Customer Reviews

Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My interest in Olympic Weightlifting began at the old age of 38 when I read Rippetoe's Starting Strength. I started doing power cleans using Rippetoe's `Triple Extension' methodology. Basically, I power cleaned by literally jumping, shrugging and catching the bar, per Rippetoe's instructions.

I purchased Everett's book as my interest in the sport grew. My hybrid training protocol eventually morphed into full-time weightlifting. I dropped all traditional bodybuilding isolation exercises, including the `RULER' of all exercises in every gym across America - the bench press. (I hope you sensed a little sarcasm in the last statement.)

Rippetoe is a great STRENGTH coach; but he is NOT an Olympic Weightlifting coach. I had to unlearn the bad habit of `triple extension' when I started training the Everett way. I learned that there is no jumping in weightlifting. I also learned that one does not need to actively shrug the bar to elevate it as high as possible. Everett is one heck of a writer, and he does an excellent job explaining in great detail how to gracefully accelerate huge amounts of weights overhead and successfully get under the bar with finesse.

The only thing better than this book is the DVD. (And the only thing better than this book and the DVD combined is a qualified Olympic Weightlifting coach.) My coach is a competitive weightlifter and his training principles and methodologies are more or less in line with Everett's book.

Olympic Weightlifting is poetry in motion. Although the Olympic lifts are natural movements, they are extremely technical. And because the lifts are explosive by nature, it is difficult to learn them in slow motion. This book is a great reference for aspiring weightlifters. It is also a great manual for coaches and trainers. If you have no access to a qualified coach, this book is a must.

PS. Think twice before you try to learn from self-proclaimed weightlifting coaches on youtube. If you want to remove all doubt and learn the lifts safely, correctly and quickly, just buy this book!

I picked this book up since I collect weight training
books. Most books about competitive weightlifting tend
to be repetitive of one another and this one is no
different. The approach and intent of the book is
reminiscent of Bill Starr's "Defying Gravity", the
teaching methodology seems directly derivative of Mike
Burgener's, the programming sections appear to be
modified from the writings of Lyn Jones, Artie
Dreschler, and the old Soviet training manuals. Some
of the technical analyses suffer from Mr. Everett's
lack of experience in weightlifting, in coaching
lifters, and seemingly in applied anatomy as
occasionally what is presented in the text doesn't
jive with basic physics and physiology. So the content
appears to be a re-hash of other authors' works and
represents an incomplete understanding of science
related to lifting.

The book does have its strengths. A novice coach or
lifter can learn to function in the gym and in a low
level competition from reading and applying the
materials in the book. It may actually be better at
accomplishing this end than the USA Weightlifting
coaching manuals. But lifting coaches know that that
is not a large achievement. And this observation
provides a fairly sad commentary on weightlifting
coaching resources in the USA - a new lifter and coach
with 3-4 years of experience has produced an average
quality compilation text that is better that the
teaching manual used by the national governing
organization for the actual sport.

If you are a lifting geek like me, the book is a nice
addition to the bookshelf. If you are absolutely new
to the sport, either as an athlete or coach, and if
there are no experienced coaches near you, this book
will be helpful. If you are looking for new
information or an authoritative work by an expert, its
not here.

I bought this book based on the great reviews and a general interest in adding basic olympic lifts to my training. I didn't have aspirations of being a competitive weightlifter, but wanted to perform some power cleans and power overhead movements with a modicum of looking like I know what I am doing.

There is a dearth of information on olympic lifting on the internet, much of it conflicting, so I felt a book was the only choice to get what I needed. And what I got was more than I expected. I am well read on strength and conditioning, but never before have I seen a lifting text both so technically thorough and easy to digest. The closest thing I can compare it to is Mark Rippetoe's excellent Starting Strength. In particular, I was blown away by the most thorough explanation of the mechanics of olympic style back and front squatting that I have ever seen. Many weightlifting coaches gloss over the squat choosing to expound upon the quick lifts, and most of the thorough writings on the squat concern the low bar and powerlifting oriented versions. But here Everett covers every facet of stance, body position, bar position, method of execution, and correction of form for the high bar squat imaginable before even mentioning a clean or snatch. And when he does get to the Olympic lifts, the real meat of the book, he presents them in a detailed format of progressing from simple bar drills to performing the full lifts themselves in such a manner that even an individual with just a video camera can acquire good technique.

Flexibility, nutrition, assistance exercises, and programming are covered later in the book. While they could be mere afterthoughts to the information presented on the lifts, Everett gave them enough attention to warrant a read from a lifter of any level. This book is a bargain and must have for anyone remotely interested in Olympic lifting, even if it's just doing some power cleans as a training adjunct.

One aspect that I particulary enjoy about Everett's book is the segment that covers technical mistakes and why they are made and how to correct them. I have literally had the book with me during my training to refer with and have been able to correct why some of my lifts were unsuccessful.

Also, the book covers many areas in a thorough yet consise manner, so the reader is not lost in needless details. However, being a former exercise science student I would have liked to have seen the book get a little more scientific into the research of olympic weightlifting like the Russian weightlifting library does. But all in all I love this book and appreciate its content. It has already helped me in some ways, and I expect it will aid me in others down the line.

Sincerely, George A James
May Christ be praised in all my lifting.

I bought this book, because it was recommended by coach Mike B. and few others as a book for lifters of any level and coaches.

This book is strictly for beginners - I am a little bit dissapointed, because I knew 90% of the content of this book. The title and description of the book are quite misleading. It should clearly say "for beginners only." Or (just like another book) - say "explosive lifting for sports."

If you are a true beginner - I would give this book 4 stars, because the teaching of the lifts is presented very well.

296 pages, but a lot of white spaces - could have been compressed to 200 pages - not impressive for $35.

Good chapter on correcting most common mistakes, although I would disagree on some adivice there.

Better books on weightlifting were written by Mr. Tommy Kono, Mohamed El-Hewie, and Arthur Drechsler - you get much more for your money.

There is no information who the author is (background, coaching experience), and what are the sources of his information.

Edit: Little background information: I am a recent immigrant from an Eastern European country, and my weightlifting experiences are different than those of my American friends. If $35 is nothing for you, then please buy the book, it is not bad. I just do not understand how this book could be helpful to a coach, for example there are practically no information on designing preparatory, special, competition, de-training and transition macrocycles with microcycles within the yearly calendar. The coach already should know basics about the lifts, how to use hook grip, etc. or he should not call himself a coach?

I purchased this book to allow me to clarify some empty holes in my Olympic lifting knowledge. I feel without doubt the book has improved my knowledge of the C&J, snatch and other supplemental lifts.

I am a self-taught Crossfitter who had been previously using web-based resources to improve my technique. Having a very detailed text with photos handy has proved substantially more useful than relying on the internet.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with a similar background to mine.

From my perspective:
- I've been doing Oly lifts for about a year.
- I've been coached in Oly lifts for about 6 months
- I'm a mechanical engineer
- I'm fit (5'8", 160lbs, squat 355, deadlift 465)
- I'm a beginner at Olympic lifting (clean and jerk 215, Snatch 155)
- This is the only book I've read on Olympic lifting (and it will probably be my last).

So that's my perspective. This book is pretty much everything I hoped it would be. Everette breaks the lifts down in detail and provides exercises to help you master each step of the lift. There's also exercises to help you combine the various steps of the lift. Everett explains the various steps and what each step's ultimate purpose is. Knowing this really helps you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. This knowledge really helps you perform the lift correctly. A lot of the trouble I was having before reading this book was due to improper understanding of the lifts.

I think the Everett achieves a good balance of providing detail without providing too much detail. There are plenty of pictures to illustrate his points as well.

It's an easy 5 stars.

I don't think you can read a book on Olympic weightlifting and just by understanding every single word will you become a well-performing lifter. Learning the lifts will take patience, determination, an ability to adjust for mistakes, and some sort of athletic base to at least have the flexibility and strength to catch the bar at a squat position.

In other words, as concise as this book is, it's not going to be your end-all resource to learn the lifts. It's a great companion, however, to other means of learning, such as getting your technique coached, watching video after video after video, and practicing good form over and over and over again. If you're having trouble with a certain aspect of a lift (i.e. you're pressing out your jerk), you can refer to the book and it will have some solid explanations as to why you might be missing it.

I learned the lifts by combining the knowledge I gained from reading this book, trying the lifts out on my own and filming, and then getting my form critiqued either in-person by fellow lifters or by internet savvy Olympic weightlifters who join forums for the sake of helping people like me out.

With all of what I'm saying that lifting has to be learned outside of reading this book, I still have to say I give it a strong recommendation. Without owning this book I would not have been as enlightened to small details of the lifts, certain "positions" that are conventionally taught, and even details about competing in a weightlifting meet (which I would like to do at some point in my lifting career). Right now, I'm still learning, and this book is still providing me with knowledge.

Great comprehensive book for learning and teaching the Olympic lifts. Greg gives just the right amount of detail without bogging you down with technical jargon. The only thing better than reading his book would be to attend one of his seminars.

This Book is solid it gives just the right amount of information, Greg does not try to impress the reader with his knowledge. I can see that Greg has put a lot of thought and effort into making this book and it shows. If you are looking to start Olympic lifting and you do not have access to a GOOD coach this book is a must.