The Problem With Olympic Lifts
They say Olympic lifts are invaluable for athletic power development.
If you want to jump higher or sprint faster, you better do them.
And it's hard to disagree with the virtues of cleaning, jerking and snatching big weights rapidly.
After all, Olympic lifters are often cited to have impressive vertical jump and 20-30 meter sprint results.
Here's what nobody tells you, though...
Adults make for horrible Olympic lifters.
They simply don't have the requisite hip, shoulder, thoracic spine and ankle mobility to get into a deep squat with a bar over your head.
(Most adults can't get into a deep squat even without a bar)
Why?
Our Western lifestyle doesn't support this.
You can't spend a couple decades sitting on your ass in traffic while commuting to work, hunched over writing memos for eight hours a day, staring at a smart phone screen morning to midnight, then one day decide to pick up Olympic-style lifting because some "fitness coach" on the Internet said that'll help with your first step quickness on the ice.
Yes, it looks rad and manly when elite lifters hoist heavy weights overhead at the Olympics.
And you can't help but marvel at the athleticism those guys demonstrate.
But they've been practicing their lifting form every day since they were six. Same goes for their hip and shoulder mobility.
You can see this for yourself on Youtube videos where Chinese kids, fresh out of diapers, display perfect clean and snatch technique.
When you try to replicate their movements, however...
Smooth has left the building.
Your form looks messy and the timing just doesn't feel right.
So let's face the music... You won't be stepping on the platform any time soon.
But you keep plugging away at it. You're stubborn like that.
And the "coach" on the 'Net convinced you. Oly lifts and improved skating speed go hand in hand. So you can't just drop 'em from your program, right?
Soon you notice how your low back or shoulders start acting up.
Slight irritation at first.
Gets worse after each workout.
Until one day you wake up feeling like someone's twisting a knife between your spinal discs.
And your shoulder?
Like that Mexican family living down the street had all taken turns whacking it with sticks as if it were a piñata on Cinco de Mayo.
Maybe Olympic lifts aren't the answer, after all?
But how are you gonna gain more power without them?
Simple...
You sprint, jump and throw.
That's it.
For a complete training program that helps you gain first step quickness without beating yourself up, visit:
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