Bumper Weight Approach

So I’m brand new to Olympic Lifting… I’ve done a version of the power clean/snach/jerk in a couple of programs throughout the year, but nothing as significant as to say I’m familiar with them.

Right now I’m stationed on a military base in the middle of the Pacific, so I don’t have the luxury of a trained Olympic Lifting coach, so I’m basically operating under the “Monkey See, Monkey Do” guidance (with some reading of course).

When I’m performing these lifts, I notice ALMOST all of the people performing them hucking the bumper weights down to the ground. It sounds intuitive to drop the heavier weights, but should the “lighter” weights be lowered under control? It just seems like a “look at me!” behavior…

I ask because I’m a big advocate of gym etiquette, but I don’t want to injure myself because I’m overlooking an important reason that the herd seems to be doing it.

I apologize for the elementary question…

I guess I’m basically asking is dropping Olympic Lifts regardless of weights a gym d-bag move or is generally kosher?

It’s a douchebag move if you do that in a gym that doesn’t have an area made for that and/or bumper plates. If you do have either or both, there’s absolutely no reason not to drop the bar since the lift itself has no negative portion and you are not building muscle.

Drop the bar if you can/are allowed, don’t if you are not.

Word… Thanks brother. They have bumper plates, and platforms. It makes the whole building tremble, but that must be the name of the game :stuck_out_tongue: Thanks again!