Full body lifts such as the clean, snatch, and jerk will take some time to master, but the time and effort put in to master these lifts will definitely be worth the benefit. These lifts involve the entire body, and demand explosive power and close attention to proper technique. Getting the technique down for these movements before loading up the bar is crucial to reduce the risk of injury. A lot of people may say to load up the bar initially, for example when learning how to clean, because they think that correct technique is hard to do with light weight which is false.
I think the clean should be mastered first before any other olympic movement. The catch is one of the most important parts of the lift. The clean can also be done with a jerk after, but it is not a good lift for a beginner unless they have the clean mastered. At Northeastern, athletes don’t normally clean from the floor because of the stress it places on the lower back, and also due to the fact that it’s one of the hardest lifts to do well. The risks of it outweigh the benefits in a college setting where one coach is responsible for many athletes at a time, however; if you were working with a beginner one on one and had the chance to coach them on it, it may be okay. Cleaning from the floor is one of the best lifts for total body strength and mobility.
It’s always important to train like it’s your max weight no matter how light the load is, so when you get to your max weight you are mentally and physically prepared. The end position of the clean is the front, so it’s vital the athlete knows how to correctly perform a front squat first before they can take on the clean. It is important to never progress further unless the athlete can master the previous movement first. Moving on without mastery creates a recipe for disaster. It is better to go backward and get it perfect than to go forward just performing the movement at a decent standard.
The FIRST PROGRESSION OF A CLEAN is a hands free front squat. It is important to be right up against the bar. Have your arms straight out and let the bar rest on your shoulders and chest, and have the bar be right up against your throat. It should feel a bit uncomfortable. Walk the bar out keeping it against your throat. Go down into a front squat, sit back, knees out, keep your weight on your heels, and come up. The SECOND PROGRESSION OF A CLEAN is like a front squat, keep your finger tips on the bar, and keep the elbows high. keeping the elbows high is a major issue because if you catch the bar with your elbows low it will be really hard to support the weight, and it also places more stress on the wrist. Pairing some type of thoracic mobility exercise with the clean is a good idea because it helps you to keep your elbows up. It may even be a good idea to do a thoracic mobility exercise before you start the clean so the benefit can be seen throughout each set. The THIRD PROGRESSION OF A CLEAN is to show the athlete how to do it and have them try it. You may be saying to yourself, “What, how does that work out,” but from Sarah’s point of view, it works out well because people tend to be visual learners, and if you give them too many components to focus on it will be too overwhelming. For the first three weeks just pick out little things for the athlete to focus on, mainly just getting the catch correct. It will take a while to get the motion down, but once they do, they will be more responsive to critique. No load should be put on the bar until the athlete can do everything perfectly. When cleaning from the floor, it’s important to distribute weight equally throughout the whole foot. It is taught with a three pause system, one being below the knees, 2 above the knees, and 3 at mid thigh.
The squat and jerk should be learned before the clean and jerk. For the squat and jerk, the landing should be one foot in front of the other with a decent amount of space between both. The landing should be low, so a wide base of support is in place. To come up from a squat and jerk, the 1st foot moves back, and then the 2nd foot moves in. The back toe should be in a press the whole time. Start in a squat position with the elbows up, dip and drive. The bar should finish over mid foot, and important things to note include a wide landing base, no hip hinge, staying tall, and keeping elbows tall the whole time during the dip.
The snatch is the most explosive lift. Where as in the clean the bar comes in contact with the thigh, with the snatch the bar is in contact with the waist. When doing the snatch, the safety racks should be up high. For the snatch progression, start with dowels. The progression goes as follows; 1. OVERHEAD SQUAT, 2. SQUAT AND PRESS up with dowel and land in a squat underneath the bar, 3. ADD A FOOT SHUFFLE to the previous step, 4. WHOLE MOVEMENT. Keep the bar close to the body then throw the weight overhead. For beginners, or if somebody can’t perform the movements correctly, it may be best to start with a dumbbell snatch. For teaching this, show them how it looks a few times, and then have them perform the movement and see how it looks. Correct a few major things and let them run with it, as they will get the hang of it with practice.