4 Reasons Why Your Lifts Feel WORSE With Better Technique
Has your coach ever suggested trying a new technique, only for it to feel terrible?
You’re not alone, and neither of you is wrong (most likely).
Making new technique changes CAN make your lifts feel better immediately, but others might leave you feeling like a newborn giraffe with three legs.
This might be the case for a few reasons, so read on before you do anything drastic.
P.S. If you’re ready to learn the snatch and clean & jerk, then check out my free Weightlifting101: Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program here!
You’re Passing The Beginner Stage
As a beginner, you don’t know how to do anything correctly.
Any technique correction you make will lead to HUGE improvements in your efficiency, and make your lifts feel better as a result.
Bracing your core, bringing the bar closer to your shins, and widening your stance, as a beginner all lead to the lift feeling much better, immediately.
You make a lot of progress, FAST.
But as you move past the beginner phase, the changes you make are going to be more subtle. Because the changes are subtle, the results are subtle. They may not even be noticeable to you. But if you have a good coach, these changes will lead to more efficient technique, allow you to handle heavier lifts, or set you up for success later in your lifting career.
Even if they feel like trash right now.
My best advice is to take the time to learn more about the why from your coach. Asking them about the changes they make can help you speed up the learning process, understand the importance of the changes, and keep your head up when you’re in the weeds for a while with a change that doesn’t feel right…yet.
By the way, if you’re a beginner without access to a coach, then you’ll want to check out this free Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program!
Unlearning Is Hard
Often, if you make a technique change you’ll find that you simply cannot perform the lift with the same weights.
This feels like it’s not working and makes you want to revert to what you can lift more weight with. The problem is that some technique changes require a “one step back, two steps forward approach”. This is often the case with lifters who learned to lift on their own, or with a bad coach.
You’ve spent time learning how to lift, and probably done hundreds of reps, with one technique. Now that you’re trying to change it, it feels like a whole different lift!
That’s because it… kind of is.
When you’ve learned how to do something one way (especially if you’ve done it for years), a new technique is ACTUALLY like learning a new lift.
It would be like learning how to conventional deadlift, then someone getting you to try a sumo deadlift.
Whole. Different. Lift.
I’m the perfect example of this. I learned how to do the olympic lifts by myself for the most part, and because of this, I ingrained a terrible habit of hitting the bar away with my hips. I did this for years until a friend of mine pointed it out and suggested I try using the tempo clean and tempo snatch to work on it. For the next year, I did almost exclusively tempo work for the snatch and clean. At first, I could get the right technique about 1 in 5 lifts. After a couple of months, I brought it down to 1 in 3, and now I can do it almost effortlessly. For a long time, I had to stick with weights MUCH lighter than I was used to, but after this period, I was able to put 25lbs on my clean in under three months! I had spent years stalled, trying to just make a 2lb PR MAYBE once a year. Unlearning is tough, but I’m so happy I stuck with it.
My advice to you is to consult with your coach to make sure the time and effort you put into this change will actually be worth it. Is this change going to lead to huge improvements, or is it something that might lead to a better lift… sometimes?
Foundational changes like creating vertical leg drive, keeping the bar close, or improving mobility are almost always with the squeeze. Other changes like working on early arm bend in the clean for a long-limbed lifter with 8 years of experience might not be worth the time.
You’re Not Strong Enough…
Sometimes you’ll make a technique change that SHOULD make the lift feel much better, but actually makes it impossible.
This usually happens when the technique change finds a glaring hole in your abilities.
You might not actually be strong enough, stable enough, or mobile enough to execute this technique change that by all means is a good improvement to make.
One example that comes to mind is a lifter that I coached for a while who started weightlifting very young, at 12 years old, and had performed the clean and jerk with his elbows very low in the jerk, and supporting the bar with his arms instead of letting it rest on his shoulders. In my head, this was a no-brainer to fix.
“If we get the bar to rest on your shoulders, it will feel much easier and you’ll get way more leg drive”. I stated, with confidence.
At this point, he was 19 with a 315lb Clean and jerk.
I asked him to try it out, and even with 135lbs he couldn’t do it to save his life. I realized then that he didn’t have the mobility in his shoulders to create a shelf for the bar to rest, which prevented him from making the technique change I suggested. (if this is you, here’s a free mobility guide for weightlifters)
He hated the new technique, but he listened and stuck with it. He did the mobility exercises he needed to and limited his training to only performing the lift with weights he could use this new technique with. After about 6 weeks, it finally clicked. He went from a 315lbs Clean and Jerk to a 352lb Clean and Jerk in the next four weeks, set a state record, and put him on the road to make Team USA three times the following year.
You might be in a similar boat with your lifts.
You (or your coach) know the improvements that need to be made. The hardest part often isn’t even the work that needs to be done, but rather the trust that it will pay off, and the restraint that you must have to see it happen.
You’re Overthinking
Not to victim blame, but sometimes the simplest reason that a new technique change doesn’t feel better is because you’re thinking about it too much.
The olympic lifts require a massive amount of speed, strength, and aggression to pull off heavy lifts. The only way this can truly be achieved is in a flow state.
The best lifters in the world don’t think (or don’t think much) when attempting a heavy lift.
They let the habits they’ve developed into instinct take over and put all of their mind into one simple thing; effort.
Do you think Lasha Talakhadze thinks about getting his knees out of the way of the bar when he’s snatching nearly 500lbs?
No! He’s done thousands of reps of a snatch. He knows how to do it. His body knows how to do it. He could probably snatch 400lbs with his eyes closed. All he’s focused on is bringing the intensity he knows he needs to make the lift happen.
If you’re struggling with a new technique change, it’s probably because you’re thinking too much while you’re doing the lift. Instead, work with your coach to find the one or two-word cue that helps you achieve the intended technique. Focus on that one cue before you approach the bar and while you are setting up for the lift. The moment you begin to start the lift, make the world go quiet and just be in the lift.
It will take some practice, and it’s easier said than done, so feel free to try different strategies like OTM Training to help minimize your overthinking.
*Coaches, make sure that YOU aren’t the cause of your athlete’s overthinking. If you are giving them tons of cues and trying to correct too many errors at the same time, or in the same session, you ae likely doing more harm than good. Make sure to triage and identify the one thing that will fix all the other issues, or allow you to focus on them better in the future.
Hopefully, this led to some lightbulb moments in your technique! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or ask in my free discord here and you can even drop your video in the #form-checks channel for a form check!
By the way, I’ve got a free beginner weightlifting guide and a 6-week program! If you’re new to the olympic lifts, then check it out here!
And if you’re looking for a weightlifting program designed to help you set PRs, improve your technique, and get strong af, then check out a FREE WEEK TRIAL of my 3 & 5-Day OlyStrong Team at the link below!