Ice Cream in the Dark or Loopy Bar Syndrome

Hello again my hungry friends! I hope this morning you are training hard or recovering well from your last session. Today's topic is about another common weightlifting error. This error can make you leap forward too much as you pull under your bar. It can also cause your success to be very inconsistent. Last but not least, this error can cause you to partially crush your trachea and make talking/breathing super uncomfortable. Today, we're talking about the loopy bar path.

Eating Ice Cream in the Dark

The fastest way from one point to another is always a straight line as long as there are no obstacles to block progress. That is why a straighter bar path is desirable during the snatch or clean. I like the analogy my coach David Chiu uses on myself and other aspiring lifters. "It's like eating ice cream in the dark!" If your goal is to eat delicious ice cream in the dark, you wouldn't take the spoon in a longer looping pathway to get from the bowl to your mouth. And if your goal is to hoist heavy barbells into their proper position, you wouldn't take a longer looping pathway to get from the floor to your front rack or overhead.

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Barbell even Closer

To quote American record snatch holder Colin Burns "Feel hairs." as the bar passes over your legs. Continue the closeness into your 3rd pull or pull under the bar by leading the way with your elbows. As the well known Russian 105 kg lifter Dmitry Klokov says "The elbows point where the bar will go." Also, use your hip to push the bar upwards. Never slam your bar forwards with your hips using a humping motion. As Klokov also says: "This is for sex... This is for snatch..."

Position over Power

I like the idea of making mistakes at 100%. It's great to let loose with all of your energy and go full blast on any athletic endeavor. Alas, weightlifting, she is a complicated mistress. Being successful in weightlifting is based heavily upon your position. Relying on strength, power, and speed alone can get you only so far. Weightlifting wants you to hit all the right positions with the exact right timing. She's a little demanding but she is more than worth the effort. Using drills to segment the lifts into their smaller components is a great way to work out the kinks in your positioning. Power position is the spot a lifter will hit just before extending hips/knees/ankles and pushing their hip upwards into the barbell. Ironically enough, power position is the right spot to let loose with 100% aggression and energy. Trying to go 100% from the wrong position can lead you down the path to pain, misery, and heartache... Yes my weightlifting friends... That is definitely what she said...

Lift Like a Shot-Putter, Save Your Pelvic Area!

I've been training and coaching the Olympic lifts long enough to notice some common mistakes with which most beginners and even some experienced lifters struggle. The purpose of this first blog post is to address a common problem that can turn even the most aggressive athlete timid and meek.

Bruised Pelvic Bones Hurt

If you want to be a successful Olympic weightlifter pushing the barbell upward with your hips is important. However, if you find yourself afraid of making contact because it leaves you with a pelvic region full of painful bruises I highly recommend going back to the drawing table with your technique.

I like to use analogies when I coach any athletic movement. Movement is a language and any person new to the language will struggle to understand. Luckily, analogy is a language that anyone can decipher. I love seeing the light-bulb go off over someone's head when they understand what I am trying to explain through a simple comparison.

With hip contact in the Olympic lifts I use the analogy of a shot-putter. There is no throwing involved in this ancient Olympic sport. The men's shot weighs 16 pounds. Try to throw that like a baseball and kiss all of the connective tissue in your shoulder goodbye. Also, take note of how connected to his body an Olympic shot-putter must keep his implement before applying explosive force. The only way to apply force into that large of an object safely is by pushing directly into it's center. Just like Olympic weightlifting.

With the Olympic lifts the center of the barbell is the shot-put and the hip is applying the pushing force. Any pain or bruising is caused by the barbell being too far away from the hip when force is starting to be applied. It is almost unimaginable to think of a shot-putter attempting to slap his implement out of the air for max distance. However, every weightlifter that has pain with hip contact is attempting a similar feat.

If your pelvic bone is feeling beat up you need to keep the bar close and apply upward force with your hip by pushing upwards. Smashing your hips into the bar from too far away will only lead to you making some seriously strange underpants purchases and hurtful accusations from your significant other.