Weightlifting Exercise Classification and Derivatives

Classifying Exercises in Weightlifting

  • Weightlifters specialize in the snatch and the clean and jerk.
  • They use variants and derivatives to develop the snatch and clean and jerk.

Weightlifting is More Than Just The Snatch and Clean and Jerk

  • Weightlifters also need holistic strength.
  • They incorporate power cleans, hang power movements, clean pulls, Romanian deadlifts, push jerks, and other supplemental exercises.

Technical vs. Strength Training

  • Snatch and clean and jerk are considered technical and tactical training.
  • Other exercises serve as strength training for the sport.

Technique Exercises

  • Snatches from the floor, hang, or blocks.
  • Blocks are used to gauge the rate of force development, while hang focuses on speed.
  • Blocks are set at key positions to initiate individual phases.
    • For pole strength, the barbell is set at the height of the pull initiation.
    • For transition phase, Romanian deadlifts or snatch from the knee with the bar at the patella tendon can be used.
  • Jerks from racks.
  • Other exercises to fine-tune technique: snatch balances and jerk recoveries.

Strength and Performance Exercises

  • Power derivatives (catching derivatives).
  • These exercises are critical for developing non-weightlifters.
  • Power snatch: receiving the bar with thighs above parallel.
    • Variations: from the floor, knee, or thigh, using blocks or hang.
  • Power clean: receiving the bar above parallel.
    • Variations: from the knee or thigh, hang or blocks.
  • Full clean and snatch are not typically used with non-weightlifters, except potentially in the preparatory period.
  • Full cleans are too taxing and cause too much residual fatigue, and are not appropriate during the in-season.

Strength Exercises

  • Power cleans and power snatches from the floor, knee, or thigh.
  • Squatting: critical for building robust athletes
    • Variations: back squats, front squats, overhead squats, one-legged squats, one-legged overhead squats, full/quarter/half/bottom-up squats
  • Pulling motions: snatch and clean pulls are preferred over deadlifts due to the double knee bend.
    • Snatching clean pulls from the floor, knee and the thigh should be a part of a training program.
  • Romanian deadlifts:
    • Clean grip: go down to just below the patella.
    • Snatch grip: longer range of motion, less weight, focuses on stretching the hamstring.

Pressing and Jerking Motions

  • Push press: dip, drive, and catch.
    • Variations: front or behind the neck (snatch grip only behind the neck).
  • Push jerk: dip and drive, then drop under the bar and rebend the knees.
    • Variations: front or behind the neck (snatch grip only behind the neck).
  • Military press (overhead press): done with a clean grip.
  • Behind the neck press: can be done with snatch or clean grip.
  • Pressing in a full squat position or seated.

Compound Exercises

  • Combinations: power clean and push jerk/press, lunge and press, power clean + front squat + push press.
  • More combinations lean towards conditioning; consider rep and loading schemes.

Weightlifting Exercises for Non-Weightlifters

  • Catching derivatives: mid-thigh clean/snatch, power clean/snatch, countermovement clean/snatch (re-bend before starting).
  • Power and hang motions from blocks
  • Pulling derivatives: mid-thigh pull, jump shrug, pull from the knee, high pull, pull from the floor.
  • Overhead pressing derivatives: push press, push jerk, split jerk, behind the neck press/jerk/split jerk.

Derivative Motions

  • Catching derivatives: power movements.
  • Pulling derivatives: pulling motion.
  • Overhead pressing derivatives.

Historical Context

  • Professor Stone presented on weightlifting derivatives ~30 years before Associate Professor Tim Suchomel.
  • Vrboyev discussed it in the 1970s.

Relative Power Outputs

  • Varying degrees of power output (watts per kilogram) among weightlifting motions.
  • Classifications:
    • High force and high velocity.
    • Moderate to high force and moderate to high velocity.
    • Low force and high velocity (e.g., jump squats).
    • High force and low velocity (e.g., powerlifting movements).
  • The load on the bar affects the ability to express high power.

Snatch and Clean Pull

  • Athlete should stay relatively flat-footed but not lean back excessively.
  • Clean and snatch pulls are a central part of training for non-weightlifters.
  • Preferred over deadlifts due to translation to weightlifting movements and better link to sports performance.

Hang High Pull and Jump Shrug

  • Hang high pull: may be beneficial for rowers in particular due to mimicking rowing motion.
  • Jump shrug: jump squat pull from the pole position.
  • Higher power output due to jumping off the ground.

Pulls from Blocks

  • Block work emphasizes the rate of force development.
  • Hang work emphasizes speed.
  • Allows aligning training characteristics to phases of training.
  • Two days before competition: block work can be used because it is not taxing but it works the rate of force development.

Force-Velocity Continuum

  • Associate Professor Suchmel's presentation suggests a spectrum.
    Jump shrugs (highest velocity, lowest force) to clean/snatch pulls (lowest velocity, highest force).
  • However, load on the bar dictates velocity, making it difficult to assign exercises to a specific part of the continuum.
  • Loading impacts different areas of the paradigm.
  • Push press: strength builder.
  • Countermovement shrug and hang pulls: strength speed with loads of 140, speed strength with 70%.

Benefits of Full Lifts

  • Allow yielding forces (catching derivatives).
  • Reception strength: co-contraction of spinal stabilizer muscles on reception.

Balanced Approach

  • Use both catching and non-catching derivatives for variation.

Pressing Derivatives

  • Press is done with a lower percentage of 1RM than the jerk.
  • Pressing strength translates to jerk performance.

Athlete Groups and Pressing Exercises

  • Weightlifters have higher performance capacities in push press, push jerk, and split jerk.
  • The squat jerk, a split jerk, has the highest loads that can be lifted for the weightlifter.
  • Push press: strength-dominant.
  • Push jerk: more leg drive.
  • Split jerk: even more leg drive.
  • Standing press and push: strength developers.
  • Push press, push jerk, and split jerk: strength speed developers.
  • Push press and push jerk have translations into vertical jump due to the countermovement.

Conclusion

  • Weightlifting and its derivatives are effective for speed, agility, metabolic conditioning, and plyometric training.
  • Use weightlifting and its derivatives as foundational exercises.
  • Do not directly transfer weightlifters programs to athletes in other sports; tailor exercises to targeted outcomes.