Technique

Time and Angle Characteristics of Technique in Weightlifters of Different Qualification

V. G. Oleshko — Kiev State Institute of Physical Culture

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1982 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1982), pp. 34–35: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels.

Aims and method

Goniography, used by Lukashev, Vorobyev, Khlystov and Frolov to seek optimal time and angle parameters, here compared 27 Masters of Sport with 21 Class I lifters, and competition with assistance lifts. In the competition period they performed the snatch and clean (≥ 92% of maximum) and the power snatch and power clean (knee angle limited to 70° of maximum depth, taken as optimal).

Findings

Competition vs power lifts (Table 1): the knee-rebend (III) and final-acceleration (IV) phases coincide in time, and knee angles at the start and end of the rebend barely differ. The preliminary acceleration and squat under differ significantly, as does the angle at the end of the final acceleration — due to the heavier load. As phases III and IV decide success, power variants keep the skill structure and transfer positively, in the clean too.
Masters vs Class I (Table 2): in the snatch, Masters are slightly faster overall with no significant difference in single phases. In the clean their preliminary and final acceleration are much shorter, giving higher speed and heavier weights.
Even skilled lifters make errors; some with optimal technique lack strength.

Table 1. Phase durations (s) and optimal knee angles (degrees) in competition and assistance lifts, Masters of Sport (means)

Exercise	Phase duration, s				Knee angle at phase boundary, degrees
Exercise	II	III	IV	V and VI	II/III	III/IV	IV/V
Snatch	0.50	0.14	0.14	0.58	142.0	120.6	165.9
Power snatch	0.43	0.13	0.14	0.42	142.1	124.4	170.8
Clean	0.56	0.13	0.13	0.69	146.0	131.2	159.6
Power clean	0.18*	0.12	0.12	0.42	145.6	128.7	167.1
II — preliminary acceleration; III — knee rebend (amortisation); IV — final acceleration; V and VI — squat under.

* Implausibly short beside the other values (0.43–0.56); kept as printed.

Table 2. Goniographic indices in the snatch and clean by qualification (means)

Exercise	Qualification	Phase duration, s				Knee angle at phase boundary, degrees
Exercise	Qualification	II	III	IV	V and VI	II/I*	III/IV	IV/V
Snatch	Master of Sport	0.50	0.14	0.14	0.58	142.0	120.6	165.9
Snatch	Class I	0.54	0.15	0.15	0.59	142.5	118.7	164.9
Clean	Master of Sport	0.56	0.13	0.13	0.69	146.0	131.2	159.5*
Clean	Class I	0.68	0.12	0.15	0.66	144.4	126.0	166.0

* Printed “II and I” (Table 1: II/III); 159.5 appears as 159.6 in Table 1.