Posted on April 03, 2017 by Jenny Cromack
Before we look at the Olympic lifting variations, I thought I’d give you a brief history of Olympic lifting. Olympic weightlifting has been included in the Olympics since the first Modern Olympics in 1896 and is now a permanent feature in the games since. When we talk about Weightlifting as a sport we are referring to two main lifts: The Clean and Jerk and the Snatch. For a long time, weightlifters were the only athletes that used these two movement patterns as it was thought they were only related to the specific sport of Weightlifting.
** Before I go any further, for those of you that don’t think weightlifting has any relevance to you because your goals are weight and fat-loss, a professional weightlifter burns between 55-75 kcal/kg of body weight/day. So, I (80kg) would burn about 5,200kcal per day!! Got your attention now??? **
Only relatively recently has it been realised the importance of Olympic movements can have when training to increase sporting performance. The two movements (Clean and Snatch) are complex and have 5 different phases to each one, therefore they can be broken down and varied to suit a variety of different sport and specific movement in sporting scenarios.
As briefly mentioned the movements have 5 phases (start, first pull, double knee bend, second pull, finish), the section we are most interest in is the second pull, this when ‘triple extension’ occurs. Triple extension refers to the extension of 3 main joints: the ankles, knees and hip. A serve in tennis is a great example of triple extension at the contact point of the ball on the racket the 3 joints in question will all be fully extended.
The Snatch is a quicker and more speed-strength movement, whereas the Clean and Jerk is a more strength-speed movement. The other main differences are the position of the ‘second pull’ and the ‘catch’ of both movements. The second pull for the Clean occurs at the mid-thigh, for the Snatch it happens at the Hips. The Clean and Jerk will be caught in a front squat and the Snatch in an overhead squat.
Olympic Lifting Variations
1. Full Clean and Jerk
2. Full Snatch
3. Power Clean – only a half squat, the catch is relatively high, usual due to heavy load.
4. Power Snatch – only a half squat, the catch is relatively high, usual due to heavy load.
5. Hang Clean – start from the second pull, not from the floor.
6. Hang Snatch – start from the second pull, not from the floor.
7. Split Clean – catch in a split position, best way I can describe this is a quarter split squat positon.
8. Split Snatch – catch in a split position, best way I can describe this is a quarter split squat position.
Olympic lifting is not just for ‘weightlifters’ you will be surprised how much cross-over there is to many sports and activities. Get practising!