Weightlifting For Beginners - ebook

Mihai Ivan

Before you begin reading this book, I want you to do a quick imagination exercise. In weightlifting competitions, you have a total of six attempts, one minute for each – three for snatch and three for clean and jerk. If you don’t know yet what these words mean, don’t worry, you’ll find out in the following pages. For now, just stick to imagining that all the hard work you’ve put into your training for months, maybe years, will be shown off in just six minutes.

Let’s take it even a little further. You have prepared for the Olympics your whole career and this competition is the pinnacle of your achievements so far. You are there now, waiting to take your final turn on the lifting platform. You have one last attempt: if you make a good lift, this can bring you a gold medal; if it is a no lift, you’re off the podium completely. How do you approach this? What do you tell yourself in those moments? Any fear of failure creeping in? Will you go for all or nothing? How badly do you want this? Your whole career as an athlete brought you up to this decisive point … You hear the buzzer … thirty seconds to go … What do you do?

Back to reality. It’s a long, long way to the Olympics, and many people who start weightlifting don’t even start competing. In its essence, weightlifting is a constant competition with yourself. It’s you, striving to become better and better with each lift. And it will profoundly change you in the process, both physically and mentally.

This book comes as deep act of gratitude towards the weightlifting world for the chance I got when I was just fourteen years old, when I started.

The context in which I used to live in at that time was far from sunshine and rainbows, even further from merely healthy for a teenager’s development. I then discovered the wonderful sport of weightlifting, which became my safe space, a refuge in which I could work with my negative feelings and frustrations. With time, I came to realise that weightlifting is not about lifting and throwing around weights with frustration, but about work, focus, and self-development. This sport taught me the importance of having a greater purpose that drives you, breaking it down into smaller and more achievable goals and turning these into a plan that keeps you motivated and gives you constant satisfaction.

This way of ‛planning’ seamlessly transferred to the way I approach life and it helped me in everything I’ve achieved so far, both on a professional and personal level.

Whether you will be competing in any form or just doing it as hobby in your backyard, I wish for you to discover the capacity that this sport has to bring out the best in you, while setting you up for a rendezvous with your greatest fears. It’s a constant learning process. When you’re about to lift, there are a few split seconds in which education, social status, what you ate last night or what you wear today at work don’t matter. It’s just you and your bar, all your resources focused towards it.

If you go on to compete, things will get more interesting. It becomes a game of chess. You can play in defence (lifting with the hope that your opponent won’t make it), you can play offence (always the last to lift a bar, to ‛have the last say’), or you can bluff (pushing your opponent towards failure). Regardless of your approach, all your hard work and dedication are demonstrated in those six minutes on the competition lifting platform.

This book is a way for me to pass on the knowledge I’ve gathered in more than a decade as a professional weightlifter and coach. My deep gratitude goes to my coaches from Romania, Adrian Ionescu and Doru Agache, who shaped me into the athlete, and then the coach that I’ve become. I have also to thank Sam Dovey, my UK coach, for the wonderful context in which I could pursue my passion. My special thanks go to Dan Kent, for coaching, support and the opportunities he has provided me with, including the chance to contribute to this book, and to Helen Kent, the person who believed in me even when I didn’t. Last but not least, I wish to thank all the opponents I have ever encountered in competitions, for they have taught me both to win and lose with grace.

As you study this book, I want you to discover a sport, a lifestyle and a healthy way of thinking. I always say that out of a million athletes, only a few will grow into world-renowned champions, but all will grow into beautiful human beings.

Dan Kent

I think Mihai has perfectly summed up why Olympic weightlifting can be more than a sport to those who take part in it. Regrettably, I came to the sport too late to really excel (although I still do my best as a masters lifter!) but I gain a huge amount from my own struggle to hit new personal bests. I also take great satisfaction in supporting more talented lifters than me in their successes. I have been very lucky to work with some fantastic athletes, whether they are youth, seniors or masters lifters, and to experience moments that will stay with me forever.

Of course, along with joyful moments of success, there are also times when things don't go to plan and when progress is hard. While tough at the time, looking back it becomes obvious that these periods are just as important. Overcoming adversity and disappointment teaches many lessons.

I would like to thank all of the members of KBT Weightlifting Club (now Warwickshire Weightlifting Club), and British Weightlifting – I feel lucky to be involved in weightlifting in a country where the sport is well run and accessible to all with a level playing field. Special thanks go to Sam Dovey, who taught me to lift and has mentored me throughout my coaching career, always urging me to 'be the best you can be'. Finally, I would like to thank my co-author Mihai Ivan, who gave me my first taste of success as a coach and has taught me more than I did him.

My final words are for you, the reader. It is our firm hope that this book can start some future champions on the path to greatness. International competition may seem like a long way away now but remember, all of the greatest lifters started where you are now and built their success one kilogram at a time. If you believe in yourself, you will be surprised at what you can achieve.Chapter 1

Congratulations! With this book, you are taking your first steps into one of the world’s most exciting sports.

Olympic weightlifting has grown in popularity in the last few years and looks set to continue to do so. Not only is it a fantastic sport in its own right but athletes from other sports are turning to the Olympic weightlifting movements as the best way to develop explosive power.

Even if you do not go on to compete in Olympic weightlifting at a high level, learning and practising the movements brings all kinds of benefits. As well as the obvious strength and power gains, weightlifting can teach you a lot about your own body and mind. Lifting heavy things overhead also builds confidence in your own abilities like almost nothing else.

Weightlifting can have a reputation for being difficult. It is true that getting really good can take a lifetime and the challenge of lifting more always remains. However, anyone can learn the basics in a short time and in this book we will show you how.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is mainly aimed at people who are new to the sport of weightlifting but it will also be useful for anyone who is still learning the lifts. We assume no experience at all of barbell training but we also give specific guidance for those who have already trained, for example in powerlifting.

The book will also be valuable for athletes from other sports who want to use the weightlifting movements in their training (and if you are an athlete in virtually any sport, you should be using them!)

Lastly, anyone who does CrossFit® will find it useful to set a good foundation by learning the right way to snatch and clean and jerk.

What will this book do for you?

We will take you to the stage where you can successfully complete the main weightlifting movements (snatch and clean and jerk) along with the most important assistance exercises (squats, presses, deadlifts and pulls). At that point, you will be ready to follow a beginners’ training programme such as the one we present at the end of the book.

How to Use This Book

Weightlifting is not something you can learn and get better at just by reading. We recommend that you get into a gym and start practising right from the start, whether with a coach or on your own.

The book is structured in the order which we think it makes sense to approach things, starting with testing and, if necessary, improving your mobility in part one. In part two, you will learn the Olympic weightlifting movements. Parts Three and Four look at the various assistance exercises that you will use in your training for strength and power. We finish the book in Part Five by discussing how weightlifters train, nutrition and your future as a lifter.

The appendices at the end of the book include a glossary of weightlifting words that you may not be familiar with, sources of more information and some example training programmes that you can use to get started.

In chapter 2, we talk about the value of coaching. Assuming you find a good coach, listen to them and try to follow what they tell you to do, despite anything we tell you in this book. They will have their own way of doing things, which may be slightly different to ours, particularly when it comes to programming. This is fine - there are different approaches to learning the movements that have got results in the past for different people.

If you don’t have a coach, read the advice in chapters 2 and 15 on how to make the best of self-coaching and use the programmes in appendix three to give you a structure to work to. The first of these is specifically designed to guide you through the mobility tests and drills from part one and the techniques in part two.

What Is Weightlifting?

If you’re reading this book, you probably know that there is a difference between the sport of weightlifting (all one word) and lifting weights (two words). Just in case, let’s be clear about what this book covers. There are several sports and activities that involve lifting weights:

WEIGHTLIFTING is an Olympic sport that involves lifting a barbell overhead in two different ways: the snatch, where it goes overhead in a single movement, and the clean and jerk, where two separate movements are used. Olympic weightlifting is what this book is about.

POWERLIFTING is a strength sport that uses three movements – the squat, the bench press and the deadlift.

STRONGMAN is a strength sport that uses a wide variety of events, often including movements based on weightlifting and powerlifting.

BODYBUILDING means training to achieve an aesthetically pleasing physique. It can be done competitively or just to look good. Bodybuilding training will often involve lifting weights but has very different priorities from the sport of weightlifting.

A Brief History of Weightlifting

Lifting heavy things competitively has a history going all the way back to ancient times, but weightlifting as we recognise it today dates back to the 19th century. Strength contests using both barbells and dumbbells are recorded in Britain and continental Europe at that time. Mostly these were ad-hoc, local affairs but in 1891, E. Lawrence Levy of England was crowned as the first world weightlifting champion.

In the early days, most competitions consisted of performing lifts for repetitions, so had more in common with modern strongman events than the sport of weightlifting as we know it now.

In 1896, weightlifting made its first appearance at the modern Olympic games, for men only. Two events were contested – two- and one-handed versions of what we now call the clean and jerk.

Weightlifting appeared at the Olympics off and on until 1920, when it became a permanent fixture and weight categories were introduced.

In 1924, the two-handed press and snatch were added. Four years later, in 1928, the one-handed lift was removed, leaving a three-lift event that lasted until 1972. At that point, the clean and press was removed (it was deemed impossible to accurately judge when lifters were leaning back too far), leaving us with an event very much like weightlifting today.

Towards the end of the 20th century, women started getting involved in weightlifting, with the first women’s world champions named in 1987. However, it wasn’t until 2000 that women were included in the Olympics.

Since 1972, the most significant rules changes have been adjustments to the weight categories in 1992 and 1997, which also meant that there were new world records to be set. In 2017, a new women’s 90+ weight category was added and in 2018 the weight categories will be changed again to meet requirements from the International Olympic Committee.

The Competition Lifts

As we mentioned earlier, currently two lifts are used in weightlifting competitions – the snatch and the clean and jerk.

In the snatch, the bar is lifted from the platform to above the head in a single movement.

The Snatch

In the clean and jerk, the bar is first lifted to the shoulders (the clean) and is then lifted above the head (the jerk).

The Clean and Jerk

We will look at the clean in detail in chapter 8 and the jerk in chapter 9.Chapter 2

In this chapter, we will look at what you will need in order to make progress in weightlifting, along with the equipment that is required to do weightlifting training. We will also discuss the importance of coaching and what to do if you can’t find a coach.

The Five Essentials For Success

Contrary to what you might think, weightlifting is not all about raw strength. Of course, being strong certainly helps and is a requirement to lift big weights. However, you will also need to lift the weight efficiently if you want to fulfil your potential.

Lifting efficiently brings with it a couple of important requirements. You need the MOBILITY to get into good positions (particularly the ability to squat deep to catch the bar as low as possible in the snatch and the clean). You will also need good TECHNIQUE to move the bar well, make best use of your body’s leverages and maintain your balance.

Only once you have good mobility and technique should you start focusing on developing the STRENGTH to lift heavier weights. Along with strength, you will also need to train the related but separate quality of POWER – the ability to deliver force to the bar quickly. The competition lifts feature some of the fastest movements in sport so you will need to use your muscles quickly.

The final essential you will need is the DISCIPLINE to stick to a training programme. Getting good at weightlifting requires a lot of time to develop mobility and technique, along with heavy strength training that will leave you tired and aching. There is no easy road – every new personal best has to be fought for. Weightlifting is not an easy sport by any means, but that is part of why we love it.

So, the five essentials of weightlifting are:

- Mobility – to get into the required positions
- Technique – to lift efficiently
- Strength – to lift heavier weights
- Power – to move the bar fast when required
- Discipline – to stick to a training programme.

Don’t worry if you don’t feel strong in these areas already – they can all be improved and doing so is part of what makes weightlifting an immensely satisfying and beneficial sport.

After this chapter we will look at each of these five essentials in detail.

As well as these five personal attributes, you will also need somewhere to train and the right equipment to train with. It is also really beneficial to get some coaching. We’ll spend the rest of this chapter looking at these things.

Equipment

Weightlifting does require some equipment but it is not the most expensive of sports. The most costly things you need will last virtually forever if they are looked after, and can be shared by many people. Joining a weightlifting club or a good gym will give you access to most of the required equipment so you may just need to invest in a pair of weightlifting shoes and a gym membership.

Bar

The bar is the fundamental piece of equipment in weightlifting. Each bar consists of a few parts:

The Barbell

The rotating sleeves enable the part of the bar that we hold to spin freely, which is important for the Olympic weightlifting movements.

The knurling is the pattern of ridges on the bar that help with grip. The pattern of the knurling can vary from bar to bar, so when you are using an unfamiliar bar it is a good idea to check your grip widths as described in chapters 7 and 8. Knurling can also vary in its sharpness – sharper knurling will make it easier to grip the bar but can be painful or even cause skin tears on the hands. We look at how to look after your hands in chapter 15.

In competition, two different bars are used – one for men, one for women. Both take the same kind of plates (with 50mm holes) but there are some differences. The men’s bar weighs 20kg compared to 15kg for the women’s bar and is slightly longer and thicker.

Not long ago, it was unusual for many gyms to have women’s bars even if they had everything else required for weightlifting. Happily this is changing and any good weightlifting gym will have both kinds of bar.

You may also come across lighter bars, known as technique bars. These come in a range of weights, usually around 5-10kg. They are great when you are getting started – as the name implies, they enable you to focus on technique before you start using the full-weight bars. As soon as you can lift a proper bar with 5kg plates on, you should use one of those.

Whatever kind of bar you use, it is important to make sure that it is designed for Olympic weightlifting. Olympic weightlifting bars differ from powerlifting and general strength training bars, which may look very similar. Olympic bars are designed to flex when lifted with significant weight on them but this is not important for a beginner. More crucial is the way that Olympic bars are designed with rotating sleeves to hold the plates. This means that during a lift, the central part of the bar can freely rotate, which enables you to maintain your grip on the bar while moving around it. If you use a bar without rotating sleeves, you will run into problems at some point.

Bars come in a range of prices. At the top end of the market are brands like Eleiko, Uesaka and Werksan. They make the bars that are used in international competition but also have some slightly cheaper training bars. For more affordable options, brands like Rogue, ESP, American Barbell , Vulcan and York offer decent quality bars.

Higher-end bars typically use needle bearings for the best possible rotation of the sleeves. Cheaper bars tend to use bushings, which do not rotate quite so smoothly but are fine for most people.

The general rule is that you get what you pay for, with high-end bars being more robust and having better sleeve rotation. Paying more will usually get you a longer warranty period. However, as a beginner, you don’t need to use a top of the range international competition standard bar. Get the best bar you can afford but as long as your bar comes from a reputable company and is designed for Olympic weightlifting, it will be okay to learn with.

If you decide to buy second-hand, watch out for bars that have not been looked after. Even a good bar can end up not rotating properly or even bent if treated badly. This is especially a problem when bars are used for other things than Olympic lifting. Trying to do Olympic weightlifting movements with a damaged bar will be more difficult and potentially dangerous.

You should also beware of damaged bars in gyms, especially where they are used by people who are not weightlifters and may have mistreated them. Good weightlifting gyms will have separate bars for things like squats to avoid this.

Looking after a bar is easy if you follow some simple rules:

- Don’t drop the bar unless it has bumper plates on it (see the next section)
- If you use a bar in a rack, unload it immediately after you finish your training
- If you use metal racks, put something in the hooks (e.g. straps – see later in this chapter) to avoid damage to the knurling on the bar
- Service the rotating sleeves according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you look after it, a high-quality bar will last you a lifetime.

Plates

The key consideration for the plates that we use to add weight onto the bar is protection of the bar, the plates and the surface we are lifting on when we drop the bar after a lift. For this reason, we use bumper plates, which are coated in rubber and are designed to survive being dropped.

Bumper plates come in a variety of sizes. Full-size plates are all 450mm in diameter but come in different thicknesses – competition plates are fairly thin, while less dense, thicker bumpers are often used in gyms that don’t have designated lifting platforms as they are kinder to concrete floors.

Smaller plates at lighter weights are known as ‘change’ or ‘fractional’ plates. These are generally used alongside full-size bumper plates.

Plates designed for weightlifting will usually be in kilograms but you may come across plates in pounds. They will be either black or coloured according to this table:

As with bars, bumper plates come at a range of prices with more expensive plates tending to last longer.

Watch out for rubber-coated plates that are not actually bumper plates – these cheaper plates are not designed to be dropped and will start to fall apart after some use. Like bars, decent quality bumper plates will last a very long time so it’s worth getting proper ones.

You may also come across technique plates that are made of hollow plastic and are much wider than normal plates. These are usually 2.5kg or 5kg. These are great to use when you are getting started but are not required – you can always use blocks or even a stack of plates to raise the empty bar to the right height to practise as if it had plates on it.

Collars

We use collars to keep the plates tight on the sleeves of the bar and prevent them sliding around. With some bar and plate combinations, collars are not always needed, but if in doubt, use them. Collars come in a few different types:

Collars

- Spring collars – the kind found in most gyms
- Plastic clip collars – these are a bit easier to take on and off quickly but they do tend to get broken so expect to replace them reasonably often
- Competition collars – these are designed to hold the plates very securely with a lock and screw mechanism. Unlike the other types of collar, these have significant weight (2.5kg each) which should be added to the weight of the bar and collars.

Platform

It is important to lift on a stable surface that will not be damaged by dropping the bar and plates onto it. The ideal is a dedicated platform with a hard surface under your feet – usually this is some kind of wood. Plywood works but can peel off in layers over time. A plywood base with an MDF surface is more durable. Often the wooden strip will be flanked by rubber areas for the bumper plates to land on, reducing wear and tear on the wooden portion. Many gyms are now using hard rubber floors that are suitable for weightlifting.

In competition, the platform will measure 4m x 4m, but for training purposes you only really need around 3m x 2m of space.

Shoes

The one piece of personal equipment that you absolutely should invest in is a pair of weightlifting shoes. These have a couple of features that help with the Olympic lifting movements:

- Raised heels make it a bit easier to get into deep squats
- Hard soles will not compress with heavy weights like normal trainers will.

A Weightlifting Shoe

There is now a selection of weightlifting shoes available at a range of price points, from around $60/£50/€50 to around $200/£150/€150. Adidas, Nike and Reebok all have offerings, along with a range of smaller brands. The important thing is to find a pair that has a good solid raised heel and fits you snugly – you don’t want any movement of your feet inside the shoes when lifting.

Clothes

In competition, there are strict rules about what weightlifters must wear, including having to wear a tight singlet. For training, you can wear whatever you are comfortable in, providing that it will enable you full movement and will not get in the way of the bar. T-shirts and shorts are fine as long as they are not too baggy.

Long socks can be a good idea, to provide some protection for your shins from bars with sharp knurling. You can get socks marketed specifically for weightlifting but any long sports sock will do.

Chalk

Lots of lifters use magnesium carbonate, usually called ‘chalk’ to prevent sweat on hands from affecting the grip. Most of the time it is not really required as long as the knurling on the bar is reasonable. However, many weightlifters use chalking their hands as part of their pre-lift ritual, so they do it every time.

Most gyms that have the equipment for Olympic lifting will provide chalk or be happy to let you bring your own but there are some that don’t allow it due to the mess that it can make. An alternative in this case is ‘liquid chalk’ that comes in a bottle and has a solvent that evaporates after you apply it to your hands. This kind of chalk stays on the hands much longer and does not make so much mess. Be warned though, it takes a fair bit of scrubbing to get it off the hands at the end of your training session!

Belt

A belt can provide support for the lower back and make it easier to brace the core during lifts. Belts are typically worn for heavy clean and jerk and some assistance exercises such as squats. You don’t really need one until you start lifting some serious weight. In fact, it is good to avoid using a belt until you need to – if you rely on a belt too early, you will miss out on some important core strength development.

Straps

Straps are used to relieve the weight on the hands, avoiding overworking the grip. They can also help to reduce wear and tear on your hands. Like belts, it is a good idea to use them only when required. You want to develop you grip strength but, when you start lifting bigger weights, you may find that your hands start to suffer from overuse. When that happens, you can start using straps for heavier sets of snatches, pulls, deadlifts and some other exercises.

Finger/Thumb Tape

Many weightlifters use tape on their fingers and thumbs to protect them from damage. You probably won’t need to do this when you are getting started but if you find the hook grip painful (see chapter 4), you should try using some tape on your thumbs.

Knee Sleeves and Wraps

Traditionally, weightlifters have used long strips of material wrapped around the knees to provide some extra support. Many still do this but there is now also the option of using a purpose-made neoprene knee sleeve.

As well as providing some support for the knee, knee sleeves will warm the knee up more quickly and keep it warm during a training session.

While they can be helpful, knee sleeves or wraps will not make you stronger and, if they are too thick, can limit mobility enough to make lifts harder.

Blocks

Blocks are used for two main purposes in weightlifting training. The snatch and the clean can be performed from varying heights of block to focus on a specific part of the movement. Higher blocks can also be used when just doing jerks so that the bar is dropped back on the blocks rather than to the floor between each rep.

Blocks can also be very useful when you are getting started with snatches and cleans and you don’t want to put any extra weight on the bar. If you use blocks at the right height, you can start lifts with the empty bar at the same height as it would be with plates on it. If you don’t have access to blocks, you can stack spare plates up to get the same effect.

Racks and Power Cages

When doing squats and some other assistance exercises, you will need to take the bar out of a rack for each set and return it afterwards. You can also use a rack to train jerks on their own if you don’t have access to jerk blocks. Racks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from separate stands for each end of the bar to full cages with adjustable safety bars. Which kind you use doesn’t matter too much, as long as the rack is sturdy and can be adjusted to a height that you are comfortable with.

Squat racks and power cage

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Foam Roller

In chapter 5 we will look at how foam rolling your muscles can help to improve your mobility.

A foam roller

To get the best results, you want to use a fairly dense roller. Often these are black but manufacturers make them in a range of colours.

Rollers come with a wide variety of textures. There is no best option here so, if possible, try a few out and choose what works best for you.

Coaching

Weightlifting is a sport where success is very dependent on having good technique. For that reason, it is crucial that you learn good technique as quickly as possible and correct any technical flaws as soon as you can. Using an inefficient technique for any length of time will make it harder to learn a better way to do it.

The best way to learn good technique and correct problems is under the guidance of an experienced coach. They will lead you through a progression to learn the lifts and provide feedback on your lifting during training sessions. As you get more experienced, a coach will give you training programmes appropriate to your needs to ensure you are doing the right amount of training. If you decide to compete, your coach should support you in preparing for competition and, if they are sufficiently local, on the day itself.

It is important to work with a coach who has the right level of experience. To this end, most national governing bodies for weightlifting have certification or licensing systems that can provide a level of confidence that a coach knows their stuff. See Appendix Two for some contact details. However, don’t rely on certificates alone – when considering a coach, find out how much actual coaching experience they have, what success their athletes have had and, if possible, speak to some people that they have already coached.

Many weightlifters move into coaching as they approach the end of their own competition careers. While it can be great to learn from someone who has made big lifts themselves, a strong competition record is not a guarantee that a lifter will have the knowledge, communication skills and patience required to be a good coach.

Another important factor when deciding which coach to work with is personality. Every coach has their own style and what works for one lifter will not work for another. If you want to progress as a weightlifter, you will have to work hard during training sessions but you will also want to enjoy them – your relationship with your coach will be a big part of that.

The best way to get access to good coaching is to join a reputable weightlifting club. A club will typically have one or more coaches who lead training sessions where multiple lifters train together. This environment is great for progressing – training alongside more experienced lifters enables beginners to learn a lot more quickly than on their own. This kind of training will also be a lot more affordable than being coached one on one.

Online Coaching

Many coaches are now willing to coach lifters remotely by looking at videos of lifts and using phone calls, online chats or messages to provide feedback. While not as good as getting direct feedback during a training session, this is certainly better than no coaching at all and worth considering if you do not have a good coach close by.

The earlier advice for finding a good coach applies to online coaches – check their credentials and experience and, if possible, talk to some people who have used their services already. One thing to do is to make sure you are clear on what you will be getting for your money – how often can you expect to get input from the coach.

Self Coaching

If you find it impossible to find a coach or just can’t afford one, your only option may be to coach yourself. This is by no means ideal but some people are able to make it work.

If you go down this route, you will need to diligently record and review every set that you do during each training session, critically analysing each lift to check whether there is anything that you need to adjust. Don’t wait until after the session – watch each set as you rest after it so that you can make changes straightaway.

One option is to join an online forum where you can share videos for feedback from other lifters. This can be useful but watch out for ‘armchair experts’ who sometimes critique such videos without any real experience or rely on textbook answers that don’t apply universally.

Probably the most important thing you can do if you can’t find a good coach is to find some good training partners. Training with other weightlifters, especially if they are a bit better than you, can provide great motivation and more pairs of eyes to spot technical issues.