In Olympic weightlifting, the margin for error is minuscule. That’s part of what makes the sport so compelling – and why it’s been contested at every summer Olympics since 1920.
If you’re unfamiliar with the sport, this is how it works. At the Games, athletes are split into weight classes and they get three attempts at each of the two moves: the snatch (driving the barbell from the ground to overhead in one fluid motion) and the clean and jerk (moving the bar from the ground to a racked position before explosively pushing it overhead).
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Your score is your combined total weight. Miss all three attempts and you’re out. It’s high-stakes lifting at its best, demanding flawless technique, mobility and range of motion.
But even if you don’t have ambitions to compete on the main stage, there are benefits to getting better at these big lifts: moving a heavy barbell from the ground to overhead will stress-test the limits of your athletic potential.
To help you up your own game, MH consulted four-time weightlifting champion Chris Murray along with Stu Martin, head of performance at British Weight Lifting, to provide you with this six-week training programme.
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‘Just remember,’ says Murray, ‘don’t get too hung up on the numbers. Consistency over perfection will help you lift bigger in the long run.’
How It Works
Each of these three sessions starts with two explosive lifts, designed to build confidence and drill technique. These are followed by a heavy strength exercise, then a superset to develop anti-rotational core stability. Aim to follow the plan for six weeks. ‘Any longer and it gets boring, any shorter and there’s no time to progress,’ says Martin.
Download Our 6-Week Muscle-Up Plan Here
From: Men’s Health UK
