Starting Oly Lifting

[accuFLEX]

I’ve started getting into olympic lifts after really taking a liking to “thrusters” from a crossfit workout.

I did them for the first time last week, and will be implementing them into my routine from now on.

I have two questions/concerns:

My snatch is incredibly weak. I only feel comfortable doing the bar with wooden plates (their like 1lb each). Is this normal starting off? Basically my shoulders and traps get really tense. I think once I get used to the movement I’ll improve.

Second question is in regards to cleans. I don’t “jerk” at the end, instead, I clean the weight (following ExRx.net’s videos) and then push it over my head in one motion. I couldn’t find a video of it online, so I’m not sure if that’s recommended or not.

[Brad08]

My snatch is incredibly weak. I only feel comfortable doing the bar with wooden plates (their like 1lb each). Is this normal starting off? Basically my shoulders and traps get really tense. I think once I get used to the movement I’ll improve.

Of course. There's a learning curve. You have to teach your body the motor patterns, etc. And the snatch has some tough positions that require a lot of stability and mobility, all of which has to be learned, then drilled.


Second question is in regards to cleans. I don’t “jerk” at the end, instead, I clean the weight (following ExRx.net’s videos) and then push it over my head in one motion. I couldn’t find a video of it online, so I’m not sure if that’s recommended or not.

So, clean and push press? "recommended" by who? If you want to be an olympic champion, then you'd better learn the jerk. If you just want to screw around in your basement, clean & push press is fine. Eventually you may try the full C&J though and you may find yourself naturally 'jerking' the weights once they get heavy enough.

[Guido]

^ What he said. Learn the movements with very light weights first. Learning correct technique is crucial to taking the next step with heavy weights. Once you get it down, though, improvement will come quickly.

[accuFLEX]

Cool, that's what I thought.

Is the jerk movement tough to learn?