The Seven Lifts To Get STRONG For Olympic Weightlifting
Everyone thinks technique is the most important way to increase your Snatch and Clean & Jerk.
I disagree.
While technique is absolutely important in weightlifting, especially as a beginner learning the lifts, it’s not the only thing you should be focused on. I’ve found that you should be JUST as focused on building strength as you are on technique.
In this article I’ll break down the seven lifts you NEED to do if you want to get stronger for olympic weightlifting!
PS If your olympic lifts are limited by strength, check out this strength-focused olympic weightlifting program I just released!
Squat Exercises For Olympic Weightlifting
The squat is the foundation of the Snatch and Clean and Jerk, and if you were to choose only one area to focus on, this would be it.
There’s three main types of squats we’ll cover in this article - the Back Squat, Front Squat, and Overhead Squat. And while there are other types of squats out there, these three will have the most carryover to improving your olympic lifts.
Lift #1: Back Squat
The Back Squat is the foundation of ALL your other lifts.
Because it’s the heaviest lift you’ll likely be able to do, it acts as the ceiling for your other lifts. You’ll never Front Squat, Clean, or Jerk MORE than you Back Squat which means if you want to be strong, you should always prioritize this lift.
Now there’s two common types of back squats - the low bar squat and the high bar squat. But which one should you do?
Low-Bar Back Squat
The low bar back squat is more common in powerlifting than weightlifting as it is essentially optimized to back squat the most possible weight to a competition, but NOT to build strength specific to the olympic lifts.
The bar is placed across the rear delts rather than the shoulders, and lifters will usually lean forward at the hips more to help use the hamstrings and glutes more. BY making these changes, it allows lifters to sink their hips JUST below parallel, but rarely any lower than that.
However, in the Snatch and Clean, you’ll need to be able to catch lifts at the lowest possible depth, which means we need to train and be strong at this depth. This is why weightlifters focus more on the High-Bar Back Squat.
High Bar-Back Squat
While powerlifters typically prefer the Low-Bar Back Squat, weightlifters prefer the High-Bar Back Squat as it allows you to squat to a lower depth with the same upright posture that you need to be successful in the Snatch and Clean.
I’ll cover back squat technique briefly, but for a full tutorial click here!
To perform, place the bar across the shoulders, somewhere between the upper and mid-traps. I’ve found most people have a little notch where the bar sits perfectly just below the neck bone and across the shoulders, but one way you can find this is to set up under the bar, slide forward so the bar is too low, then slide up slowly until you find this spot.
Stance can be very different from person to person, so play around with this until it feels right but a good starting point is to place your feet somewhere between hip width and shoulder width with the toes turned out slightly.
Take a big breath into your belly, brace your core by flexing your abs and pushing out as if you had a belt around your stomach that you were trying to fill. Then descend into the lowest possible squat while keeping your feet flat and balanced, knees pointing in line with your toes, and core braced. The ideal bottom position should be hamstrings touching calves and that no matter what, you couldn’t go any lower if you tried.
The Back Squat should largely be trained in the 1-5 rep range for building strength, and the 5-10 rep range for building muscle. One of my favorite methods is the Top-Set Drop-Set Method, which you can read more about here!
Lift #2: Front Squat
The second lift you NEED to do, especially if you want to get a stronger Clean & Jerk is the Front Squat.
While the Back Squat is the ceiling for your Front Squat, the Front Squat is the ceiling for your Clean and Jerk. You’ll never be able to Clean and Jerk more than you Front Squat. You might get close, this is common for lifters with great technique, but you’ll never pass it which is why it’s such an important lift.
Place the bar across your shoulders, in front of your neck. You’ll need to push your shoulders forward and slightly up to create a proper shelf for the bar to rest on. This helps make sure that you are not supporting the bar with your arms and takes stress off of your wrists. With a loose grip on the bar, rotate your elbows forward so that your triceps are parallel with the floor, or as close to that as possible.
Everything else about the squat will remain largely the same as your back squat. Set up with the same squat stance, take a big breath in and brace your core, and descend into the lowest possible squat while maintaining flat feet and balance, core braced, and knees pointing in the same direction as your toes. Once you hit your depth, aim to stand up as fast as possible without letting your elbows drop, your torso lean forward, or your core collapse.
Front Rack Mobility is often the biggest challenge for new lifters, so if you struggle with this, then check out my free Mobility101: Guide for Weightlifters where you can find my favorite exercises to improve front rack mobility, as well as squat depth and overhead mobility!
Lift #3: Overhead Squat
The third lift you need to do, especially to improve your Snatch is the Overhead Squat.
Almost every beginner lifter struggles with the Snatch because the Overhead Squat is so challenging, especially if you don’t have much gym experience. But if you stick with the Overhead Squat and practice it often, you’ll be able to build comfort and confidence in the bottom of the Snatch. This confidence is what helps you commit to getting under the bar and can be the fastest way to take your snatch to the next level.
To perform the overhead squat, start with a wide grip, usually placing your pointer finger on the outside ring is a good starting point. Hold the bar overhead with the elbows completely locked out and the bar behind your head in line with your spine.
Place your feet in the same squat stance that you use for the back squat, take a big breath in and brace your core, then descend into the lowest possible squat while keeping your feet flat and balanced, your core braced, and without letting your elbows bend or the bar drift forward or backward. Once you reach the bottom of the squat, pause for one or two seconds before standing back up, making sure to push up into the bar with your entire back. This helps prevent the bar from moving all over the place during the lift and should be a main focus.
After a few reps, let's reassess your grip placement. If you found that no matter what, the bar always drifted back or forward uncontrollably, then you might need to go with a slightly narrower grip to make the lift feel more stable. If you found the bar only fell forward as you got closer to the bottom of the squat, then you might need to take your hands wider to compensate for your lack of mobility.
Now, when making these changes, make small changes. A finger's width can make a big difference, so don’t do anything drastic. It’s also important to note that your overhead squat/snatch grip will likely change over your time in weightlifting, so don’t feel like what you choose now is what you’re stuck with, just find the best grip for you right now and stick with it for a while, then reassess every few months.
While the Back Squat and Front Squat respond well to doing higher rep sets in the 5-10 rep range, the Overhead Squat does not build nearly as much muscle as the other two because of the significant difference in weight you can use. For that reason, I recommend sticking with the 1-5 range for the Overhead Squat and aiming to increase weight or sets.
For a more in-depth tutorial on the overhead squat, check out our Snatch Tutorial here where we cover the Overhead Squat as the second progression to mastering the Snatch.
Pulling Exercises For Olympic Weightlifting
While the squat is the most important area to focus on, both the Snatch and Clean start with a pull from the floor so it pays to have a strong pull.
There are two main types of pulls, the Snatch Pull and Clean Pull that we’ll focus on, but each has many variations to choose from.
Pulls should almost always be a mainstay in your training program, each at least once a week. As a beginner you may not feel like your pull strength is a limiter in your olympic lifts, but it will be later on. In the meantime you can use pulls to improve your technique, and you may get some strength increase as a byproduct.
Lift #4: Clean Pull
The Clean Pull is the heaviest pulling exercise you’ll see on most weightlifting programs.
The goal is to build strength and improve your technique in the pull for the clean, which means you’ll need to mimic the same start position and technique that you use in the clean.
Start in your normal clean start position, with your feet slightly narrower than your squat stance, hips roughly level or higher than your knees, feet flat and balanced midfoot, back arched, and shoulders in front of the bar with the back of your armpit directly in line with the bar.
Then, take a big breath in and brace your core. Push into the ground to pull the bar off the floor, making sure to get your shins and knees back out of the way of the bar without losing your midfoot balance or letting your shoulders move behind the bar.
Once the bar passes your knees, use your lats to sweep the bar back closer to your thighs, as you begin to move your knees slightly forward under the bar and launch the bar up exactly as you do in a clean. The only difference should be that you pull the bar up higher in the clean pull rather than getting under the bar in the clean.
Click here to see a demonstration!
Now, Clean Pulls are best used in the 1-5 rep range between 85-115% of your max clean, performed after your cleans about once a week but you can learn more about them in this article here!
Lift #5: Snatch Pull
In the same way the Clean Pull builds strength for the Clean, the Snatch Pull does the same for the Snatch.
Set up exactly as you would for the snatch - feet slightly narrower than your squat stance, midfoot balance, hips slightly higher than your knees, back arched, snatch grip, and back of the armpit in line with the bar. Break the bar off the ground by pushing with your legs into the floor, move the knees back out of the way of the bar while making sure your hips, shoulders, and bar move up at the same time. After you pass your knees, begin sweeping the bar back with your lats as you move your knees slightly forward under the bar before you finish the lift by launching the bar as high as possible with your legs.
Instead of getting under the bar and catching in a full squat, simply continue guiding the bar up with your arms after you launch the bar with your legs.
For more info on the snatch pull, technique, and programming, check out this video here!
Pressing Exercises For Olympic Weightlifting
While most of the exercises we’ve covered today focus on leg and back strength, you ABSOLUTELY need to have a strong upper body for olympic lifting.
We’ll focus on two main exercises, the Strict Press and Push Press, as they have the most carry over to the olympic lifts. However, it can be useful to include exercises like the Bench Press as well as other dumbbell exercises as accessory work.
To learn more about how I choose accessory exercises, check out my free Accessories101: Guide for Weightlifters here!
Lift #6: Strict Press
The Strict Press is hands down the best exercise to build strength and muscle overhead, especially for the jerk.
To perform, start with the bar on your front rack position, your normal jerk grip, and with your elbows pointed down but still in front of the bar. Take a big breath and brace, then press the bar overhead, making sure to finish the lift with your elbows locked and the bar behind your head, in line with your spine.
While increasing your 1RM Strict Press won’t necessarily increase your 1RM Jerk; there are plenty of world class lifters with average strict press abilities; it does help to have more muscle around the shoulders. For this reason, I recommend doing presses in the 1-10 rep range, with most of your time being in the 5-10 rep range, but it’s still good to feel a heavy lift in the 1-5 rep range every so often.
Try working up to a heavy set of 1-5 reps, then knock the weight down by 10-20% for 3-5 sets of 5-10 reps for an effective strict press workout!
Lift #7: Push Press
The seventh and final lift weightlifters need to do, especially if you want a strong Jerk is the Push Press.
With the bar on your front rack position and hands in your jerk grip, take a big breath in and brace your core. Then, perform the same dip and drive you use for the jerk to launch the bar up, making sure to keep your feet flat, knees pointing in the same direction as your toes, and torso completely vertical.
Once you have launched the bar up with your legs, continue pressing the bar overhead with your arms until it reach the final overhead position - elbows locked with the bar behind the head and in line with your spine.
The goal of this exercise is to build overhead strength and power, and as you’re able to use the same dip and drive as you do in the jerk, you can use much heavier weights than you can Strict Press. This means the Push Press is best used in the 1-5 rep range as it won’t build much muscle, even in the 5-10 rep range. One way you can get the best of both worlds is to work up to a heavy top set of 1-5 reps in the push press, then drop the weight down for 3-5 sets of 5-10 reps of Strict Press. This allows you to build strength and power with the Push Press, as well as muscle and strength with the Strict Press.
Hopeful you’ve found this article helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to submit them here and we’ll answer them on the Last Set Best Set Podcast which you can find on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!
If your weightlifting is limited by your strength, then make sure to check out my brand new 16-Week Strength-Focused Weightlifting Program here!
And if you’re new to weightlifting and want to learn the Snatch, Clean, and Jerk safely and correctly, then you can grab my FREE Weightlifting101: Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program here!