In this ultimate guide, I’ll show you EXACTLY how to push press using Chinese weightlifting technique.

While professional Olympic weightlifters in China use this technique, but it works for ANY body type!

And that’s not all!

Not only will you look at the barbell push press in a new way, but you’ll also learn the answers to some of the most popular push press questions.

So, if you want to push press the most weight for your Olympic weightlifting and/or CrossFit training, then you’ll love this push press tutorial!

Here’s a summary of what’s covered:

• Push Press Exercise
• Why is the Push Press So Hard?
• Push Press Form
• Can Your Feet Leave the Ground on a Push Press?
• Is Sliding Back During the Push Press OK?
• Why is Push Pressing Hurting My Lower Back?
• Benefits of the Push Press
• What is a Good Weight to Push Press?
• What “Should” My Push Press Be?
• How Often Should I Push Press?
• Does the Push Press Build Muscle?
• Is Push Press Better Than Strict Press?
• How Can I Improve My Push Press?
• How do I Make My Push Press Stronger?
• Conclusion
• Sources

So, if you’re ready to go “all in” with the barbell push press, this guide is for you.

Let’s dive right in.

Push Press Exercise

A favorite auxiliary exercise among Chinese weightlifters, the push press exercise uses a smooth dip, powerful extension, and active dorsiflexion to secure the weight overhead:

Why is Push Press So Hard? Enter the ISA

The barbell push press seems easy, but many athletes have trouble because it requires anterior and posterior expansion of your ribcage and full shoulder flexion under a heavy load.

Just like some people are built for squatting or deadlifting, some people are built for pressing overhead due to the shape of their ribcage.

How can you tell?

Check out the infrasternal angle (ISA), which is the angle formed by the infrasternal ribs, as shown by Zac Cupples:

According to Bill Hartman, if your ISA forms an angle near 120 degrees, then your ISA is “wide,” and if your ISA forms an angle around 60 degrees, then your ISA is “narrow.”

And if you’re stuck in between, then it’s just a matter of how biased you are to these 2 extremes.

Now, what’s cool is that the ISA is a representation of how/where you drive air, which biases you toward certain skeletal positions and joint actions.

For example, the ribcage on the right is compressed laterally compared to the ribcage on the left.

This “compression” is a reduction of space and limits your ability to “expand” (increase the space) laterally as you breathe.

So, your breathing strategy will direct air more anteriorly-posteriorly because it’s the path of least resistance.

And to accommodate this breathing strategy, the spine will flatten, the thoracic area will expand, and the scapulae will internally rotate (protract).

This orientation is more conducive to flexion, abduction, and external rotation, all of which are necessary to raise your arm overhead and behind you.

Now, this doesn’t mean a person with a wide ribcage will have a weak barbell push press.

But the wider your ribcage, the harder it might be to access an overhead push press position for weightlifting.

This is because the wider ribcage is compressed anteriorly and posteriorly, which directs air more laterally since it’s the path of least resistance.

But to accommodate this breathing strategy, the spine will extend, the thoracic area will compress, and the scapulae will externally rotate (retract).

And this orientation reduces the space you can access overhead but is more conducive to extension, adduction, and internal rotation, all of which are necessary for supporting weight.

Fortunately, the push press form used in China will maximize your push press and its transferability to other weightlifting movements.

Push Press Form

Push press form should be fluid, but here’s a breakdown of the key parts:

• Push Press Form: Stance
• Push Press Form: Start Position
• Push Press Form: Front Rack Position
• Push Press Form: Jerk Dip
• Push Press Form: Extension
• Push Press Form: Catch Position Overhead
• Push Press Form: Lowering the Bar Between Push Press Reps

And if you want a detailed breakdown of the snatch, clean, and other movements, check out this Chinese weightlifting book.

Push Press Form: Stance

In China, weightlifters use their natural jumping stance for the barbell push press because it produces the most vertical force.

And Chinese weightlifters usually perform the push press exercise after a power clean or from a squat rack or jerk blocks.

Regardless of how you start, your push press form should have the same stance.

However, weightlifters with a narrow ISA tend to use a relatively narrow push press stance, while wide ISA weightlifters use a relatively wide stance.

Why is there a difference?

Because different skeletal structures change the lines where one can apply the most force.

Let’s look at an example. Suppose we have 2 different athletes:

The dark triangle highlights the ISA and the larger triangle is a projection of the ISA, showing a helical line where you can apply the most force.

The athlete on the left has a narrower ISA, and his ribs are oriented more vertically, so he’ll produce more force using a relatively narrow push press stance.

The athlete on the right side has a wider ISA with ribs oriented more horizontally, so he’ll produce more force with a relatively wide push press stance.

But if you force the narrow ISA athlete to use a wide stance (or vice versa), their force production may be limited.

So, make sure your push press form uses your natural jumping stance.

Push Press Form: Starting Position

Now that you’re using a push press stance that maximizes vertical force, the next step is to use a starting position that transfers as much of that vertical force as possible. To achieve this push press starting position, you want to:

• Stand with straight legs.
• Stack your torso.

Let’s look at each component.

Push Press Starting Position: Straight Legs

The goal of standing up straight is to bring the combined center of gravity of the barbell and body as close to the ankle bone as possible. The dashed line shows this center of gravity:

Straightening your legs seems self-explanatory, but beginners sometimes feel anxious about push pressing, so they bend their knees to create some barbell oscillation.

Other weightlifters are very stiff and have difficulty yielding to descend during the dip.

For these lifters, bending their knees means they won’t need to dip very much and can focus on driving the bar upward.

Whatever the reason, this strategy does more harm than good.

First, it wastes energy because your muscles must work harder to resist moving the load than when the knee and hip joints are locked.

You could instead use this energy to drive the bar upward during the extension.

Second, bending your knees during the start position reduces the distance you travel before reaching optimal jerk dip depth.

As you’ll see later, this strategy reduces the amount of energy you can store and release for the extension.

And if you start with bent knees but don’t limit your dip, then it’s easy to shift your balance forward and away from the ankle joint.

At this balance point, the bar will have more pull on your body, and it’ll be easy to send it forward rather than behind you.

Push Press Starting Position: Stacking

The next part is to stack your torso.

What are you stacking?

Your thoracic diaphragm and the pelvic diaphragm, as shown in the green bowls on the image below:

The stack has several interrelated benefits for the barbell push press.

First, it allows you to expand air through the entire ribcage.

You need this capability because getting yourself into a front rack position requires ribcage expansion anteriorly and posteriorly.

The anterior expansion helps move your sternum forward, which prevents you from dropping the bar.

The posterior expansion creates a space for you to flex your shoulder and access the front rack position.

Second, the stack allows you to create intrathoracic and intraabdominal pressure.

If you can’t create these pressures, you’ll experience push press compensations like rounding your midback, dropping your elbows, and many others covered in this Chinese weightlifting book.

Third, when both diaphragms are stacked, they should descend and ascend together, allowing the viscera to move vertically.

This vertical movement is important because it creates an internal force that can assist or dampen your change of direction, just like the external force from the barbell’s oscillation.

The takeaway is: maintaining a stack will spare you a LOT of problems during the push press.

Now that you know the importance of stacking, how do you know if you’re achieving a stack?

When you have a barbell in the front rack position, you need some posterior tilt in the pelvis to maintain the stack.

Other than looking at yourself in the mirror, you should feel some lower glute and upper hamstring in your standing position.

But if you have trouble feeling that, then look here on how to coach the stack.

Push Press Form: Front Rack Position

The front rack position describes how you hold the bar in preparation for the push press. In China, the standard points for the front rack position are:

• Head up about 45 degrees.
• Elbows slightly in front of the bar.
• Bar racked across the groove of the deltoids and clavicle.
• Full but relaxed grip
• Grip slightly wider than power clean.

Let’s go into each of these aspects.

Push Press Head Position

In China, athletes learn to lift their head about 45 degrees, like this:

Why look up instead of straight ahead?

Normally, your spine has upper cervical extension and lower cervical flexion but lifting your head orients your lower cervical spine into extension.

This small change can have a big influence.

For example, this neck position helps create an arch through the rest of the spine, which concentrically orients your back muscles and compresses you posteriorly.

This result drives air anteriorly, which helps keep your chest up and prevents the bar from pulling you forward.

And that’s not all!

This neck orientation restricts its movement during the dip and extension.

Not only does restricting neck movement help preserve your balance, but it also maintains your chin out of the bar’s path so you don’t knock yourself during the extension.

Push Press Elbow Position

Your elbow position for the barbell push press depends on your degree of shoulder flexion and the relative length of your forearm.

You want enough shoulder flexion to position your elbows in front of the bar while maintaining your rack position, like this:

Usually, the longer your forearm, the less shoulder flexion you need, and hence the lower your elbow angle during the rack.

Whatever the exact angle, your elbows must be at least slightly in front of the bar.

This orientation has several advantages.

First, this orientation is stronger and faster compared to a higher elbow orientation.

Think about it. If you flex your shoulder so high that your humerus is parallel with the floor, then your arms are positioned like a triceps extension, like this:

This orientation is popular in the West.

While you can still get the bar behind you overhead with this strategy, your humerus must internally rotate over a longer path, increasing the time it takes to lock out the bar.

In China, most weightlifters lower their elbows to orient the arms more like an overhead press where the elbows point relatively further away from midline.

Not only is a press much stronger than a triceps extension, but it also reduces the amount of humeral internal rotation needed to lock the bar overhead.

Second, orienting your elbows slightly ahead of the bar points your forearm and humerus diagonally.

This angle is important because you want to catch the bar over the base of your neck.

If your elbow orientation is aligned with or behind the bar, then it’s easy to lose your rack position, like this:

In this position, it’s much harder to get the bar behind you.

Third, a lower elbow position helps balance your intrathoracic pressure.

If you flex your shoulder between 60 – 120 degrees, your scapula upwardly rotates and becomes more compressed on the thorax.

This scapular compression limits space for you to drive air posteriorly, making it harder for your to externally rotate your shoulder to grip the bar.

However, many Chinese weightlifters use 60 degrees of shoulder flexion or slightly less because the relatively downward scapular position allows for posterior expansion.

Push Press Rack Position

The front rack is the base to support the bar in preparation for the push press. The key is to rest the bar across your clavicle and the groove of your deltoids, like this:

This placement takes the pressure off your windpipe, allowing you to breathe easier.

You’re also able to drive air anteriorly because it’s easier to relax your neck, arms, shoulders, and chest.

Some Chinese weightlifters will push against the bar lightly to prevent it from rolling and help absorb the bar’s downward momentum during the jerk.

However, you don’t want to tense your forearms and shoulders to an extent where you lift the bar off the clavicle.

Doing so will place the bar higher on your neck, increasing pressure on neck arteries, veins, and your windpipe, which can cause you to pass out.

Push Press Grip – Hand Position

Once the bar is resting on the front rack, most Chinese athletes use a full but relaxed grip on the bar for the push press (see the photo from the previous section).

Like the discussion above, keeping a relaxed grip helps prevent tension in your arms, shoulders, and chest.

This tension can also create anterior compression, which inhibits your ability to drive anteriorly and support the bar on your rack.

Another reason for a full grip is it places the bar closer to the base of your palm.

Why does this matter?

Because you can push harder from the base of your palm and reduce wrist stress overhead.

Also, placing the bar near this spot minimizes the time it takes to get there.

Sure, you can balance the bar on your fingertips and try to roll the bar as you press overhead, but you might catch the bar with bent arms or miss the catch entirely.

Therefore, the Chinese weightlifters who use this strategy usually have short arms.

Push Press Grip – Width

Like the stance, the push press grip should follow your helical angle like this:

The closer you are to this helical angle, the more force you can produce.

Therefore, weightlifters with a wider ISA (left) should have a wider grip than weightlifters with narrow ISA (right).

However, in both cases, the push press grip is usually wider and lower than the clean or front squat grip.

The reason?

The clean and front squat have a greater range of motion, so you need more torso compression to prevent the bar from rolling off your rack.

In this situation, a narrower grip compresses your pecs against the ribcage while higher elbows increase scapular upward rotation, which compresses your ribcage posteriorly.

But during the push press, the range of motion is shorter, and you should not compress as much because you need the bar to move quickly!

This is why you’ll see elite weightlifters release the hook grip, adjust their grip wider, and reduce their shoulder flexion as they stand from a clean and/or front squat, like this:

Push Press Form: Jerk Dip

The jerk dip is the most technical part of push press form, and it can make or break a heavy lift. Chinese weightlifting coaches focus on these three aspects:

• Jerk dip depth
• Head, elbow, & knee position
• Rhythm

Let’s dive into each aspect.

Jerk Dip Depth

The optimal jerk dip is where your patella is aligned directly over the toes, as represented in the dashed line of the image below:

If the jerk dip is too shallow (i.e., knees behind the line), you usually won’t have enough downward momentum to stiffen your connective tissues to push against the bar.

And if your jerk dip is too deep (i.e., knees past the line), then it becomes easy to lose your balance forward, which will waste time and energy trying to stop the downward momentum.

If you have a habit of dipping too shallow or deep, then try this tip from the Chinese weightlifting book:

1. Have a training partner align a PVC over your second and third toes (just like the dashed line in the photo above).
2. Then, once you touch the stick, immediately extend.

This drill will help you know how deep to dip, and you can perform reps with and without the PVC to test your muscle memory.

But you can’t just reach the dashed line and call it a day.

You need the bar to move vertically to keep your balance and maximize your force production as you dip.

And the way to do that is to flex your knees and hips together, as shown by the arrows.

But rather than worry about whether your hips and knees are flexing sufficiently, call your friend to place a PVC vertically against the bar, like this dashed line:

In this drill, the PVC is against the outer edge of your foot. Then, as you dip, keep the bar in contact with the PVC without pushing against it.

Your body will bend in the way it needs to.

Jerk Dip Head, Elbow, & Knee Position

During the jerk dip, you want to position yourself to store energy and create a stretch reflex throughout your body. So, you want to keep your head up about 45 degrees and point your elbows and knees slightly outward, like this:

All the benefits of keeping your head up from the rack position still apply.

But the bonus during the dip is your pec muscles are slightly eccentrically oriented, so they’ll store some of the barbell’s energy and release during the press.

And this effect on the pecs gets stronger if your elbows point outward.

As for your knees, pointing them outward (but aligned with your feet) supinates your feet slightly so you can descend while maintaining your balance.

Additionally, your adductor longus and brevis eccentrically orient, which means they’ll be able to store energy like the pecs.

In fact, you can think of your adductor longus and brevis as an iteration of your pecs:

Jerk Dip Rhythm

The speed of the jerk dip influences how the barbell and body move together. In China, the emphasis is a smooth but fast jerk dip.

But what do “smooth” and “fast” mean?

First, consider a heavily loaded bar as in this video:

 

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Due to the yield and tensile strength of modern barbells, they oscillate as you stand, and this oscillation increases with momentum.

“Smooth” means you want to descend as the bar oscillates downward and reach your depth the moment the bar reaches its maximum downward oscillation, like this:

From a connective tissue standpoint, you want to yield so you can descend quickly (blue part) and generate downward momentum.

But you want to begin dampening this momentum (purple part) so you’ll be ready to extend once you reach your maximum depth.

This smoothness helps you maintain the connection with the bar and load your connective tissues to store energy.

It’s possible to descend faster than the bar, but you’ll lose your connection with the bar, and it’ll crash into you when you reach your jerk dip depth or when you extend.

Now let’s talk about “fast.”

Once you reach your jerk dip depth, you need to create a large impulse by exerting force as fast as possible (see the thin red line in the image above).

This sharp and forceful change in direction generates more downward elastic bend.

But as you turn the bar around, it’ll have even more upward oscillation, which means more speed and height.

Push Press Form: Extension/Push Press Leg Drive

With a smooth jerk dip and strong turnaround, you should be able to drive the bar at least 2/3 of the distance for extending your arms overhead, like this:

It’s possible to complete a barbell push press at lower heights, but there’s almost no way you can catch a split jerk or power jerk.

Therefore, if you want your push press to transfer over to your weightlifting movements, save the “pressing” portion of the push press to the lockout.

Push Press Form: Catch Position Overhead

If you want to push press heavy weights, you need a stable catch position overhead. In China, the standard points for locking out the push press are:

• Internally rotated arms overhead.
• Wrists extended and pronated.
• Head slightly forward and down.

These movements will align the bar over the base of your neck, like the left image on the left:

Why do you want this alignment?

Because it keeps the bar closer to your center of gravity which makes the bar easier to hold.

Additionally, it helps you maintain your stack.

If you align the bar behind you (as in the image on the right side), it’ll be easy to fall backward or lose tension from your stack.

Now that you know where the bar should be overhead let’s go over the details.

Internally Rotated Arms Overhead

When you catch the bar overhead, you need to create enough space to press against the bar.

In China, coaches emphasize internally rotating the arms as the scapula externally rotates (retracts), like this:

This statement can be confusing so let’s unpack it a bit.

When your scapula retracts, it points your glenoid (shoulder socket) away from you. So, you can think of scapular retraction as external rotation at the glenoid.

If you keep your arm fixed, the scapular external rotation shortens the proximal fibers of your subscapularis (the ones closer to the scapula).

This scapular movement produces relative internal rotation of the humerus.

Alternatively, you can internally rotate your humerus without moving the scapula.

In this case, you’ll shorten the distal fibers of the subscapularis (the ones near your arm).

If you have trouble visualizing these motions, watch how this video produces the same relative movement of the humerus:

And if you do both movements, then your subscapularis contracts from both sides to sustain this internal rotation of your arm.

But why bother with this internal rotation?

Because the scapular retraction compresses your back muscles to help you stabilize the bar (like a back squat).

And this position is much stronger than holding the bar further in front.

Wrists Extended & Pronated

In addition to internally rotating the arms, Chinese athletes extend their wrists and pronate to lock out the bar, like this:

The wrist extension provides maximum stability since the wrist is at its end range of motion.

And the pronation lets you exert maximum force by placing the bar near the base of your palm and aligning it with your elbow, shoulder, and stack.

Some athletes in the West learn to keep their wrists straight, but the wrist can flex or extend in this position.

Not only does this movement introduce instability, but it also reduces your ability to push against the bar.

So, if you’re trying to get rid of this habit, one analogy I like to use is to “feel like you’re pushing walls away from you.”

Head Slightly Forward and Down

Finally, most Chinese weightlifters look slightly forward and down about 45 degrees, like this:

The reason?

You might’ve heard this strategy uses more traps, but many people erroneously think the traps are elevating the bar.

Yes, this position uses more traps by compressing your upper back to keep you from falling forward, kinda like a back squat.

If you want to test this, stand upright against a wall, then move ONLY your head forward (don’t let any other part of your body lose contact with the wall).

You’ll notice your back muscles compressing to pull you back and avoid falling.

That said, your upper and middle traps draw the clavicle, acromion, and spine of the scapula backward and medially, but they don’t contribute any net torque on the scapula (Johnson et al. 1994).

Push Press Form: Lowering the Bar Between Push Press Reps

For overhead movements such as the push press, split jerk, power jerk, and squat jerk, Chinese weightlifters perform the following process to lower the bar to the front rack:

1. Bend the knees slightly, near quarter squat height (this part is optional).
2. Begin lowering the bar smoothly.
3. Extend your legs and plantarflex your ankles.
4. Relax your arms to lower the bar to your front rack while your lower body is extended.
5. Absorb the load by bending your knees and dorsiflexing your ankles.

Here is each step in this process, starting from the overhead position (frame 0):

How does this lowering sequence work?

When the bar is overhead, its potential energy is high, and it can gain a lot of downward momentum as you lower it.

Bending your knees reduces the potential energy by decreasing the distance the barbell can fall from an overhead position.

Lowering the bar smoothly reduces its downward velocity, which further reduces the downward force.

And by extending your legs and plantarflexing, you further reduce the distance between your front rack and the bar.

Therefore, by the time you relax your arms, the bar will fall a shorter distance and your lower extremities can dampen the bar’s downward force like this:

So, you might think, “That’s great, but why bother?”

A few reasons:

First, this process is faster than stiffening your body and trying to control the bar’s descent with just your upper extremities.

Conserving time is especially important when performing CrossFit WODs.

Second, lowering the bar this way is less work because you shorten the distance to apply force.

This efficiency reduces time under tension and reduces fatigue per rep which is important for maintaining push press form over multiple reps.

Third is safety.

Sometimes you might be in a situation where you can’t drop the barbell, so you need to feel comfortable and confident about catching a weight.

Can Your Feet Leave the Ground On a Push Press?

No. During the push press extension, you don’t have a split or squat movement to help reestablish your base quickly; so, your timing will be off if your feet leave the ground.

Instead, you want fast plantarflexion to accelerate the bar upward, followed by fast dorsiflexion to push into the ground.

Therefore, make sure your feet look like this:

In the West, some amateur athletes learn to stay flatfooted through the entire push press.

While this strategy maintains your ability to push against the floor, it’s much slower and reduces the height of the extension and transferability to weightlifting.

Is Sliding Back During the Push Press OK?

Ideally, you don’t want to slide back during the push press exercise because you’ll increase the horizontal distance the bar travels and, hence, the amount of work per rep.

Sliding back can occur due to poor jerk dip or a body orientation that’s pushed forward, but it can also happen with a heavy load, like this 145kg push press at 62kg by Li Fabin:

 

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Whatever the cause, sliding back is a compensatory strategy due to insufficient hip extension.

If your hips cannot extend fast enough or strongly enough, you need another way to exert force into the ground and achieve an upright position.

So, what can you do about sliding back during the push press?

First, make sure you follow the technical requirements described for the jerk dip.

Second, lower the load.

Third, incorporate weightlifting accessory movements like lateral steps or step-ups with an anterior load to maintain an upright position while training hip extension on the stance leg.

Why is Push Pressing Hurting My Lower Back?

The push press exercise can hurt over time if you perform many reps with an excessively anteriorly oriented pelvis during the jerk dip, extension, or pressing portion.

Anterior orientation of the pelvis looks like this:

In this case, your spine internally rotates (extends) to stay upright and closes the space for you to expand air posteriorly.

In response, your abs must eccentrically orient to create space, which moves the diaphragms farther apart.

It’s kinda like compressing one side of a balloon and seeing the other side expand to make room for the contents.

But this orientation loses the stack and creates a tendency for your viscera (and yourself) to move forward.

And to avoid falling forward with a loaded bar, you must arch your back and use even more posterior musculature to (hopefully) counter this tendency.

Over time, you lose hip extension because your pelvis is already pointing towards the ground to produce force:

This loss means you need to compensate somewhere else, like your lower back, which can result in pain over time.

What can you do about it?

Try some exercises to control your rib cage flare.

Benefits of the Push Press / What are Push Presses Good For?

Chinese weightlifting researchers found several benefits of the push press exercise:

• Improves snatch performance.
• Improves clean and jerk performance.
• Helpful in teaching the jerk to beginners.

Let’s look at the evidence for each of these claims.

Benefits of the Push Press: Snatch Performance

Yang et al. (2002) tested the benefit of the push press exercise on snatch performance by conducting a controlled experiment with 20 national-level female weightlifters.

Here’s how they conducted the push press experiment:

They divided these Chinese weightlifters into 2 groups (A and B) of 10.

And each group had 2 athletes per women’s weight class except 53kg and 69kg.

Group A performed experimental training that incorporated the barbell push press exercise as an assistance movement for the snatch and clean & jerk.

Group B followed the usual method of incorporating the push press exercise as an assistance movement for the clean & jerk only.

So, Group A doubled their push press training relative to Group B.

Then both groups followed this training during their winter training period, which is a strength training cycle lasting 12 – 14 weeks.

The results?

Group A’s push press improved faster than Group B.

This result makes sense because Group A had more frequent push press training, so they got more technically proficient and stronger.

But the really interesting part?

The snatch performance of Group A improved faster than that of Group B!

The researchers believed this result occurred because of the similarity in the lifts. Despite the fact the push press extension requires more posterior expansion compared to the snatch:

Both movements finish the tension on the ball of the foot with the torso as straight as possible.
Both movements require active dorsiflexion to return the feet to the ground and push through the midfoot.

So, there’s a significant carryover between the snatch and push press, making it a good weightlifting accessory movement.

Benefits of the Push Press: Split Jerk Performance

Following up on Yang’s research, Li and Su (2010) conducted a similar controlled experiment with 14 weightlifters in Fujian Province to test whether push press training benefits split jerk performance.

They recruited 2 groups of 7 athletes (5 males and 2 females in each group) who have been training for 2.5 years on average and weighed 48 – 63kg.

Group A performed experimental training where they performed the push press exercise 6 times per week.

Group B followed the usual method of incorporating the push press exercise 1 – 2 times per week with medium intensity.

Then both groups followed this training for 1 month before testing their split jerk.

The results?

Li and Su’s experimental group still saw greater increases in the split jerk (3.57kg) than the control group (1.79kg) even though the experiment lasted only a month compared to the 3 months used in Yang et al.

Interestingly, they also controlled for improvements in the clean deadlift.

The reason?

Usually, if your clean deadlift increases, your clean should be less taxing which means you’ll have more energy to split jerk.

But since both groups increased their clean deadlifts to similar degrees, the only factor left is increased push press.

After the experiment, the researchers surveyed the weightlifting coaches and weightlifters to gather qualitative data.

Because the split jerk has a wider base of support relative to the push press, it is easier to jerk successfully even without perfect technique.

However, by performing the push press exercise (as outlined above), the weightlifting coaches noticed:

• More stable front rack position.
• Increased rhythm and coordination through jerk dip and extension.
• More vertical extension.

Because these qualities are identical between the push press and split jerk, it makes sense that improving these qualities through push press training will also benefit split jerk performance.

Benefits of the Push Press: Teaching

Additionally, many Chinese coaches who work with young athletes see the barbell push press as a valuable teaching progression for the jerk because it:

• Improves rhythm and position for the jerk dip (Xu 2010).
• Strengthens overhead position (Hu and Gao 2008).
• Improves the weightlifting extension, which transfers over to the jerk (as well as snatch and clean).

These benefits occur because the push press exercise is less complex than a split jerk or squat jerk.

This is why the push is taught before the split jerk or squat jerk in the Chinese weightlifting technique program.

What is a Good Weight to Push Press?

Now that you know Chinese technique, a good weight to push press depends on your weight class. This table shows Chinese weightlifting percentile rankings of the push press for men. For example, a 133kg push press is “average” if you’re a 77kg weightlifter.

And if you’re an 85kg with a 174kg push press, that puts you at the top among Chinese weightlifters.

These data (and other weightlifting standards) were gathered by Zhang (2011) and are part of the Chinese weightlifting calculator.

What Should My Push Press Be?

In general, Chinese research shows your push press should be roughly equal to your snatch.

Yang et al. (2002) confirmed this result by studying 54 nationally ranked females from the National Team, Army Team, and provincial teams from Liaoning, Guangdong, Hunan, Shandong, Shanghai, Sichuan.

The researchers ran a regression using snatch and push press data from these athletes and generated the following equation:

Ysnatch = -0.002128 + 1.022Xpush press

This equation means every 1kg increase in push press results in a 1.022kg increase in the snatch.

Even with rounding, this relationship means your push press should be within 1 – 2kg of your snatch.

Visually the relationship looks like this red line:

What about men?

In the Chinese Olympic weightlifting book, Guo (2014) presented weightlifting ratios stating a “good” weight to push press is 78% of your clean & jerk.

He also mentioned your snatch should be 80% of your clean & jerk.

So, a 2% difference between push press and snatch (relative to the clean & jerk) is equal to Yang et al.’s results.

These weightlifting ratios are a measurement of technical efficiency and can guide programming.

For example, let’s say your push press is much greater than your snatch.

In this case, your push press form is not consistent with your snatch technique and improving your barbell push press will transfer minimally to your snatch (Yu 2011).

However, you should also consider your body structure along with your technique.

For example, it might be the case that your extension for the push press and snatch is good, but your snatch is limited due to your hook grip capability.

How Often Should I Push Press?

Because research has shown the benefits of the push press exercise on the snatch and clean and jerk, most provincial-level Chinese weightlifters perform the push 2 – 3 times per week. But training frequency of any movement, including the push press, depends on:

1. Your training goals.
2. Your current training.
3. Your key performance indicators.
4. Your movement capabilities.

For example:

1. Maybe your goal this training cycle is to increase leg strength, in which case you’ll have less energy to devote to push press exercises.
2. Maybe you haven’t done a barbell push press in a while, in which case 3 times per week is a huge change.
3. Maybe your push press is already strong, in which case you could devote more of your training to other capabilities.
4. Maybe you have trouble getting overhead and need some shoulder mobility exercises, or you’re restricted and need exercises to create more space.

That said, Xu (2010) has the following recommendations for beginners and lower intermediate weightlifters if you’re using the push press to improve your jerk:

• Use loads that avoid compensatory strategies (i.e., hyperextension, long press out, etc.).
• Use sets of 4 – 6 reps to focus on power.
• Practice the push press exercise 3 times a week to build muscle memory.
• Perform the barbell push press first or early in your training day to avoid compensatory strategies from fatigue.

What Muscles Does the Push Press Work?

While push presses work your entire body, in practice, Chinese weightlifters often feel fatigued in upper body muscles such as the triceps, deltoids, trapezius, pectoralis, latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior, and rotator cuff.

The reason?

The push press loads the upper body relatively more than the legs (especially if you control the descent).

However, Chen (2015) notes that the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, adductors, plantar flexors, and dorsiflexors are very active during a push press. So, it’s normal if you feel soreness there too.

Does the Push Press Build Muscle?

Now that we know the muscles involved, it’s natural to wonder, “does the push press build muscle?” The answer is yes, provided you:

1. lift a sufficient volume using heavy loads,
2. lift light loads under fatiguing conditions, or
3. accentuate the lowering with heavy loads.

Let’s see how each of these methods work.

Push Press for Mass: Heavy Weights

Chinese weightlifters primarily use the repetition method and intensity method for the push press to assist the split jerk; however, these training methods (and others in the Chinese Olympic weightlifting book) can have a side benefit of building muscle mass:

Beardsley (2019) summarizes why these methods can build muscle:

First, at 85% of 1RM (1 rep max) and above, the repetitions generate full recruitment of high-threshold motor units due to Henneman’s Size Principle.

And the muscle fibers innervated by these motor units are highly responsive to strength training stimuli and have greater anabolic signaling after training, which leads to more muscle growth.

Second, the repetitions produce a slow contraction velocity in the muscle.

Why is a slow contraction velocity important?

Muscle fibers produce force by forming cross-bridges between actin and myosin myofilaments.

The more cross-bridges formed and the longer they stay formed, then the more force the muscle fibers can produce.

These cross-bridges are detected as tension by mechanoreceptors on the muscle cell membrane, which signals a cascade to increase protein synthesis and protein content of the muscle fiber, which is hypertrophy.

Repetitions that meet these two criteria are called stimulating reps.

And while it’s unclear how many stimulating reps are necessary to generate muscle growth, the intensity and repetition methods preserve push press form while producing stimulating reps during the entire set.

Push Press for Mass: Light Weights

Chinese weightlifters primarily use the bodybuilding method for movements without a large technical component, such as rows, pullups, biceps curls, pushups, etc. This method is rarely used for push press because it relies on speed and timing.

However, this method is used frequently in CrossFit and can supplement heavy training to build muscle.

At first, it might seem counterintuitive that you can stimulate muscle growth by push pressing with light weights.

Once again, Beardsley (2019) comes through with a great explanation:

Basically, unlike the heavy methods, moderate (6 – 15RM) and light (15RM+) training do not involve full motor unit recruitment on all the reps in a set.

The reason?

Henneman’s Size Principle. If your body doesn’t need to recruit all the fibers, it’ll only use what’s necessary and conserve the rest.

Additionally, if you’re moving quickly during these light reps, there’s not enough time to muscle fibers to form and maintain actin-myosin cross-bridges, which stimulate muscle growth.

But as you fatigue, the situation changes.

Your body will gradually recruit higher threshold fibers to maintain the force production during the set.

And this recruitment will continue until full recruitment occurs and maintained until you stop the set or reach muscular failure.

At the same time, your bar speed decreases as you fatigue which means your muscles must contract longer to overcome the weight.

Now you have the necessary conditions for mass building: full recruitment of high-threshold muscle fibers and slow contraction velocity.

Therefore, only the final reps of sets with moderate and light loads will count as “stimulating reps,” while the earlier reps will not.

If that’s the case, then why waste your time with this method?

First, you have other connective tissues beyond muscles that are loaded and recover at different rates.

If you pound away heavy weights every day, your joints might hurt.

Additionally, light weights can preserve push press form and build mass for the motor pattern you want to use at heavier weights.

If your push press form is all over the place at heavy weights, then you’re loading muscles in different ways, and it’ll be harder to improve your lifts.

Push Press for Mass: Accentuated Lowering

Most Chinese weightlifters either 1) drop the bar after its overhead or 2) yield to lower the bar quickly (as discussed in the section Push Press Form).

These strategies help reduce muscle damage from lowering the bar and help preserve training frequency.

But sometimes you can’t drop a weight, or you have to control the weight down like a heavy strict press.

The benefit of controlling the weight is it can build mass if the weight is heavy enough.

Your muscles are about 30% stronger when eccentrically oriented than concentrically oriented (Kelly et al. 2015).

So, if your 1RM overhead press is 100kg, the weight is only 70% during the lowering of a push press.

But full motor unit recruitment occurs at 85 – 90% 1RM (Beardsley 2019).

So, you’ll need 111kg – 117kg to overload the lowering phase to introduce enough intensity to recruit high threshold muscle fibers.

And if you increase the duration of the lowering at this intensity, the time under tension and force production increases which stimulates greater increases in fiber diameter (Sharifnezhad et al. 2014) and strength (Walker et al. 2016).

Is Push Press Better Than Strict Press?

Whether a push press is better than a strict press depends on the context and the goal. Both movements can be effective for building strength and power for the jerk.

For example, consider the force-velocity curves:

The yellow curves are the initial condition and show faster contraction velocities produce less force, while slower contraction velocities produce more force.

The red vertical line shows the necessary speed to complete a clean & jerk. If you maintain that speed with heavier weights, then your potential clean & jerk will increase.

Now, the left panel shows a context where force production is low.

For example, children and many female weightlifters lack upper body force production to support a heavy bar in the rack position or overhead.

Or they might lack control to absorb the bar when they lower it between reps.

In this context, Chinese coaches use the strict press to increase force production to control and support the bar.

This training shifts the yellow curve up to the blue curve and improves the clean & jerk.

On the other hand, the center panel shows a context where the lifter already produces high force.

In this context, the yellow curve simply rotates clockwise, which means training the strict press can still increase force production, but it reduces your speed and stagnates your clean & jerk.

Charniga (2014) presents Soviet research of this phenomenon showing high muscle tone has a negative effect on the muscles’ ability to relax, and strong pressers use their arms too soon.

This movement pattern pushes the body down when it should be elevating, which adversely impacts the speed of the extension for the jerk.

In this context, Chinese coaches focus on increasing power and speed through the push press exercise and other methods to increase force production for the clean & jerk (as shown in the right panel).

How Can I Improve My Push Press?

If you want to improve your barbell push press, you must create enough space to access the overhead position and exert force. Several weight training strategies to improve your push press are 1) single arm pressing, 2) seated exercises, and 3) inversion activities.

Many weightlifting accessory exercises fit these criteria, and I cover them in Level II Chinese weightlifting seminars, but here are some examples:

Single Arm Push Press

You can perform a single-arm push press with a plate, dumbbell, or kettlebell. This movement creates expansion on the reaching side and compression on the downside, which can help you access the overhead position.

For weightlifters with a wide ISA, the benefit is on the downside because it compresses the ribs laterally, which can restore anterior-posterior expansion.

For weightlifters with a narrow ISA, the benefit is on the reaching up position because it expands the lateral rib cage.

Additionally, because your hand is not on a fixed barbell, you can focus on internally rotating your humerus and exert force overhead.

Seated Overhead Press

The seated position provides greater rib cage expansion vs. other body positions (Takashima et al. 2017). It also helps stack your ribs over your pelvis, which helps realize a good overhead press position for most weightlifters.

To realize this benefit, you should feel pressure over your ischial tuberosity (sit bones) and keep your ribs down throughout the movement:

Decline Pushup / Decline Triceps Extension

The benefit of inversion activities is they move air towards the top of your lungs. Biasing breathing there creates upper thorax expansion and can restore shoulder range of motion.

For example, prone inversion activities like decline pushups and other handstand progressions can be suitable for narrow ISA weightlifters.

Additionally, supine inversion activities like decline triceps extension are suitable for wide ISA weightlifters.

How Do I Make My Push Press Stronger?

Assuming you can get into proper technical positions, the key to a stronger push press is improving the jerk dip and extension because these elements are responsible for clearing 2/3 of the range of motion overhead.

Now, instead of picking random exercises, you can make a more informed decision by looking at the ISA.

Weightlifters with a narrow ISA tend to be better at descending during the barbell push press than stopping and ascending.

So, you’ll see things like dipping too low to dampen the downward force or caving the knees in to close the pelvic inlet and push your guts upward.

By contrast, weightlifters with a wide ISA tend to be very stiff, so they are better at stopping and ascending during the push press rather than descending.

So, you’ll see things like a very short, abrupt jerk dip or sitting back to create depth (instead of sitting down.

Given this info, here are some popular weightlifting accessory movements to strengthen your jerk dip and push press.

How to Increase Push Press: Jerk Dip (Normal)

The jerk dip is a versatile exercise used in Chinese weightlifting training to build confidence and rhythm for the dip. Simply dip smoothly and then stand up immediately.

If you do it correctly, the barbell oscillates down as you dip and oscillates up as you stand.

How to Increase Push Press: Jerk Dip (Paused Reps)

If you tend to dip too deep or have trouble stopping yourself (like a narrow ISA person), try adding a pause at the bottom of the jerk dip for 1 – 2 seconds before standing.

This movement helps you keep your pelvic diaphragm concentrically oriented during the dip to avoid losing control.

And you can even place a high box for you to sit on if you have trouble stopping yourself.

How to Increase Push Press: Jerk Dip (Static Yield)

If you are super stiff, tend to muscle your push press, sit back during the dip, or have trouble getting enough depth in the dip (like a wide ISA person), then try a jerk dip with a static yield:

By pausing at the bottom for at least 5 – 6 seconds, you induce a relaxation response in the connective tissues, allowing them to yield.

Once the connective tissues can yield, you can dip more vertically and with more speed.

How to Increase Push Press: Jerk Dip (Oscillatory)

During the oscillatory jerk dip, you start the movement with tension, release the tension, and re-tense.

It looks like a normal jerk dip but without a pause in between reps, like this:

The main benefit of oscillation is that it teaches you how to store and release energy to take advantage of the stretch reflex.

This movement is great for stiff athletes who can’t yield (wide ISA) because the bar loads the connective tissues to a greater degree with each rep.

The oscillation also helps athletes who have trouble extending (narrow ISA) because it trains them to tense and re-tense themselves.

However, you might want to use a shorter range of motion to avoid reinforcing too deep of a jerk dip.

How to Increase Push Press: Banded Barbell Push Press

The banded barbell push press is a fantastic movement if you have trouble producing upward force during the extension:

When you dip, your guts suspend for a second and then fall, creating a downward internal force.

If the guts crash into your pelvis as you extend, then your rhythm will be off, and it will be hard to produce upward force.

So, the bands accentuate the downward force of your guts, which can improve coordination during the extension.

The banded weights also delay the change in direction for the barbell, which gives you more time to store energy in your connective tissues.

And as the bands recoil, they assist with upward force on the bar.

So, this is a great push press exercise for narrow ISA weightlifters who can control themselves downward but are slow to turn around or extend quickly enough.

How to Increase Push Press: Overhead Pin Press

The pin press is a partial press movement. For weightlifting, it trains the lockout or push under portion of the barbell push press.

So, if you have a good jerk dip/extension but have trouble locking out, then this weightlifting accessory movement is for you.

To train the lockout, set the height in a squat cage near the last 1/3 of the range of motion.

Because the load can be high for partial range movements, it’s better to minimize the movement by performing it behind the neck so you can focus on pushing straight up, like this:

Honestly, the athlete in the photo could start 1 – 2 pins higher to maximize the transfer for his push press.

Regardless, make sure to stand up straight with your head looking down about 45 degrees and your elbows are pointing directly away from you.

This posture will align the bar over the base of your neck and midfoot.

Once you set up, push explosively!

And if you want more transfer to your push press, set the bar higher to include your plantarflexion, like this:

From this position, bring your heels down push yourself under the bar explosively.

Conclusion:

Congratulations for making it this far!

I hope you enjoyed this ultimate push press guide.

Now I’d like to hear from you.

Do you think the push press exercise has a place in a weightlifting program?

Are you going to modify your barbell push press form?

Or will you try any of the weightlifting accessory exercises to increase push press performance?

Let me know by leaving a quick comment below right now.

Sources:

Special thanks to IFASTU

Beardsley, Chris. 2019. Hypertrophy: Muscle Fiber Growth Caused by Mechanical Tension. KDP Publishing.

Charniga, Andrew. 2014. “More about the Jerk.” Sportivny Press. 

Chen, Wei. 2015. “The Application of Push Press Training on the Snatch and Clean & Jerk.” Journal of Anhui Sports Science. 36(12): 52 – 54.

Guo, Qinghong. 2014. “The Relationship between Assistance Movements and Technical Movements.” Presented at the 2014 Ma Strength Summer Weightlifting Camp.

Hu, Guangping, Gao Lin. 2008. “Youth Weightlifting Athletes’ Training Content and Arrangement.” Shanxi Sports Science. 28(1 – 2): 56 – 58.

Johnson, Garth, Bogduk, Nikolai, Nowitzke, Adrian. And D. House. 1994. “Anatomy and Actions of the Trapezius Muscle.” Clinical biomechanics, 9(1). 44 – 50.

Kelly, Stephen, Lee Brown, Steven Hooker, Pamela Swan, Matthew Buman, Brent Alvar, and Laurie Black. 2015. “Comparison of Concentric and Eccentric Bench Press Repetitions to Failure.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 29(4): 1027 – 1032.

Li, Shangfu & Su Minying. 2010. “The Effect of Push Press Training on the Jerk.” Journal of Ningde Teacher’s College (Natural Sciences). 22(1): 26 – 28.

Sharifnezhad, Ali, Robert Marzilger, and Adamantios Arampatzis. 2014. “Effects of Load Magnitude, Muscle Length, and Velocity During Eccentric Chronic Loading on the Longitudinal Growth of the Vastus Lateralis Muscle.” Journal of Experimental Biology. 217(15): 2726 – 2733.

Takashima Sachie, Masafumi Nozoe, Kyoshi Mase, Yusuke Kouyama, Kazuhiro Matsushita, & Hiroshi Ando. 2017. “Effects of Posture on Chest-Wall Configuration and Motion During Tidal Breathing in Normal Men.” Journal of Physical Therapy Science. 29(1): 29 – 34.

Walker, Simon, Anthony Blazevich, Gregory Haff, James Tufano, Robert Newton, & Keijo Häkkinen. 2016. “Greater Strength Gains After Training with Accentuated Eccentric than Traditional Isoinertial Loads in Already Strength-Trained Men.” Frontiers in physiology. 7. 149.

Yang Zhijun, Li Xueyi, Hu Xianhao, & Wang Xingze. 2002. “Investigation on the Relationship between Snatch and Push Press among Elite Female Weightlifters.” Chinese Sports Coach (4): 22 – 23.

Xu, Zhihu. 2010. “Training Content and Arrangement of Youth Weightlifters.” Journal of Huaibei Professional & Technical College. 20(4): 144.

Yu, Zhongyou. 2011. “On the Value and Application of the Push Press as an Assistance Exercise.” Journal of Chifeng University. 27(5): 156 – 158.

Zhang, Jie. 2011. “Research on Evaluation Index System of Specific Physical Fitness of China Men’s Weightlifting Athletes.” Master’s Thesis. Chengdu Institute of Physical Education.

The post How to Push Press like Chinese Weightlifters: Techniques, Strategies, Solutions appeared first on Ma Strength.

Today’s post is the most complete guide to the weightlifting hook grip.

In this new guide, you’ll learn the answers to the most popular questions about hook grip technique.

Whether you’re a beginner lifter to the hook grip or a veteran coach seeking to increase your weightlifting knowledge, you’ll get a lot of value from today’s guide.

Here’s a summary of what we’ll cover:

• What does a hook grip look like?
• How do you make a hook grip?
• How the hook grip works
• Why is the hook grip better?
• Is hook grip better?
• How long does it take to learn the hook grip?
• Can you hook grip with small hands?
• Are hands too small for hook grip?
• Is the hook grip supposed to hurt?
• Does hook grip thumb pain ever go away?
• What tape do weightlifters use?
• Is hook grip necessary?
• Should you hook grip deadlift?
• Bonus: Releasing the hook grip?

Let’s get started.

What Does a Hook Grip Look Like?

Basically, the hook grip looks like a fist with the thumb tucked inside. But the actual representation depends on factors like:

1. your thumb length,
2. your thumb girth,
3. tendon flexibility in your thumb,
4. the length of your fingers, and
5. the girth of your fingers.

For example, here are four different representations among professional Chinese weightlifters:

You can see differences in how far the thumb moves across the palm.

Differences in which fingers wrap around the thumb.

Differences in how many fingers wrap around the thumb.

And how much the palm folds onto itself.

The point is there is no single way the hook grip should look.

When learning or teaching how to hook grip, there will be individual differences but they all should follow the same process.

How Do You Make a Hook Grip?

To make a hook grip, follow this 4-step process:

1. Keep your arms relaxed as you press the web between your thumb and index finger deep into the bar. You’ll notice your thumb begin to internally rotate from this motion.
2. Next, wrap your thumb around the bar as far as possible. This “hook” creates a shelf to rest the bar and apply force from the thumb.
3. Then, wrap your fingers around the outer edge of your thumb and bar. This step creates a second “hook” where the fingers compress the thumb to prevent it from externally rotating.
4. This part is optional: gently tug on the barbell to avoid resting the bar directly on a bony area or blood vessel, ensuring the compression on the thumb feels comfortable.

Depending on the shape of your hand, you might wrap 1 – 3 fingers around the thumb.

And then, your remaining fingers will wrap around the bar to provide support.

In China, some weightlifters will wrap their index and middle fingers over their thumb.

But other Chinese weightlifters will wrap their middle and ring fingers over their thumb.

There is no single way.

The most important aspect is to grip comfortably rather than forcing your hook grip to look like someone else’s.

How the Hook Grip Works

Regardless of what your hook grip looks like, the hook grip creates a secure grip by:

1. Assisting internal rotation of your hand and forearm.
2. Producing a shape change in the hand for your thumb to apply force into the bar directly.
3. Creating a double layer of resistance against the bar.
4. Creating an interlocking system to prevent the bar from rolling.
5. Equalizing pressure in your hand to restrict the bar’s movement.

Let’s go deeper into each of these mechanisms.

Weightlifting Hook Grip: Mechanism 1

One way the hook grip works is by helping produce internal rotation in the hand and forearm, which produces more force into the bar.

To understand this, hold your arm in front of you with your thumb pointing to the ceiling.

Then internally rotate your thumb into your palm until your body reaches its end range of motion, like this:

Notice how leading with your thumb induces your wrist, elbow, and shoulder to follow.

This internal rotation frees your elbows and/or shoulders from internally rotating as much to secure the bar.

Weightlifting Hook Grip: Mechanism 2

Another way the hook grip works is by producing a shape change in the hand.

This shape change lets you access a space where your thumb can internally rotate and apply force to the bar.

This image shows the excursion of the thumb as it externally rotates and internally rotates across the left palm.

The red space is where the thumb produces more of an internal rotation (IR) force.

The blue space is where the thumb produces more of an external rotation (ER) force.

And the deeper your thumb can reach into this IR space, the more your palm will fold.

This fold increases the relative length of the thumb and its leverage to apply force.

But during a normal grip, much of this IR space is not available because your fingers are in the way.

While the palm does fold during a normal grip, it is more limited than a hook grip.

And if you try to internally rotate your thumb in the same way as a hook grip, then the folding will deform your fist.

This difference makes the hook grip a superior grip.

Weightlifting Hook Grip: Mechanism 3

A third way the hook grip works is by creating a double layer of resistance against the bar:

This system works by positioning your thumb and fingers to apply force to the bar.

Internal rotation is how your body produces force.

When you hold a barbell with a normal grip, only your fingers are in the red internal rotation (IR) space.

So you only have one layer of resistance to counter the downward force from the bar.

And notice how your thumb is near the blue external rotation (ER) space.

In this location, your thumb is more prone to opening rather than applying force.

You can try this yourself.

Try pressing your thumb towards your fingers, and you’ll feel a weak force.

However, with a hook grip, your thumb enters the red IR space as it wraps underneath the bar.

This orientation forms another layer of resistance.

And you’ll feel your thumb gain a greater ability to apply force.

But that’s not all!

Weightlifting Hook Grip: Mechanism 4

Your thumb and fingers open/externally rotate in opposite directions.

And during a hook grip, your thumb interlocks with your fingers, like this:

This orientation makes it harder for the bar to open your hand.

But during a normal grip, your thumb lacks this capability.

So your fingers must do all the work to prevent the bar from rolling.

Weightlifting Hook Grip: Mechanism 5

The last way the hook grip works is by equalizing pressure in your thumb to prevent its movement.

During an Olympic lift with hook grip, the bar compresses the inner edge of your thumb pad as you start to lift.

This compression moves the fluid in the thumb pad toward the outer edge and causes it to expand.

It’s like pressing on one side of a balloon and causing the other side to expand.

And your thumb will move in the direction of this expansion unless you can close this space.

Now, since your fingers wrap along the outer edge of your thumb, they are positioned to block this expansion.

As your fingers compress against this expansion, the fluid in your thumb will move back toward the inner edge.

You can test this yourself by pressing your left fingers onto the outer edge of your right thumb pad, like this:

And the further you wrap your fingers around your thumb during the hook grip, the more surface area padding they can press against.

This fluid shift increases the pressure against the bar, which prevents it from rolling.

It also prevents your thumb from moving, which helps preserve your grip.

Why is the Hook Grip Better?

Given the mechanics described above, the hook grip is better than a normal grip because you can:

1. Grip the bar more securely compared to a normal overhead grip.
2. Reduce the need for a compensatory strategy.

Because the hook grip changes the shape of your hand to apply greater force and creates a system to prevent the bar from rolling, it is a much more secure grip.

But how does a hook grip reduce the need for a compensatory strategy?

Simple.

Basically, if you can’t produce force in one area, you must produce force elsewhere.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to lift the weight.

Remember, your thumb internally rotates to create a hook grip, which helps drive internal rotation in the rest of the arm.

Without the hook grip, it is easier to rely on compensatory strategies to secure the bar.

There are many compensatory strategies discussed in our Chinese weightlifting book, but here are several common ones.

Why Hook Grip: Compensation 1

First, some athletes will actively point their knuckles to the floor or flex their wrists to increase their wrap around the bar. Like this:

However, wrist flexion moves your arms away from your torso and alters your movement strategy for the snatch or clean.

If you can’t maintain wrist flexion during the snatch or clean, then your wrists will straighten and create downward + forward momentum.

In this case, you must prevent the bar from pulling you down or forward.

And the common strategy to produce force is concentrically orienting your back muscles and rear deltoids excessively.

But what if you’re really strong and can maintain your wrist flexion?

In this case, the bar will reach your contact point early.

During early contact, your legs aren’t in an optimal position for the extension.

So, your upper body must do more work to lift and catch the bar.

Why Hook Grip: Compensation 2

Another common compensatory strategy is flexing the elbows, like this:

Flexing your elbows is a similar strategy to flexing your wrists and sometimes occurs together.

If your arms are unable to stay flexed during the deadlift portion of the snatch or clean, then they will straighten and create downward momentum on the bar.

But there’s another issue.

Since you’re bent over the bar, flexing your elbows concentrically orients your back muscles and creates a rowing motion.

Rowing the bar as you stand can increase the collision between the bar and your hips.

This collision can send the bar forward and throw off your catch.

Why Hook Grip: Compensation 3

Another common compensatory strategy is internally rotating your elbows excessively, like this:

This movement increases your pronation capability to aid your grip.

However, it also eccentrically orients your mid-back muscles and rounds your spine.

This position reduces the force capability of your mid-back.

So, what must do more work to raise your torso?

Your lower back and neck.

These compensatory strategies all reduce your force transfer during the snatch and clean.

But a hook grip helps you relax your arms and avoid these compensatory strategies.

Is Hook Grip Better?

Yes, research indicates a hook grip allows you to lift more weight and optimize the force you can transfer into the bar.

A small study by Oranchuk et al. (2019) shows you can lift a higher 1RM power clean using a hook grip compared to a normal grip.

This higher 1RM occurs in several ways:

First, the bar moves substantially faster during the power clean at most intensities with a hook grip than a normal grip (see the first chart).

Second, power output increases substantially when your intensity reaches 80% or higher with a hook grip than a normal grip (see the second chart).

This is normal because:

power = force * velocity

So, you should expect more power if your velocity increases, even if your force stays the same.

Finally, as the intensity increases, athletes who use a hook grip tend to catch the bar at a substantially higher front squat position than with a normal grip (see the third chart).

This result makes sense because it is easy to catch the bar at a high front squat position (regardless of grip) when the weight is light.

In another version, Oranchuk et al. (2018) found small differences in peak vertical displacement (0.95 – 1.94%).

This result means athletes lifted the bar to nearly the same height regardless of the grip they used.

It makes sense because you need to create enough space to catch the bar, no matter what technique you use.

But how are athletes able to move the bar faster and catch the bar 4.35 – 12.35% higher with the hook grip?

It could be that the hook grip allowed athletes to sustain good posture during the deadlift phase.

Or it could be the hook grip prevented the bar from slipping during the extension, which allows the athlete to continue accelerating the bar.

The study did not test those issues.

However, the results suggest athletes used a different movement strategy between grips.

And the compensatory strategy with a normal grip delayed their timing to pull under and dampened their catch.

Not only does this delay affect your technique, but it also affects your connective tissues.

How?

If you dampen your catch, then you slow the rate of loading on your connective tissues.

So your tissues will train to be less stiff and less apt to produce force.

The result is a negative effect on maximizing your power clean.

And if you’re using the power clean as part of a vertical jump program, it might not improve your jumping.

It might even be counterproductive!

How Long Does it Take to Learn the Hook Grip?

Learning how to hook grip is very easy and usually just takes a few sets to understand it.

However, getting accustomed to the pressure and friction from the hook grip takes about two weeks.

The key is to use the hook grip frequently to shorten the time to acclimate your hands.

In China, beginners learn how to hook grip as they begin learning weightlifting technique.

Beginners can use a PVC or kid’s bar and add weight gradually before moving on to a women’s bar or men’s bar.

This progression can ease the pressure on their thumbs.

But what if you can’t frequently train your weightlifting technique?

No worries!

You can learn how to hook grip by increasing your exposure during bodybuilding movements, such as hook grip rows, hook grip pullups, etc.

Can You Hook Grip With Small Hands? 

This is a common concern among men, but yes, you can perform a hook grip with small hands.

A study by Shuai (1991) recommends a minimum thumb length of 5.91cm +- 0.15cm to perform a hook grip comfortably with an IWF men’s barbell.

How did he find this?

Shuai examined the thumb length of 154 professional, male, Chinese weightlifters.

He measured the distance from the tip of the thumb to its metacarpal joint (see the red line below):

Then he recorded his findings over various weight classes and found the average thumb length in the 52kg class to be about 5.91cm +- 0.15cm.

Shuai worried if any outliers were driving the results.

So he then measured the thumb length among Chinese national and world snatch champions from 1984 – 1986.

Notice how Qiu Yuanfu (52kg) could snatch over double bodyweight with a thumb length of 5.5cm!

Meanwhile, Zeng Guoqiang and Zhang Shoulie (52kg) have 6.4cm thumb lengths!

5.5cm and 6.4cm are about three standard deviations away from the average Shuai calculated, which is exceptional even among elites in lightweight classes.

Since the outliers are evenly spread, Shuai recommends a thumb length of 5.91cm as a comfortable minimum for adult men.

So, next time you wonder, “how to hook grip with small hands?” measure your thumbs to make sure you actually have small hands.

Are Hands too Small for Hook Grip?

If your hands are small (i.e., close to 5.91cm or below), then you can enhance your hook grip with:

1. Grip Adjustment
2. Grip-enhancing agents such as:
   • Chalk
   • Liquid Chalk
   • Liquid Resin

Hook Grip Small Hands: Grip Adjustment

There’s no denying it: the hook grip is more effective with a longer thumb.

Shuai (1991) found having a longer thumb (hence, a more effective hook grip) highly correlates with better snatch performance.

But with small hands, it’s difficult to rely on the length of your fingers and thumb to secure your grip.

Fortunately, there’s a solution.

You can try adjusting your grip by internally rotating your thumb further across your palm, like this:

This grip adjustment folds your hand further to increase the relative length of your thumb.

And this change in relative length gives your thumb more leverage and moves it deeper into the IR space (see Weightlifting Hook Grip: Mechanism 2).

Hook Grip Small Hands: Grip-Enhancing Agents

Another solution is to use a grip-enhancing agent such as chalk or liquid resin.

Chalk and liquid chalk claim to increase the coefficient of friction by drying the skin.

Liquid resin claims to enhance the adhesion between the skin and surface.

Which should you use?

The answer depends on the moisture of the surface and your skin.

A case study by Carre et al. (2012) measured the change in friction using various grip-enhancing agents on a steel surface.

Here are the adapted results:

Case 1: Dry Hands and Dry Surface

If your hands are dry and the surface is dry, chalk does NOT provide the best grip for deadlift, snatch, or clean variations.

In fact, you’re better off using your bare skin!

The reason?

If there’s no moisture to dry, then chalk acts as a solid lubricant.

By contrast, liquid chalk increases friction substantially better by creating a viscous solution.

And liquid resin performs best in a dry environment because it is viscous and can adhere to your skin.

This result supports research translated by Charniga (2007), claiming the force applied to the bar is 15% stronger with the use of resin.

So if you want the best grip for deadlift, snatch, or cleans in dry conditions, then use a liquid agent.

Case 2: Wet hands and Dry Surface

The story changes if you increase the moisture of your hands through sweat or spray with water (middle chart).

In this case, the solid chalk provides the best grip for deadlift, snatch, and clean variations.

The reason is the chalk particles can bind to the moisture and form a viscous solution.

And this solution increases the friction against steel, which enhances your grip.

But if you have sweaty hands, you DON’T want to use liquid chalk or liquid resin.

You’re better off using your own skin (if you don’t have dry chalk).

The reason?

These agents already have water, so if your skin is moist, they won’t bind to it effectively and will only increase lubrication against the bar.

Case 3: Dry Hands and Wet Surface

Finally, what if you lift in a humid environment?

In this case, the contact surface (i.e., steel) is moist rather than your hand.

If the bar is damp, then all grip agents become less effective compared to a dry environment.

But something is better than nothing.

So, if you lift in a humid environment, your best strategy is to dry the bar as much as possible with a dry cloth.

Since the air is still humid, using solid chalk will provide the best grip for deadlift, snatch, and clean variations.

In China, weightlifters often use weightlifting straps combined with chalk in humid environments.

Is Hook Grip Supposed to Hurt?

Yes, it’s common for the hook grip to feel uncomfortable when learning how to hook grip. This discomfort is due to:

1. Increased fluid pressure from the bar and your fingers pressing into your thumb pad.
2. Friction on your thumb as the bar tries to roll off the inner edge of your thumb.

In addition to discomfort, these forces can create small skin tears along the inner edge of your thumb, swelling, chafing, and broken blood vessels, like this:

The good news is these issues are typical.

The bad news is these injuries/discomfort can interfere with your technique or heavier lifts.

So, what’s the solution?

Use some weightlifting tape to provide a layer of skin protection until your hand adapts.

Does Hook Grip Thumb Pain Ever Go Away? 

Usually, yes. The swelling and broken blood vessels typically subside as your skin stretches to accommodate high fluid pressure in your thumb pad.

And your thumb will become more resistant to chafing and skin tears as your skin thickens.

However, you might experience persistent thumb pain with the hook grip if you:

1. Press your thumb parallel against the bar.
2. Use your fingers to hook onto your thumbnail.
3. Lack internal rotation somewhere else, such as your shoulder.

Hook Grip Pain #1:

Pressing your thumb parallel to the bar places pressure on your thumbnail and the boney side of your thumb, including the joints.

The problem is there’s little fluid and room for compression/expansion on this side, making this placement quite painful and persistent.

This problem occurs frequently if you don’t learn how to hook grip correctly.

Fortunately, there’s a solution.

You can easily resolve this by adjusting your grip to wrap your thumb pad around the bar, like the right side of the image above.

Hook Grip Pain #2:

Another issue is pressing your fingers directly on your thumbnail or its edge.

Because this area is sensitive to pressure, performing a hook grip can feel like your nail is getting pulled off.

It’s difficult to adapt to this, so your best solution is adjusting your grip.

You can start over and try to press the web between your index finger and thumb deeper into the bar.

You can also try wrapping your fingers further around your thumb.

Or you can try internally rotating your thumb further across your palm.

But even if you know how to hook grip, sometimes none of these solutions are possible because your fingers are too short or too thick.

In this case, using weightlifting tape can provide a layer of protection to dampen the pressure from your fingers.

Hook Grip Pain #3:

Sometimes athletes experience tightness or pain at the base of the thumb or wrist, shown in the blue circles below:

The tightness can also occur between the two blue circles.

Conventional wisdom is to stretch a tight area by performing ulnar deviation of your wrist while maintaining your fist.

However, before you go pulling on something that doesn’t want to elongate, consider looking more proximally to your torso.

Why?

Because if you can internally rotate your shoulder, pronate your forearm, and pronate your hand relative to your wrist, then you should have all your internal rotation available.

It’s rare for one segment in the arm to move independently of other segments.

So, if you have a problem at the distal end, you may have something proximal limiting your movement.

First, make sure you’re not pointing your elbows back in the start, like this:

Some western coaches teach this external rotation movement to create tension in their midback.

The problem?

It becomes more difficult to pronate (internally rotate) your forearm when you’re already externally rotating it.

So when you hook grip, you’re doing it against a muscle being pulled in the opposite direction.

And you’re forced to go beyond the range available, which can be painful.

In this case, stretching may provide temporary relief if it does anything at all.

Second, consider restoring your pump handle to access shoulder internal rotation.

What’s that?

When you inhale, your ribcage (should) expands outward upward, like a pump:

But if your pump handle stays down during inhalation, then you’ll have concentric orientation of upper body muscles anteriorly and laterally.

Think tight pecs, serratus, etc.

With a down pump handle, your scapula abducts, and your humerus internally rotates.

So you end up looking like this:

This position is awkward to lift or walk.

So, you need to externally rotate compensatorily to make use of your hands and arms.

The problem with this compensation is it concentrically orients your shoulder external rotators, limiting shoulder internal rotation.

The result is the same as you saw in the elbow: when you hook grip, you’re doing it against a muscle being pulled in the opposite direction.

So you’re forced to go beyond the range available to pronate, which can be painful near the thumb.

So how can you restore your internal rotation?

Use exercises that force an up-pump handle. For example, you can use a decline pullover like this:

You can even do some incline, alternating, dumbbell bench press!

Alternatively, you can do light front squats focusing on keeping your chest out and breathing through your chest.

Try these movements and see if you experience a reduction in hook grip pain.

What Tape Do Weightlifters Use? 

In China, most weightlifters use a roll of firm cloth weightlifting tape. Like this:

You might be wondering how to hook grip with such a large roll.

Fortunately, this tape tears easily into strips which you can customize for your wrists, shins, hands, as well as your thumb proportions.

Adjusting the width of the tape has several advantages.

First, it allows you to tape around the interphalangeal joint of the thumb.

Avoiding this spot is important because if you tape this spot too tightly, then the tape will create too much pressure in your thumb and can prevent flexion.

Second, adjusting the width of the tape helps prevent slippage during a training session.

For example, if the width of the tape is too wide, then any excess tape hanging off the end of your thumb can pull the entire strip during the pull.

Additionally, using a wide strip can cause the tape to bunch up when you flex your thumb or cause the tape to slip off during a lift.

Third, adjustable strips allow you to target areas where the skin breaks without having to tape much of the thumb, like this:

This solution is good for athletes who don’t like taping their thumbs but need to protect a vulnerable area.

Is Hook Grip Necessary? 

The hook grip is necessary (but not required) for weightlifting competition. It’s also not necessary for all weightlifting training exercises. Here’s a rough guideline of how Chinese weightlifters use the hook grip:

• Often used for:
  • Full Snatch
  • Full Clean
  • Power Snatch
  • Power Clean
• Less often used for:
  • Hang Snatch
  • Hang Clean
  • Block Snatch
  • Block Clean
  • Complexes
  • Deadlifts
  • Snatch Pulls
  • Clean Pulls
  • Pressing Movements
  • Bodybuilding pulling movements like rows, chin-ups, lat pulls, etc.

Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, check out this clean complex where the weightlifter uses a hook grip:

And check out this girl snatching 115kg from blocks with a hook grip.

But still, it looks like Chinese weightlifters hardly use the hook grip!

What are they using instead?

Answer: weightlifting straps

In general, most weightlifting assistance movements like block/hang/pulls require multiple reps where your grip can fatigue, even with a hook grip.

If your grip fatigues, it can result in a compensatory strategy that interferes with your force production.

So, to avoid ingraining bad weightlifting habits, the hook grip is usually reserved for technical movements from the floor and/or single reps.

When it comes to strength movements, there’s a little more nuance.

Let’s look at the deadlift as an example.

Should You Hook Grip Deadlift? 

1. Outside of weightlifting, since the hook grip is stronger than a normal grip, you should perform a hook grip deadlift if your goal is maximum deadlift strength or reps.
2. But in weightlifting, the answer depends on your hook grip strength, training schedule, and movement goals.

Let’s look at each of these factors more closely.

Hook Grip Deadlift: Grip Strength

Some Chinese weightlifters perform hook grip deadlift variations because their hands are small, so they need to strengthen hook grip.

Other athletes have an uncomfortable hook grip and cannot adjust their fingers.

In this case, they perform a hook grip deadlift to adapt their hands.

Variations include rounded back deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and other movements covered in our list of Olympic weightlifting exercises.

The weights for these hook grip deadlift variations are usually close to maximum snatch or clean weight rather than a 1RM deadlift performed with weightlifting straps.

This intensity has two advantages.

One advantage is there’s less injury risk if you use a compensatory strategy as your grip fails.

This reduced risk is because the intensity is below the maximal strength range for your body.

Another advantage is since the intensity is near your maximum snatch and clean & jerk, using hook grip deadlift variations can build confidence.

Hook Grip Deadlift: Training Schedule

Most Chinese weightlifters perform at least one type of pulling exercise per day, so they often use weightlifting straps for deadlifts. But it’s possible to minimize hand fatigue from hook grip deadlifts if:

1. You place them near the end of a weight training session.
2. The next day in the training week is a rest day.
3. The next weight training session has few to no pulling movements.
4. The intensity of the next weight training session is light.
5. The next weight training session implements weightlifting straps for all pulling movements.

The point is you can train your grip strength with hook grip deadlifts while weightlifting frequently.

You just need to be strategic about your placement.

Hook Grip Deadlift: Movement Goal

Whether you implement a hook grip deadlift or not depends on the goal of your movement.

For example, Chinese weightlifters add an extension during a deadlift to emphasize power, like this:

While this movement can build snatch pull or clean pull strength, it is very taxing on their hands without weightlifting straps.

Bonus: Releasing the Hook Grip?

All professional weightlifters start with a hook grip.

And, so far, we’ve been talking about the hook grip from the start position.

But some athletes naturally release the hook as they turn their wrists to catch the bar during a snatch or clean.

For example, you can see Liao Hui (69kg; on the left) maintaining his hook grip while Zhang Jie (62kg; on the right) opens his hands and releases his hook grip.

Both are world champions.

Both are cleaning 160kg.

So, what’s going on?

Remember, the hook grip produces internal rotation in the arm via pronation.

But if you don’t have enough access to this internal rotation space in a front squat or overhead squat, you must create space to get into position.

And releasing the hook grip is a strategy that will bias the wrists towards supination to expand the space.

This movement isn’t explicitly taught in China, but it occurs among men and women, lightweights and heavyweights.

And depending on your ability to access internal rotation, you might maintain the hook grip for:

1. Both snatch and clean.
2. Snatch only.
3. Neither snatch or clean.

So, what should you do?

Ask yourself: “Can I maintain a proper overhead position? Can I do it pain-free?”

If the answer is “yes” to both questions, then continue with whatever grip you’re using.

While maintaining a hook grip can preserve an undisrupted connection with the bar, it’s also important to achieve a pain-free and proper catch position.

And some athletes release the hook grip because this is the best strategy to apply force throughout the entire system.

For example, they give up internal rotation in the wrist by releasing the hook grip but they have space to produce greater internal rotation at the shoulder or spine.

But if the answer is “no” to either question, then assess you have two options:

First, you can assess your weightlifting technique visually with our Chinese weightlifting book.

Second, try to create a dynamic pump handle to create space for you to internally rotate your shoulder (see Hook Grip Pain #3 for more info).

If the problem persists despite these interventions, then you should consider releasing the hook grip.

Conclusion:

Congratulations, you are now a master of the hook grip!

I hope you found this weightlifting hook grip guide valuable and interesting.

Now I’d like to hear from you.

Will you try the hook grip?

If you already hook grip, did you learn anything new?

Is there any other question you have about the hook grip?

Let me know by leaving a quick comment!

Sources:

Special thanks to Bill Hartman at IFASTU for guidance.

Bykov, A. P., Y. I. Smagli, and B. Donyets. 1970. “Optimum Width of the Grip in the Snatch.” Polytechnical Institute Weightlifting. 63 – 67. Translated by Andrew Charniga, Jr. Sportivny Press. 2007.

Carre, Matt, Sarah Tomlinson, James Collins, and Roger Lewis. 2012. “An Assessment of the Performance of Grip Enhancing Agents used in Sports Applications.” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology. 226(7): 616 – 625.

Oranchuk, Dustin, Riki Lindsay, Eric Helms, Eric Harbour, Adam Storey, and Eric Drinkwater. 2018. “Hook-grip Improves Power Clean Kinetics and Kinematics.” In Conference: 36th International Society of Biomechanics in Sports.

Oranchuk, Dustin, Eric Drinkwater, Riki Lindsay, Eric Helms, Eric Harbour, and Adam Storey. 2019. “Improvement of Kinetic, Kinematic, and Qualitative Performance Variables of the Power Clean with the Hook Grip.” International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 14(3): 378 – 384.

Shuai Yuqin. 1991. “The Relationship between Thumb Length and Snatch Performance of Male Weightlifters.” Journal of Chengdu Physical Education Institute. 17:1. 93 – 96.

The post Hook Grip Mastery: Everything you Need to Know appeared first on Ma Strength.

We created an online weightlifting calculator based on Zhang’s (2011) survey of over 200 elite Chinese male weightlifters who sought to answer the question:

How do you evaluate and rank Chinese athletes in each of the weightlifting weight classes?

In this post, we’re going to share the findings and break down the steps so that you can see how you measure up!

Check out the Calculator Below! 

Summary: Ranking 223 Chinese Olympic Weightlifters

1. Zhang’s (2011) study constructed a comprehensive weightlifting point system for each of the Olympic weightlifting weight classes based on:
   • Body shape,
   • Hormonal level,
   • Athletic performance.
2. The body shape index consists of: 
   • Standing-Seated Height Index,
   • Shoulder – Waist Index,
   • Chest Size,
   • Relative Body Weight Index,
   • Body Fat %.
3. The index of hormonal levels consists of:
   • Testosterone level
   • Cortisol level.
4. The athletic performance index consists of weightlifting standards for:
   • Power snatch,
   • Power clean,
   • Push press,
   • Front squat,
   • Back squat,
   • Snatch deadlift,
   • Clean deadlift.
5. Based on these indexes, you can create a Weightlifting Point System with 6 weightlifting rankings:
   • 0 – 20 very poor,
   • 20 – 40 poor,
   • 40 – 60 average,
   • 60 – 80 good,
   • 80 – 90 very good,
   • +90 excellent.
6. The following weightlifters had the following scores out of 100: 
   • Zhang Jie (62kg Weightlifting Class): 90.67,
   • Liao Hui (69kg Weightlifting Class): 94.81,
   • Lü Xiaojun (77kg Weightlifting Class): 92.09,
   • Lü Yong (85kg Weightlifting Class): 91.67.

Weightlifting Calculator: How to find your Score

The original study determined weightlifting success is composed of body shape, hormonal level, and athletic performance:

Interestingly, body shape contributed only 12% of an athlete’s success.

Hormonal levels determined 20%.

But the biggest contributor is athletic performance (68%!).

What does this mean?

It means genetics is only part of the story and there is a substantial amount of achievement possible by improving your lifts.

This does NOT mean anyone can snatch like Lü Xiaojun.

But it means you can improve yourself substantially with proper training.

We’ll focus on body shape and athletic performance to determine weightlifting rankings because most people cannot get hormonal levels checked. So, the highest possible score is 80.

So if you want to compare yourself to the elites, just subtract 20 from their score.

Now, let’s break down the steps so that you can see how you measure up.

• Step 1: Gather your measurements
  • Seated – Standing Height Index
  • Shoulder – Waist Index
  • Chest Size
  • Relative Bodyweight Index
  • Body Fat %
• Step 2: Enter your data in our weightlifting calculator to determine your Chinese Weightlifting Score
• Step 3: Choose the weightlifting point system to identify room for improvement
  • 56kg Weightlifting Standards
  • 62kg Weightlifting Standards
  • 69kg Weightlifting Standards
  • 77kg Weightlifting Standards
  • 85kg Weightlifting Standards
  • 94kg Weightlifting Standards
  • 105kg Weightlifting Standards
  • +105kg Weightlifting Standards
• Step 4: Let us know your score!

Step 1: Gather your measurements

Seated – Standing Height Index

The researcher calculated the ranking using the entire athlete sample with the following equation:

(Seated Height / Standing Height) * 100

Standing Height (cm)

The study used a medical height meter, but you can easily measure your height by standing straight against a wall and use a pencil to mark your height. Then you can use a tape measurer to calculate your height. We recommend measuring your height about 1 – 2 hours after waking up.

Seated Height (cm)

The study used a medical height meter, but you can easily measure your height by sitting upright with your back against a wall. Sit on a box or stool that allows your feet to stay flat on the ground and your hips and knees bent at 90˚.

Then use a pencil to mark your height (see image below).

Then you can use a tape measurer to calculate the length from the box to your marking. We recommend measuring your height about 1 – 2 hours after waking up.

Shoulder – Waist Index

Zhang calculated the weightlifting rankings using the entire athlete sample with the following equation:

(Iliac Width/Shoulder Width) * 100

Shoulder Width (cm)

Use a tape measurer and place it horizontally over the left and right AC joints (see image below).

Source: Ozaslan et al (2011)

If you’re by yourself, then try this tip from Healthline: “stand against a wall, reach across your left shoulder with your right hand and mark the place right above your shoulder joint.

Repeat the process on the opposite side with your opposite hand. Then use a measuring tape to measure the distance between the two markings.”

Iliac Width (cm)

Use a tape measurer and place it horizontally over the left and right ridges on the front of your hips (see image below).

Source: Ozaslan et al (2011)

Chest Size (cm)

The researcher calculated the ranking using the sample for each weight class using the following methodology:

Raise your arms, then place a measuring tape horizontally across the lower corner of the scapula, through the armpit, then place the lower edge of the tape on the upper edge of the nipple (see image below).

Keep your body relaxed and breathe naturally.

Relative Bodyweight Index

Zhang used the following equation in their weightlifting rankings for each of the weightlifting weight classes: 

Weight (Kg) / Height (Cm) × 1000

Weight (kg)

The study measured bodyweight in the morning, wearing underwear only.

We recommend weighing yourself before eating or drinking anything, and after going to the bathroom.

Body Fat (%)

The researcher calculated the weightlifting rankings for this index using the sample for each of the weightlifting weight classes.

However, the actual way to measure body fat was not clear in the study.

Fortunately, there are many ways you can find this yourself. 

You can use calipers, an electrical body fat scale, water displacement, or DEXA scan. 

Step 2: Find your Weightlifting Score with our Weightlifting Calculator

We used Zhang’s (2011) methodology to build the weightlifting calculator below.

Based on your measurements, you might get a zero score for some parts. Dont worry!

In terms of entering your 1 rep max (1RM), we recommend using the 1RM that maintains good technique. 

For example, your squat should be the heaviest squat that maintains a smooth speed, not a super slow grinding lift. 

Your power snatch should be the heaviest that you can perform without pressing out the barbell.

Since this study was conducted in 2011, it doesn’t reflect the changes in weightlifting classes by the IWF in 2018. 

If your body weight might be in between 2 Olympic weightlifting classes, use the weight class that you are closest to or the weight class you used before the change.

Select Weight Class:

56kg 62kg 69kg 77kg 85kg 94kg 105kg +105kg

Input Data:

Body Shape Total (out of 100):  =

Sport Quality Total (out of 100): =

Get Your Total Score Now!

Step 3 : Choose the Weightlifting Point System to Identify Room for Improvement

Now that you have your score, you can see whether you need to work on your body shape or sports quality (or both!).

These data will break down where you can improve.

For example, if you weigh 85kg and your snatch deadlift is 250kg, then you are in the 95th percentile for that class. 

But if you also have a 250kg back squat, then you are in the 65th percentile for that class! So you might need to camp out in the squat rack for a few weeks to improve your sports quality.

56kg Weightlifting Standards

62kg Weightlifting Standards

69kg Class Weightlifting Standards

77kg Class Weightlifting Standards

85kg Class Weightlifting Standards

94kg Class Weightlifting Standards

105kg Class Weightlifting Standards

+105kg Class Weightlifting Standards

Bonus: Weightlifting Scores from Elite Weightlifting

Want to know how you measure up to the best athletes in the world? 

Check out the weightlifting rankings below. 

We subtracted 20 points from their results so you can compare your scores with theirs.

Zhang Jie (62kg)

Zhang Jie is a Fujian weightlifter born in 1987.  He is the:

• 2011 World Champion (145kg + 176kg),
• 2010 Asian Games Champion (145kg + 176kg),
• 3-time Asian Champion,
• 2007 Junior World Champion.

Body Shape: A1 = (80 x 0.09 + 80 x 0.13 + 85 x 0.04 + 75 x 0.30 + 100 x 0.44) = 87.50 (out of 100)

Athletic Performance: A3 = (100 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.07 + 100 x 0.05 + 85 x 0.33 + 100 x 0.13 + 90 x 0.07 + 75 x 0.22) = 88.85 (out of 100)

Final Score: F = (87.50 x 0.12 + 88.85 x 0.68) = 70.92 (out of 80)

Evaluation Results: Zhang Jie has excellent body shape and athletic quality. Based on his results, he should continue to improve his body shape and focus on improving his front squat and clean deadlift.

Liao Hui (69kg)

Liao Hui is a Hubei weightlifter born in 1987. He is: 

• 2008 Olympic Champion (158kg + 190kg),
• 3 – time World Champion.

Prior to the changes in IWF weight classes in 2018, Liao Hui held the 69kg world records in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total.

Body Shape: A1 = (90 x 0.09 + 80 x 0.13 + 85 x 0.04 + 75 x 0.30 + 80 x 0.44) = 79.60 (out of 100)

Athletic Performance: A3 = (100 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.07 + 100 x 0.05 + 100 x 0.33 + 100 x 0.13 + 95 x 0.07 + 100 x 0.22 ) = 99.65 (out of 100)

Final Score: F = (79.60 x 0.12 + 99.65 x 0.68) = 77.31 (out of 80)

Evaluation Results: Liao Hui has outstanding body shape and athletic performance. He simply must continue maintaining his performance and consistency at heavy weights.

Lü Xiaojun (77kg)

Lü Xiaojun is a Hubei weightlifter born in 1984. He is:

• 2012 Olympic Champion (175kg + 204kg),
• 5 – time World Champion, 2014 Asian Games Champion (175kg + 200kg),
• 2011 Asian Champion (160 + 192).

Lü Xiaojun is also a master of the squat jerk technique.

Body Shape Total: A1 = (45 x 0.09 + 45 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.04 + 50 x 0.30 + 75 x 0.44) = 61.90 (out of 100)

Athletic Performance Total: A3 = (100 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.07 + 90 x 0.05 + 100 x 0.33 + 100 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.07 + 100 x 0.22 ) = 99.5 (out of 100)

Final Score: F = (61.90 x 0.12 + 99.5 x 0.68) = 75.09 (out of 80)

Evaluation results: Lü Xiaojun has outstanding athletic performance and is almost perfectly balanced. His improvement will come from manipulating his body composition.

Lü Yong (85kg)

Lü Yong is a Guangxi weightlifter born in 1986. He is the:

• 2008 Olympic Champion (180kg + 214kg),
• 2009 World Champion (175kg + 208kg), and
• 2010 Asian Champion (173kg + 203kg).

Body Shape: A1 = (60 x 0.09 + 70 x 0.13 + 95 x 0.04 + 85 x 0.30 + 80 x 0.44) = 79.00 (out of 100)

Sports Quality: A3 = (90 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.07 + 80 x 0.05 + 90 x 0.33 + 100 x 0.13 + 100 x 0.07 + 100 x 0.22 ) = 94.40 (out of 100)

Final Score: F = (79.00 x 0.12 + 94.4 x 0.68) = 73.67 (out of 80)

Evaluation Results: Lu Yong has good body shape and outstanding athletic performance. 

Step 4: What were your results from the Weightlifting Calculator?

Now we want to hear what you and your friends found from using our weightlifting calculator!

If you were training in China, what’s your weightlifting score?

What lifts or body qualities can you improve?

Was there anything that surprised you?

Or maybe you have a question about the results?

Either way, we’d like to hear from you. So go ahead and leave a comment below right now!

Sources:

Ozaslan, Abdi, Beytullah Karadayi, Melek Ozlem Kolusayin, & Ahsen Kaya. 2011. “Stature estimation from bi-acromial and bi-iliocristal measurements.” Romanian Society of Legal Medicine. 19: 171 – 176.

Zhang, Jie. 2011. “Research on Evaluation Index System of Specific Physical Fitness of China Men’s Weightlifting Athletes.” Master’s Thesis. Chengdu Institute of Physical Education.

The post Weightlifting Calculator: How Do You Rank in Chinese Weightlifting? appeared first on Ma Strength.

In this post, I will show you EXACTLY how to power clean with the perfect technique using Chinese weightlifting.

In fact, this is the exact same process taught to build the top Olympic weightlifters in China, but it works for ANY body type! 

In fact, the average power clean among Chinese weightlifters weighing 56 – 85kg is double bodyweight, but some can do much more! 

So, if you want to power clean the most weight with the least stress during your Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit training, or sports-specific power clean workout, then you’ll love this power clean tutorial!

Let’s dive right in.

• Proof: Olympic Weightlifting Standards
• The Olympic Weightlifting Power Clean
• How do you do a Power Clean Step by Step?
  • Step 1: Find your Power Clean Start Position
  • Step 2: Power Clean Deadlift
  • Step 3: Extension Movement
  • Step 4: Power Clean Front Squat
  • Step 5: Front Rack Position
• Bonus: Hang Power Clean
• Bonus: Hang Clean Form
• Bonus: Power Clean from Blocks
• Bonus: Clean vs Power Clean
• Questions about Power Clean Technique?

Proof: Olympic Weightlifting Standards

This post shows the proper power clean technique used in China and broken down visually in our new Chinese weightlifting book. 

The reason?

The Chinese are the most dominant Olympic weightlifting team in the world!

In fact, they hold more gold medals in Olympic weightlifting world championships than any other country:

When it comes to men’s weightlifting world records classes, Chinese Olympic weightlifters dominate the lightweight to middleweight Olympic weightlifting standards set by the IWF:

And when it comes to women’s weightlifting world records, Chinese athletes have surpassed the Olympic weightlifting standards set by the IWF in nearly every weight class:

So, whether you’re male or female, if you’re looking to maximize your power pound-for-pound, then you can definitely learn something from Chinese Olympic weightlifting techniques.

The Olympic Weightlifting Power Clean

Now that you’ve seen the amazing results from Chinese weightlifters let’s understand what a power clean looks like.

First, check out how a professional Chinese Olympic weightlifter performs the power clean:

How do You Do a Power Clean Step by Step?

In China, learning the power clean consists of a bottom-up approach. We break it down into 5 steps:

• Step 1: Find your Power Clean Start Position
• Step 2: Power Clean Deadlift
• Step 3: Extension Movement
• Step 4: Power Clean into Front Squat
• Step 5: Catch in a Front Rack Position

The reason?

Unlike a slower lift like a back squat, it’s difficult to alter or correct your power clean technique once you start lifting, so the key is to have a good start position.

In fact, Zhao Qingkui, one of the founders of the Chinese weightlifting system, used to say, “perfect start, half done.”

Step #1: Find your Power Clean Start Position

You should walk to the bar rather than roll the bar to you while trying to set up your power clean start position.

This habit ensures you produce a consistent, reproducible, process regardless of the weight on the bar.

If you need to move the bar for spatial or safety reasons, make sure to step away from the bar and then approach it in a consistent way.

With that said, here’s exactly how to achieve a perfect power clean start position every time.

What stance should be used when performing power cleans?

Your first step in a power clean is to use a stance that maximizes your vertical force. To find this stance, just stand as if you’re about to perform a vertical jump.

Most Olympic weightlifters in China use a hip-width stance as shown below:

However, your stance might be a little wider or narrower based on how you feel comfortable when jumping.

Second, you want to be one fist-width away from the barbell.

By using your fist (instead of someone else’s), you create the optimal distance for YOU.

This distance places the bar over the ball of your foot, which is where you push from at the end of a vertical jump.

Here’s the process from our Chinese weightlifting program to easily measure this distance:

• Keep your shin vertical and place your fist on it. 
• Then, move toward the bar until your fists touch the bar.

Third, move your shins forward until they touch the bar. 

Touching the bar with your shins has several advantages for your power clean technique: 

1. It keeps you and the barbell as close as possible, which makes it easier to lift.
2. It shifts your balance onto the ball of your foot, which is how you finish a vertical jump. 
3. Starting and finishing your pull in the same spot maintains your balance more easily, which maximizes your vertical power.

If it feels difficult to move your shins forward, try incorporating ankle & calf mobility drills in your training program.

Fourth, rotate your feet and knees outward.

Your goal is to create enough room to lower your torso between your legs and align your knees and feet like this:

This adjustment has the added benefits of:

1. Concentrically orienting muscles in your glutes and hips before lifting the bar, allowing for a smooth liftoff.
2. Bringing your hips closer to the bar, which makes the weight easier to lift.
3. Keeping your foot flat, which allows you to push off more strongly. 

The degree of rotation depends on your comfort and hip structure, but make sure your shins still contact the bar. 

Now that your lower body is set, you need to grab the bar.

What is the proper grip in a power clean?

Your grip should be about one fist-width outside of your shoulder. This grip is known as a “clean grip” and has several advantages:

1. This width is wide enough for you to maintain straight arms as you grab the bar with your knees out.
2. This width is also wide enough for most athletes to catch comfortably in a front squat.
3. When you finish the deadlift phase, this width places the barbell closest to the hip to maximize your power during the extension.

How do you determine clean grip?

To find your optimal clean grip, use your right hand and reach across your left shoulder. Then draw a straight line down from your right pinky. This line is where your index finger should be when you grab the bar. Like this:

Now, as you grip the barbell, you should use a hook grip. Which looks like this:

This grip is stronger than a normal grip because your thumb can push against the barbell rather than simply squeeze your hand. 

This means you can keep your arms relaxed during the lift until it’s time to extend.

But there’s a catch:

If you’re new to the hook grip, then it can feel uncomfortable at first.

While your skin will eventually callus, you have two solutions to help you get used to it:

One solution is to use weightlifting tape to provide a layer of protection for your thumbs during the hook grip.

Another solution is to use weightlifting straps (see the Olympic weightlifter below), which lets you maintain a normal grip without tensing your arms.

Like this:

What is the proper body position during the setup for the power clean?

You want to lift your head about 45˚ and push your chest forward. This movement sets you up as if you’re going to perform a vertical jump.

This position helps straighten your back and concentrically orient your back muscles sufficiently, like this:

Additionally, it’ll remove any slack in your arms, which helps you transfer energy more forcefully when you extend.

Now, you might look at this photo and say, “I can’t sit up like that.”

Don’t worry!

YOUR torso angle depends on the length of your arms, torso, and legs. 

So don’t worry about looking like someone else. 

Just let your body bend how it needs to keep your balance on the ball of the foot.

Step #2: Power Clean Deadlift

Here’s the truth:

You only have one chance to explode during the power clean.

So, it’s better to save that explosion for the extension rather than ripping the bar off the ground. 

Additionally, a power clean deadlift is much lighter than a maximal deadlift, so you don’t need to go crazy from the floor.

Instead, think of the power clean as a smooth deadlift + powerful extension to remind you to push off the ball of the foot and keep your balance. 

Here is what a smooth clean deadlift looks like:

Notice how he can still extend once the bar reaches the end of the deadlift even though he didn’t rip the bar off the ground. 

Now that you know there is no need to rush your deadlift, let’s go over how to perform a power clean deadlift like a professional Olympic weightlifter.

How do you do a clean deadlift?

The key to a clean deadlift is to think about pushing through the ground rather than pulling the barbell.

The goal is to use your strength to make sure your hips and shoulders rise evenly. 

So, pushing against the floor preserves your balance and upper body position.

And the movement feels more like a squat rather than a hinge movement like a deadlift.

How do I keep my bar close during a power clean?

During a power clean, you must keep the bar close to you while keeping yourself close to the bar. To do this, you must:

1. Drag the bar along your VMO muscle.
2. Keep your balance forward

Let’s go through these two strategies.

Case 1: Keeping the bar close to you

As the bar passes your knees, your body must adjust to keep its balance and position.

But it’s easy for the bar to drift away from you at this point, which can cause the bar to pull you forward.

In this case, you are close to the bar, but the bar is not close to you.

Dragging the bar along your VMO muscle helps avoid this separation to maintain your balance. It looks like this:

Case 2: Keeping yourself close to the bar

As the bar passes your knees, it’s easy to lean back, pull with your arms, etc. as you drag the bar. 

In this case, the bar is close to you, but YOU are moving away from the bar. 

To ensure YOU stay close to the bar during the power clean, keep your balance on the ball of your foot.

You should look like you’re preparing to jump, like this:

Some athletes perform hang power cleans from this location and just try to explode from here.

Other athletes get anxious, or they’ve heard the barbell should accelerate above the knee, so they try to explode from here.

But in both situations, stay calm!

The bar accelerates naturally due to your body being in a stronger position to move the bar. 

Think about it:

During a heavy squat, the barbell moves faster as you get closer to standing up. 

This happens because it’s easier to move the bar, not because you are pushing harder as you finish the movement. The same goes for the power clean.

So, just push smoothly, maintain your balance, and let the barbell accelerate on its own.

The final step for the deadlift is to reach the contact point for you to extend.

Where should the bar make contact in a clean?

For cleans, power cleans, and their variations, Chinese weightlifters usually wait until the bar reaches 2 – 4 inches (5 – 10cm) below the hip crease to make contact.

The reason?

This spot is the highest you can deadlift the bar before either locking out or extending. 

Therefore, this height maximizes the work from your legs and leaves your upper body fresher to pull during the extension. 

It looks like this:

In our Chinese weightlifting seminar, we use this process to make sure you reach the highest point of contact:

1. Stand up straight with the barbell.
2. Take note where the barbell is touching your thigh.
3. Shift your balance forward to the ball of the foot, bend your knees slightly, and lean forward as if you’re about to jump vertically.
4. Stop when you feel the barbell lowering itself or when you feel the need to tense your traps/shoulders or arms to hold the barbell in place. 

Once you get to this spot, it should feel like the bar is resting or pressing on your thighs.

Step #3: Extension Movement

Now it’s time to put the “power” in the power clean.

The extension, also known as the “clean pull”,  is a powerful finishing movement that determines the barbell’s path.

And the goal is to maximize your vertical force, so you want an extension movement that finishes in as a straight position as possible, like this:

Clean Pull Technique

There are several techniques to transfer the most vertical force through your body during the clean pull:

1. Keep the ball of your foot connected with the ground.
2. Pull the bar to your belly button.
3. Keep your head up and chest out.

Let’s go through these techniques, one by one.

First, keep the ball of your foot connected with the ground as you straighten your body.

This is a position of maximal propulsion, and you see it in many movements before the foot leaves the ground, like sprinting and jumping:

But, the best part is that you’re already pressing through the ball of your foot during the deadlift!

So, you just need to continue pressing through the floor and keep your balance as you throw your body upward, easy!

Second, pull the bar to your belly button.

To do this, you must use your upper traps, shoulders, and biceps simultaneously to lift your elbows, like this:

It’s like lifting some tight pants to your belly button.

This height is the highest you can pull your elbows vertically while keeping the barbell close to your body.

Now, you might wonder, “Belly button? How will I get the bar to my shoulders?”

Answer: momentum.

Belly-button height is the minimum to catch in a deep squat position, but since the weight in a power clean is lighter, you’ll gain more height from a given amount of effort. 

Third, maintain your head up and chest out.

The body follows the head.

So keeping your head up will help maintain upward momentum and transfer more energy through your body. 

Luckily, you already set this up in the start position, so you just need to maintain it in this stage as well.

Now, I know this pull probably feels more targeted and deliberate lower than you’re used to, so try this paused clean pull from our Chinese weightlifting technique program to help build a more accurate motor pattern:

 

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Should you jump when doing a power clean?

No. One way you can imagine the extension is to think of it as a vertical jump where the ball of your foot is glued to the ground.

If you leave the ground during the extension, then you can’t produce any more force.

Additionally, jumping off the ground can disrupt your timing because you must wait until you land to produce more force.

Step #4: Power Clean Front Squat

You can’t relax after the extension!

You need to actively pull under into a front squat, like this: 

An active pull under helps you catch the bar near its apex, which reduces the barbell stress on your joints.

For an effective pull under, you can think of the cue “power clean front squat” or “clean pull front squat.”

How do you get under the bar in a power clean?

To get under the bar during a power clean, you need to perform three movements simultaneously after the extension:

1. Slide your feet 
2. Squat down actively
3. Continue pulling the bar with your upper body

Let’s go through each of these elements.

The first movement is sliding your feet down and outward to your front squat width, like this:

You must be forceful when you lower your heels as if you’re in a puddle of water and are trying to create a huge splash. 

This lowering is important because the sooner you land, the quicker you can stop the bar.

And simultaneously sliding outward puts you in YOUR squat position, which is the strongest position to support heavy weight.

If you want to build agility for this movement, try practicing this footwork without a bar during your warmup:

 

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The second movement is to flex your knees and hips to squat down actively, like this:

This movement places you in the most upright position while placing the bar over your midfoot.

Why the midfoot?

Because it’s the most stable point for squatting for EVERYONE.

Now, depending on your body shape, you might flex your hips or knees more to maintain the bar over the midfoot.

This individual variation is completely normal, so don’t worry about looking like someone else. 

The third movement is to continue elevating the bar to you with your arms, shoulders, and upper trapezius, like this Olympic weightlifter:

Basically, you want to put the bar where you want to catch it while keeping it as close as possible to your torso.

Guiding the bar like this increases its upward speed, which keeps it from crashing down on your shoulders or wrists.

Now, due to the clean grip, your arms and shoulders naturally rotate to lift the bar once it passes your belly button. Like this:

Since this is a natural movement, your focus should be on continuing to pull the bar to your shoulders.

And one way to think about this movement is to imagine pulling your pants up to your neck.

Or you can incorporate clean speed pulls (aka panda pulls):

 

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Step #5: Front Rack Position

You’re almost done!

The final step is to catch the bar on the groove of your deltoids and across your clavicle.

This position is known as a “front rack position,” and it looks like this:

Like this Olympic weightlifter, your goal is to create the widest base to support heavy weights.

This position looks easy, but you’ll crumble like paper during the catch if it’s not correct.

And if you buckle, then you can miss the lift or hurt your wrists and back. 

So, here are a few ways you can reduce injury risk and still lift heavy.

First, spread your elbows outward as you catch.

This movement helps prevent your mid back from rounding and prevents smaller areas from absorbing the load.

Thankfully, your elbows are already pointing away from you during the extension and pull under, so you just have to maintain that position as you catch. 

But what if you have trouble keeping your elbows out?

Try placing a piece of weightlifting tape on the inner bony edge of each elbow (see the black dots in the image above).

Then make sure the tape is visible from the front when you catch.

If this fails, then make sure your head is still up and your chest is pushed out.

And if you still have trouble, then you might need dedicated front rack mobility drills to mobilize your wrists, triceps, shoulder, and mid-back.

Second, raise your elbows until the bar rolls onto the groove of your deltoids and clavicle. 

The last thing you want is to waste a good lift by having it roll off your shoulders because your elbows are too low. 

And you don’t want to force your elbows too high because you might push the bar into your throat or round your mid-back.

So what’s the best angle for your elbows?

The highest one that keeps your mid-back straight. 

Where’s that?

It depends on the length of your upper arm relative to your forearm.

Basically, the longer your forearm, the lower your elbows will point because you need to create enough room for the bar to rest on the groove of your shoulders.

This variation means athletes can vary within the dashed lines in the image below:

So don’t worry if your elbow angle differs from someone else. 

Everyone will have their own position, but the barbell will be in the same location and contact the same spots.

Third, maintain as full a grip as possible.

The ideal is to maintain a full grip on the bar, like this:

A full grip maintains your connection with the bar and prevents the bar from rolling off you. 

However, a full grip does not mean a tight grip. 

In fact, your grip should be relaxed.

If your grip is tense, then your wrist and forearms flexors will concentrically orient, which can push the bar forward.

However, if your forearm is short or you have short fingers, it might not be possible to hold the bar with a full grip. 

So, you might need to open your hand and support the bar with 3 – 4 fingertips, like this:

This grip is ok.

But if you support with 1 – 2 fingers, then it’s more likely your grip slipped, your elbow position is too high, or you might have movement restriction preventing a fuller grip.

Variations for your Power Clean Workout

In our list of Olympic weightlifting training exercises, we show many variations to develop Olympic power clean technique. 

But we will cover several variations used in Olympic weightlifting as well as CrossFit, Track & Field, American football, and other sports.

These variations differ by range of motion, your ability to lift (overcome) the weight, and your ability to catch (yield), as you can see here:

Let’s go through these, one by one.

Bonus: Hang Power Clean

The difference between an Olympic weightlifting power clean and hang power clean is where you start the lift.

A power clean always starts from the floor, and you’re overcoming throughout the lift.

This is why the power clean is mostly red.

A hang power clean usually requires a deadlift, but you can also unrack the bar from blocks or a squat rack.

Regardless, the hang power clean begins by yielding your muscles and connective tissues to lower the bar anywhere other than the floor.

Then you reverse directions (overcome) to perform a power clean.

Because there’s a yielding and overcoming action over the same section of the lift, you’ll see a purple area before the extension.

And this purple area gets darker as you lower the bar because you must yield and overcome to a greater degree to finish the movement.

But the most popular hang position for an Olympic weightlifter is right above the knee, like this:

Now, the catch should be the same between a power clean and hang power clean.

If you catch in a quarter squat, you must pull on the bar (overcome) more than you need to squat (yield).

So this area contains only a little bit of purple.

What do hang power cleans work?

The hang power clean trains you to produce greater force (relative to the power clean) because the range of motion to lift the bar is shorter.

There are two ways you can bias your force production for a given weight. 

The first way is to bias your connective tissues by using a stretch reflex.

You can do this by using a “touch-and-go style”, where you reverse your motion the instant you reach your hang position.

This style creates downward momentum, which is useful if you have difficulty yielding into a full clean and/or compensate by sitting back during the catch.

And because this height is most similar to preparing for a countermovement vertical jump, it trains similar abilities.

The second way is to bias your musculature.

You can do this by pausing in the hang position before performing a power clean.

Pausing dissipates the stretch reflex, so your muscles must stiffen more to produce enough force to catch the bar.

This variation is useful for athletes who have difficulty stopping the bar during a power clean catch or who have difficulty standing up during the recovery.

It’s also good for athletes who are very springy but not very strong.

So both hang power clean variations are great for athletic purposes or Olympic weightlifting.

How to do a hang power clean

The best way to power clean from the hang is to make your hang position as similar as possible to your power clean exercise technique. So, use this process:

1. Follow the steps for the power clean deadlift and stand up straight.
2. Take note of where the bar is.
3. Shift your balance forward to the ball of the foot, bend your knees slightly, and lean forward without lowering the bar.
4. While keeping your balance, lower the bar on your thighs until it is slightly above your knee (imagine bending over to jump straight up). 
5. Then follow the same steps for the deadlift, extension, pull under, and catch.

Many athletes tend to sit back on their heels to lower the bar, but this strategy creates more horizontal movement on the bar, which can throw off your balance.

And you’ll end up working harder to produce the same amount of vertical force and keep your balance with this strategy.  

So, you might need to perform the sequence slowly and pause at the hang until it becomes more familiar and fluid.

Bonus: Hang Clean 

What’s the difference between hang power clean and hang clean?

The difference between a hang power clean and a hang clean is where you catch the bar.

All power cleans must catch the bar at or above half squat height: where the hip crease is parallel to the knee joint.

Since you’re squatting (yielding) more relative to pulling on the bar (overcoming), this area is a darker purple compared to catching in a quarter squat.

When you catch below a half squat, then the movement becomes a hang clean:

As you pass half squat height, the barbell has greater downward momentum, and it’s impossible to pull on it any further, so all you do is yield into a full squat.

That’s why the area past half squat height is no longer purple, but instead purely blue.

What is the point of a hang clean?

The reason for using hang cleans is because power is a combination of strength and speed, and you need to develop both qualities for Olympic weightlifting. 

In this case, you have more time to pull on the bar (overcome) and squat (yield).

In fact, sometimes a hang clean occurs accidentally. 

For example, during the extension, you might realize you don’t have enough height to catch the bar in a quarter squat or half squat.

Instead, you yield further to catch the bar in a full squat. 

This adjustment is a normal result with heavy weights because the bar will have less momentum upward after the extension.

Is the hang clean easier than power clean?

The hang clean can be easier because you don’t have to pull the bar as high as the power clean, but you must catch it lower. However, if you can’t yield to achieve a deep front squat, then the hang clean might be more difficult.

Additionally, if you can use the energy stored in your connective tissues from the stretch reflex, then it will be easier to lift the bar.

For these reasons, most Chinese weightlifters can hang clean more weight than they power clean.

Hang Clean Form

Assuming you can perform a deep front squat, here are some setup tips to improve your hang clean:

Simply follow this process:

1. Set up and lower the bar exactly like the hang power clean in the previous section.
2. Once you lower the bar to your hang position, immediately reverse your momentum to take advantage of the stretch reflex.
3. Continue pulling under to catch the bar in a deep squat after the extension; otherwise, the bar will crash on you.
4. Keep the bar over the midfoot during the catch, regardless of squat depth.

Bonus: Power Clean from Blocks

A power clean from blocks changes your starting point for the lift and shortens the range of motion relative to a power clean from the floor.

Therefore, a block power clean trains your muscles to produce greater force relative to the power clean.

The most popular block height is where the bar is just above the knees, as shown by this Chinese weightlifter:

Block Power Clean vs Hang Power Clean

Why bother with a power clean from blocks if you can use a hang power clean? The answer is: blocks dissipate the barbell’s force and eliminate the yielding component of your connective tissues.

This difference trains your muscles to stiffen more forcefully compared to the hang power clean.

This is why the block power clean is more red than the hang power clean.

In fact, the block power clean requires the most overcoming of any clean variations.

So, using blocks is an excellent addition to your power clean workout.

Another advantage from block power cleans is to reinforce your positioning. 

Some athletes rush their descent to the hang position because the bar is heavy or they feel anxious.

It’s easy for these athletes to sit back as they yield or lean back to lift the bar.

Other athletes yield their connective tissues too much, so they have difficulty stopping the bar during the hang or catch.

This delay can throw them off balance from the optimal position or force them to compensate.

Blocks help minimize these issues by giving you time to get in the right position to push maximally.

Block Power Clean Technique

If you’re using a height where the bar is slightly above the knees, use this process to setup:

1. Approach the bar with your feet pointing straight ahead.
2. Look down to make sure the bar is directly over the ball of your foot
3. Then turn your feet and knees outward as you would for a power clean from the floor.
4. Shift your weight forward until you’re on the ball of your foot AND your VMO is touching the bar (you might need to adjust a little bit to accomplish this.
5. Grab the bar and set your upper body.

Your body should be slightly forward as if you were preparing to jump vertically. Like this:

Bonus: Clean vs Power Clean

The main visual difference between a clean vs power clean is the height of the catch:

• A power clean is a clean where the barbell is caught at a half squat or higher.
• A clean catches the barbell in a full squat.

The pulls have the same range of motion and need an overcoming force to move the bar, so this portion is red in both graphs.

However, the difference in catch height occurs because the weight is lighter during a power clean, so the bar has more upward momentum after extension.

And the catch height produces different effects on your connective tissues.

How does this work?

Well, because the range of motion to stop the bar during a power clean is shorter than a full clean, the rate of loading on your connective tissues increases.

A faster rate of loading means your tissues must stiffen harder to stop the movement.

And since you must yield a little bit to get into a quarter squat, the catch portion is purple during a power clean.

Similarly, the rate of loading decreases as you increase the range of motion to catch the bar because you have more time to stop the bar. So you don’t have to stiffen your connective tissues as much.

In fact, you have to start yielding to get under the bar fast enough.

That’s why the graph becomes more purple as you catch lower.

Once you pass half-squat height, your pelvic diaphragm becomes more eccentrically oriented, so all you can do is yield into a full squat.

That’s why the area past half-squat height is no longer purple but instead purely blue.

You can see this in slow motion. Watch how the weightlifter racks the bar in a half squat and then gets pushed down by the bar.

This push occurs because he’s yielding.

And the benefit of this yielding action is you don’t have to pull the bar so high to finish the lift. This shorter pull is less work, so you can use more weight.

Questions about Power Clean Form?

There you have it:

Our step-by-step guide on how to power clean using Chinese weightlifting techniques. 

And the best part is that you can use these techniques regardless of your body shape!

You can also use this power clean technique for Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, or sports-specific training.

And you can check out our Chinese weightlifting book for weight training solutions to troubleshoot the power clean.

Now we’d like to hear from you …

What is your main problem with power clean form?

Which strategy from today’s post are you ready to apply in your power clean workout?

If you have any other Olympic power clean technique questions, let us know by leaving a comment below right now!

The post How to Power Clean like Chinese Olympic Weightlifters – Step by Step appeared first on Ma Strength.

Want to know what kind of bodybuilding, strength training, and assistance exercises Chinese Olympic weightlifting teams use to train gold medal athletes year-after-year? Then you will LOVE this guide.

Weightlifting centers throughout China use a combination of these 344 movements at various stages of development to take athletes from newbie lifters to Olympic contenders.

• Some are for developing technique and power.
• Some are for strength and conditioning.
• Some are for muscular development.
• And some are to reduce the risk of injury.

You can also find detailed explanations for some of these movements in our Chinese Weightlifting Technique Foundation Program!

We’ll update these Olympic weightlifting training exercises as we exchange more ideas during our Ma Strength Camp.

For now, you can filter through the list to find the best exercise for your weightlifting, sports-specific weight training, or CrossFit training.

And if you want to read this list in a handy PDF, then leave your email below:

Now, let’s dive right in!

List of Olympic Weightlifting Exercises

If you want to skip to a section in this list of Olympic weightlifting exercises, click on the following links:

• Olympic Weightlifting Snatch
• Olympic Weightlifting Clean
• Olympic Weightlifting Deadlift
• Olympic Weightlifting Jerk
• Olympic Weightlifting Squat
• Olympic Weightlifting Press
• Arm Weightlifting Exercises
• Back Exercises Bodybuilding
• Chest Exercises Bodybuilding
• Core Accessory Work for Olympic Lifting
• Leg Exercises Bodybuilding
• Lower Back and Glute Exercises Bodybuilding
• Weightlifting Exercises for Shoulders
• Conclusion

Olympic Weightlifting Snatch

Snatch

• Snatch – from Floor: aka the full snatch, is one of the main competition lifts for weightlifting. Usually performed at least once a week in Chinese weightlifting programs to test the results from training.

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• Snatch – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): great snatch movement for athletes who do not use their legs long enough during the snatch pull or who have a weak deadlift from the floor—usually performed with weightlifting straps to emphasize leg drive.

Hang Snatch

• Snatch – from Risers (No Touch): first deadlift the bar, then lower it to “hang” snatch from the snatch start position. The purpose of this snatch movement is to build balance awareness in your feet and time under tension for leg strength. All hang snatches almost always require weightlifting straps to avoid arm bend.
• Hang Snatch – Below the Knee: after a snatch deadlift, you lower the bar to load the legs, back, and glutes and then jump upward. This movement trains the transition around the knee and develops power.
• Hang Snatch – at the Knee: deadlift the bar and then lower it to the patella tendon while pushing out the knees, then deadlift the bar smoothly along the inner side of your thigh. This hang snatch is great for athletes who tend to rush and hit their knees during the deadlift.
• Hang Snatch – Above the Knee: after a deadlift, lower the bar to the belly of the VMO (teardrop muscle) and perform a snatch. Chinese coaches use this snatch assistance exercise to correct athletes who tend to pull away from the bar early or need power training with heavier weights.
• Hang Snatch – from the Hip: perform a snatch deadlift but then bend over while maintaining the bar in the hip crease to snatch. This snatch movement teaches you to perform a vertical jump for the extension rather than hyperextend the lower back. It also develops power more than other hang snatches due to the short range of motion.

Snatch from Blocks

• Snatch from Blocks – Below the Knee: this snatch movement allows you to work on dragging the bar inside the knee. Great for fixing any gap with the bar after the first pull.
• Snatch from Blocks – at the Knee: this block height is rarely used but useful to emphasize moving the bar over the knees properly. Incorporate this movement into your program if you hesitate or slow down before the second pull.
• Snatch from Blocks – Above the Knee: this is the most common block position. Since the bar naturally accelerates above the knee, this position is great for developing the rate of force development and power.

Power Snatch

• Power Snatch – from Floor: part of the snatch learning progression, one of the most frequently-used Olympic weightlifting exercises for the snatch. Use this exercise to build confidence and familiarity with catching the bar; intermediates use the power snatch to produce maximal force without taxing the legs by catching deep. “Power” is defined as catching the barbell above 90˚ of knee flexion.
• Power Snatch – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): perform a power snatch from a position lower than your usual start position. This longer range of motion and high catch position emphasizes your concentric strength.
• Power Snatch – Paused Below the Knee: this movement builds your snatch weightlifting technique by ensuring you reach the right position and balance from the floor. Pause for 2 seconds, then continue to perform a power snatch. Weightlifting straps are essential in this movement.
• Power Snatch – Pause at the Knee: use this snatch movement to make sure you move your knees out of the way correctly while maximizing your vertical force. Pause at the patella tendon, then continue to perform a power snatch.

Hang Power Snatch

• Hang Power Snatch – Below the Knee: perform a snatch deadlift, then lower the bar below the knee, then immediately perform a power snatch. This movement should feel like bending over to jump vertically and smoothly.
• Hang Power Snatch – at the Knee: deadlift the bar to stand up straight, then lower the bar to the patella tendon before power snatching. This variation doesn’t tax the legs as much as lower positions and trains you to push the knees out.
• Hang Power Snatch – Above the Knee: after a snatch deadlift, lower the bar along your inner to the belly of the VMO, then reverse the movement to perform a power snatch. This snatch movement is almost like a vertical jump and emphasizes actively pulling the bar overhead due to the short range of motion.
• Hang Power Snatch – from Risers (No Touch): this is a hang snatch from the start position height. It’s great for building ankle mobility and leg endurance, as well as feeling your balance and muscle activation in the start position.

Block Power Snatch

• Power Snatch from Blocks – Below the Knee: this movement develops your snatch weightlifting technique if you lose your foot balance and position immediately after the first pull and have trouble catching the bar in a deep position.
• Power Snatch from Blocks – at the Knee: a great snatch movement if you lose contact with the bar around the knee or scrape the knee because you can get in proper position before the lift. The power version lets you focus on upward force.
• Power Snatch from Blocks – Above the Knee: this snatch movement builds your concentric speed and rate of force development because the range of motion is short, the catch is high, and the muscles are not preloaded.

Power Snatch without Split:

• Power Snatch without Split – from the Floor: part of the snatch teaching progression. After the extension, bring your heels down immediately while maintaining your stance width. Teaches you how to stay connected with the ground while moving up and down.

 

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• Hang Power Snatch without Split – Below the Knee: after a deadlift, lower the bar to the knee and perform a power snatch without split. Use this variation if you tend to catch your power snatches in a wider stance than your full snatch.
• Hang Power Snatch without Split – at the Knee: use this snatch movement to emphasize keeping your balance forward, knees out, and hips close to the bar. Drag the bar smoothly along your inner thigh until you reach your hip crease, then extend.
• Hang Power Snatch without Split – Above the Knee: after a snatch deadlift, lean forward and push your knees out until the bar reaches the belly of the VMO, then reverse the movement to snatch. This variation builds power and reversal speed.
• Power Snatch without Split – Blocks Below the Knee: use this block height if you tend to lose your position after the first pull and either jump off the ground or catch excessively wide.
• Power Snatch without Split – Blocks at the Knee: this variation builds your snatch weightlifting technique if you hit your patella and have trouble finding/maintaining your snatch balance during the catch. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to protect your skin and prevent hesitation as you move past the knee.
• Power Snatch without Split – Blocks Above the Knee: this movement teaches you to jump forcefully while staying connected with the ground. Incorporate this lift in your weightlifting program if you tend to jump off the ground when you catch and do not pull actively overhead.

Muscle Snatch

• Muscle Snatch – from Floor: part of the snatch learning progression. Because you catch the bar with straight legs, this movement teaches you to pull overhead actively. Usually performed from the floor or above the knee so that the bar has enough speed for you to pull the bar overhead.

 

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• Hang Muscle Snatch Above the Knee: use this muscle snatch variation if your legs are fatigued or you have slow acceleration above the knee.

Other Snatch Variations:

• 3-level Snatch: a teaching progression that helps build consistent snatch weightlifting technique at gradually deeper catch positions. You can catch at quarter squat, half squat, and full squat positions.

 

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• Half Snatch: athletes catch the bar around 90 degrees of knee flexion. This movement is part of the teaching progression for the snatch and acclimates beginners to catching lower. Experienced athletes use this variation to avoid riding the bar down as the weight increases during power snatch.
• Clean Grip Snatch: this variation increases the range of motion of the upper body pull to teach athletes to pull vertically and actively. Use the same grip as your clean, then once you reach your contact point for the clean, pull overhead.
• Seated Snatch: pull the bar overhead from a seated position. Use this if you have a lower-body injury, need to emphasize the turnover with the upper body, or overuse your lower back. Women can use this if they have serious symptoms during their menstrual period.
• Slow Motion Snatch: you perform the full snatch or power snatch in slow motion to keep the bar close, build strength in supportive muscles, and maintain balance. Use it at the beginning or end of a weightlifting program.

 

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• Snatch Turnover: place the bar around navel or sternum height to focus on pulling under the bar and dropping straight down. This movement is useful if you need help pulling after the extension.

 

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• Split Snatch: old school movement used for helping athletes who have trouble extending and splitting for the jerk. After the extension, you catch the bar in a split position.

Snatch High Pull

• Snatch Pull – from Floor: part of the snatch learning progression, one of the most popular Olympic weightlifting exercises. You pull the bar to your lower chest while maintaining your balance on the ball of the foot. Because the loading for snatch pull variations is heavier than in snatches, athletes almost always use weightlifting straps.
• Snatch Pull – from Risers (Bar Touches the Ground): the start position is lower than normal to build leg strength and make the normal start position feel easier once you revert.
• Snatch Pull – from Risers (No Touch): aka floating snatch pull. This variation keeps tension on the body through the entire set, building strength endurance and forcing you to lower the bar under control. Use this if you tend to drop the bar after each rep or lose position during the eccentric portion.
• Snatch Pull – Paused at Chest: this snatch movement helps you find their balance and develop coordination during the snatch pull because deviations from vertical will make you fall. One of the most useful Olympic weightlifting exercises for learning the snatch.

 

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• Standing Snatch: teaches you to slide your feet outward rather than jump. Stand up straight, then extend to the ball of your feet and pull overhead simultaneously. As you catch, slide laterally into the same width as your weightlifting squat.

 

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Hang Snatch High Pull

• Hang Snatch Pull – Below the Knee: deadlift the bar, then lower it below the knee before performing a high pull. The purpose of this movement is to move the same way up and down to build consistency in your snatch weightlifting technique. You can use weightlifting straps and add a pause to develop body awareness further.
• Hang Snatch Pull – at the Knee: after a snatch deadlift, lower the bar to the patella tendon before performing a snatch high pull. This trains you to stay over the bar and avoid scraping the knee.
• Hang Snatch Pull – Above the Knee: trains you to focus on accelerating the bar along the thighs while hitting the hip crease on the way up and down. This movement focuses on controlling your power and directing it appropriately.

Snatch Pull from Blocks

• Snatch Pull from Blocks – Below the Knee: this block height strengthens your position after the first pull and builds confidence to catch the bar. Since block pull variations are heavier than snatch, athletes frequently use weightlifting straps to prevent grip fatigue.
• Snatch Pull from Blocks – at the Knee: at this height, you can focus on moving the bar inside the thigh and achieving enough height. Incorporate this lift if you lose position at the knee and have trouble achieving height to get under the bar.
• Snatch Pull from Blocks – Above the Knee: this variation focuses on force production due to the short range of motion. You can focus on waiting for the hip contact before extending vertically and pulling the bar to the lower chest.

Snatch Pull to the Neck

• Snatch Pull to the Neck – from Floor: this is a more advanced snatch pull that focuses on maximum speed and pulling as high as possible. Beginners often over-pull, so only athletes with good technique and muscle memory should use this movement. Use weightlifting straps due to the longer range of motion.
• Snatch Pull to the Neck – from Risers (Bar Touches Ground): this pulling variation puts maximal emphasis on concentric strength and power due to the greater range of motion and time to accelerate the bar
• Snatch Pull to the Neck – Hang Above Knee: after a snatch deadlift, you lower the bar to the belly of the VMO and then focus on maximal acceleration to pull the bar to the neck.
• Snatch Pull to the Neck – Blocks Above Knee: at this block height, the small range of motion forces the athlete to accelerate as quickly as possible; reserved for athletes building maximum speed and power.

Snatch Speed Pull (Panda Pull)

• Snatch Speed Pull – from Floor: one of the most frequently-used Olympic weightlifting exercises in China. It’s only used from a few heights to train speed and coordination to pull under the bar. After the extension, pull the bar and simultaneously bring the feet down into a quarter squat. Due to the violent change in direction, always use weightlifting straps with all speed pull variations.

 

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• Snatch Speed Pull – from Risers (Bar Touches Ground): this snatch movement elongates the pull to help athletes who extend too early.
• Snatch Speed Pull – Hang Above Knee: after a deadlift, then lower the bar and use the stretch reflex to help lift the bar, then squat down after extension. Very effective for building jumping ability and rhythm.
• Snatch Speed Pull – Blocks Above Knee: at this height, you can go very heavy and work on the rate of force development. This Chinese snatch pull builds confidence for pulling under heavy weights.

 

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Snatch Speed Pull (Panda Pull) with Split

• Snatch Speed Pull with Split – from Floor: develops speed for pulling under the bar even more than the standard speed pull. Pull the bar to your clavicle while simultaneously sliding your feet down into the stance as your weightlifting squat.
• Snatch Speed Pull with Split – Hang Above Knee: after a deadlift, you lower the bar and use the stretch reflex to help you extend, then you slide laterally into your weightlifting squat after extension. Very effective for building jumping ability while staying connected to the ground.
• Snatch Speed Pull with Split – Blocks Above Knee: at this block height, you can pull heavier weights than other variations, which builds power, reversal speed, and confidence for pulling under heavy weights.

 

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Olympic Weightlifting Clean

Clean

• Clean – from Floor: aka the full clean, usually performed at least once a week in combination with the power jerk, squat jerk, or split jerk in a typical Chinese weightlifting program to test the results from training.

 

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• Clean – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): great clean assistance movement if you don’t use your legs long enough during the clean deadlift or are weak from the floor.

Hang Clean

• Clean – from Risers (No Touch): first, deadlift the bar and then lowers it to “hang” clean from the clean start position. The purpose is to help you feel the tension you should have in the start position. Most athletes use weightlifting straps with hang clean variations.
• Hang Clean – Below the Knee: after a clean deadlift, bend your torso and squat simultaneously to preload the leg, back, and glutes. Then focus on contacting around the knee before you extend.
• Hang Clean – at the Knee: deadlift the bar then lower it to the patella tendon while pushing your knees out. This hang clean teaches you how to move the bar past your knee.
• Hang Clean – Above the Knee: lower the bar to the belly of the VMO and reverse direction to perform a clean. Use this clean assistance exercise if you tend to pull away from the bar early.
• Hang Clean – from the “Hip”: perform a clean deadlift but then bend over while maintaining the bar about 5 – 10 cm below the hip crease to clean. This variation teaches you to perform a vertical jump for the extension rather than hyperextend the lower back.

Clean from Blocks

• Clean from Blocks – Below the Knee: this clean variation allows you to keep the hips low and work on dragging the bar inside the knee. Incorporate this movement if you have a gap with the bar after the first pull or raise the hips too high.
• Clean from Blocks – at the Knee: this block height for the clean is effective if you lose position, feel weak, or intentionally slow down before the second pull. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to feel more comfortable moving the bar over the inner edge of your knee.
• Clean from Blocks – Above the Knee: this is the most common block height for cleans. Since the bar naturally accelerates above the knee, this position is great for developing the rate of force development and making contact 5 – 10 cm below the hip crease.

Power Clean

• Power Clean – from Floor: part of the clean learning progression, and one of the most popular Olympic weightlifting exercises. Use this movement if you’re not yet confident or comfortable catching low; intermediates use the power clean to exert maximal force without taxing the legs by catching deep. You can also use this to prepare for overhead movements.
• Power Clean – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): perform a clean from a position lower than your usual start position. This longer range of motion allows for greater concentric strength when reverting to the start position
• Power Clean – Paused Below the Knee: start from the floor and pause below the knee before performing a power clean. This clean variation makes you focus on reaching the right position midway through the lift. Use weightlifting straps in this movement.
• Power Clean – Pause at the Knee: start from the floor and pause at the patella tendon before continuing to perform a power clean. This clean variation makes you focus on moving the knees out and contacting properly. Use weightlifting straps in this movement.

Hang Power Clean

• Hang Power Clean – Below the Knee: perform a clean deadlift, then lower the bar below the knee and immediately perform a power clean. Because of the stretch reflex in hang variations, use weightlifting straps for hang variations to focus on jumping smoothly and vertically to accelerate the bar.
• Hang Power Clean – at the Knee: stand up straight by deadlifting the bar, then lower the bar to the patella tendon before power cleaning. This variation doesn’t tax your legs as much as lower positions and trains you to keep your knees out.
• Hang Power Clean – Above the Knee: one of the most popular Olympic weightlifting exercises used in sports. Perform a clean deadlift, then lower the bar to the belly of the VMO before power cleaning. 1. This clean variation emphasizes power, footwork, and pulling the elbows vertically to rack the bar due to the short range of motion.
• Hang Power Clean – from Risers (No Touch): this is a hang clean from the start position height. It builds leg endurance due to the long-range of motion and helps you feel what muscles should be active from the start position.

Power Clean from Blocks

• Power Clean from Blocks – Below the Knee: it is less fatiguing than the hang version since the bar rests on blocks. Use this movement if you have trouble catching the clean in a deep squat and lose your position after the first pull.
• Power Clean from Blocks – at the Knee: this block height is a great assistance exercise for beginners who lose contact with the bar around the knee or scrape the knee and can’t catch in a deep position.
• Power Clean from Blocks – Above the Knee: very effective for training concentric speed and rate of force development because the range of motion is short, and the muscles are not preloaded.

Power Clean without Split

• Power Clean without Split – from the Floor: this is a part of the Clean teaching progression and mainly used from the floor. It can help you if you tend to jump back.

 

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• Hang Power Clean without Split – Below the Knee: after a deadlift, you lower the bar to the knee and perform a power clean without split. Athletes use weightlifting straps in hang versions to focus only on accelerating and jumping vertically while staying connected to the ground.
• Hang Power Clean without Split – at the Knee: use this variation if you pull away from the bar and raise your heels off the ground at knee height or have a very low contact point. You should deadlift the same way up as they lower the bar.
• Hang Power Clean without Split – Above the Knee: after a clean deadlift, you lower the bar to the belly of the VMO to snatch. Use this movement if you tend to lean away from the bar or are too slow to rack the bar.
• Power Clean without Split – Blocks Below the Knee: use this height if you lose position after the first pull and either jump off the ground, catch the bar in a wide stance, or have slow reversal speed.
• Power Clean without Split – Blocks at the Knee: use this movement if you tend to hit your patella during a power clean or have a gap with the bar. It also eliminates compensating with a wide catch or jumping off the ground.
• Power Clean without Split – Blocks Above the Knee: emphasizes reversal speed by focusing on accelerating upward and pulling your heels down forcefully. Good clean variation if you jump off the ground during extension or experience bar crash when you rack the bar.

 

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Other Clean Variations

• Half Clean: This can be used as a teaching progression for the clean to acclimate beginners to catching lower, but experienced athletes will use this as the weight increases during the power clean.
• 3-level Clean: a teaching progression that helps beginners build consistent weightlifting squat technique and familiarity with deeper catch positions. Athletes catch at quarter squat, half squat, and full squat positions, extending and catching with the same rhythm.

 

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• Split Clean: old school movement used for helping athletes who have trouble extending and splitting for the jerk. After the extension, you catch the bar in a split position. Sometimes it’s combined with a split jerk to build a consistent split.

 

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Clean Pull

• Clean Pull – from Floor: part of the clean learning progression. After the extension, you pull the bar to the navel and maintain a straight torso balanced on the ball of the foot. Because the loading for clean pull variations is heavier than the clean, athletes almost always use weightlifting straps.

• Clean Pull – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): the start position is lower than normal, which elongates the range of motion and builds leg strength for the first pull. Use this lift if you lose position off the floor with heavy weights.
• Clean Pull – from Risers (No Touch): aka floating clean pull. Use this variation if your eccentric and concentric movements differ, or you lack the endurance to maintain tension in the start position.
• Clean Pull Paused at Navel: this clean variation helps you find your balance, pull their elbows up, and develop coordination during the clean pull because deviations from vertical will make you fall.

 

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Hang Clean Pull

• Hang Clean Pull – Below the Knee: deadlift the bar, then lower it below the knee before performing a high pull. This lift emphasizes moving the bar over the knee and maintaining balance to extend vertically.
• Hang Clean Pull – at the Knee: after a clean deadlift, you lower the bar to the patella tendon before performing a clean high pull. This trains you to stay over the bar and avoid scraping the knee.
• Hang Clean Pull – Above the Knee: athletes focus on accelerating the bar along the thighs while hitting 5 – 10 cm below the hip crease on the way up and down. This movement builds muscle memory for more complex clean movements.

Clean Pull from Blocks

• Clean Pull from Blocks – Below the Knee: this block height lets you focus on keeping your balance forward and staying close to the bar after the first pull. Since block pull variations are heavier than snatch, athletes frequently use weightlifting straps to prevent grip fatigue.
• Clean Pull from Blocks – at the Knee: at this height, you can focus on moving the bar inside the thigh and ensuring you pull high enough.

 

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• Clean Pull from Blocks – Above the Knee: a very powerful position due to the short range of motion. You can focus on waiting for the hip contact before extending vertically and pulling the bar to the navel.

Clean Speed Pull (Panda Pull)

• Clean Speed Pull – from Floor: this is another advanced pull variation, which is why it’s used from only a few locations. Like the snatch version, you pull and quarter squat simultaneously after extension, but the bar should reach the bottom of the chest.

 

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• Clean Speed Pull – from Risers (Bar Touches Ground): this clean pull variation is great for building strength off the floor and testing your reversal speed.
• Clean Speed Pull – Hang Above Knee: after a deadlift, you lower the bar and use the stretch reflex to extend, then pull the bar and squat simultaneously after extension. Very effective for building power and rhythm.
• Clean Speed Pull – Blocks Above Knee: at this height, you can go very heavy while working on the rate of force development and reversal speed. This Chinese clean pull builds confidence for pulling under heavy weights.

 

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Clean Speed Pull (Panda Pull) with Split

• Clean Speed Pull with Split – from Floor: develops coordination, speed, and confidence for pulling under the bar. Simultaneously pull the bar to your lower chest while sliding your feet down and out into your weightlifting squat stance. This pull is advanced, so it’s used from only a few locations
• Clean Speed Pull with Split – Hang Above Knee: after a deadlift, you lower the bar and use the stretch reflex to pull the bar and then slide into your weightlifting squat. Very effective for building jumping ability while staying connected to the ground.
• Clean Speed Pull with Split – Blocks Above Knee: at this block height, you can focus on pulling heavier than other variations to build power and confidence for pulling under the bar.

Olympic Weightlifting Deadlift

Snatch Deadlift

• Snatch Deadlift – from Floor: the foundation for all snatch movements. Usually, Chinese athletes perform deadlifts with weightlifting straps due to heavy loading. Athletes push from the ball of the foot through the entire range of motion until the lockout.
• Snatch Deadlift – Pause Below Knee: this deadlift builds position strength below the knee and allows you to assess if your first pull was accurate. It can also remind you to maintain your balance as you enter the second pull.

• Snatch Deadlift – Pause at the Knee: this deadlift builds position strength and coordination to help you stay forward while keeping the knees out. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to shift your focus away from hitting your knee and toward moving the bar along the inner edge of your knee.
• Snatch Deadlift – Pause Above Knee: this snatch deadlift variation is great if you have a weak chest during the snatch and have trouble keeping the bar close, or if you pull your body away above the knee.
• Snatch Deadlift from Blocks – Below the Knee: an effective variation for overloading this position. In a weightlifting program, it’s best to use this deadlift after squats or when it’s difficult to perform a full range of motion.
• Snatch Deadlift from Blocks – at the Knee: another effective variation that builds postural strength and keeping the bar close with heavy weights.
• Snatch Deadlift from Blocks – Above the Knee: due to the short range of motion, this position has the strongest potential for loading for most athletes. This lift trains you to maintain your balance on the ball of the foot until the lockout.

• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – from Risers (Bar Touches Ground): this snatch deadlift emphasizes leg drive and glute strength off the floor. Use this variation if you have trouble keeping your torso upright during the deadlift.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – from Floor: as the barbell reaches the hip crease, push your legs through the ground as you pull with your traps, shoulders, and biceps. Use this deadlift in your weightlifting program to overload your extension.

 

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• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – Pause Below Knee: this deadlift tests the coordination of your first pull. It also builds postural strength to stay forward and patient for the extension.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – Pause at the Knee: this deadlift helps you maintain your position, contact with the bar, and balance after the first pull. It also builds strength for the extension.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – Pause Above Knee: this deadlift variation helps you stay forward and close to the bar through the entire extension. It’s a great assistance exercise if you tend to lean away from the bar above the knee.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – from Risers (No Touch): this snatch deadlift builds your leg endurance and teaches you how to push off the floor due to the pre-tension in the legs and glutes when the bar reaches the risers.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – from Blocks Below the Knee: due to the heavy loading, the bar moves slowly and will reach navel height for most athletes. This variation helps you focus on maintaining your balance forward more easily than in a snatch pull, while also strengthening your pulling ability during extension.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – from Blocks at the Knee: this variation strengthens your ability to keep your knees out and hips close to the bar after the first pull. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to feel more comfortable moving the bar past the inner side of your knee.
• Snatch Deadlift with Extension – from Blocks Above the Knee: this block height overloads the extension. The slower bar speed is useful if you have inconsistent timing and coordination issues during the extension.
• Snatch Romanian Deadlift (RDL): in this variation, you hinge at the hips while keeping your legs bent slightly and fixed throughout the entire range of motion. This movement provides strength training for the lower back, hamstrings, and glutes.
• Snatch RDL – from Risers (No Touch): this Romanian deadlift variation lengthens the range of motion and places more tension on your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. It’s also a good alternative if your legs are short and your hamstrings are very flexible.
• Stiff-Legged Snatch Deadlift: bend at the hips with a flat back and knees straight until the bar reaches the ground, or you maximize your flexibility. This movement provides a lot of tension for the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back due to the stretched position.
• Rounded Back Snatch Deadlift: like the stiff legged deadlift but performed with a rounded back by contracting the abs and bending at the hips. This movement helps offset the high degree of extension work inherent in weightlifting.
• Rounded Back Snatch Deadlift – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): this version extends the range of motion for very flexible athletes or if you have relatively long arms and short legs.
• Rounded Back Snatch Deadlift – from Risers (No Touch): this deadlift variation extends the range of motion but maintains tension throughout the movement.

Clean Deadlift

• Clean Deadlift – from Floor: aka the Olympic weightlifting deadlift. It is the foundation for all clean movements. The balance is the same as the snatch deadlift, but the grip is one fist-width from the shoulder.

 

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• Clean Deadlift – Pause Below Knee: this Olympic weightlifting deadlift variation builds position strength below the knee and allows you to assess your balance before continuing the lift. Use this exercise in your weightlifting program if you are weak off the floor.
• Clean Deadlift – Pause at the Knee: this Olympic weightlifting deadlift builds position strength and coordination to help you avoid hitting the knees during the clean. Focus on staying forward and close while keeping the knees out. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to familiarize yourself with dragging the bar along the inner edge of your knee.
• Clean Deadlift – Pause Above Knee: this Olympic weightlifting deadlift variation is great if you have a weak chest during the clean and have trouble keeping the bar close. It is also useful if you tend to pull your body away above the knee.
• Clean Deadlift from Blocks – Below the Knee: an effective Olympic weightlifting deadlift variation for overloading the midrange. It is best to use this deadlift after squats or when it is difficult to perform an Olympic weightlifting deadlift with a full range of motion.
• Clean Deadlift from Blocks – at the Knee: another effective variation of the Olympic weightlifting deadlift. Great for building postural strength and keeping the bar close as it passes your knees.
• Clean Deadlift from Blocks – Above the Knee: due to the short range of motion, this position has the strongest potential for loading the Olympic weightlifting deadlift. This variation helps you maintain your balance on the ball of the foot until the lockout. Use this lift if you tend to pull away from the bar as it gets heavy.

• Clean Deadlift with Extension – from Floor: as the barbell reaches the contact point for the Olympic weightlifting deadlift (5 – 10 cm below hip crease), extend your legs and then pull with c, and biceps. Great for building timing for the extension.

 

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• Clean Deadlift with Extension – Pause Below Knee: this deadlift tests the strength and coordination of the first pull. It allows you to adjust and be patient for the extension.
• Clean Deadlift with Extension – Pause Above Knee: this deadlift variation reminds you to stay close to the bar by pushing your chest forward and rotating your knees out.
• Clean Deadlift with Extension – from Risers (Bar Touches Ground): this clean deadlift elongates the range of motion, strengthening the leg drive and glute strength from the floor. Use this variation if you feel weak off the floor.
• Clean Deadlift with Extension – from Risers (No Touch): this clean deadlift builds leg endurance and trains your ability to maintain the pressure on the ball of the foot through the extension.
• Clean Deadlift with Extension – from Blocks Below the Knee: this variation strengthens your ability to push forcefully and stay close to the bar. Use this lift if you tend to hesitate or lose position at this height. The bar will reach the height of the pelvis during the extension for most athletes. Use weightlifting straps to keep your arms relaxed.
• Clean Deadlift with Extension – from Blocks at the Knee: this variation builds postural strength and trains you to stay forward as you pass the knee and extend. Use this variation if you tend to pull away from the bar and hit your knees.
• Clean Deadlift with Extension – from Blocks Above the Knee: this block height overloads the extension, which slows the bar speed but trains you to push hard, maintain position, and wait for the contact point.
• Clean Romanian Deadlift (RDL): this deadlift differs from an Olympic weightlifting deadlift because you hinge at the hips while keeping the legs bent slightly and fixed. This movement is heavier and has a shorter range of motion compared to the snatch version.
• Clean RDL – from Risers (No Touch): this Romanian deadlift variation lengthens the range of motion and places more tension on your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. It’s also a good alternative if you have long limbs.

• Stiff-legged Clean Deadlift: you bend at the hips with a flat back and knees straight until the bar reaches the ground or the athlete maximizes their flexibility. This movement is heavier and has a shorter range of motion to the snatch version. It’s used less frequently in a weightlifting program, but still provides strength training for the torso and glutes.
• Clean Grip Rounded Back Deadlift: like the stiff legged deadlift but performed with a rounded back by contracting the abs and bending at the hips. This movement helps offset the high degree of extension work inherent in weightlifting and focuses on the middle/top range of the pull.

Other Deadlifts

• Sumo Clean Deadlift: you use the same stance as the Olympic weightlifting deadlift but grip with the arms within the legs. This exercise is great for keeping your chest up and engaging the glutes during the pull due to the more upright posture relative to an Olympic weightlifting deadlift.

 

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• Sumo Clean Deadlift with Extension: since the chest is pushed out more in this variation and it is hard to bend the arms early with a narrow grip, this is a great exercise for your weightlifting program if you need to work on leading with the torso during the extension.
• Sumo Clean Deadlift – from Risers (Barbell Touches the Ground): this variation has the same benefits as the sumo clean deadlift, but it forces you to crouch down lower, which transfers more to the snatch.
• Sumo Clean Deadlift – from Risers (No Touch): this sumo deadlift increases the time under tension for your hips and glutes. This tension can build strength and muscle memory for the snatch or clean start position.

• Sumo RDL: in this deadlift variation, you hinge at the hips while keeping the legs bent slightly and fixed. This movement is heavier and has a shorter range of motion to the snatch or clean version, so it trains your torso through the top range of the pull.
• Trap Bar Deadlift: this movement requires a trap bar. It trains you to keep the hips low, torso upright, and drive with the legs rather than pull away with the lower back. It can also be part of a weightlifting program for athletes recovering from back injuries.

Olympic Weightlifting Jerk

• Half Jerk: another part of the jerk teaching progression to acclimate you to catching lower, around 90 degrees of knee flexion. Experienced athletes use this variation naturally as the weight increases during power jerks.
• Half Jerk – behind the Neck: this assistance exercise trains you to ascend and descend vertically. It also develops strength and stability for your weightlifting squat technique by forcing you to stop in the midrange of the squat jerk.
• Jerk Dip: one of the most popular Olympic weightlifting exercises in China to assist the power jerk, split jerk, and squat jerk. In the standard version, you dip smoothly and then stand up immediately once you reach the bottom of the dip.

 

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• Jerk Dip – Continuous: in this variation, you stand up immediately after the jerk dip and then dip again. This movement teaches you to work with the barbell’s oscillation while maintaining your balance. In a Chinese weightlifting program, it usually is performed after heavy squats.
• Jerk Dip – Paused: this jerk dip variation builds core stability and emphasizes your balance at the bottom of the jerk dip. You can pause between reps, pause at the end of a set, or do a single set with a long pause.

 

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• Jerk Drive: this is like a “high pull” for the power jerk, split jerk, and squat jerk. It allows you to test your balance and height of your extension. First, perform a jerk dip, and then drive the bar to full extension without sliding into the catch.
• Jerk Extension: this is a jerk drive without using your arms to push the barbell off your shoulders. It helps focus on your lower body coordination for the jerk.
• Jerk Recovery – Power: place the bar in the squat rack at your catching height, then position yourself under it and stand up. It trains you to drop straight for the power jerk and squat jerk while maintaining the bar over the midfoot. Because of the heavy load potential, it is common to wear wrist wraps during this movement.

 

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• Jerk Recovery – Half Power: this variation helps build support and position strength for athletes who power jerk at a half squat position. Set the bar at an overhead squat height where your thighs are between quarter squat height and parallel. Align your midfoot with the barbell, then stand.
• Jerk Recovery – Split: this movement trains you to move the bar straight during the split jerk recovery. Place the bar in a squat rack at a height equal to your lockout in the split jerk position. Then get into your split position and recover before dropping the bar.

• • Jerk Recovery – Bottom-up Overhead Squat: this movement trains strength and balance for the squat jerk. It also builds general weightlifting squat technique by improving confidence and familiarity with the bottom position.

 

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• Power Jerk: this is part of the jerk teaching progression and a competition movement. This movement teaches you to move vertically and slide while receiving weights overhead. Catch the bar at quarter squat height and in the same stance as your normal weightlifting squat.
• Power Jerk – Behind the Neck: this is an assistance movement for athletes who power jerk or squat jerk. It trains you to drive the bar straight and high, which is useful if you cut your extension short.
• Power Jerk – without Split: another step in the jerk teaching progression. This movement teaches you how to extend and pull the ankles down while receiving weights overhead. Some athletes power jerk like this if their weightlifting squat and deadlift stance are the same.
• Split Jerk: one of the competition movements in weightlifting. The key to this movement is a smooth jerk dip, a powerful jerk drive, full extension, then sliding to maintain your balance in the middle of your split. Athletes often tape their wrist or use wrist wraps for extra stability.
• Split Jerk – Paused: this assistance exercise pauses at the bottom of the jerk dip before extending and splitting. The purpose is to make sure your balance and depth are correct before extending.
• Split Jerk – with Hanging Weights: perform this variation from the rack with weights tied at the ends of the bar. This assistance exercise helps force you maintain balance while building your core and shoulder stability.

 

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• Split Jerk Lunge – Elevated: this variation focuses on activating the back leg. You assume the split jerk position on top of blocks, hang a weight off the back leg, and then perform the lunge as in the static version.
• Split Jerk Lunge – Static: this movement trains you to activate your leg muscles in the split jerk to push against the bar overhead. Place the bar on your back and get in your split jerk position, then push the legs until they straighten and return to your split position.
• Squat Jerk: this is part of the jerk teaching progression but also a competition movement. It teaches you to catch deeply with weight overhead, which has carryover for the snatch, jerk, and weightlifting squat technique.

 

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• Squat Jerk – behind the Neck: this jerk variation allows you to perform a jerk drive and squat vertically without worrying about the rack position or moving the bar behind the head.

Olympic Weightlifting Squat

Back Squats

• Back squat: a standard accessory movement for leg strength. A weightlifting squat has a high bar placement and comfortable stance to lower your body as deep and upright as possible. The bar must balance over the midfoot throughout the movement. Since the knees perform a lot of work, athletes will often use weightlifting knee sleeves to keep the joint warm.

 

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• Back Squat – Hold: this squat has a short range of motion; you simply relax the knees while supporting the bar. This movement builds supporting strength and trains the nervous system to get used to heavy weights but does not overstress the muscles. Beginners can use this movement to improve their weightlifting squat technique and coordination.

• Back Squat – Narrow Stance: this squat assistance movement trains the anterior tibialis, which can help you sit more upright in your usual weightlifting squat. Usually, the feet are together or pointed out slightly depending on hip comfort. Contrary to popular belief, Nuckols (2017) reviews scientific evidence showing this movement is not quad-dominant relative to other squats.

• Back Squat – 1 ¼: this squat assistance movement improves weightlifting squat technique by building rebound strength and coordination out of the bottom position. You relax the lower body into a deep weightlifting squat and then tense up to bounce out of the bottom about a quarter of the way, then descend again to bounce up. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to keep your knees warm and mobile in deep positions.
• Back Squat – Off Box: this movement builds your weightlifting squat technique by training you to fire your nervous system quickly, especially at weak ranges of motion. Simply squat down onto a box to break the momentum and then stand up forcefully.
• Back Squat Off Pins: this squat accessory exercise builds positional strength and speed to overcome the weakest point in your squat, which preserves your weightlifting squat technique at maximal weights. Place the pins slightly below your sticking point in a squat rack and stand up as forcefully as possible.
• Back Squat – Paused: this squat assistance movement builds strength and coordination from the bottom position, which builds your weightlifting squat technique at heavy weights and strengthens your recovery from a snatch or clean. You can hold a pause for 2 – 5 seconds.

 

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• Back Squat – Quarter: this squat variation overloads the top end of the weightlifting squat and lockout. This movement has a general carryover to the extension for a clean or snatch.
• Back Squat – without Lockout: this squat variation builds legs endurance and provides training if athletes experience knee discomfort in the lockout. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to warm your knees and achieve a deeper position.
• Back Squat – Wide Stance: aka sumo squat. “Wide” is any stance that is wider than your standard weightlifting squat technique. This squat variation teaches you to activate your glutes and push the knees out, which transfers to the snatch and clean pulls. Try this exercise if you tend to push your knees back during the pull or if they cave in during a squat.
• Back Squat – Wide Stance Quarter Bottom Up: this sumo squat variation helps strengthen the glutes and adductors without taxing the knees and quads. It also trains your muscles to contract quickly under heavy load.

 

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• Jump Squat – Continuous: descend smoothly into a quarter squat and then try to jump as high as possible by pushing through the ball of the feet. Repeat this sequence until you finish all reps. This jump squat teaches you to change direction quickly and extend.
• Jump Squat – Paused: in this jump squat variation, you descend to about half squat position, pause 3 – 5 seconds, then jump through the ball of the feet as explosively as possible. This movement removes the rebound to focus on explosive starting strength, which is useful for pulls.
• Jump Squat – Reset: this squat variation is identical to the continuous version, but after landing, you stand up to reset before doing another rep. This change lets you use heavier weight and focus on your extension.
• Jump Squat – Deep: this jump squat variation teaches you to descend quickly and rebound, which is useful for building eccentric squat speed and rebound ability. First, relax and descend into the squat, quickly tense the body as you reach the bottom, and use the stretch reflex to help you jump up. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to keep your knees warm.

Front Squats

• Front Squat: a standard accessory movement to develop leg and back strength for the clean. The goal is to squat as upright as possible with a straight back while keeping the bar balanced over the midfoot.

• Front Squat – Holds: this squat has a very short range of motion; you simply relax the knees while supporting the bar. This movement builds supporting strength and trains the nervous system to get used to heavy weights but does not overstress the muscles.

 

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• Front Squat – Narrow Stance: this front squat assistance movement emphasizes dorsiflexion, strengthening your anterior tibialis. This lift can help you sit more upright in a front squat and bring your shins to the bar in the start position. Usually, the feet are together or pointed out slightly depending on hip comfort. Contrary to popular belief, Nuckols (2017) shows a narrow stance is not more quad dominant relative to other squats.

 

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• Front Squat – No Hands: this is a great exercise if your back rounds during the front squat or you lean forward too much. You perform a front squat with your arms straight out, which requires more balance and upright posture.

 

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• Front Squat – 1 ¼: this squat assistance movement is used in a weightlifting program to build rebound strength and coordination after receiving the clean. You relax the lower body into a squat, tense your legs and glutes as you reach your deepest position, rebound to about a quarter of the way, then descend again to bounce up. Use a weightlifting belt to keep your core tight and maintain position during the bounce.
• Front Squat – Off Box: you squat down onto a box to break the momentum and train your nervous system to fire quickly to stand up. It also overloads a weak range of motion in the front squat. You can also use this movement if your legs are too fatigued for full squats.
• Front Squat Off Pins: this squat accessory exercise builds front rack strength, core strength, and speed to overcome the weakest point in your squat to maintain your weightlifting squat technique at maximal weights. Place the pins slightly below your sticking point in a squat rack and stand up as forcefully as possible.
• Front Squat – Paused: this variation helps with position strength out of the bottom. It’s useful if you round your back or lean forward on the way up. Simply squat down while maintaining tension at the bottom and pause for 3 – 5s before standing.

 

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• Front Squat – Walks: this assistance movement helps build core strength and endurance if your clean recovery is not perfect. This movement usually requires two racks: one to unrack the bar, then another to walk towards and rack the bar.
• Front Squat – Wide Stance, Quarter, Paused: this squat variation loads your hips and glutes for the jerk dip. Use this lift in your weightlifting program if your knees cave in as you descend in a jerk dip or squat.

Other Squats

• Kettlebell Squat: you can use this movement as part of a weightlifting program that focuses on keeping the chest up and maintaining balance in the bottom position. Hold a heavy kettlebell and stand on blocks to avoid touching the floor with the kettlebell, then squat. You can hold the bottom position for several seconds between reps or sit there for at least a minute.
• Overhead Half Squat – Snatch Grip Bottom Up: this variation builds leg strength and posture in the middle portion of the catch. It builds muscle memory and strength to maximize your power snatch.

 

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• Overhead Squat – Snatch Grip: this is a required movement for snatching. It trains your balance and posture in the bottom of the snatch position. Unrack the bar on your back like a back squat but with a snatch grip, then push press overhead and perform the overhead squat.
• Overhead Squat – Snatch Grip Bottom Up: this squat variation trains you to feel stable and comfortable in the catch position for the snatch. Place the bar on blocks at a height equal to your catch position for a full snatch, then stand up, then lower the bar back to the blocks. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to keep your knees warm and mobile to get into deep positions.
• Overhead Squat – Clean Grip: this overhead squat builds mobility and stability due to its narrow grip. It helps build the receiving position for the squat jerk. Unrack the bar on your back like a back squat but with a jerk grip, then push press overhead and perform the overhead squat.
• Overhead Squat – Clean Grip Bottom Up: this squat variation trains you to feel stable and comfortable in the catch position for the squat jerk. Like the snatch version, place the bar on blocks at a height equal to your deep squat position, then stand up, then lower the bar back to the blocks.

 

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Olympic Weightlifting Press

Overhead Presses

• Behind the Neck Press – from Split: this accessory movement will help you know the feeling of aligning the bar, arms, and torso to understand how to finish your split jerk, power jerk, or squat jerk. Place the bar on your back, split so that your balance is on the ball of both feet, then press straight up while maintaining the torso. Use the same grip as your jerk.
• Behind the Neck Press – Seated Snatch Grip: you can do this pressing movement sitting between jerk blocks to focus on pushing straight and locking out. It doesn’t put a lot of stress on the lower body or core, so it is good for women who experience heavy menstrual symptoms.
• Behind the Neck Press – Standing: this press builds familiarity with placing the bar behind your head and keeping your core tight. Use this movement if you tend to hyperextend your back or look up during a split jerk or standard push press.

• Drop Snatch – Quarter Squat: This assistance movement helps build confidence, support strength, timing, and drop speed for the snatch. You place the bar on your back with a snatch grip, then dip and drive to full extension, then slide into your quarter squat stance. The goal is to catch and finish your squat as close together as possible.
• Drop Snatch – Half Squat: this is a deeper variation of the drop snatch for building muscle memory, reversal speed, and strength in the mid-range of the squat. Use this movement if you can power snatch and full snatch but have difficulty catching in between these positions.
• Drop Snatch – Full Squat: this is the most frequently used drop snatch movement. It teaches you to drop straight down into the deepest catch position and build confidence. It also keeps you connected with the barbell through the entire squat motion. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to keep your knees warm and achieve a deep squat position more easily.

 

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• Dumbbell Press – Unilateral: position your elbow at 30 degrees to your side and then press but finish the overhead so that the face of the dumbbell faces your body. This movement teaches you to press and produce an internally rotated force necessary for the power jerk, squat jerk, and split jerk.
• Kettlebell Press – Unilateral: this pressing exercise helps build shoulder stability. Point the bottom of the kettlebell towards the ceiling, position your elbow about 30 degrees to your side, and then press.
• Push Press: this is part of the jerk learning progression and one of the most popular Olympic weightlifting exercises. It is used frequently in China to measure the height of your jerk drive. You should perform a jerk drive to reach a height where your elbows form 90 degrees. Then bring the heels down quickly while locking out. Many athletes wear weightlifting wrist wraps to reduce wrist stress and increase stability overhead.

 

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• Push Press – Narrow Grip, Behind the Neck: place the bar on your back and use the same grip as your jerk. Start with a jerk dip and jerk drive, then bring the heels down quickly, attempting to land and lockout at the same time. Use this variation if you tend to push the bar in front of you during a jerk.
• Push Press – Wide Grip, Behind the Neck: place the bar on your back and use a snatch grip. Start with a jerk dip and jerk drive, then bring the heels down quickly, attempting to land and lockout at the same time. Use this variation to build support strength for the snatch.
• Overhead Press: this is a basic strength training exercise for training the overhead position. From the rack position, the key is to push the bar up and back until the wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle bone all align.
• Overhead Press – from Pins: this is a great assistance exercise for building lockout strength overhead. Set the bar inside a power rack at a height where your elbows form 90 degrees. Stand as close as possible to the bar and then lockout overhead.
• Overhead Press – Seated: this variation is useful if you have lower body injuries. It can also help you stabilize your core, especially if you tend to lean forward as you press overhead. You can sit on a bench or box and press from blocks, rack, pins, etc.
• Overhead Press – Split Jerk Position: this accessory exercise teaches you to move the bar while maintaining the split jerk position. This movement is useful if you tend to lean back or lean forward during the split jerk.
• Snatch Press – Full Squat: this movement helps build your stability in a deep weightlifting squat position by maintaining an upright posture and a straight press. Perform a back squat with a snatch grip (or you can perform a drop snatch), then press straight from the bottom position while maintaining an upright posture. Use weightlifting knee sleeves to keep your knees warm and mobile to get into deep positions.
• Snatch Press – Half Squat: this movement helps you maintain an upright position for the overhead squat and half snatch. Simply squat down to a depth where you feel unstable or do not feel confident, then perform snatch-grip presses while maintaining tension in your squat position. Intermediate athletes can perform a drop snatch to the desired depth. Use weightlifting wrist wraps to provide extra support and focus on pressing straight.

 

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• Snatch Press – Quarter Squat: this movement helps you maintain an upright position for the power snatch. Squat down (or drop snatch) to quarter squat height, balance the barbell over your midfoot, align your elbows under the barbell, then press vertically over the midfoot.
• Sotts Press – Full Squat: builds thoracic strength by prolonging the isometric and assists for the squat jerk. Perform a front squat, then stay at the bottom and perform a set of overhead presses before standing.
• Sotts Press – Half Squat: builds thoracic strength and leg strength to maximize your power clean. Perform a front squat to half depth or whichever depth feels weakest to you, then stay there and perform overhead presses.
• Sotts Press – Quarter Squat: reinforces your power clean and power jerk positions. Perform a quarter front squat and perform a set of presses.

Other Presses

• Bench Press: this is a basic general strengthening exercise for beginners and women who need extra upper body mass. It is usually performed with a barbell and not used frequently in a weightlifting program because it can negatively affect overhead positioning and rack flexibility.
• Bench Press – Feet Elevated: with this variation, you can raise your feet onto the bench or in the air. Both versions reduce the size of your base and your contact with the ground, which forces the upper body to stabilize more.

• Bench Press – Narrow Grip: this variation is less stressful on your shoulders while emphasizing your triceps. It is not used frequently beyond general strength training for beginners.
• Pushups: this pressing movement is used more often in a Chinese weightlifting program than bench pressing since it allows the scapula to move freely and train the core, hips, and legs to stay rigid.
• Pushups – Diamond: this variation is a close-grip pushup that loads the triceps more than a standard pushup, which carries over to your lockout strength. Your upper and lower body must remain rigid as you push up.
• Pushups – Handstand: this is the hardest pushup variation because you are pushing directly against gravity with most of your bodyweight. The purpose is to train your body to press overhead while maintaining rigidity throughout the body. Usually, a partner can assist by holding your legs as you press off blocks. If you want to perform handstands solo, check out this handstand progression.

 

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• Pushups – Incline: this variation is easier than a standard push up because you are not pushing directly against gravity, and less of your bodyweight provides resistance. You position your upper body onto a bench or box so that your arms are perpendicular to your body. The emphasis is on the lower chest with this lift, which stabilizes the torso during the pull.
• Pushups – Decline: this variation is more difficult because your legs are elevated onto a bench or box, so your upper body must support more bodyweight. However, this change shifts the emphasis to your upper chest and anterior deltoid, which is good for your rack position.

Arm Weightlifting Exercises

Biceps/Forearms

• Barbell Curl – Standard Grip: this biceps exercise helps maintain elbow health because it counters the elbow extension demands prevalent in a weightlifting program. Stand up with an underhand grip on the barbell, arms touching the side of your body, then keep your upper arm fixed as you curl.
• Barbell Curl – Wide Grip: this variation is performed the same way as the standard barbell curl, but the grip is at least one fist-width outside of your shoulder. The purpose is to train your flexion in the same position as your rack position, reinforcing the elbows during the clean & jerk.
• Dumbbell Curl – Neutral Grip: an efficient curl variation because the neutral grip builds muscle mass in the biceps and brachioradialis together. Simply hold the dumbbells to your side and maintain your upper arm fixed as you curl.
• Forearm Curls: a professional weightlifting program contains a lot of forearm extension, so this popular bodybuilding movement maintains strength balance and avoids overuse injury. Take an overhand grip on a barbell and squat down, hang your wrists off your knees, and curl the bar.

• Forearm Extensions: this is a good movement to include in your strength training programs if your wrists are stiff to turn the bar overhead. Perform the same way as forearm curls but with an underhand grip.

• Reverse Curls: this bodybuilding exercise helps you achieve and maintain a strong rack position for the clean and jerk. Stand up, take a prone grip on a barbell, and then keep your elbows fixed as you curl the bar.
• Plate Pinch: this is a general grip exercise for training the flexors of the thumb, index, and middle fingers. You can pinch a smooth bumper plate or small metal plates.
• Shot Put Grabs: general grip strength training exercise where you attempt to palm a shot and alternate hands. This movement is popular among young athletes.
• Standing Wrist Rolls: a very efficient movement to train wrist flexion and extension. Tie a weight to a straight handle and stand with elbows flexed at 90 degrees, then extend their wrist backward until the plate reaches the handle. Then reverse this motion by flexing the wrists forward.

Triceps

• Bench Dips: this is an alternative triceps and deltoids exercise when you have limited equipment and/or your strength is insufficient to perform standard dips. Sit on a bench and place your hands on the edge, shoulders down and back, then slide off and place your legs away from the bench, then lower your body by bending your arms.

• Triceps Extension – Decline: an intermediate variation of the lying triceps extension. The decline angle increases your triceps loading at the early stage and allows for greater contraction at the lockout.
• Triceps Extension – Lying: a standard bodybuilding exercise for strengthening the triceps lockout. Lie supine on a bench and use a barbell with an overhand grip, or dumbbells with a neutral grip, to bend the elbows and flex the shoulder to clear the forehead before reversing the movement.
• Triceps Extension – 30 Degree: an advanced variation of the lying triceps extension where your arm straightens while angled at 30 degrees instead of 90 degrees. The angle places constant tension on the triceps, making an effective part of your strength training program.
• Triceps Extension – Overhead Prone Grip: another advanced triceps bodybuilding movement that loads the triceps heavily at the early phase. Start with a barbell overhead, then bend your elbows through the entire range of motion, then reverse the motion.
• Triceps Extension – Overhead Supine Grip: an even more advanced triceps bodybuilding exercise. The grip prevents your elbows from flaring, which results in more triceps isolation.

 

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• Triceps Extension – Overhead with Plate: loads the triceps at the early stage but to a lower extent due to the neutral grip and possibility of elbow flaring. Use this if the barbell version is too difficult or uncomfortable.
• Overhead Triceps Extension – Single Arm Dumbbell: allows for unilateral triceps strengthening and hypertrophy, which is useful for restoring balance between your left and right arms.
• Triceps Pushdown – Cable/Banded: a popular bodybuilding exercise for general strength and mass. The cable is usually at your chest height with a handle that allows for an overhand or neutral grip. You should stand away from the cable to allow for greater triceps loading, then push down to straighten your arms.
• Triceps Kickback: a convenient bodybuilding arm exercise that emphasizes the long head of the triceps. Support one side of your body on a bench, then grab a dumbbell and lift your weighted arm so that the elbow is above your torso. Then they maintain this height as you extend your arm.

Back Exercises Bodybuilding

• Bent Over Row – Overhand: bend over about 60 – 90 degrees from vertical with a flat back and knees out. Then pull the bar to the sternum. This variation emphasizes your rear deltoids and mid back muscles.
• Bent Over Row – Underhand: this variation follows the same positioning as the overhand version, but the change in grip results in pulling the bar towards your hip crease. This variation emphasizes more lats and biceps and is a staple for building a bodybuilder back.

• Chest Supported Row on Bench – Prone Grip: use this in your back workout when you want to emphasize the mid-back or minimize stress on your lower back. Place the bar under the bench and lie face down on the bench. Then use a clean grip and row towards your diaphragm.
• Chest Supported Row on Bench – Wide Grip: the grip is still prone, but a wide grip results in pulling the bar to the middle of your chest, emphasizing your upper back and rear deltoids without taxing your lower back. Women often use this exercise in their Olympic weightlifting program if they feel heavy cramps during their menstrual period.
• Chin-up – Neutral Grip: this requires a specialized grip setting on a rack so you can pull your body upward with a neutral grip. This movement emphasizes your biceps and brachioradialis compared to other chin-up variations, making it very efficient to develop your arms and achieve a bodybuilder back.
• Chin-up – Supine Grip: this back exercise uses a supine grip to pull your body upward. It incorporates more biceps and chest activation than the pull-up (which incorporates more rotator cuff). You can use a weightlifting belt to tie external weight behind you to build strength in all chin-up variations.
• Explosive Dumbbell Row: lean over one leg, use a neutral grip, and pull a heavy dumbbell while rotating your torso until the dumbbell reaches the side of the ribs. This motion trains your mid-back, lats, and upper back to contract explosively. Because of the speed and load potential, use weightlifting straps to spare your grip.

 

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• Lat Pull: an easier variation to the pull-up where you pull a bar down towards your chin. Use this variation in your back workout if you lack the strength to pull your body upward but still want to build strength to control heavy weights to your rack position. Some athletes use weightlifting straps during lat pull variations to relax the arms and initiate with the back muscles.
• Lat Pull – Behind the Neck: an easier variation to the behind the neck pull-up. You pull the bar down towards the base of your neck. Good for beginners who are not strong enough to pull their bodyweight, and to build strength to lower barbells behind your head. It is also more conducive to other techniques such as pauses, partial range of motion, etc.
• Pull-up: use a prone grip overhead to pull your chin towards a bar; strengthens the lats for the front squat and rack positions. You can use a weightlifting belt to tie external weight behind you to build strength in all pull-up variations.
• Pull-up – Behind the Neck: in this pull-up variation, use a prone grip to pull the base of your neck towards the pull-up bar. This back exercise builds supportive strength for behind the neck pressing movements.
• Seated Row: this popular bodybuilding back exercise requires a cable machine or band. Sit slightly forward with shoulders protracted and feet supported on a vertical plate. Then pull the cable to the diaphragm while retracting and extending your back.

Chest Exercises Bodybuilding

• Cable Pulldown: assume the same torso and leg position as a hang snatch above the knee. Adjust the cables so that your shoulder flexes about 30 degrees. Then push your chest out to bring the cables towards you until they touch your thigh. Great for learning how to use your chest during the deadlift and still develops a bodybuilder chest
• Chest Dip: get a bodybuilder chest without bench pressing! Dips require parallel bars, jerk blocks, or a dedicated machine. Bend your arms to lower the body until your chest feels stretched, then push down while leading with the chest to push it out and up. You can use a weightlifting belt to tie an external weight to build strength and mass.

 

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• Dumbbell Pullover: lie supine on a bench, arms extended towards the ceiling, with both hands grabbing the inner plate of a dumbbell. Then maintain your elbow angle and lower the dumbbell until it aligns with the torso. Then contract your chest and lats to bring the dumbbell over your body.
• Flyes – Dumbbell: lay supine on a bench with your arms slightly flexed and dumbbells pointed toward the ceiling. Maintain a fixed elbow position and lower the dumbbells until you feel a stretch in your pecs. This lift is a staple in a typical bodybuilding chest workout, but it also builds tension and strength in the chest, which is useful during the deadlift.
• Flyes – Standing Cable: a variation of the popular bodybuilding exercise. During a typical bodybuilding chest workout, the cables are pulled inward at a decline angle to stimulate the largest amount of fibers.

Core Accessory Work for Olympic Lifting

• Ab Rollouts – Kneeling: an introductory ab exercise to train you to maintain your core while moving, which carries over to weightlifting. Get on your knees and grab a barbell with plates or a dedicated implement to roll out straight ahead and then return.
• Ab Rollouts – Diagonal: this ab exercise trains your obliques. Most core accessory work for Olympic lifting consists of trunk flexion, extension, and isometric, but this variation is useful for athletes who twist on jerks. Set up like a standard rollout but roll the bar diagonally.
• Ab Rollouts – Straight Legged: this variation is more challenging due to a longer range of motion and a smaller base of support. Approach a weighted barbell, bend over while keeping your back flat, and keep your legs straight or slightly relaxed. Then roll out straight ahead.
• Ab Rotation – Standing: set up a cable/band at shoulder height, stand with your side facing the cable, then twist your abs to reach for the cable and contract to twist away. Alternatively, grab a plate, keep your elbows bent and fixed, then use your abs to rotate your torso. This movement is part of general athletic preparation.

• Ab Rotation – GHD: this variation combines core stabilization with knee and hip extension. Lay back as close to parallel with the ground as possible and perform ab rotations with an implement such as a plate, dumbbell, barbell held in front, etc.
• Crunches: a general ab preparation exercise performed on the floor, usually performed during the offseason. You can perform it to varying degrees of trunk flexion based on comfort, and you can hold a weight for extra resistance.
• Crunches – Decline: a more advanced crunch variation on a decline bench. The angle uses gravity to increase the difficulty.
• Knee Raise – Hanging: this is a general ab and hip strengthening exercise, but you can use this if you tend to overextend when preparing to jerk or squat. Use weightlifting straps to hang from a bar and flex their abs to raise the knees to the chest.
• Knee Raises – Lying Single Legged or Double Legged: aka deadbug. This ab exercise is a very effective movement for stabilizing your abs under hip flexion. You can hold onto a rack or some bands tied around a rack.
• Leg Raise – Hanging: this is a more advanced ab exercise where you flex your abs to raise straight or slightly relaxed legs to the chest. This modification creates more loading for your abs and hip flexors.
• Leg Raises – Lying: this movement is a less intensive version than the hanging leg raise but is useful for training core and pelvic stability. You can hold onto a rack or some bands tied around a rack.
• Plank – Prone: use this exercise for general static strengthening of your core, which is necessary for weightlifting. Lie prone on the floor, elbows under your shoulders, legs straight and together, balanced on the ball of your feet. You can achieve greater activation if you tuck your pelvis or move your elbows out further. Have a partner add weights for greater resistance.
• Plank – Supine: a more advanced plank variation that isometrically strengthens and activates the core in extension, which has more carryover to weightlifting. Place your shoulders across the edge of a bench and your heels on another bench, then maintain your body straight using your glutes and abs. Have a partner add weights for greater resistance.
• Plank – Side: this ab exercise isometrically strengthens and activates your obliques so you can use your core fully during heavy lifts. Lay on your side, keep your body straight, and support your bodyweight using the side of your bottom foot and elbow. Keep your shoulder aligned with your elbow for balance.
• Side Bend – Single Arm: use dumbbells, kettlebells, the end of a barbell, cables (most effective due to constant tension) to create a weight offset and target the opposite-side obliques for general core strengthening.

• Side Bend – Barbell/Double Arm: this is an alternative when you lack equipment. It is not as effective as single-arm versions since the weights balance each other. Place the bar on your back as in a squat, then contract your obliques side to side.

• Single Arm Weighted Carry: hold onto a heavy dumbbell and maintain your standing position while walking. The offset in weight forces you to train your QL and deep core muscles.

Leg Exercises Bodybuilding

• Calf Raise – Seated: not just for developing bodybuilder legs! You can use a dedicated machine or a bench with the ball of the foot placed on some plates to target and stretch the soleus. Place a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell on your thigh (in line with the tibia) and begin extending the ankles. In both cases, pause at the starting and end ranges for maximum stretch and muscle recruitment.
• Calf Raise – Seated Single-Legged: in this variation, one leg is unloaded and flat while the other leg performs the seated calf raise. Use this version to reduce strength asymmetries in plantarflexion or to stretch a tighter side.
• Calf Raise – Standard: you can use a dedicated machine for this bodybuilding leg exercise. Alternatively, place a bar on your back and stand with your heels off the edge of plates or risers to allow ample room for stretching the calves. In both cases, plantarflex and pause at the top and bottom between reps to reduce reliance on elastic energy.
• Calf Raise – Standing Continuous: this movement follows the same setup and execution as the standard version except you don’t pause at the starting and end ranges. This modification strengthens your tendons and teaches you how to move your feet up and down rhythmically.

 

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• Calf Raise – Standing Single-Legged: in this variation, one leg is bent and flat to provide balance while the other leg performs the calf raise. Use this to reduce asymmetries in plantarflexion or to stretch a tighter side. Hold onto a dumbbell or kettlebell for extra resistance.
• Lateral Squat: aka lateral lunge. Use this squat assistance movement in your weightlifting program to strengthen your ascent for the squat, to prevent your knees cave in, or if you want to build some serious bodybuilder legs. Place a barbell on your back and step sideways. Keep the heel of your stepping leg planted on the floor as in a squat. Then press off this leg to stand up towards the center.
• Leg Curl: this is one of the most popular bodybuilding leg exercises, usually performed seated or lying on a dedicated machine, but you also lay on a bench and have a partner tie a band to provide resistance. This bodybuilding exercise isolates the hamstrings through knee flexion, which is useful if you tend to overload your quads or lack eccentric control.
• Leg Curl – Single legged: performed on a dedicated machine to fix right-left asymmetries in knee flexion strength or quad-hamstring asymmetries. Also, an effective way to add tension without using heavy loads. This movement is good to use after a long layoff or for women who feel uncomfortable squatting deep during their period.
• Leg Extension: another one of the most popular bodybuilding leg exercises, performed on a dedicated machine to isolate and strengthen the quads. The execution depends on the machine’s design, but the basic motion is knee extension from a flexed position.
• Leg Extension – Single legged: performed on a dedicated machine and is part of a weightlifting program designed to fix right-left asymmetries in knee extension strength. Also, an effective way to add tension without using heavy loads, which is useful for athletes coming back from a long layoff or for women who want to train their legs without taxing their core (during their menstrual period).
• Leg Press – Machine: the main purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the quads without fatiguing the back (although it helps create serious bodybuilder legs). Use this lift in a weightlifting program if your lower back is injured or recovers slowly. Women who cannot load their core or squat deep during their menstrual period also use this exercise.
• Leg Press – Barbell: aka vertical leg press. If you want bodybuilder legs without a dedicated machine, then try this variation. It also helps treat hamstrings stiffness by training you to contract your quads while stretching your hamstrings. This variation helps build lockout strength for the deadlift, extension, and squat. Set up the bar in a squat cage, lay on your back, align your midfoot with the bar, then press.
• Lunge – Front Squat Grip: this version helps prevent leaning forward during the lunge, which shifts the loading onto the back leg.

 

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• Lunge – Overhead: hold the barbell overhead as in your jerk, then lunge to a depth that can maintain an upright torso. This variation loads the back leg and helps increase hip mobility for the split jerk.
• Lunge – Upright Torso: you can perform these with dumbbells, plates, or a barbell to build joint stability and control in the ankle, knee, and hip. They add volume, which can help you develop bodybuilder legs, but they also help counter imbalances from performing the split jerk.
• Lunge – Torso Forward: this is lunge variation, your torso flexes until your shoulders are over the front knee. This movement is helpful if you tend to hyperextend your back in your overhead position or during your squats.
• Lying Leg Abduction: this movement emphasizes your TFL, glute medius, and glute minimus to prevent your knee collapsing during squats or your start position. Lay on your side with your legs straight. Maintain your toes pointing forward and hips stable, then lift the top leg. You can perform this with an ankle weight or use a partner to press slightly against your leg.
• Reverse Lunge – Upright Torso: this lunge variation loads the back leg by stepping backward rather than forward, which is useful if you tend to split with your back leg straight. It also loads the glutes more than a normal lunge.
• Reverse Lunge – Torso Forward: in this reverse lunge variation, you step backward but allow your torso to flex so that your shoulders are over the front knee. This movement is helpful if you hyperextend your back during the split jerk or have back pain.
• Single Legged Deadlift: stand and bend one knee until your shin is parallel to the ground. Then bend over and flex your weighted leg until your unsupported shin touches the ground, or you maximize your control and mobility. This movement addresses asymmetries in foot balance and strength in your anterior tibialis.
• Single Legged RDL: this movement trains the hamstrings and lateral hip muscles, which helps stabilize the hip and prevent knee collapsing in your squats. Simply use a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell, extend one leg behind your body and bend over while keeping the lifted leg in line with your torso. Your supporting leg remains flexed and fixed.
• Single Legged Squat: you can do this movement solo off a box or stack of plates, or with the assistance of a friend or rack. Straighten your unsupported leg in front of you while squatting on your weighted leg. The depth depends on your mobility and control, but your knee should stay aligned with your toes throughout the movement.

• Split Squat – Dumbbell: this bodybuilding leg exercise trains your quads, lateral hip muscles, and glutes without loading your spine. Use this movement if you need to deload your back or have an injury. Simply prop your talus onto the edge of a bench while you stand straight on your supporting leg. Then squat down, allowing your knee to travel over the toes and your torso to lean forward slightly.
• Step-ups: this leg exercise is good for reducing strength imbalances between each leg, which can occur for athletes who split jerk. It also teaches you how to push through the foot and activate the glute. Simply step onto a box with one leg and stand up, then control yourself down before stepping again. You can use a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell for this movement.
• Reverse Calf Raise: in this variation, the ball of your foot is off the edge of a riser or plate to emphasize ankle dorsiflexion and strengthen the tibialis anterior. This strengthening helps your shin move forward during a squat or start position for snatch and clean.
• Reverse Calf Raise – Single Legged: in this variation, one leg is bent and flat to provide balance while the other leg performs the reverse calf raise. Use this if you have one side that is more difficult to push forward during the start position of the snatch or clean, or if you notice a difference in your squats.

Lower Back and Glute Exercises Bodybuilding

• Back Extension – on 45 Degree Incline Bench: this is a popular strength training exercise for the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings because there is tension throughout the movement. It is less stressful mentally and physically than a deadlift, so that you can use it more frequently for strength and mass building. Set the bench at your hip crease, then bend at the hips while maintaining a straight back, then extend until your torso and legs align.
• Back Extension – Single-Legged on 45 Degree Incline Bench: an easy way to overload the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings without external weight. Great for addressing strength asymmetries in the legs, glutes, or lower back. Make sure to extend until your torso aligns with your legs.
• Back Extension – 90 Degrees on Bench or GHD: another popular strength training exercise in a Chinese Olympic weightlifting program. It can be an alternative to the 45-degree version, providing more tension on your glutes. You can use a barbell, plate, dumbbell, or other weighted implements for resistance.

 

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• Back Extension – Static 90 Degree on Bench or GHD: this is a great variation for building postural strength by teaching athletes to use their legs, glutes, and lower back together. You only need to extend until your torso is in line with the legs. Push the ball of your feet into the support base to mimic your extension.

• Good Morning: the barbell rests on your shoulders as in a back squat, then maintain a rigid torso and bend over until your torso is parallel to the floor; meanwhile, keep your knees slightly bent and fixed. Very effective for loading the hamstrings.
• Good Morning – Olympic Style: in this variation, you bend your torso and knees simultaneously until you reach the same position and balance as your hang position above the knee. This movement emphasizes torso rigidity and endurance for the hang position.
• Good Morning – from Jerk Blocks: emphasizes concentric strength; good for athletes whose torso tips over during the pull. Set the block height to the same level as your flexed position during a good morning, then stand up straight.
• Good Morning – Rounded Back and Seated: this variation trains the lower back dynamically rather than isometrically. You contract your abs as you bend over, and then extend as you sit up.
• Good Morning – Seated: keep your back straight, then bend over until your belly touches the bench. This variation is good for emphasizing your lower back and reducing the load on the hamstrings. It can also help stretch your hamstrings dynamically, which trains you to stay over the bar during the snatch or clean pulls.

• Good Morning – Wide: most good morning variations use the same stance as your deadlift. This variation uses the same stance as your weightlifting squat or wider. This modification targets your adductors and glutes more than other variations and is useful if your hamstrings inhibit your range of motion with a narrower stance.
• Hip Thrust – Barbell: place your upper back across a bench with both feet on the floor and turn out like a squat. Then place the barbell on your hip crease with a pad for comfort. Maintain rigidity in your torso while pushing your feet through the floor and squeeze the glutes to extend the hips until they straighten. You can read more about technique and training by Contreras et al. (2011).

 

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• Hip Thrust – Staggered: used to treat imbalances in hip extension between your right and left sides. Your non-working leg can stay on the floor and balanced on your heel, or it can stay suspended.
• Reverse Hyperextension: lay on a bench, box, or dedicated machine with your torso flat or supported by the elbows, and then extend your hips by raising the legs with toes pointed until they are in line with the torso. Mike Dewar (2018) shows various ways to set up this movement, but in all cases, this is a great exercise for developing hip extension strength.
• Reverse Hyperextension – Static: this variation allows you to focus on hip extension when the body is straight. Use this exercise if you have trouble straightening the body or feeling the extension during a snatch, clean, or jerk.
• Reverse Hyperextension – Single-Legged: this unilateral variation can help reduce imbalances in hip extension strength or activation between the right and left legs.
• Sumo Deadlift High Pull: use a kettlebell since the center of gravity of the kettlebell is closer to the body, making it easier to drive vertically rather than pull with the lower back. Keep your balance on the ball of the foot and pull the kettlebell to the clavicle in one motion. Use this movement if you tend to swing the bar outward during a snatch or clean extension.

 

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Weightlifting Exercises for Shoulders

Rear Deltoid

• Face Pulls: stand with your shoulders slightly protracted and grab a rope attachment to a cable machine or a band attached to a rail above head height. Use a neutral grip, retract your shoulders, and pull the rope towards your forehead. This movement builds shoulder external rotation strength, muscle memory to keep your elbows out, and rear deltoid strength, all of which assist your rack position.
• Reverse Fly – Bent Over 45 Degrees: one of the most common weightlifting exercises for shoulders. Use the same position as your hang position above the knee to build positional strength. Fix your elbow angle and raise the arms until the upper arm aligns with the torso. You can use plates or dumbbells for this movement.

 

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• Reverse Fly – Bent Over 90 Degrees: this variation builds rear deltoid strength and mass to carryover over to the first pull for the snatch and clean. It’s more difficult at the end range due to gravity but has carryover to the start position.
• Reverse Fly – Seated: this version uses a dedicated machine, but the purpose is to isolate your rear deltoids. This variation is a good variation when you don’t want to tax your core or lower back.
• Standing Cable/Banded Crossover: extend your arms in front at sternum height with cables aligned in an X-position, then pull back and diagonally until they are in line with the torso. This is one of the most useful weightlifting exercises for shoulders because it teaches you how to lockout for a deadlift and loads the rear deltoid at its strongest position and provides constant tension throughout.

Lateral Deltoid

• Lateral Raise – Cable: stand with your resting side toward the cable, then place the handle on your other side and raise it until it reaches shoulder height. This variation maintains tension through the entire range of motion and loads your deltoid at its strongest position for greater strength and mass gains.
• Lateral Raise – Lying: this is an easy and effective shoulder movement that loads your deltoid at its strongest position and gradually decreases loading at the weakest position. Simply lay on your side, keep your elbow slightly bent and fixed, then raise a dumbbell until it points towards the ceiling.
• Lateral Raise – Standing: this is a standard bodybuilding movement where you hold dumbbells in front of your thighs and raise your arms until you reach shoulder height. Use this movement if you tend to only shrug during extension.
• Lateral Raise – Static: this strength training exercise coordinates the shoulders and traps, great for athletes who tend to over shrug during the extension. Place plates on the elbows and hold your arms out to the side for 30 seconds.

• Lateral Raise – Bumper Flyes: popularized by Lu Xiaojun, one of the more unique weightlifting exercises for shoulders. This movement is a lateral raise that finishes overhead while internally rotating the arms with bumper plates. This movement transfers to the overhead positions for the snatch and jerk.

 

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• Upright Row: a standard bodybuilding movement for building traps and shoulders. Stand up and grab the bar with a narrow, overhand grip and pull it to your clavicle.
• Upright Row – Clean Grip: a more shoulder-friendly alternative to the standard upright row. Use the same starting position as an upright row but pull it to the bottom of your chest.

 

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• Upright Row – Explosive: start in the same position as an upright row, then sit back and then extend onto the ball of the foot to pull the bar to your neck. Do NOT use this movement if you have a habit of swinging the bar during the snatch or clean.

Anterior Deltoid

• Front Raise: a rarely used shoulder exercise performed with a plate, dumbbell, or light barbell and usually reserved if you lack upper body mass and feel discomfort in the rack position.

Conclusion

This is quite the list of Olympic weightlifting exercises!

If you want to read this in a handy PDF, then leave your email below:

Now, there are more exercises, such as rehab and prehab exercises, but they are outside this article’s scope.

Also, we feel that the lack of equipment influences the results.

For example, we have never seen safety squat bars in China, but this can be a useful variation for athletes with elbow injuries, shoulder pain, etc. since they build power and strength almost equally to back squats (Meldrum & DeBeLiso 2018).

They also increase lower trap activation and help maintain a more upright torso (Hecker et al. 2018).

So, you don’t have to use every exercise for every athlete.

Just use the ones that don’t hurt, provide progressive overload, and get the athlete to achieve standard professional weightlifting technique.

Additionally, you can combine these movements to emphasize a certain portion of the lift (i.e., snatch pull + power snatch without split).

Now we’d like to hear what you have to say:

• Which of these movements have you used in your weightlifting program or CrossFit training?
• What were your results?
• Or maybe you have a question about performing or using an exercise?
• Or is there an exercise missing?

Either way, go ahead and leave a quick comment below right now.

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