FuBarbell

Coach Wu (@wuchuanfu) asks the question, “Which movement looks faster?” On Monday, we released part 1 and began to address the answer based on Chinese weightlifting philosophy. Today, Jon Wong (@iamjwjw) is here with part 2 of the response.

Here’s a breakdown on the video and question posted last week:

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1. In the Movement A, it looks faster, but if you observe, the period that the bar is being driven up by the the legs is short, with the arms and shoulders kicking in early. This cuts the amount of leg power being transferred to the bar. Whereas in Movement B, the leg drive is long, allowing maximum power transfer to the bar. The bar is unweighed from the leg drive and the arms/shoulders just follow through to the receiving position.

2. In Movement A, there is much more arm drive than necessary. This creates excessive tension in the arms/shoulders. You can see this from the receiving position, where it looks like the body is in a state of max tension. Having excessive tension when receiving the bar can cause unwanted force transfer to the joints and lower back. Because of the arms punching up early, this creates a brief disconnect between the body and the bar, with the load suddenly jarring back into body in the receiving position, creating similar issues related to max tension.

3. Movement B is performed in a controlled and relaxed state. The body is constantly connected to the load, allowing for a smooth transition into the receiving position. Being strong yet relaxed is ideal because this allows you to have awareness of the bar’s placement and allows for any minute adjustments.

4. In summary, Movement B is preferred because:.

i. We have constant awareness of the load and body positions, allowing us to identify where the bar is throughout the movement. This allows us to perform the movement consistently at different loads.

ii. Leg drive is maximised and tension in shoulders/arms and lower back is reduced. More leg drive=bigger loads being moved.

iii. With good control and awareness, we minimize the incidences for strains on the wrist, elbow, shoulder and the lower back.

iv. Higher power delivered to the bar=Higher movement speed.