So I like blogging, and even though project abs is essentially over, I haven't even come close to my fundraising target so I'm going to keep sharing my two cents with you good folks.
I love Olympic weightlifting. I love the whoosh boom of a good snatch. I love getting wound up for a good angry jerk. I didn't always love it though. I'm not lifting that long, I don't claim to know a whole lot, but for what it's worth, here are the little nuggets of information I've picked up so far.
The lifts are a good mix of technique and strength and while I considered myself strong, I was a bit impatient about the time involved in learning the technique. I've toyed with the lifts for about two or three years now, only getting serious and giving them the time they deserve since April last year. I probably could have shortened the journey a bit if I'd put the effort in at the start. To anyone who wants to start learning the lifts, here is my advice:
Get strong first. Put in the time with squats at every session. Don't scrimp on the deadlifts and pressing either. Eat lots and eat well. With insufficient protein, you'll feel like crap. Plenty of sleep is important for recovery too.
Do thousands of reps at no/ low weights. Drill the techniques until you're beyond bored. Then do some more. Time spent getting technique right in the early stages is like money in the bank. Concentrate on keeping the bar path close and getting your hips into the bar on the snatch and clean. If I ever figure out the jerk, I'll let y'all know!
Get a coach. There's no point in drilling thousands of reps if you're doing it wrong. It seems pretty difficult to unlearn bad techniques i.e. bending elbows early. This is a problem I've never had personally, but my coach tells me it's a pain in the neck to untrain.
Train consistently. If you're serious about improving your lifts, you're going to need to devote time and energy to them. I find that if I haven't snatched in a few days, my timing and technique seems a little off. Because of this, I'll try to get to the gym to snatch at least every two or three days, even if I don't have a lot of time. Twenty minutes is enough to get a snatch workout done and there are some days that's all I've had but it keeps me ticking over.
Get flexible. http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ That is all that needs to be said about that.
Wear pink legwarmers. This adds 10kg to each lift. FACT.
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