powerlifts? OL lifts?

okay, well im having some troubble with the overhead squat.. i actually cant do it at all, so it will probobly take some time to practice, ive only had like 15 minnutes so far to practice the lifts, so i think i need some more practice before i find my maxes:p
The overhead squat is so hard.. i dunno why, but i cant seem to hold my hands directly over my head when squatting down.. could it be that some muscles are too tight and i need to start stretch them?
 
Coming from mainly a powerlifting base this learning about ol lifting is crazy! I think to have that explosive is good for anything...including just everyday life I will get into these.
 
Karky, spend 15-20 minutes practicing the overhead squat with a broom handle. You also need to start working your rear delts, a lot of trainees have a lack of flexibility overhead due to a lot more emphasis on chest/anterior delts than rear delts. Yes, the OH squat is very hard, it requires a lot of stabilization that you're not used to. Like I said, don't sweat to much about getting quick numbers...they will come after technique is a bit more established.

And yes, you need to stretch the shoulders. You might start your workouts with some 1 arm db snatches.
 
Let me just reinforce how hard OH squats are.. A few years ago I thought I was all big and bad and threw on some weight and tried to OHS, and made an ass out of myself, in front of myself. You know it's bad when you feel like an idiot with no one around.

Take evo's advice and use a broomstick.
 
D15BT said:
Coming from mainly a powerlifting base this learning about ol lifting is crazy! I think to have that explosive is good for anything...including just everyday life I will get into these.
Click to expand...

Yup, Oly lifting is teh win.

Mreik, yeah...the OH squats are super humbling.
 
okay, the program has behind neck press, that works the rear delts, right?
and ill just start stretching the delts after each workout. got any good tips on how to stretch them? ive tried before.. but never quite managed to hit them right..
and the more humbling, the better the workout:p

EDIT: tried the OHS now with just a broom handle.. it seems if i use a REALLY wide grip it getts easier to keep the arms straight and above my head so that the bar is balancing (i guess thats the way to do it?) and snatch grip is suppose to be wide.. so i guess im ok:p i heard 16-19 inches wider than shoulder width, is that correct?

EDIT2: Tried OHS at the gym with the 20kg bar.. and dang it was hard:p just the squat went pretty good actually.. when i used a grip as wide as the bar would allow:p the problem is with the snatch when im suppose to "catch" the bar down in the squat position:p there were people around and i felt like a moron:p
 
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Rear delts are best worked with cable face pulls and lying rear delt flyes. I'll try and dig up some links/pics on shoulder stretching since wordy descriptions suck for these things.

Yes, snatch grip is very wide; I don't know the exact grip width...but suffice to say it's very wide. Just play with grip width a bit and you'll find your comfort zone. 16-19 inches sounds right depending on arm length.

Don't worry about what people think. And, you'll get better at catching the bar on the way down. You might just start with the power snatch to an overhead squat and then work on making the technique gel together into the full snatch. Remember, form and technique is everything; perfect practice makes perfect. The Oly lifts are like a relationship...it'll give back to you what you put into it. :)
 
okay thanks:p yeah i though about just doing the power snatch and then going down into OHS instead of going down and catching the bar until i get better at it. Ill just practice the lifts until i get them 100%:p

Also, with jerk and clean and jerk: You got two feet right.. on the jerk you put one fot forward, so you have to put the other fot forward too, right?:p
so do i have to do all the sets and reps twice, one on each foot? or what? :S

"The Oly lifts are like a relationship...it'll give back to you what you put into it."
im doomed... :p
 
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No, there's no reason to alternate feet with the jerk. And yes, one goes forward, the other goes back. So, you'll have one foot that goes back and one that goes forward always; my left foot always goes back and my right always forward. And remember, the jerk is not like a push press...the bar gets 'exploded up' as you are coming down...the arms should lock out as your feet plant.

It's to bad you don't live close, you could just come over and I could drill ya' to death :)
 
yeah, that would have been nice, ill start running.. and maybe swimming:p (dunno where you live:p)
yeah i know the jerk is like that, i just figured the foot that goes forward gets more weight on it than theone going back?
the way i have seen jerk, is that they sort of jump up a bit and then down quickly with one foot forward, not much dip, but a little bit, and the jump up is ofcource to get the bar up and the dip helps.
sounds right?

where do you live anyways? the US? I live in Norway:p
 
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Sounds good on the jerk. I'm in Oklahoma and if you started swimming now, you'd be absolutely ripped and in great shape by the time you got here.
 
yeah, sounds good.. ill go find my bathing suit:p

and as for stretching to getting more comfortable holding the bar over my head when i squat down.. what about going to a smith machine, OHS down and lock the machine, so i can rest my shoulders while still holding the bar and then stretch them in that position? I dont know, i just got the idea and figured id ask if it sounded ok:p

thanks alot for the help on thisone!:p if i have any more questiones ill post them here:)
 
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