List of Olympic Lifts

Olympic lifts are weightlifting exercises that are done as part of the sport of weight lifting, where participants try to complete each of the exercises with the most weight they can control. The exercises are explosive in nature and are effective at developing power, subsequently resulting in them being used by athletes who are looking to sprint faster or jump higher. There are three different Olympic lifts.

  1. Olympic Lifts

    • Olympic lifts include the clean, jerk and snatch. The clean and jerk are often completed together. All three exercises are completed primarily by the glutes, quadriceps and calves, but also requires contribution from the deltoids, shoulder stabilizing muscles, biceps and triceps. They are typically done using barbells with special rubber-coated plates, but can also be done with dumbbells or kettlebells.

    Clean

    • The clean is a pulling power exercise. To complete a clean, stand in front of a barbell with your feet shoulder width apart and positioned underneath the bar, and your toes pointed directly forward. Squat down and grip the bar so that your hands are positioned slightly wider than your shoulders. Arch your back and keep your head up. Extend your knees and hips and pull the bar up off the floor. As the bar reaches the level of your knees, shrug your shoulders and bend your elbows to keep the bar close to your thighs and torso as you jump up off the floor and propel the bar upwards. Pull your body under the bar by rotating your elbows around and catch the bar on your shoulders as you drop into a quarter squat.

    Jerk

    • The jerk is typically completed after you complete a clean, as the starting position of a jerk is exactly that as the ending position of a clean. A jerk can be identified as either a push jerk or a split jerk. A push jerk features landing with feet shoulder width apart and parallel. A split jerk features landing in a split stance with one foot in front of the other. To complete the jerk, slightly dip your body by bending your knees and ankles and then explosively drive upwards, propelling the bar up off your shoulders and towards the ceiling. Drop your body down. If completing a push jerk, catch the bar with your arms fully extended upwards and with your feet shoulder width apart. If completing a split jerk, land in a split stance, with the rear knee slightly bent.

    Snatch

    • The snatch is a pulling power exercise. Begin in a similar stance as the clean exercise, but place your hands on the bar as wide as you can. Pull the bar off the floor by extending your hips and knees. As the bar reaches the level of your knees, shrug your shoulders and keep the bar close to your thighs and torso as you jump off of the floor and propel the bar upwards. Pull your body under the bar and catch the bar with your arms straight as you drop into a quarter squat.