When beginner athletes start the sport of Olympic Weightlifting it can seem as if a lot is being thrown at them. The snatch and clean and jerk are difficult in and of themselves, but without having done them before, and trying to work on the technique, it can seem like there is so much to think about. At Lift Lab, we like to make a beginner lifter’s start in the sport very streamlined and easy. We don’t get complicated and we don’t get fancy. We master the basics.
An example of this is we like to really establish a good position from the floor to the knee. Our thought is if we can get a lifter to master this very fast, they will be well on their way to more successful lifts.
We do this by incorporating what we call a 1/3 deadlift into a beginner’s program. We do this with intermediate and advanced lifters as well because everyone can always get better at the fundamentals. However, beginners will see this pretty much every day of their first program. We incorporate the 1/3 deadlift in the form of a snatch deadlift and a clean deadlift.
Below is a video on all the “how-to’s” for the 1/3 deadlift.
We believe this is the most important exercise for beginner’s because it is probably the hardest position for them to achieve. Not only can it be a hard position to achieve but is usually a position that is very glossed over. People like to talk about the extension of the legs and hips all day, but if you aren’t in a good position at the knee before that it isn’t going to matter. To really set someone up for a successful lift they need to master the position from the floor to the knee. Once that is established, we can focus more on other things. The 1/3 deadlift is a perfect exercise for beginners because it isn’t very demanding on current physical skill or ability. You can never have snatch or cleaned in your life and can come in and execute a solid 1/3 deadlift. This can give the lifter a better understanding of the basics of the snatch and clean and can give them some more confidence with the lift. Again, if the start of the lift is executed properly the rest of the lift will be made easier.
If interested in a Weightlifting consultation or assessment hit the link below and let us help you out!