Hi folks,
I recently switch from powerlifting to olympic lifting and realized that I’m not as flexible as I’d like to 
Especially my low back arch and followed by that my “chest up”.
I’d like to do mobility workouts everyday (like stretching etc).
Is there a Stretching routine you would recommend doing? of course for overall flexibility but mainly targeting the named issues.
Help would be much appreciated!
Best
agile 8, supple leopard are popular - i recommend doing shoulder width grip overhead squats at the start and end of every session, sets of 5-10 reps with a very light weight just focused on form; the objective is perfect positioning so you can sacrifice depth a bit if necessary
[quote]Pericu wrote:
Hi folks,
I recently switch from powerlifting to olympic lifting and realized that I’m not as flexible as I’d like to
Especially my low back arch and followed by that my “chest up”.
I’d like to do mobility workouts everyday (like stretching etc).
Is there a Stretching routine you would recommend doing? of course for overall flexibility but mainly targeting the named issues.
Help would be much appreciated!
Best[/quote]
Welcome to Oly lifting. What prevents someone from getting a good low back arch is short hamstrings and/or difficulty with hip hinging. In OL, once you lot in your low back position, it doesn’t change. All the motion comes at the hips. Check out this video: http://vimeo.com/16333819 Do this at the edge of a bench with your feet over the edge, and work on keeping your same back angle and ‘sitting’ back with your hips. Try different knee widths and see what lets you sit back (deeper) without your lower back moving (without rounding over).
If you want to get better at ‘chest up’, you are going to have to work on stretching your pecs, lats, and thoracic extension. There are lots of ways to do this. Look around online. The less benching you do while trying to learn the oly lifts, the easier it will be to learn them. If you still want to bench, at least consider switching to dumbbell movements or dips to allow more ROM. Good Luck.
[quote]Charlietr wrote:
agile 8, supple leopard are popular - i recommend doing shoulder width grip overhead squats at the start and end of every session, sets of 5-10 reps with a very light weight just focused on form; the objective is perfect positioning so you can sacrifice depth a bit if necessary[/quote]
I bought the supple Leopard book 
[quote]Krollmonster wrote:
Welcome to Oly lifting. What prevents someone from getting a good low back arch is short hamstrings and/or difficulty with hip hinging. In OL, once you lot in your low back position, it doesn’t change. All the motion comes at the hips. Check out this video: http://vimeo.com/16333819 Do this at the edge of a bench with your feet over the edge, and work on keeping your same back angle and ‘sitting’ back with your hips. Try different knee widths and see what lets you sit back (deeper) without your lower back moving (without rounding over).
If you want to get better at ‘chest up’, you are going to have to work on stretching your pecs, lats, and thoracic extension. There are lots of ways to do this. Look around online. The less benching you do while trying to learn the oly lifts, the easier it will be to learn them. If you still want to bench, at least consider switching to dumbbell movements or dips to allow more ROM. Good Luck.[/quote]
Thanks man!
Olympic weightlifting is great so far. I just need to get the mobility, but I’m already working on it everyday with static/dynamic stretches and some foam rolling.
Furthermore I’m now trying to strengthen my hamstrings and I try to use front squats much more.
With the “Chest up” I tried to narrow my grip on the bar. I’m pretty flexible in my shoulders, so I had no problems with narrowing the grip close to my shoulder and due to this I feel pretty tight in my upper body and I have the feeling my chest is more “up” then before. Noneoftheless my elbows have to get used to it.
I think I’m on the right path and if I continue like that, I’ll hit ATG without lower back rounding at some point.
Thanks for the advice and help!
[quote]Pericu wrote:
[quote]Charlietr wrote:
agile 8, supple leopard are popular - i recommend doing shoulder width grip overhead squats at the start and end of every session, sets of 5-10 reps with a very light weight just focused on form; the objective is perfect positioning so you can sacrifice depth a bit if necessary[/quote]
I bought the supple Leopard book
[quote]Krollmonster wrote:
Welcome to Oly lifting. What prevents someone from getting a good low back arch is short hamstrings and/or difficulty with hip hinging. In OL, once you lot in your low back position, it doesn’t change. All the motion comes at the hips. Check out this video: http://vimeo.com/16333819 Do this at the edge of a bench with your feet over the edge, and work on keeping your same back angle and ‘sitting’ back with your hips. Try different knee widths and see what lets you sit back (deeper) without your lower back moving (without rounding over).
If you want to get better at ‘chest up’, you are going to have to work on stretching your pecs, lats, and thoracic extension. There are lots of ways to do this. Look around online. The less benching you do while trying to learn the oly lifts, the easier it will be to learn them. If you still want to bench, at least consider switching to dumbbell movements or dips to allow more ROM. Good Luck.[/quote]
Thanks man!
Olympic weightlifting is great so far. I just need to get the mobility, but I’m already working on it everyday with static/dynamic stretches and some foam rolling.
Furthermore I’m now trying to strengthen my hamstrings and I try to use front squats much more.
With the “Chest up” I tried to narrow my grip on the bar. I’m pretty flexible in my shoulders, so I had no problems with narrowing the grip close to my shoulder and due to this I feel pretty tight in my upper body and I have the feeling my chest is more “up” then before. Noneoftheless my elbows have to get used to it.
I think I’m on the right path and if I continue like that, I’ll hit ATG without lower back rounding at some point.
Thanks for the advice and help![/quote]
Btw, here is a good site to get you started: