I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…
Most people shouldn’t be doing Olympic lifts.
The name itself should probably be a giveaway. It’s an Olympic sport. That gives you an idea of the time and effort required to do those two lifts safely.
Athletes who reach the Olympic level start practicing their technique on the snatch and clean & jerk while they’re still in the crib.
They work on their hip and shoulder mobility day in and day out; year after year.
Good coaches have their athletes practicing with a light PVC pipe for several months before they even allow them to touch a barbell.
Yet, nowadays, someone sees a commercial on TV, walks by a local Crossfit or sees something on their Instgram feed and they go to the gym that day and start doing snatches.
If you’re an adult who hasn’t been doing all the necessary prep work over the last several years that’s a recipe for disaster.
You’re gonna get hurt.
Here’s leading spine researcher, Dr. Stuart McGill’s take on it:
“The flexibility required in the hips and shoulders in many cases is a gift from your parents. No matter how much stretching is attempted, some will never have the hip and shoulder socket anatomy to deep squat and support a bar overhead. But they will try, and their compromised form will create substantial injury mechanisms.”
In Renegade training programs I never prescribe traditional Olympic lifts.
But…
You still have to be explosive if you want to look, feel and perform like an athlete.
And how do you do that?
You sprint, jump and throw. That simple.
For the upper body you can do some explosive medicine ball chest passes or plyo pushup variations.
For the lower body there are countless jump variations you can employ.
And short distance sprints can be included in numerous ways.
Mix those three in with some heavy dumbbells or kettlebells and some bodyweight exercises and you’ll be on the road to building a badass physique.
For complete training programs go to:
www.RenegadeStrengthClub.com
Why I Don’t Prescribe Olympic Lifts
Posted by Jason Ferruggia
