Chris Dear Performance - Personal Trainer, Tunbridge Wells Videos

@strongfitmike performing hang power snatches - with myself doing a little stick trick. Hang Power snatches - great for developing second pull technique, power output and rate of force development. The stick trick is a coaching technique I use to get the athlete to keep the bar closer to them during the transition (when the hips have extended and the bar is being directed to the overhead position). I don’t go close at all, but the thought of hitting the bar usually gets the athlete to use their arms more to keep the bar closer to their torso as opposed to flying out in front. @undergroundgymtunbridgewells

@kimbypeneda with 3 sets of 2 reps at 150kg. This was her precious 1 rep max, so this cycle has been very successful. Very strong! @undergroundgymtunbridgewells

@metcalfepiano perform a new 3 rep max at 180kg. Alex is in the last stages of a step cycle before moving into a linear programme and then ultimately his next test. Nice to see the plan being executed well. @undergroundgymtunbridgewells

@sian.campbell.mayne smoking 50kg in her Snatch at the end of many doubles and singles. A big queuing mistake coaches make when coaching the snatch is to “drop under” or “catch it as low as possible”. Ideally we want 2 things to happen as you transfer under the bar. 1) Don’t “drop under”. You want to actively use your arms to pull yourself under AND direct that bar into the bar path and final position. 2) We actually want to catch the bar as high as possible. Of course, if attempting a heavy Snatch we do need to drop under (and not Power Snatch it - especially if you’re working full Snatch technique) but we also need the body to absorb the weight in the catch before standing up. Also - If the athlete consistently pulls under too early before finishing the pull - telling the athlete to “catch higher” may prompt them into pulling for longer. Don’t leave your transfer to chance - pull aggressively, use your arms to direct the bar aggressively and catch it aggressively.

120kg power clean complex of 1 power clean + 2 below knee hang power clean. Developing my efficiency between the 1st and 2nd pull (below and above knee) and as always working on my catch position - not easy with my elbow that doesn’t like to bend very much. @undergroundgymtunbridgewells

3 point snatch complex from @strongfitmike to develop proficiency in his pull, final pull and transfer into the catch position. Developing better Olympic lifts takes patience and consistently performing movements/complexes that challenge where the lift is falling short. Don’t rush the process or the development will not come.

Technical work continues for @sian.campbell.mayne as we focus on pull length and elbow speed in the catch. @undergroundgymtunbridgewells

3rm PB paused squat at 195kg. Are you someone that: - gets stuck at the bottom of your squat movements and/or Olympic movements - Loses tension at the bottom of your squat movements - Falls forward during their squats - Relies too much on “bouncing” out of their squats - Wants to increase their time under tension to increase a hypertrophic response Pause squats might be for you. By pausing at the bottom you decrease/eliminate a stretch shorten reflex. This means more emphasis is put on the concentric contraction (upward) part of the movement as the “help” from the eccentric (lowering) is taken away.

140kg Power Clean with some slow no fun.

The goal for 150kg Power Clean is under way. After seeing a nice squat improvement last year I now want to prioritise Power Cleans so I’m moving them to the first exercise of my day 1. Let’s see what we can do.

@tdawg519 with a 130kg PB Back Squat. Before this cycle his best was 115kg so this is a 15kg improvement. He did a cheeky off programme test a few weeks ago at 122kg - so this is an 8kg all time PB. Follow the programme, trust the process and the results will come.

Smooth deficit Snatch for @sian.campbell.mayne . Deficit work is a great tool to improve pulling strength as the movement requires the athlete to pull for longer, which reinforces a longer lull, and keeps the working muscles in tension for longer. Once the deficit disappears the athlete is more accustomed to pulling for longer rather than rushing underneath the bar and they’ll have greater amounts of pulling force.

My new Kettlebell class @undergroundgymtunbridgewells Starts January 4th and 6:15pm! Contact Underground Gym to book in.

@tdawg519 with some impressed squat progression in the last few weeks.

Speed Squat + Jump Squat. A nice way to, as Jeremy says, improve speed and power.

85kg Clean & Jerk for @aureliekent After taking 8 months off earlier in the year to complete and iron man she has been back training with Olympic Lifting for 3 months. We are already seeing her nearly reach her old big numbers!

I go away for one weekend an @tdawg519 gets a PB back squat at 122kg. He is on the naughty list as we are actually about 2/3s the way through a cycle - but I can’t be too upset with a PB. Toms confidence with the bigger lifts improve with a spotter so I’m certain a 130kg will be achieved when we actually finish this cycle and when I’m spotting him.

Earlier this week I achieved a new best on my back squat. Am I happy? Sure. Am I annoyed I didn’t just do 220kg? Absolutely. @undergroundgymtunbridgewells

Want to get your first pull up? Just continually doing banded pull-ups/chin ups forever isn’t the best way to go. Increasing the strength curve throughout the entirety of the range of motion is key and can be achieved by using a number of different exercises with different resistance modalities. A strength curve describes how much strength you have at different parts of a movement. So you need to use different exercises to activate and strengthen different parts of the movement to make the whole movement stronger. Using cable machines, different body weight movements (ring rows, inverted rows etc), different banded exercises, eccentric exercises and more will help develop your pull-up.

First time Snatching for @leo.rautenberg and making me feel very jealous of this guys mobility - it’s just not fair. When teaching the Snatch you always have to be open to your client’s personal way of moving. Yes there are basic principles that an individual needs to to adhere to like keeping the bar close, or extending the hips. But each individual has personal anthropology, mobility, and subjective comfort (for a lack of a better word) that dictates what their lift will look like. When I teach the technical movements in Olympic weightlifting it’s important to let the individual explore their technique and definitely not copy my own “to the letter”. If you watch enough elite weightlifters you’ll notice that, although they stick to basic principles, how they perform the lifts do hugely differ. As a coach, spending hours and hours drilling certain aspects of a lift to suit YOUR own idea of what a lift HAS to look like might not be the best use of your clients time. @undergroundgymtunbridgewells