and competes at a HIGH level = he’s in a completely different category but still nails the basics 🙂
http://youtu.be/VzDdktDWExQ