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Barlifting Flaws

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There are about a million technique flaws that can be exhibited in the snatch, clean, and jerk. And, unfortunately for coaches and athletes alike, it is common for more than one of these faults to be displayed in a lifter at the same time. So when someone has multiple technique errors that need to be fixed, where do you start?

Perhaps it’s obvious, but you should not try to fix everything all at once.

Experience has shown that giving a lifter multiple corrections to focus on at once tends to make things worse. If you’re lucky, both things will “sort of” improve, but not as optimally as if you kept the cue singular.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t correct more than one thing in a day (though often that’s a good idea, especially if the fault …show more content…

Many times, this will be something to do with the set-up and initial lift off from the ground. Either the person’s back isn’t locked in extension, or they lose that extension as they start their pull. Occasionally, there will be something wrong with overhead positioning, preventing the bar from being locked out securely, or throwing the lumbar spine into hyperextension. No matter what other wonkiness is going on in the lift, make it safe first and …show more content…

This doesn’t just mean the set-up on the ground; I have new lifters do a lot of work from the hang, and achieving the proper set-up in these positions is also extremely important.

I believe that lifts done from the hang should look as close as possible positioning wise to those same points in the full lifts. For example, I see many people try to bend their knees so much that they protrude past the bar when lowering down into an above-the-knee hang position. But the fact is, that position never actually occurs in a full lift – the body will instead be hinged over, with shoulders out in front of the bar, and the knees bent only slightly. If your set-up is incorrect whether from the hang or from the floor, it is much more difficult to reach proper positions during the rest of the lift.

At this point, in someone who came in with multiple technique flaws, the odds are good that they were deficient in at least one of the above points. My purpose with this post is not to give a complete description of the entire priority list for error correction in weightlifting, but just to give ideas on starting points when a lifter displays more than one

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