Olympic Lifting Drill: Rock and Shrug/Catch

Before beginning the olympic lifts my client has to have certain prerequisites in place before earning the right to do them. I require those to have a good understanding of back squat, deadlift, front squat and strict press. You should also have decent shoulder, thoracic and ankle mobility . . . . Once those prereqs are met I like to teach the olympic lifts from the top down starting off with your knees bent a few inches. The shoulders stacked right on top of the hips. In this demo Im using the clean but feel free to do these in your snatches as the same applies. . . . Drill #1: Rock and Shrug: Rock the bar into you using your lats. This is to teach barbell timing and the hip extension—the most important part of the olympic lifts. I usually like to do 2 rocks with the 3rd making contact into the mid thigh. Once it makes contact violently push the legs through the floor and shrug upward. . . Drill #2: Rock and Catch: This teaches you how to transition from hip extension to the catch position. Using and continuing the same drill method as above...once you reached extension quickly drive yourself under the barbell in the front rack position. Do this over and over to hone in the pattern. Once you feel comfortable, add more weight. A reminder the olympic lifts takes years to be proficient in. Patience is a virtue and the more you take time drilling foundations the faster you can progress. . .

Before beginning the olympic lifts my client has to have certain prerequisites in place before earning the right to do them. I require those to have a good understanding of back squat, deadlift, front squat and strict press. You should also have decent shoulder, thoracic and ankle mobility .
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Once those prereqs are met I like to teach the olympic lifts from the top down starting off with your knees bent a few inches. The shoulders stacked right on top of the hips. In this demo Im using the clean but feel free to do these in your snatches as the same applies. .
.
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Drill #1: Rock and Shrug: Rock the bar into you using your lats. This is to teach barbell timing and the hip extension—the most important part of the olympic lifts. I usually like to do 2 rocks with the 3rd making contact into the mid thigh. Once it makes contact violently push the legs through the floor and shrug upward.
.
.
Drill #2: Rock and Catch: This teaches you how to transition from hip extension to the catch position. Using and continuing the same drill method as above…once you reached extension quickly drive yourself under the barbell in the front rack position. Do this over and over to hone in the pattern. Once you feel comfortable, add more weight.

A reminder the olympic lifts takes years to be proficient in. Patience is a virtue and the more you take time drilling foundations the faster you can progress. .
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#strengthcoach #oaklandstrength #olympiclifting

Here’s the video: