I often refer to coach Harvey Newton’s newsletter in this blog. He always writes with incredible precision and everything he says is worth noting and adding to my bank of knowledge. His past newsletter was more of the same.
More Thoughts From Youth Nationals
I mentioned a few bulletins back about some of the starting positions exhibited by youth lifters at their recent national championships. My concern relates to 1) effective technique now and 2) the effects of future growth and the resulting consequences of improper set-up now.
Here are two examples to illustrate my concern.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 1 shows a number of basic technique violations that restrict how successful a lifter will be. Note that although the discs appear approximately even and the lifter’s shoulders seem properly oriented, his heels (orange line) show that the feet are not properly aligned. The blue “line of gravity” reflects the direction that gravity influences the barbell. Traditional technique advice places the lifter’s shoulders in front of, or at least over, the bar. This young lifter has his shoulders (red line) behind the bar as the plates separate from the platform.
The green lines reflect a more preferred set-up and lift-off position. I would guess that the lifter has his ankles pretty well dorsiflexed and the knees cannot be moved farther forward. If this is the case, then we can conclude the bar is actually quite far forward, perhaps over, or in front of, the toes instead of over the widest part of the foot (MTP, or metatarsal-phalangeal joint).
I’d suggest a more forward location of the shoulders, with minimal change to the hip position. All of this could be accomplished by having the bar a bit closer and the shoulders deliberately located forward. This young lifter appears to have long legs relative to his torso. This is a challenging combination for proper set-up and a lot of individual coaching may be necessary. But remember, one of the world’s best lifters ever, Yuri Vardanyan, exhibited this same type of segment length, yet managed multiple world and Olympic titles.
Photo 2 shows a much more conventional set-up position. We can’t see the feet, but that’s partially because the feet and the bar are where they should be. This lifter has placed his shoulders (red line) forward of the bar. His knees are also forward of the bar.
In a traditional sense, this position allows for a stronger engagement of the hips and lower back. It seems more and more lifters are attempting to set up as in Photo #1, with shoulders back and hips low. I agree with some that say this protects, to a certain extent, the lifter’s back. But it wrecks havoc on the remainder of conventional pulling technique.
True, many good lifters appear to take a starting position similar to Photo #1, but at the moment of separation (MoS), when the bar leaves the platform, these lifters move into the more conventional posture in Photo #2.
As mentioned a few bulletins back, coaching very young lifters sometimes presents big challenges due simply to the current segment lengths and their continuing changes due to growth spurts.
The informed coach needs to have a flexible approach to working with young lifters and keep an eye on segment lengths over time and adjust technique accordingly.