Some recent papers published on the efficacy of Olympic-style weightlifting:
Baumann, Gross, Quade, Galbierz & Schwitz (1988), The Snatch Technique of World Class Weightlifters at the 1985 World Championships International Journal of Sports Biomechanics, 4, 68-89
This study used 3D film and measured ground reaction forces in the 1985 world championships in Sweden. The most interesting discovery was that knee joint movements are fairly small (1/3rd of the hip joint moments of force) and do not correlate well with the total load. Better lifters actively controlled their knee movements.
The report identifies the point at which the lifter drops under the bar to be the most important and technically most difficult . It is interesting to note that the trajectory of the bar comes in towards the lifter. Many coaches emphasise bringing the hips to the bar.
It was noted that the movement ends with a jump backwards under the barbell. Interestingly, this had been noted by Garhammer (1985) and Vorobyev (1978) who thought it a fault!
It was also noted that the pull brought the bar to approximately 60% of the lifters stature.
Garhammer, John (1989), Weightlifting and Training (chapter 5), Biomechanics of Sport , CRC Press Florida
This is quite a comprehensive review chapter and identifies these characteristics in better lifters:
- Faster movements
- Body extension during the pull
- Lower peak bar height relative to body size
Garhammer, John & Takano, Bob (2002), Training for weightlifting (chapter 25), Strength and Power in Sport 2nd edition
An extract from the book showing successful and unsuccesful pull heights and the trajectory of the bar during the snatch:
Garhammer, John (2008) Barbell Trajectory, velocity and power changes and four world records
This study took place at the 1999 junior world weightlifting championships (Savannah, Georgia). The aim was to support the concept of using sub-maximal training lifts to increase power output. The paper concludes that 75% -85% of 1 RM is best to produce maximal power output.
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