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Let's talk Olympic Weightlifting
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by Jamie Hale
What's the big deal about Olympic Weightlifting? Who needs Olympic Weightlifting? Those are just a couple of topics discussed in a recent interview I conducted with Olympic Weightlifting Coach Manuel Buitrago.
Who benefits from Olympic Weightlifting? Do you prefer teaching non-competitive Olfiters variations of the movements or do you teach the full movement?
It’s difficult to generalize ‘who benefits’ because the Olympic lifts are an investment. Their main benefit is that they can help individuals who need to develop and/or increase power production. This is important because the process of learning the lifts will develop strength and power in muscles that are key in most sports: quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes, lower back, traps. Thus, a wide variety of athletes can benefit from these lifts.
The caveat is that the Olympic lifts are very technical, requiring a knowledgeable coaching eye and a lot of patience from the athlete due to the athletic demands required to perform them (i.e. coordination and body awareness, leg/hip/ankle flexibility and mobility, upper back mobility, etc.). Many individuals with short-run goals may not have the time to invest in and benefit from these lifts, and others do not have the foundation needed to jump into this type of training head-on so other strength and power methods may need to be utilized. Thus the benefits of the Olympic lifts are goal-dependent and individual-specific.
So when I teach these lifts (either in person or online), I have to take into account how much time they devote to these lifts weekly, what their goals are, what kind of foundation they have, when is their next competition, whether coaching is in person or online, how they learn best, etc. From there, I can make decisions about whether to teach the full movements or variations of them.
What are some key differences when teaching competitive O lifters the movements versus teaching movements to non-competitive lifters?
There aren’t any major differences. The reason is because I develop athletes and if someone wants to do Olympic lifting, they have to have the foundation to perform them. That means be able to front squat, back squat, and overhead squat as deep as their mechanics allow without issue as well as be able to press overhead properly.
Most people don’t walk in being able to do this so regardless of whether you want to do competitive Olympic lifting, if you don’t have the base then my first priority is to develop that before moving to the Olympic lifts. Case in point: one of my athletes, who qualified for the World Games this year, came to me last year for coaching. The first thing we did was take a month off of any Olympic lifting and focused solely on supplementary strength movements and lots of mobility to fix muscular imbalances, mobility issues, and inefficient motor patterns that would prevent her from reaching the next level.
Do you prefer snatch or clean? Which do you find easier to teach?
Depends on my progress. Some days I love the snatch, other days I feel like the clean is my strong suit. Because you are not controlling the weight through the entire range of motion as say in a bench press, these lifts have a habit of feeling great one day and feeling terrible on another. It can be very frustrating and I will say, if you haven’t thought about quitting Olympic lifting at least once in your lifting career, you probably aren’t doing them correctly.
As for which is easier to teach, theory and practicality don’t line up. In theory, the snatch should be easier because it’s just one fluid movement, whereas the clean and jerk is a two part movement. In practicality, the biggest issue most people have when doing Olympic lifting is dropping under a weight to catch it. Given that, most people would rather catch something in front of them rather than overhead, so the clean and jerk is easier.
Is there a particular body type that generally is better suited for Olympic lifting?
For non-competitive lifters, this issue is irrelevant. For competitive lifters, this will be a choice of weight class. There will be different body types optimal for different weight classes, but Olympic lifting is suitable for a wide range of body types.
Regardless, the more important issue anyone should consider is what kind of foundation you bring. If I had to choose between a gymnast and powerlifter to do these lifts, I would most likely pick the gymnast because their sport requires more plyometric ability, flexibility, mobility, and better ability to throw one’s body around space than a super strong powerlifter. That doesn’t mean that the powerlifter cant do well at Olympic lifting (Shane Hamman is a great example of this) but in my experience, powerlifters have more flexibility and mobility issues than gymnasts, which means there will be a lot more time spent re-training their movement patterns and addressing their mobility and flexibility.
Why is Olfiting not very popular in American fitness facilities?
Much of the fitness industry relies solely on selling you something and does that by focusing on aesthetics/results in the shortest amount of time possible. Whether you reach your goals or even go to the gym is irrelevant to gym chains, just as long as they can keep charging your membership fee (and personal training fee) to your account every month. So a culture that cares only about charging you and lures you with unrealistic results is not conducive to Olympic lifting (or any serious lifting for that matter).
Additionally, most gym-goers are frankly messed up. The white-collar demands of sitting at a desk all day puts a lot of stress on posture, and affects mobility and flexibility. Most people don’t have a foundation for basic lifting, much less Olympic lifting. Given that most trainers lack any sort of competence in dealing with these issues assures that there aren’t many trainers or coaches certified to teach the Olympic lifts well, which is a liability issue for the gyms.
Favorite exercise?
Well the Olympic lifts for one. Squatting is next.
Favorite Olympic weightlifting book? Favorite nutrition book?
I liked Tommy Kono’s “Weightlifting, Olympic Style” the best out of anything out there. It has a pragmatic way of explaining things without getting to technical (which is great for newer coaches and newer lifters). Drechsler’s “Weightlifting Encyclopedia” is the most comprehensive book out there but is better used as a reference than a learning tool.
One thing I should note is that while these books are good, the Olympic lifts are not very conducive to learning from a book. Video is much better since you can combine visual performance and oral description. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of good video out there. I have tried to remedy that by posting some online demos of the snatch and jerk on my youtube page.
As for nutrition, pretty much Lyle McDonald’s “Guide to Flexible Dieting” is the best out there for those wanting to know dieting strategies, their implementation, and how/why they work. This book doesn’t lay out a diet for you, but rather gives you the tools to construct your own diet. This isn’t for everyone, but in my line of work it helps to have some knowledge of dieting and I defer to more knowledgeable experts like Lyle when I have a question.
How do you coach online?
Basically, I do it through my youtube page. People hire me and send me videos of their sessions (which I write on a daily or weekly basis). I critique the clips frame by frame and go over them over via private messaging, Instant messaging, etc. I point out what isn't correct, reinforce what is correct, and continue to refine. If necessary, I create a private demo video to illustrate a concept while performing what’s being done incorrectly and what should be done. I have created some general demo videos that are a good start but e-coaching is tailored to the individual and how they progress.
Some people do also come out to the facility I coach out of once in a while to supplement their e-coaching. Regardless, e-coaching is not for everyone, it takes a dedicated individual who can effectively implement things on their own. For those who need more instruction, I would advise some hands-on coaching first before trying to learn these lifts through electronic media.
Anything else you would like to mention to readers?
The Olympic lifts are fun and rewarding, but I would caution people to listen to coaches who make claims that they can teach something in 30 minutes or less. Even if such a super-coach can explain something clearly, that doesn't mean that the athlete can perform something instantly since many people come in with entrenched motor patterns that are not conducive to Olympic lifting.
I would also advise people to consider humility and technique from coaches. The less humility, the greater the technique needs to be, otherwise you're probably dealing with someone who thinks they know what they're talking about, but is really just another seller in this industry.
To learn more about Manuel Buitrago visit http://supremesportspt.com/coaches.aspx
Videos @ http://www.youtube.com/user/mhbuitrago
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