In my opinion bar height and timing is very crucial for Olympic weightlifters. This is why I believe a majority of beginner, novice, and intermediate weightlifters need to spend more time doing the classical lifts vs. powers and other auxiliary movements. This not only builds bar awareness but also bar control that is a necessity for successful weightlifters.
With that said, in some cases auxiliary work can be beneficial to learn “force” you to learn what a “pull under” feels like and so on. Auxiliary movements such as the high hangs or dead hangs help weightlifters learn how to pull under efficiently:
But a majority of the work still should be spent doing the classical full lifts (snatch, clean and jerk). How we program this is all dependent on the development of the lifter and their adaptation rates. Generally speaking a break down may look like this for a x5 day split:
Day 1
- Drop Snatches (primers) 3×2
- Snatch 5×2 (medium)
- Cleans 3×2 (light)
- Front Squat 4×2
- Upper Aux and abs
Day 2
- High Hangs (primers 2×2)
- Clean 5×2 (medium)
- Snatch 3×2 (light)
- Jerks 3×2 (light-med)
- Snatch Pull 4×2 (med-high)
- Cl RDL 3×5
Day 3
- Clean 3×2 (medium)
- 2pt snatch 3×2 (light)
- BSQ 4×5
- Upper Aux and abs
Day 4
- Snatch 4×2 (medium)
- 2 pt Clean 3×2 (light)
- Clean Pull 4×2 (med-high)
- Pause dip jerk 3×2 (light)
Day 5
- Snatch 3-5×2 (med-high)
- Clean 3-5×2 (med-high)
- Jerk 3-5×2 (med-high)
- Weighted abs
As you can see we still are doing the full lifts x5 days week adding in two “primers” before the full lifts and adding in auxiliary movements on day 3 and 4 to hopefully challenge the lifters speed under and bar control around the knees without really taxing them. Again, keep in mind that this is a generalization and obviously will need to be tailored to the lifter based on their needs and how they adapt to each movement.
Bar Timing
Going back to the main topic, I thought this video of Hiromi Miyake does a GREAT job of explaining the importance of weightlifting efficiency and not over pulling:
The video says it all. 🙂
Stay strong,