25 Olympic weightlifting goals for the snatch and the clean and jerk

Olympic weightlifting goals for beginners

Beginner goals are about positions and repetition, with almost no weight on the bar.

• Learn both lifts with a stick, then with an empty bar.
• Hold an overhead squat with an empty bar for 30 seconds.
• Train technique 2 times a week for 8 weeks.
• Catch 5 light snatches in a row in a full squat.
• Work with a coach for 10 sessions.

Snatch goals

Snatch goals mix a weight with a make rate, because a snatch you only hit one time in five is not yours yet.

• Snatch half your body weight.
• Snatch your own body weight.
• Make 5 snatches in a row at 70 percent of your best.
• Make 9 lifts out of 10 at 80 percent.
• Add 5 kg to your best snatch in 12 weeks.

Clean and jerk goals

Clean and jerk goals can target the clean, the jerk or the squat under both. If you prefer slow, heavy lifts to fast ones, powerlifting goals may suit you better.

• Clean and jerk your own body weight.
• Clean and jerk 1.25 times your body weight.
• Front squat your best clean for 3 reps.
• Jerk from the rack 5 kg more than your best clean.
• Add 5 kg to your best clean and jerk in 12 weeks.

Mobility and position goals

Position goals decide what the bar can do later, and most of them can be done at home.

• Sit in a deep squat for 5 minutes a day for 30 days.
• Overhead squat your best snatch for 3 reps.
• Hold the bar on your shoulders with a full grip and high elbows.
• Do 10 minutes of mobility before every session for 8 weeks.
• Film one lift each session and check the path of the bar.

Meet and consistency goals

A meet gives training a date. Many people first try these lifts in a CrossFit class, and CrossFit goals mix them with gymnastics and conditioning.

• Do a practice meet: 3 attempts at each lift, on the clock.
• Enter a first local meet.
• Make 4 lifts out of 6 at a meet.
• Reach a total of twice your body weight across both lifts.
• Train 100 sessions in a year.

What is a good Olympic weightlifting goal?

A good Olympic weightlifting goal is about how the lift is done before it is about how much is lifted. A review of 27 studies of goal setting in sport found that process goals, the ones about how you carry out a skill, had the largest effect on performance. Goals about results came well behind.

That fits this sport better than most. "Make 9 lifts out of 10 at 80 percent" is a process goal you can count. "Snatch my body weight" is the result it leads to. Keep both, and work on the first.

Make the number specific and split it up. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals beat vague ones, and 5 kg on a snatch is easier as five steps of 1 kg. That is the idea behind breaking a goal into smaller ones.

How to track Olympic weightlifting goals

Log every lift, the misses too. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that writing it down beat keeping it in your head. In this sport the misses are the useful part of the record.

Sessions are a day count. A hundred sessions in a year is a 100 day challenge spread over twelve months. Kilos lifted are an amount that adds up.

Best lifts move rarely, sometimes once in a season. A picture that fills up one session at a time shows the work in the long gaps between them.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good first goal in Olympic weightlifting?

To learn both lifts with an empty bar and train them twice a week for 8 weeks. Weight comes after the positions are steady. A coach for the first 10 sessions is the simplest way to learn them.

Should I set goals in kilos or in technique?

Both, with technique first. A make rate, like 9 lifts out of 10 at 80 percent, is a technique goal you can count. In a review of 27 studies, goals about how a skill is done had the largest effect on performance.

What is a total in weightlifting?

Your best snatch added to your best clean and jerk. A goal like a total of twice your body weight covers both lifts with one number.