Olympic Weightlifting skills
18 skills, beginner to advanced. 17 of them you can film on a phone and get measured. No fake scores.
Skills by level
You can film17 of 18 skills
Beginner 5
- The Hook GripThe grip that makes everything in weightlifting possible. You trap your thumb against the bar under your first two fingers, which locks the bar so it can't rip out of your hands as you pull explosively.
- Front SquatA squat with the bar racked across the front of your shoulders — and the exact position you catch a clean in, so it's a cornerstone of weightlifting. The bar sits on a 'shelf' of your front delts with your elbows driven high; your job is to keep those elbows up and your torso upright all the way down and up.
- Overhead SquatA squat with the bar locked overhead in a wide snatch grip — the position you catch a snatch in, and the ultimate test of full-body mobility and stability. It teaches you to stay balanced and strong under a bar held over your head, which is exactly what the bottom of the snatch demands.
- The Start PositionWhere every snatch and clean begins — and small errors here ripple through the whole lift. The key mindset: this is NOT a deadlift.
- The Overhead PositionThe locked-out position you catch the snatch in and finish the jerk in — a strong, stable platform over your head. Get this solid and heavy weight feels secure overhead; get it wrong and the bar crashes forward or back.
Intermediate 5
- The First PullThe lift from the floor to about mid-thigh — the patient part of the snatch and clean that sets up everything explosive that follows. The whole goal: raise the bar while keeping your back angle the SAME and the bar close to you, so you arrive at your power position perfectly placed.
- The Second Pull & ExtensionThe explosive heart of the snatch and clean — from mid-thigh to full extension, where you violently stand and jump the bar upward. Think 'jump without leaving for a low ceiling': a full, aggressive extension of your hips, knees, and ankles all at once.
- Power CleanA clean where you catch the bar in the front rack with your hips ABOVE parallel — a quarter squat, not a deep one. It's the gateway to the full clean: it drills the pull, the explosion, and a fast catch without needing deep-squat mobility.
- Power SnatchA snatch where you catch the bar locked overhead with your hips ABOVE parallel — a partial squat, not the full bottom. It's the gateway to the full snatch, drilling an explosive pull and a sharp turnover without needing deep overhead-squat mobility.
- The Split JerkDriving the bar from your shoulders to locked out overhead while splitting your feet front-and-back into a stable lunge — the most common way to finish a clean & jerk, and the heaviest overhead lift in the sport. The power comes from your LEGS, not your arms; the split gives you a deep, balanced base to catch under.
Advanced 5
- The SnatchThe full lift: floor to locked overhead in one explosive motion, catching the bar in the bottom of an overhead squat. It's the fastest, most technical lift in all of strength sport — every position you've drilled comes together here.
- The CleanThe full lift from floor to front rack, caught in a deep front squat — the first half of the clean & jerk and the way to move the heaviest loads, since you don't have to pull the bar as high as a power clean. The cue that ties it together: 'legs drive UP, elbows drive AROUND.' Learn it light on bumper plates so…
- The Clean & JerkThe complete competition lift and the most weight a human can put overhead: clean the bar to your shoulders, then jerk it overhead — two lifts joined by a crucial moment of recovery and resetting in between. It rewards everything you've built.
- The Turnover & CatchThe 'third pull' — how you get from full extension to receiving the bar, fast. After the jump, you actively pull yourself UNDER the bar and meet it in a strong catch.
- Hang VariationsSnatches and cleans started from the 'hang' — the bar held at the thigh or knee rather than on the floor. By skipping the pull from the floor, hang variations isolate and sharpen the most powerful part of the lift (the explosion and turnover) and build your positions.
Insane 3
- The Maximal SnatchA true one-rep-max snatch — the most technical max in all of strength sport. Unlike a powerlift, you can't slowly grind a snatch: the bar either moves fast and you catch it locked, or it's a miss.
- The Maximal Clean & JerkThe most weight a human can put overhead — and really two maximal efforts in one. You fight a max clean out of the bottom, then have to jerk it overhead while already gassed from the clean.
- The Squat JerkAn elite, rarely-used jerk where you catch the bar in a FULL overhead squat instead of a split. In theory you can catch more weight because you don't have to drive the bar as high — but it has almost zero margin for error and demands exceptional mobility in the ankles, hips, and shoulders.