BrotherIron
09-01-2009, 10:44 PM
Just as important as a strong back arch is for oly lifting, flexibility in the shoulders is also. Actually, these 2, strong back arch and flexible shoulders go hand in hand.
The requirement for the exercise is a wooden rod at least 5 feet long and 1 1/8 diameter. A broom handle is too thin. You can pick up a piece of wood like this from any hardware store. Make a 2" groove (or use tape) 17" from the center of the wooden staff.
SHOULDER LOOSENING EXERCISE NUMBER 1:
Before you develop strength to support heavy weights overhead, we must first develop flexibility in the shoulder girdle, to prevent strain and damage to the area.
Grasp the stick tightly near the ends. Start with your arms locked and in front of your body, resting across your thighs. This exercise is performed while standing tall.
After breathing in deeply and while maintaining a tight grip on the rod with your arms locked, slowly raise it to the front until it is over your head and than, while continuing to retain the locked arms (and with a tight grip), lower it slower behind you until the rod rest across your buttocks. In other words, viewing from the side, you have made a complete circle with your arms, the shoulders are the center and locked arms are the radius of the circle. Now return the rod back tot he front while still maintaining locked arms, tight grip, and starting the circle back from the buttocks to the front of your thighs.
This exercise should be performed SLOWLY and SMOOTHLY. No jerkiness in performing this movement and no relaxing of the grip until the rod returns to the front of the thighs. You may feel a stretch of the chest muscles. This is normal b/c of the newness of the exercise; the muscles and joints are simply not accustomed to it.
You have to give your tendons and ligaments time to get accustomed to this movement, SO DON'T RUSH IT.
At all times, when performing this exercise, maintain a high chest/arched back. Slouching and buckling can make the movement easier but you are defeating the purpose of this exercise if you do that.
The purpose of this exercise is to develop flexibility in the shoulders by stretching the tendons and ligaments that bind the shoulder and chest muscles so heavy weights can be supported over-head in the squat snatch position without any strain.
An analogy to this teaching is the teaching of judo for self defense. When you first enroll in a judo class, you do not learn how to throw people, but rather you learn how to fall properly. You practice and practice so you can be thrown form different angles and still break the fall.
In Olympic style lifting there is similarity here. You must first learn the correct way to drop a bar before you ever attempt to lift heavy weights. With the ability to safely lose a barbell from overhead in the Squat Snatch position, you will have no fear of attempting a new personal record in the Snatch.
I'll write another exercise which will help you in your endeavors in Oly lifting a lil later.
The requirement for the exercise is a wooden rod at least 5 feet long and 1 1/8 diameter. A broom handle is too thin. You can pick up a piece of wood like this from any hardware store. Make a 2" groove (or use tape) 17" from the center of the wooden staff.
SHOULDER LOOSENING EXERCISE NUMBER 1:
Before you develop strength to support heavy weights overhead, we must first develop flexibility in the shoulder girdle, to prevent strain and damage to the area.
Grasp the stick tightly near the ends. Start with your arms locked and in front of your body, resting across your thighs. This exercise is performed while standing tall.
After breathing in deeply and while maintaining a tight grip on the rod with your arms locked, slowly raise it to the front until it is over your head and than, while continuing to retain the locked arms (and with a tight grip), lower it slower behind you until the rod rest across your buttocks. In other words, viewing from the side, you have made a complete circle with your arms, the shoulders are the center and locked arms are the radius of the circle. Now return the rod back tot he front while still maintaining locked arms, tight grip, and starting the circle back from the buttocks to the front of your thighs.
This exercise should be performed SLOWLY and SMOOTHLY. No jerkiness in performing this movement and no relaxing of the grip until the rod returns to the front of the thighs. You may feel a stretch of the chest muscles. This is normal b/c of the newness of the exercise; the muscles and joints are simply not accustomed to it.
You have to give your tendons and ligaments time to get accustomed to this movement, SO DON'T RUSH IT.
At all times, when performing this exercise, maintain a high chest/arched back. Slouching and buckling can make the movement easier but you are defeating the purpose of this exercise if you do that.
The purpose of this exercise is to develop flexibility in the shoulders by stretching the tendons and ligaments that bind the shoulder and chest muscles so heavy weights can be supported over-head in the squat snatch position without any strain.
An analogy to this teaching is the teaching of judo for self defense. When you first enroll in a judo class, you do not learn how to throw people, but rather you learn how to fall properly. You practice and practice so you can be thrown form different angles and still break the fall.
In Olympic style lifting there is similarity here. You must first learn the correct way to drop a bar before you ever attempt to lift heavy weights. With the ability to safely lose a barbell from overhead in the Squat Snatch position, you will have no fear of attempting a new personal record in the Snatch.
I'll write another exercise which will help you in your endeavors in Oly lifting a lil later.