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Small mistakes at the bottom give rise to big mistakes over the head - my favorite quote about the starting position.

Choosing the correct starting position is important, as it greatly promotes the successful development of every movement that follows as well as the rational use of the physical capabilities of an athlete.

According to the opinions of numerous coaches, "starting position affects the barbell path, the amount of effort developed by an athlete, the degree of work muscles do, the amplitude of the barbell movement, the speed and perfection of the SNATCH technical performance."

The main goal at the start is taking the position which would ensure the athlete's most effective use of his physical abilities in the process of lifting the barbell.

In Olympic weightlifting, the correct position taken by athletes when the barbell is separated from the platform (BSP) is particularly important. In this moment, the “athlete-barbell” system becomes unified with respect to the support.

Currently, the starting position is usually estimated by the angles of the ankle, knee and hip joints, the position of the shoulder joints relative to the center of the barbell and the relative position of the bar of the barbell and metatarsophalangeal joints.

Let's review two parameters of the start technique - position of the shoulder joints, and the mutual position of the bar of the barbell and the foot.

Concerning the position of the shoulder joints in the 1970s, there was a widespread opinion that the center of the shoulder joints in the BSP should be exactly on the vertical line passing through the center of the bar of the barbell.

Contemporary practice shows that the majority of weightlifters achieve high results in SNATCH and CLEAN & JERK when having shoulder joints in front of the vertical. The amount of withdrawal of the shoulder joints forward for the vertical in SNATCH is on average 8-12 cm, in the CLEAN & JERK - 4-10 cm. There are no variations depending on the weight categories.

It is known that, depending on the type of a weightlifter’s physique, there may be different options in the starting position.

Regarding the feet, most coaches believe that the center of the metatarsophalangeal joints should be located on the same vertical line with the center of the bar of the barbell. Soviet studies suggest that, in accordance with the type of an athlete's body, the projection of the center of the barbell's bar should be between the metatarsophalangeal joints and the middle of the foot.

A number of studies indicate that with the approach of the bar of the barbell to the shin, the pressure force on the support increases and the center of the metatarsophalangeal joints is the extreme point of a rigid support, and it is impractical to position the bar of the barbell beyond this point.

Some athletes still put their feet further from the bar. But how it affects the results in the competitive exercises and what is the reason for this feet setting - there are no specific answers to these questions.

It can be assumed that some weightlifters deliberately put their feet further away from the bar for reasons that have not been sufficiently studied yet, but most do it unconsciously.

In conclusion, I want to remind everyone that the individualization of technique certainly takes place in this sport of higher achievements. History knows a lot of outstanding athletes who set world records almost in spite of the laws of physics. But it is these exceptions that confirm the rule that the initial (up to 2 years) and the basic (up to 4 years) phase of an athlete’s training process should be based on general rules of biomechanics for the formation of the optimal skill of biomechanics for the formation of the optimal skill of SNATCH and CLEAN & JERK.

TRAIN TOGETHER - TRAIN RIGHT

1. "OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING IN THE HUMAN WORLD"

2. MY SHOULDERS’ STORY

3. BELTS, KNEE SLEEVES, WRIST WRAPS, BANDAGES