Coaching Cues

James Tatum

FIRST PULL

Start position – feet are placed in the jump position with the bar over the lower end of the laces. There is some debate as to the angle of the back, some coaches suggest that the start position should be similar to the deadlift with the first pull producing a more mechanically efficient vertical bar path. While other coaches advocate a more upright posture, minimising torque at the hip and with the theory of eradicating early fatigue of the lumbar erectors, arguing that the muscles of the lower back become tired and so it will lose rigidity during the second pull and flexion is inevitable. Both techniques have shown great success and are advocated by various elite Olympic Weightlifting coaches.

This post gives instruction on performing the first variation. The body is set with the hips slightly higher than the knees. The head and neck are in line with the spine or tilted back slightly which will facilitate the spinal erectors. The lifter takes a large breath to fill the abdominal cavity with air and lifts the chest and sets the scaps, grasping the bar with an overhand grip.

Maintenance of a good hip shoulder line is vital in preserving tension and so rigidity during the clean. Should the rigid hip shoulder line be compromised and the back start to round then some of the force produced by the lower body will be lost by the flexion of the trunk. Keeping this good hip shoulder line comes from isometric tension of the postural muscles.

When grasping the Olympic bar, care needs to be taken in order to not grasp the bar too tight as this will cause tension to travel all the way up the musculature of the arm. Excessive tension in the arm can impede a seamless transition from extension to flexion during the Clean and the same can also be said from flexion to extension during the Jerk due to the firing of the antagonist muscles. Advanced practitioners of the Olympic lifts have an effortless sequence of relaxation and tension of the muscles used.

The weight should be passing down through the balls of the feet and as the first pull is initiated the weight is shifted backwards towards the heels as the bar rises towards the knees.

The Clean & Jerk as with the other Olympic lifts is one of those lifts where becoming technically proficient comes from continuous repetition of practice. The ability to pull the bar comes from being able to generate force through the feet into the ground.

The lifter should aim for maximum acceleration from the onset. The first pull is very important and if done well the barbell’s own inertia will keep it moving vertically. As with any other lift, good form/technique is key, the first pull should be as fast as possible but not at the expense of good form. The greater the lifter’s starting strength the better the first pull. A slow first pull makes it very difficult to have an ‘explosive’ second pull and so therefore makes preparation for ‘receiving’ the bar very challenging.

TRANSITION PHASE

Also called the ‘scoop’ or ‘double knee bend’, the second phrase is a very confusing term which causes some beginner lifters to incorrectly bend the knees twice.

The bar moves upwards, knees slide forwards and underneath the bar and the lifter has now moved into the power position. The speed that the knees shift under the bar is also essential in generating optimal height of the bar.

SECOND PULL

This is the most powerful phase of the clean, a vigorous triple extension followed by a shrug with the arms remaining straight until the end of the shrug. The bar doesn’t stop moving and the arms remain straight, at which point they will slightly bend and the elbows become high. When watching a high level lifter moving from the transition phase to the second pull the speed of the movement is so great that the bar almost appears to bounce off the thighs.

The lifter should prepare to change direction before triple extension is complete. Preparing to change direction before completing the second pull enables the lifter to efficiently move under the bar and so completing the pull is not a conscious effort. This does not mean full extension does not occur. If hip extension is incomplete the lifter will jump forward in the catch.

When the bar reaches the highest point the lifter enters the catch and rapidly get his/her body under the bar and repositions the feet to an overhead squat position. As he/she drops they rotate the wrists and the elbows move forwards and up with the bar resting on the anterior delts.

If the bar is caught around parallel the lifter can get a good bounce out of the bottom and so making good use of the Stretch Shortening Cycle (SSC) to increase power output. Rising in a standard front squat.

JERK

With the elbows high, there is a slight pause and a deep breath followed by a small controlled dip. Aggressive extension, throwing the head back helps to get more extension and moves the face away from the bar creating a clear straight path for the bar to now travel overhead. Failure to do so will mean the bar is a little forward and the lifter will have to quickly move forward to try and save the lift. Extension is so powerful that the feet leave the floor for a split second before the lifter drops down under the bar into a split stance with the arms fully extended. Once the arms are locked overhead if the lift was good the feet will usually return to level from a combination of the front foot moving back and the back foot moving forward. Effective use of the SSC is also key when performing the jerk component of the lift. The type of strength used when switching rapidly from the eccentric phase (bending the legs) to the concentric phase is ‘reactive strength’. The faster this switch from eccentric to concentric the higher the level of power produced.

How should it be done?

BENEFITS

The deadlift strengthens the whole body, protects against injury and transfers well to everyday activities.

The deadlift works just about every muscle in the body with the primary muscles used being the largest – the hamstrings, glutes and quads. This making it an excellent exercise for fat loss especially when doing high volume. Because of the amount of muscle used in the lift there is an elevation of the metabolism so calories continue to be burnt at a higher rate post workout.

Get proficient at the deadlift and great strength will follow.

Not only is the deadlift a great lift for becoming strong it’s also a great lift for packing on muscle. The lifter can really push for an improvement in weight lifted because as long as technique is good then there is very little danger of injury, no spotters are needed and at the point of failure the bar can be dropped.

Deadlifts are one of the best exercises for abdominal development and as long as the abs are not covered in fat then the results will be visibly much better than any abdominal isolation exercises.

Equipment: Barbell, weight plates, floor protection.

The good thing about the Barbell Deadlift is that very little equipment is needed. A good quality bar is recommended, as with anything else you get what you pay for and you should get the best that your budget allows. For this lift there is no need to use a more expensive competition Olympic Bar which has more ‘whip’ and is the preferred bar for Olympic lifts. A bar like the Rogue Ohio Bar or the Texas Deadlift Bar are ideal.

Good quality bumper plates are excellent but really strong guys may prefer Powerlifting discs, which are thinner metal plates and which enable more weight to be added to the bar and so the discs will also be closer to the centre.

Stance width, narrower than the squat, the bar should be over the mid-foot. From here a vertical bar path can be maintained with the line of force directly over the mid-foot. Foot position should be what feels comfortable, taking into account fick angle (natural foot flair). It would be detrimental to force someone to point their feet straight ahead if this then forces their knees to be slightly rotated inwards.

It is not a squat, the hips should be slightly higher than the knees. An ability to hold a good hip shoulder line and hold an active lordosis with a neutral curve is needed. A mistake that many people make to ensure they don’t round their lower back is to anteriorly tilt their pelvis. This causes a loss of ROM because a large part of hip flexor ROM is used resulting in jamming up early at the hip. Also there is increased compression of the lumbar facet joints.

Acromion – lateral extension of the scapula, forming the highest point of the shoulder, this is the point that should be over the bar. If this point is behind the bar the hips will be too low and if it’s in front of the bar the hips will be too high. Once the lifter knows how this position feels they will be able to find it every time. The key to lifting well is staying tight. Slightly lifting the toes while addressing the bar puts a lot of tension through the fascia all the way up the back of the legs, tension is built on the way down before grabbing the bar.

This technique limits forward knee progression and stops the lifter being too upright, so now recruiting more hams and glutes and less quads. The hips can now move back away from the base of support instead of just dropping down and so much more tension can be created. Grip the bar so tight that the knuckles turn white creating tension not just in the arms but the mid-section will also brace, a holding of breath and clenching of the teeth will potentiate the nervous system and increase the body’s ability to generate force. Before gripping the bar a big breath is needed to fill the abdominal cavity with air.The chin needs to be slightly tucked. Just before the weight is lifted from the floor there is a point where the bar rises inside the plates and a clicking sound is heard. The lifter should feel nice and tight with the weight passing down through the mid-foot to heel, this is the point at which the lifter should know whether to go ahead with the lift or stop and readjust.The first stage of the lift is similar to an Olympic lift in that the bar is raised while the hip to shoulder line remains the same. As the bar is lifted the knees go back and the line of force remains over the mid-foot. The second part of the lift happens once the bar clears the knees, instead of continuing to lift the bar vertically the lifter performs a horizontal hip drive. It has to be noted that it is hip extension not extension of the lumbar spine. A good coaching point is to contract the glutes at the top instead of leaning back.

Lowering the bar should be a mirror image of when the bar was raised. It should look very similar to a Romanian Deadlift until the bar clears the knees and once it is below then the hips can drop down again to the correct starting position.

It is probably best when not lifting maximal loads to use a pronated (overhand) grip. An alternate grip can be used but if lifting high volume it would be wise to alternate the grip every set to avoid creating imbalances. An alternate grip can be used for maximal load low rep sets because it enables the lifter to move more weight because it’s harder for the bar to roll down the fingers.

There are those that advocate not using a mixed grip at all, much preferring to continue with a pronated grip and adding straps to aid with any potential grip problems. This is an excellent view that is difficult to argue with as the potential for biceps injury in the arm using the underhand grip is quite high.

One point that needs to be noted is that if straps are used then the lifter should remember to still ‘white knuckle’ the bar, in order to still create the same level of tension and potentiate the nervous system, also reducing the chances of injury that could arise from relaxed musculature while performing this very demanding lift.

It is advisable to use chalk for deadlifts, if it’s difficult to use chalk in the facility because of the mess that can be made there is a product called Liquid Chalk which works the same but with none of the mess.

The best footwear for deadlifts are those that have a thin firm sole such as chucks (converse), five fingers or even performing the lifts in socks or bare feet.

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