The title for this article is a quote from Paul Doherty of Hassle Free Barbell. As I enter the final week of Nationals training this quote holds specific “weight” for me.
In weightlifting competitions there is a phrase regarding attempts on the platform that sounds like common sense but always hold true. “Just make lifts.” For the past 7 months this has been the mantra of my training in hopes that it becomes reality at Nationals. Just make lifts. Making lifts makes competitors do the same.
All that being said, 75% of my missed lifts in competitions are attributed to press-outs or lack of lock-out in the jerk. In fact, I can remember the 2 times I have ever missed a clean in competition. It has ALWAYS been the jerk. I especially have a hard time locking out the jerk because of overhead stability and strength. However, 7 months of training and 7 months of specific focus on this has been fruitful. I don’t want to make the clean that matters and miss the jerk. I tell my lifters all the time a PR clean without a PR jerk is just 3 red lights. I’m more a fan of white lights myself.
To keep with the theme Jim Schmitz just posted a pretty in-depth article on this exact problem that is well worth the read. Check out his article on the lock-out for the jerk: Correcting Press-out in the Jerk
5 days…
Developing Power & Strength through the use of the Olympic Lifts.
