ATHLETES AND THE OLYMPIC LIFTS |
Frederick C. Hatfield PhD |
While
in the Soviet union back in '83, I met Marchuk -- the guy who broke
Alexeev's C&J record. He was a very strong dude! We got to talking. I
was 242 at the time. He looked at me, at my legs, at my "supposed" WR of
1008 in the squat and said, "NYET! NOT POSSIBLE!" So I bet him a quart of
vodka that I could beat him -- all 350 pounds of him. He accepted. His
coach secretly came up to me and said, "In Russia, we call powerlifting
the "fake" lifts. We call it that because you use supersuits, big belts
and giant knee wraps. Can you still beat Marchuk?" I said, "Yep!" He said,
"If you do, Marchuk will be SHIT forever! In this gym he is king. If he's
beaten at ANYTHING he will be shit!" Then, two days later we went head to
head. He barely struggled up with an 800 pound squat -- not bad for a sans
wrap sans suit lift, no? So I did it, being out of shape, I figured what
the hell! I'd save this poor fat slob's career by not beating him. I did
it too -- sans belt, sans suit.
See, it take a highly trained and
gifted ATHLETE to excel at ANY sport. Marchuk was a master at the clean
& jerk. An athlete in every sense of the word. He and I parted company
with Marchuk -- and his coach -- having a new-found respect for
powerlifting. They do not call powerlifting the "fake" lifts in Russia any
more.
It amazes me to hear lifters squabble over something as
spurious as whether Olympic lifting or powerlifting is better or worse
than the other, or whether there is merit in athletes from other sports
performing the respective lifts from either. The answer is clearly that
both have much to offer because each is radically different from the
other. All one has to do is read the research literature to understand
that there are different forms of strength. There's speed-strength (a
combo of starting strength and explosive strength). Then there's both
aerobic and anaerobic strength endurance. Then there's limit strength.
Powerlifting, for the first time in history, was devised to test one's
limit strength. No other sport does.
But let's get into Olympic
lifting, and try to discern whether there's something there for athletes
from other sports to benefit from.
Pound for pound, Olympic
weightlifters have a greater level of speed-strength than any other class
of athletes in all of sport. This fact was made very clear during a
massive scientific expedition carried out on the athletes at the Mexico
City Olympics in 1964. Sports scientists found that Olympic lifters were
able to both vertical jump higher than any class of athletes (including
the high jumpers), and run a 25 yard dash faster than any class of
athletes (including the sprinters).
Well, OK. So some of it came
from genetics. But you can rest assured that much too came from the
specialized training they undergo in that sport. Among other things, their
training revolves around two specialized lifts, the "snatch" and "clean
& jerk."
These two lifts and their applicability to sports
training is the focal point of this article. First, though, so we're all
on the same page, remember what speed-strength is. It is a combination of
two distinct attributes: 1) your ability to "turn on" as many motor units
as possible instantaneously (starting strength), and 2) your ability to
leave those motor units firing once you've turned them on (explosive
strength).
In the snatch, the weight is pulled from the floor to an
overhead position in one explosive motion. In contrast, the clean &
jerk is a two part lift where the weight is pulled from the floor, staying
"clean" of the body (that's where the phrase came from back in the old
days; nowadays, it's OK to brush the thighs on the way up), to a position
where it is resting on the shoulders. The lifter then thrusts ("jerks")
the weight overhead, using his legs in the upward thrust, and (after
taking his feet off the floor) his arms in the downward thrust of his body
to lockout.
The peculiar positions through which the lifter passes
as these lifts are accomplished -- and the specialized methods of training
required -- offer much in the way of "carryover" into practically every
explosive type sport there is.
THE
SNATCH
In
the snatch, lifters take a shoulder width or narrower stance in addressing
the bar. Next, they squat down and grasp the bar very wide, using a "hook
grip" (pinning their thumbs to the bar with their index fingers). This
grip is important in overcoming the bar's inertia during the violent
"second pull" (explained below) without losing your grip. The back is kept
tight and flat at about a 45 degree angle to the floor (more or less
depends on the anatomical structure of the lifter), and the shoulders are
situated well in front of the bar.
The lifter then lifts the bar
upward during the first pull, using only the legs. In other words, the
back remains at about a 45 degree angle to the floor during the initial
pull. You shouldn't use your back to pull during the initial pull.
Instead, the back muscles (notably the erector spinae) act as stabilizers,
remaining statically contracted. The bar is kept very close to the shins,
and the shoulders remain far over (in front of) the bar.
Once the
bar passes the knees, a re-bending of the knees (called the "double-knee
bend" or "scoop") takes place. This enables the lifter to reposition his
thighs under the bar for a powerful second pulling phase. The double knee
bend, together with this "second pull" is very similar to the action
athletes use in vertical jumping. In fact, the carryover benefit of
pulling in this fashion is increased vertical jump performance for
athletes in many different sports.
The reason for keeping the
shoulders well in front of the bar during the initial pull is to set the
lifter up for the double knee bend and subsequent second pull. If the
shoulders were either directly over or behind the bar during the critical
first pull, the lifter would end up way behind the bar after the double
knee bend. This, of course, would make it impossible to impart great
upward force to the bar during the second pull, and the lifter would miss
the lift out in front.
Probably the most difficult part of Olympic
lifting is getting under the bar. The best lifters in the world lift the
weight slower and not nearly as high as intermediate level lifters. The
reason for this is that the weight they're lifting is far heavier, but
(because of greater starting strength and skill) they are able to get
under the bar faster.
The faster you are at getting under the bar,
the less high you have to pull the bar, and therefore the more weight you
can lift. Getting under the bar occurs much faster than gravity allows,
because the lifters are actually pulling themselves under the bar. In
fact, the snatch and clean movements -- getting under the bar -- are
measurably the fastest total body movements that exist in all sport.
Provided, that is, it's being demonstrated by an elite lifter.
A
highly coordinated shoulder shrug (trapezius) during the final inches of
the violent second pull "unweights" the bar. The lifter is now able to
lift his feet from the floor, allowing him to quickly "slingshot" himself
straight down (using deltoids)to a rock-bottom squat, with the barbell
locked out overhead.
The best lifters time their thrust out of the
rock-bottom squat position so perfectly that they're able to begin the
push upward while the bar is still on an upward path from momentum
generated during the final phase of the second pull.
If the lifter
must wait until the weight is stabilized overhead before standing erect,
two things happen: 1) the bar's upward momentum stops, and 2) the bar
begins traveling back downward (making it much heavier than the full
weight of the bar must be lifted).
Once the lifter is standing
motionless and erect with the bar overhead, the judges will give the
"down" signal. At this point, the rules of competition state that the bar
must be lowered to the floor under control. Years ago, that meant lowering
the bar to the floor, a horrible thing to have to do with a heavy weight.
It's dangerous. Nowadays, with the advent of rubber "bumper" plates, it's
strongly advisable to drop the bar but maintain control over it by keeping
your hands on the bar until it stops
bouncing.
THE
CLEAN & JERK
Form
used during the first and second pull of the clean is very similar to that
incorporated in the snatch. The lifter takes a narrower grip than for the
snatch, usually slightly wider than shoulder width. This allows for a
slightly more upright posture prior to the first pull. Also, the weight is
considerably heavier than that hoisted in the snatch.
The reason
that heavier weight can be used is that while the snatch involves pulling
the bar and then catching it at arms' length overhead, the "clean"
involves catching the bar ("racking it") on top of the front deltoids and
clavicular pecs. Simply, you don't have to pull it as high, so you can use
heavier weights.
The forward position of the shoulders, the re-bending
of the knees after the bar passes the knees, the vicious upward extension
of the body, and the slingshot-like drop into a rock-bottom squat position
under the bar are all quite similar to the corresponding movements in the
execution of the snatch. Including the timing. A skilled lifter is able to
aid the bars' upward momentum (from the second pull) by instantaneously
driving out of the hole.
There's one difference of significance,
however, and that's the fact that the lifter's hands are much closer
together while executing the clean. That means the bar can bend more. The
"harmonics" of a whippy bar aids in generating great upward momentum
during the second pull, and the lifter coordinates the timing of his
upward thrust with the bar's upward (return) unbending.
The jerk
involves a very fast "dip-and-thrust" motion. The bar bends as the
explosive upward thrust begins, and the harmonics of the upward-whipping
bar is timed precisely with the lightening-fast drop under the bar and
upward recovery push. Unskilled lifters dip-and-thrust tenuously, often
pausing before the explosive thrust upward. This is not good. They are
then unable to avail themselves of the bars' assistive harmonic action.
They then have to thrust with greater force, often resulting in being
"rushed" to get under the bar. Because they're rushed, they are obliged to
cut their upward drive short, and less force is imparted to the
bar.
These unskilled lifters also often catch the bar overhead, and
wait to adjust. This results in bearing the full added weight of a
now-downward moving bar. Often, it results in the elbows coming unlocked.
This is cause for disqualification of the lift. If they're lucky, their
elbows remain locked, but they are obliged to recover to an erect position
with great difficulty.
In recent years, a sideward splitting of the
legs is being seen more and more as the lifter takes his feet off the
floor to thrust his body downward under the upward moving bar. The theory
is that since the squat position is more stable and natural than the
front-and-back split leg position, an advantage is gained. It may well be.
It certainly is in the case of the snatch. The old split snatch style went
out with the great Russian snatch champion, Plukfelter (circa
1960).
__________________________________
NOTE: photos of
weightlifters
__________________________________
OLYMPIC
LIFTING AS A TRAINING METHOD FOR ATHLETES
"Whoa!
Dr. Squat!" you mutter, not relishing the thought of having to engage in
so much lightening-quick movement. "If the weight's heavy, you've gotta
move SLOW!"
Really? Tch! Tch! So, let me make a few
points.
First, if you were as capable as a weightlifter of "turning
on" as great a percentage of all of your muscle fibers instantly during
your shot put, you long jump or each individual step in your 100 meter
dash, perhaps you'd be winning more. Chances are, you lose because you
simply never learned to "turn on" maximally. There's a learning curve
involved in explosiveness-- it's far more than simply lifting the weight.
And remember, those explosive fast-twitch muscle fibers have a
disconcertingly low oxidative capacity (assuming you have any in the first
place).
Then there's the "compensatory acceleration" factor that I
speak of in countless articles. You see, Olympic-style lifters MUST
compensate for improving leverage during the course of the pull by
accelerating the bar (as in the second pull). Otherwise, they'd never
impart sufficient upward momentum to the bar in order to get under it. So,
I ask you, if YOUR leverage is improving during any given sports movement
(and it almost always IS), how come YOU don't take advantage of that fact?
Probably because you never learned HOW!
Let's not forget the fact that
many of your sports movements are MUCH like those used in weightlifting.
Jumping, exploding, and related movements are all total-body movements
that must be learned.
"Aw, Fred! My elbows and shoulders are too
tight to rack the bar! I'll tear myself up!"
Tch! Tch! Y'know what?
Maybe -- just maybe -- getting a little flexibility in those joints will
aid in preventing a few of those aches and pains I keep hearing about from
so many athletes (but RARELY hear from Olympic lifters). It's probably a
good idea to wear wrist wraps, though. No point in traumatizing yourself.
In fact, if it's THAT bad, at least do the explosive pulling portion of
the lift (called a "high pull"). You don't have to actually "rack" the bar
on your shoulders to derive benefit.
"Yeah, but what about that
ballistic shock on my knees hitting the bottom during a snatch or clean?
My knees can't take it!"
Now, I'm not saying that you need to go
out and start doing ballistic drops to a rock-bottom squat position with
maximum weights on your body. What I AM saying is that you need to break
into it slowly, doing some light stuff. But you needn't go to rock bottom.
While your body has a wonderful, built-in adaptive ability that will most
certainly aid in preparing your knees for the tremendous stresses involved
in moving heavy iron in your powerlifting skills, the ballistic forces
involved in maximum Olympic lifting are (at very best) degenerative for
everyone, including the Olympic lifters. Start slowly and with lighter
weights. Maybe even an empty bar, just to learn the movements. And, stick
to the power cleans and snatches where you're catching the bar at about
the depth of a half-squat or so.
"OK, so if I shouldn't go
rock-bottom, do cleans if my wrists hurt, or use max weights, what SHOULD
I do?"
Power cleans or (if you can't handle the wrist, shoulder or
elbow flexibility requirements), high pulls. Five sets of 3 once weekly
off season. Concentrate on compensatorily accelerating the bar, and
catching the bar's harmonic unbending action.
Front squats (if you
don't have a safety squat bar) and overhead squats (for the squat workout
of your LIFE!). Five sets of five once weekly off season. These squats
will target your quads as well as any exercise there is.
Power snatches
(catching the bar overhead at a half-squat) and muscle snatches (pull to
overhead without rebending your knees). Five sets of three once weekly off
season. Concentrate on compensatory acceleration and catching the bar's
harmonic unbending action.
Push jerks (drive the bar upward without
rebending your knees to get under the bar), 3-5 sets of three once weekly
early preseason. Concentrate on max weight, leg drive, and compensatory
acceleration.
Apply some of the pulling techniques spoken of in
regards to sports-related jumping technique, including the double knee
bend. It's not uncommon to add up to 4 inches on your vertical jump
immediately, just by learning how to take advantage of tissue
viscoelasticity and stretch reflex stemming from the double knee bend
technique. Practice, practice. But only under an expert eye.
I'll
wager you'll become a better athlete. And, that's the bottom
line. |
|
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© 2001 Fred Hatfield. All
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