Exercises That Teach Technique, Part One -- Jim Schmitz (2007)

 

Note: Mr. Schmitz is mainly known for his efforts with Olympic lifting; however, with a little bit of thought and creative application, as always, we can take whatever he has learned and apply it to our chosen form of lifting. 

I have found that one of the best methods for teaching correct technique is doing movements that absolutely require it, so that you can learn by feel as well as by thought. 

The snatch and the clean & jerk are very highly-skilled athletic movements, and as in any sport, just doing the complete movement isn't enough to perfect the technique. You need drills and exercises that are critical to developing good technique and the individual's physical capabilities. 

I'm going to give you my favorite lifts and drills for improving technique, along with the objective of the exercise. We begin with what I like to call my Basic Six:

1) Hang Power Snatch (HPS)

2) Hang Power Clean (HPC)

3) Clean-style Deadlift & Shrug (CDL)

4) Push Press (PP)

5) Front Squat (FS) 

6) Overhead Squat (OS)

Hang Power Snatch (HPS)

First up is the power snatch from the middle of the thighs, otherwise known as the hang power snatch (HPS). The starting position is: 

bar at mid-thighs

wide snatch grip

feet flat on the floor

knees slightly bent

back flat

chest out

arms straight

shoulders slightly over the bar

head looking straight ahead

The bar is pulled over the head in on fast motion, with a slight squat to catch or receive the bar overhead, and then you stand erect. This lift teaches the completion and finish of the snatch, which requires extending the ankles, knees, and hips, and shrugging the shoulders, and then pulling the bar over your head while slightly squatting under the bar and reaching up with the arms and shoulders as the hands turn over. I want to stress the importance of keeping the bar close to your body and of not jumping the feet sideways.

The HPS is excellent for teaching the proper position of the hips for the second pull and the overhead catch for the snatch: hips behind and not underneath the shoulders. This is the first or second exercise for the snatch taught by most coaches, depending on the coach and the athlete. 

Hang Power Clean (HPS)

The hang power clean (HPC) is similar to the HPS, except it is a clean from the middle of the thighs to the shoulders. That means you start with: 

shoulder width grip

bar at mid-thighs

feet flat on the floor

legs slightly bent

arms straight

back flat

chest out

shoulders slightly over the bar

head looking straight ahead 

The bar is then pulled up by extending the ankles, knees, and hips, and shrugging the shoulders. The arms bend as you slightly squat and meet the bar on your shoulders, with your elbows whipping around in front of you and your hips behind you -- this is the catch or receive position -- and then stand erect. This exercise teaches you:

1) the ankle, knee, and hip extension and the shoulder shrug,

2) how to keep the bar close to the body, and

3) how to meet the bar on your deltoids and clavicles as you slightly squat. 

Here we are stressing the importance of the catch with slightly bent knees, hips behind you, and elbows in front of you, and of not jumping the feet sideways. 

The HPC is also excellent for teaching the hip action from the second pull to the catch, with the hips behind, and not directly under, the shoulders. This is the first or second exercise for the clean taught by most coaches, depending on the coach and athlete.

Note: You may like this 2 hour and 20 minute instruction video.

Olympic Style Weightlifting with Jim Schmitz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySpCTPYo57Q 

Clean-style Deadlift and Shrug (CDL)

The clean-style deadlift and shrug (CDL) is an exercise used to teach the pull from the floor for all lifts. Whether you are snatching, cleaning, deadlifting, picking up boxes or whatever, this exercise teaches you to lift something from the floor. You start with: 

shoulder-width overhand clean grip (not an alternate grip as in powerlifting)

feet flat on the floor

bar just grazing the shins

arms straight

back flat

head looking straight ahead

hips higher than the knees, but lower than the shoulders.

Hold this position a moment. Now lift the bar off the floor, using your hips, thighs, and back simultaneously. Pull slowly and deliberately. The back must remain flat or arched, and the hips and shoulders rise at the same speed. When the bar gets to the upper thighs, your feet should still be flat on the floor; now rise up on your toes, extend your hips and knees, and shrug your shoulders simultaneously, getting as tall as possible. Hold this position for a moment if you can, and then lower the bar back to the floor slowly and under control. Get set and repeat.

The CDL is fantastic for teaching you to keep the back flat. In fact, if the back starts to round, the weight is too heavy. Also, you learn to start the pull slowly and to maintain the correct body positions as you go through the first and second phases of the pull. The scoop or double knee bend can also be taught here or it may occur naturally. Balance and strength are developed as well. The carryover from CDLs to weightlifting and back and hip strength development is just incredible. I want to stress that this lift is DONE IN SLOW MOTION. 

Push Press (PP) 

The push press (PP) teaches you how to dip, drive, lock out, place the bar directly over your ears, and hold a weight over your head -- and not to hit your chin or nose. 

    Ronnie Weller, completing a push press.

Dip, drive, complete the press.

The PP is done by taking a barbell off a rack (or you can clean it, but I prefer taking it off a rack), with: 

shoulder-width or slightly wider grip

the bar resting on your deltoids and clavicles

feet shoulder-width to hip-width

you are standing at military attention.

This is the start position. You now dip your two legs 2 to 4 inches as your hip move up, and go slightly behind you, your elbows go out in front, your chest stays up, and your body stays as erect as possible. Now extend your legs to drive the barbell over your head -- your head must go back to avoid being hit. As the bar passes your head, it comes forward and the arms take over and finish the press; you're locking out the arms at the same time you're locking out the knees. You can go up on your toes when you drive the bar off your shoulders, but do not jump the feet out. The arms are fully extended, the knees locked, and the feet flat on the floor, and you are at military attention, with the bar directly over your ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. 

I like to tell people that the PP teaches you which way is up, because you have to have the bar straight up in order to do the lift successfully. Hold and lower under control, catching the bar on your deltoids and clavicles by bending your knees as the bar touches, and then stand back up to military attention and repeat. 

Some people have trouble with this exercise because they want to re-bend their knees as they finish the press. That makes it a push jerk or power jerk (PJ), which one learns after they have learned the PP. Therefore, it must be stressed that the knees and elbows lock out at the same time, with no re-bending of the knees! 

Front Squat (FS)

The front squat (FS) teaches the correct position for catching or receiving the clean, power clean or squat clean, and the correct position for starting push presses, push jerks, and split jerks. The FS is performed by taking a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip, usually the same as for cleaning, and then rotating your hands and elbows around in front of you so that the bar rests on your deltoids and clavicles. Your grip may loosen so that the bar is just being held by your fingertips. I must warn you that the FS can be quite uncomfortable for your wrists, elbows, and shoulders until you get more flexible and develop proper form. 

Once you have the bar properly positioned, you stand up and step back from the squat racks, with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart; you are standing erect, chest up, looking straight ahead. You squat down as far as you can comfortably go, ideally rock-bottom (hips way below knees, hamstrings resting on calves). Many can't go all the way down, especially beginners, so you go as far as you feel comfortable, and as you do them more often, you will bet better at going lower. 

Once you've gone as low as you can go, you stand back up to the fully-erect, legs locked position. It is very important to keep your elbows up and in front of you throughout; your hips should stay behind you as you descend and begin the ascent, but at about the halfway point, the hips must come forward and stay under the bar. Your knees should stay directly forward over your feet, but if they move out slightly, that is okay, and some people may have the knees go out as they finish standing. That is okay; it depends on one's individual body. This lift can be quite stressful on the wrists in the beginning; they usually take about two weeks to adapt. Also, if your heels come up as you squat, you may want to place them on a 2x4 or 1x4 until your flexibility improves. 

To be continued in Part Two. 

Note: A guy contacted me about selling this blog deal. He wants 10% of the 70,000 he can get from someone who'll put ads up like a fucking shite-smearer right away and likely has no clue what the damned thing's even about. "Business" interests I believe they call this. This is the third offer I've ever had that turned out not to be a childish attempt at a money-scam. Nah. Get off my lawn and take your green with ya, asshole! 

Now, to the "anonymous" whiner in the comments who requested that I refrain from adding my little bits here and there with some of this stuff. Fuck you. Move on. You are not yet up to the evolutionary level we demand here. Perhaps later? Several more lifetimes later? I look forward to it!    

Enjoy Your Lifting!