I generally advise against learning the olympic lifts unless the person I am advising is interested in competing in olympic weightlifting.
Why?
Snatches, clean and jerks, and partial variations thereof (high pulls, hang cleans/snatches, etc) are supremely technical. Far and away the most complicated movements you can do apart from maybe proper old-timey strongman stuff like the bonkers “two hands anyhow” (google it and be amazed if you’re not sure what I am referring to)..
Moreover, due to their explosive nature, they contribute little to the development of a strong, lean, and muscular physique – doubly so as the weights used by 90+% of people who perform them are too light to provide a meaningful training stimulus.
Then there is the the obscene amount of mobility, flexibility, and skill work anyone who isn’t an athletically talented teenager will have to do before they can even attempt these lifts safely (i.e. in a fashion that is not likely to result in their intervertebral discs flying across the room before splatting against the wall like a raspberry jam smeared hockey puck). We are talking many months and, quite possibly, years of prep work that will greatly reduce the available time and energy available to expend upon actually productive training.
There is one exception, however.
The power clean.
Healthy people who can execute the full range of core barbell movements (squats, rows, and presses) confidently and competently can usually learn to power clean relatively quickly in my experience.
This is because the lower technical burden of power cleans versus “proper” cleans makes it possible to promptly get to the point of lifting challenging loads. Moreover, you can generally get there without building your entire programme around them and therefore getting weaker and fatter while you fart about with a broomstick for a while.
Nevertheless, mastering the power clean is still a challenge but one that is often worth pursuing due to the benefits which include, but are not limited to:
* Improved proprioception (sense of your body in space),
* Access to potent training protocols like barbell complexes,
* A stronger and more stable front rack position (vital for pressing heavier loads),
* Ease in moving loads from the floor to shoulder height – handy around the house and, of course, to delight your kiddo(s) if you have them.
However.
I’d be remiss not to gift you this word of warning:
If you want to learn how to power clean and aren’t confident enough to try it on your own using one or a combination of the legion of instructional videos available online, I recommend you hire a competent coach to teach you in person.
Yes, I am saying you shouldn’t pay me to help you with this specifically.
While significantly less technical than the full olympic lifts, the power clean is still very technical – far too technical to teach remotely to someone who feels they need support over and above what is already available online for free for whatever reason.
But there is plenty I can help you with, and if you’d like to discuss the prospect of us working together please book a call into my diary via the below link:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/consult/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman