Photo credit: labgym.com

Note: This "comparision" series between the conventional and "Chinese way" of Olympic weightlifting is not for everybody.

It is for those who really want to understand why the way the Chinese lifters do certain things, no other lifters do.

Why they move the way they do, why they look the way they look.

It is also for those few who really want to learn the ins and outs about the lifts.

Who want to leverage every inch of themselves (or their athletes') to lift the most weight possible, as elegantly as possible.

And thus are willing to explore the depths of their bodies.

Questions are from you, answers are from me.

Let us begin ...

Q: What is "wrong" with lifting off the midfoot/ heels?

A: Pursuing any answer from that angle will lead one to nowhere.

Because in the end, an argument or question about right or wrong leads one to more arguments and questions.

So, there is nothing "wrong" with the conventional (NA/EU) style of Olympic Lifting.

There are however certain undeniable facts that entail from every "way" or "style" of doing things.

And one of them is this ...

If one is maintaining their balance over midfoot or heels, they are sacrificing power.

Lots of it.

Q: Why? Is it not all about leveraging the "posterior chain" and using the "entire foot"?

A: Yes and No.

The body is a collection of different, isolated components, but it acts as a unit.

There are deep, inherent internal "wirings" of its various components.

(For example, the connectedness of the ball-of-the-foot, calves, quads and glutes. A vertical or a box jump is a perfect example to feel this powerful combination.)

These connections were meant to be used that way.

One can "cheat" and get around that by targetting or isolating, but it comes at a cost.

And that is, loss in power and less available power in the short term.

And risking injury, deterioration of default motor control etc in the long term.

Lifting off of mid-foot or heels brings along with itself a host of downstream issues such as less bar height, more effort from the lifter to keep the bar path straight, higher chance of "crashing at the bottom" ...

...all these resulting into a higher probability of a miss.

Q: Okay, but I cannot leverage quads in the pull without losing tightness in the back/ I cannot keep chest up/ I cannot push shoulders "back and down" enough. Am I inflexible?

A: You cannot get in a "quad initiated pull" position not because you are inflexible.

You are inflexible because you are missing a deeper understanding of your core and your body.

Your limitation (of being inflexible) is not a cause, it is the result.

You are used to treating your core as a black-box.

You never saw into it.

You never saw through it.

The body is connected in ways more than you can imagine

Q: So I should stretch more? Do more mobility work? Any drills you can prescribe?

A: All those things are great if your intent is one of understanding more about your body

Without that intent, doing those is a waste of time. Feel free to do them if you like going in circles.

Q: Okay, I get that. But lifting off mid-foot/heels feels more comfortable, more natural. I feel that I can protect my back better. Shouldn't one do what "feels good" and "safe"?

A: Again, Yes and No.

If lifting conventionally feels "natural" to one, it would imply either or all of the following...

• Their understanding or grasping** of the movement mechanics of the Snatch/ Clean and Jerk is flawed.

• They use mental cues to breakdown the movement into segments, learning each segment individually and then put it together.

• They are moving with no or insufficient body awareness.

Actually, the three reasons are closely related and feed each other.

If you learned the movements through your head (i.e. cues) without any awareness of your body, you will never truly understand the true (Physical) mechanics of the Snatch/ Clean and Jerk.

What "feels good" may be your body compromising for your existing limitations.

(For instance, if you have a dominant side, your body will orient itself to leverage most from the stronger side. This will "feel good and natural" but destroy you in the long term.)

Hence "feeling good or natural", in most cases does not allow one to truly understand what their body is telling them

Or leverage the most out of their body in the long term.

Continued in part 2

Footnotes

** In the end, it is all about understanding the mechanics. Understanding, not just in the head. But a holistic "body understanding" of the physics of the movement.

A "body understanding" is only possible if one deeply understands their body. And this is what most fail to achieve.

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