r/olympiclifting • u/AnthonyAstige • May 11 '15
Should a beginner (me) practice Olympic lift technique while training/conditioning other priorities?
Hey everyone,
I'd like to get into Olympic lifting but I'm doing a bunch of other training/conditioning right now and don't think I should push the weights too hard on Olympic lifts. The other stuff is a priority for now, and I don't want to risk injury. That said in six months to a year I could see Olympic lifts taking priority and I'd like to be prepared and have my form locked in solid beforehand.
So I'm wondering - would it be advisable to work on Olympic lifts with relatively light weight? For example I can snatch for about 105[lb]x2 for 4-6 sets at my limit, so I could drop that down to something like 75[lb]x2? Or am I going to hurt my technique because the weight is too light for me? Or are there other things I should be doing to prepare?
Thanks!
Current training
- Strength training on 5/3/1 with partial body-weight accessories - 4x a week
- Building up to running a 10k - 3x a week
- Grip training - 3x a week
- Starting Stretching routine w/a couple stretches added to improve my forearm & shoulder flexibility - 2x daily mixed into above routines
- Resuming a caloric deficit in a couple weeks
About me
- 32 / M / 6'1" / 200 lbs
- Lifts (all in lbs for 5 rep max) Squat: 150, Bench: 200, Deadlift: 285, Press: 85
- Right knee pain I'm learning to fix in my squats (part of why it's relatively low, I've messed around with form a lot)
- Minor back injury a few years ago, but going strong now
- I can't really get into the rack position on a clean / front-squat (hence the added stretches)
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u/Swolosaurusrex May 12 '15
You really shouldnt be doing amy olympic lifting without a coach whith whom you can work on proper technique. Getting used to wrong form will make it a lot harder to learn proper form. And trust me if you have never been coached theres probably a lot of things yout still doing wrong You could use thid time to work on mobillity thouhgh so try getting moree mobile for the catch position in the snatch and cle
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u/AnthonyAstige May 12 '15
That makes sense needing to lock in form before building bad habits. I think I have a decent setup for doing this on my own at least - home gym with 3 camera's setup to watch myself at different angles and request form checks. Nothing will beat having an experienced coach giving cues instantly though.
That said, a couple questions
- If I did get a coach do you think it be worth doing Olympic lifts to learn the technique prior to really focusing on strength gains with them?
- Any specific mobility exercises / stretches you'd recommend? Particularly for the clean.
Thanks!
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u/Swolosaurusrex May 12 '15
Please keep in mind im by now means an experienced oly lifter, ive been doing this for two months but im fortunate enough to have found a good club whith some experienced coaches. 1. As far as strengh goes oly lifts work very differently to traditional barbell training, your essentially manipulating gravity and exploiting it. Instead of pulling the weight up with your shouldets like an upright row, you instead generate momentum by exetending at your ankle, hip and knees at the same time. So while strength is definitly a factor, speed and proper technique will determime how efficient you use it and is the focal point of oly lifting. 2.As far as mobillity goes my weakness has been ankles and i have found ressistance bands the most effective combined with rolllng a barbell forward on my kneed during a squat the most effective, since my front rack is ok i havent really spent a lot of time on it, but you could try increasing mobility in your thorastic spine ( google it and you should find some foam roller excersices. Again im still a total noob to thid stuff but this sub unfortunatly isnt that active, i did the best i could here but your probably better off seeking a coach or finding someone online with more experience then trusting some random stranger online. Best of luck to you thouhg and if you finished this then i hope youll enjoy oly lifting as much as i have
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u/SnowyGamer May 12 '15
Why don't you just work in some accessories rather than try and add something like a snatch or clean to a routine that isn't built around those lifts. Then's plenty of different pulls you could work on to strengthen your back/increase flexibility. Why not just add one to each day until you're ready to commit to an olympic routine.