Find out how you can organize your weightlifting workout at home and what equipment you need. Almost everyone has heard of such a sports discipline as weightlifting. This sport is represented at the Olympic Games and some suggest that there is nothing difficult about doing weightlifting at home. However, this is not so, and you should immediately warn you that from a technical point of view, this sports discipline is quite difficult. Today, there are two competitive movements in weightlifting: the clean and jerk.
A brief history of the development of weightlifting
It is generally accepted that weightlifting dates back to the 19th century. At the same time, and up to this point, there were sports that resembled weightlifting. The first official championship was held in the United States, and then weightlifting came to European countries. At the end of the 19th century, championships in this sport were actively held throughout the air.
The International Federation was born at the beginning of the last century, namely in 1912. Throughout the history of this sport, changes have been made to the rules that dealt with competitive movements. Since 1920, athletes have performed single-handed snatch and jerk, as well as two-handed clean and jerk.
Since 1924, the two-handed snatch and bench press have been added to the world championship program. As a result, there were five competitive movements. Four years later, in 1928, it was decided to remove the snatch and jerk with one hand from the number of competitive movements, thereby bringing the number of exercises to three. The last change came in 1973, when only two movements were left: the clean and jerk with two hands. According to these rules, all competitions are held now.
Competitive weightlifting exercises
So, if you decide to do weightlifting at home, then you should master the technique of basic competitive movements. Your results directly depend on this. Of course, the power parameters also need to be developed, but if the movement is performed with errors, then it will be extremely difficult to fix the weight.
Let's start with a snatch, during which the athlete needs to raise a sports equipment (barbell) over his head from the platform in one motion. In this case, the lifted weight must be fixed on straight legs or the attempt will not be counted.
The clean and jerk consists of two movements and is no less difficult than the jerk. First, the athlete needs to lift the projectile from the ground and throw it on the chest, sitting under it. After that, the bar must be thrown out with arms extended upward and legs straightened. Moreover, the feet must be parallel for the attempt to be counted.
Tips for Mastering Movements in Weightlifting
Once again, I want to say that weightlifting at home is quite difficult to master. Now we are not talking about the development of physical parameters, but the technique of performing movements. Only by learning how to perform the snatch and jerk correctly can you expect high results. In the West, well-known coaches often hold seminars for those who want to get acquainted with the basics of this sport, and they always focus on the technique.
If you want to do weightlifting at home, but do not plan to perform, then you should not give up studying the technique of competitive movements in this sport. Very often, novice athletes, seeing how difficult these movements are, abandon them.
We strongly advise you not to do this. You must understand that lifting at home will help you to significantly increase the strength of all muscles in your body, which is a practical skill as opposed to huge muscles. Do not be afraid of the difficulties that may await you while mastering the snatch and clean and jerk. We will now give you some tips that will definitely help you in this matter.
Watch the angles, not the speed, while detaching the projectile
Both competition movements in weightlifting begin with lifting a sports equipment. It is at the moment of the separation of the bar from the platform that many novice athletes make mistakes, which then do not allow them to fix the attempt. First of all, this applies to those athletes who have mastered deadlift.
There is a major difference between this exercise and the weightlifting movement. If at the moment of lifting the projectile from the ground when performing deadlift you need to immediately develop the maximum speed, then in the snatch and clean and jerk it is not of fundamental importance. All leading coaches try to wean their players from the desire to develop maximum speed at the time of separation.
Remember, home weightlifting assumes that the speed of the projectile to hip level does not matter. To perform a competitive movement, you need to take the correct position. If you did everything correctly, then it will be easier for you to raise the projectile over your head and fix the weight taken.
Most novice athletes are sure that it is the take-off speed that is the key to a successful attempt, but this is not so. At the same time, if you have great strength, then you can lift the projectile quickly. However, even in this case, it is necessary to monitor the angles in order to take the correct position. When the sports equipment is moving at high speed, the athlete may miss the moment of detonation and will definitely not be able to complete the attempt. But in cases where the projectile does not move very quickly, but the athlete has taken the correct position, the chances of success increase rapidly.
Let's take a look at this correct position that has been talked about so much. We will immediately inform you that when performing a movement, it takes a few moments and it is important not to miss this time. The bar should be directly over the heels with the knees in front of the bar and the shoulders back.
Try to get under a sports equipment faster
The quick dive of the floor sports equipment represents the most intimidating moment when performing competitive movements in weightlifting. Most often, the inner voice at this moment insistently says that it is worth raising the projectile as high as possible and only after that sit down under it. However, in practice, everything is completely different and the more time you wait for the moment to get hooked under the projectile, the more difficult it will be to complete the movement.
According to almost all professional trainers, one of the most common mistakes in weightlifting is the protracted phase of the projectile detonation. Once the bar is in the thigh area, you should start looking for a moment to dive. Most novice athletes continue to raise the projectile to the chest area and only then try to get hooked.
This is not true, you should fall under the barbell while it is at the hip. If you want to fix the weight taken, then you do not need to devote a lot of time to lifting the projectile. The muscles of the thighs are much stronger than the arms, which is why you need to squat under the equipment while it is near the navel. If you encounter a sports equipment at the top of the trajectory trajectory, you can avoid powerful inertia, which makes further movements difficult.
To wean yourself from long lifts, start spreading your legs at the moment when the bar is at the hip. It is quite understandable that as soon as an athlete lifts his legs off the ground, trying to place them, he simply will not be able to lift the projectile.
Stamp your heels on the platform
This advice is interconnected with the previous one and to master this element you need not a professional trainer, but only hearing. When you lift off the ground and hover in the air for a couple of moments, then stamp your foot on the ground for a pop that can be heard.
This will keep you from lifting too long, and will also shift your focus to footwork, which is important for each of the two movements in weightlifting. In addition, you are guaranteed to lower yourself to a full foot and it will be easier for you to maintain balance. If you land on your toes first, then 90 percent of the time the attempt will fail.
Improve coordination
In weightlifting, coordination of movements is essential. This is especially important when performing a snatch. For the attempt to be successful, it is necessary to combine three movements:
- Heels stomp on the ground.
- The elbow joints are included in the work.
- The pelvis is in the lowest position of the squat trajectory.
Of course, it is almost impossible to achieve perfect performance here, but you need to strive for this. Not every famous weightlifter performs this snatch element correctly. But if you manage to master it, then the chances of achieving high results increase significantly.
Perform assistive movements
Although the technique of performing competitive movements is of great importance and you need to constantly work on it, do not forget about the auxiliary exercises. It is generally accepted that a world-class athlete is capable of performing a snatch with a projectile weighing about 70 percent of his body weight. To improve this result, you need to develop your physical parameters.
The best home weightlifting assistive movements are the squat and bench press. The first movement will increase the power of the lower body, and the second will increase the power of the upper body. Do not forget about these exercises, wherever you are doing weightlifting - at home or in the sports section. We hope that today's recommendations will help you achieve great results in such a wonderful sport as weightlifting.
How to train at home, see the following video:
