3 Things you are Doing Wrong in Weightlifting
Bar to Hip Contact:
The common misconception about bar contact is an aggressive hip thrust into the bar. Coaches will literally tell you to throw your hips into the bar to finish a snatch or a clean. We have found that this does nothing but put the bar out of place. The proper way to make contact at the hip is by brushing the bar from your mid thigh up to your hips. This will bring the hips back under the bar so that the lift will be finished more vertically then it would if you banged the bar with your hips.
Foot Movement/Don't Slam Your Feet:
I have personally heard coaches cue a foot slam. They would tell the athlete that the louder the feet are the better. This is also false. Jumping the feet in any olympic weightlifting movement will create a disconnect between the final pull and the finish. The longer you can keep the feet grounded the more force you will be able to produce. The proper foot movement should be a slide. The ideal height for foot movement on an olympic lift is 1 inch. Sliding your feet opposed to jumping with make the connection to the floor longer causing more force to be applied.
Back Squats Are Overrated:
The most difficult thing to get a weightlifter to understand is the back squat. Yes, it is great having a heavy back squat and it makes the lifter feel good, but this does not transition over well to an olympic lift. Now it's obvious some strength from the back squat will carry over, but not nearly as much as a front squat. I can not tell you how many people I see with crazy back squats that still can not separate themselves from the pack when it comes to competition. Front squats transition over better because of the way they are performed. A front squat is done in a clean catch position and works core along with strength. The more you can front squat, the more you can clean and snatch. The more you can back squat, well… The more you can back squat.
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