STRENGTH SENEI BOOKSHELF
Weightlifting: Sport for All Sports
A start-to-finish scientific resource on mastering weightlifting technique
There are many books on weightlifting, but Antonio Urso’s Weightlifting for All Sports has set the standard for its scientific approach to mastering the technique of the snatch and the clean and jerk.
Antonio Urso is the Secretary General of the International Weightlifting Federation. He holds a degree in Sports Science and advanced certifications in weightlifting and sports science. An eight-time Italian national champion and a three-time national coach, this is his seventh and most recent book on weightlifting.
To be clear, Weightlifting: Sport for All Sports is a serious study of the sport focusing on weightlifting technique. Its 296 pages are text-heavy and abundantly illustrated with photos, tables, and graphs.
Urso designed the book to be read from start to finish, moving from justifying how weightlifting techniques should be performed to learning how to lift, how to teach the lifts, how to identify and correct errors in technique, principles of workout design, and special topics. Special topics include how weightlifting training can be of value to other sports and general health, how weightlifting influences body composition, and a section of common injuries in the sport. It is organized into the following chapters:
- Weightlifting, Past and Present
- Qualitative Biomechanical Analysis of Olympic Weightlifting
- Weightlifting Techniques
- Using the Barbell
- Types of Exercises
- Main Technical Errors and How to Correct Them
- Training the Technique: Learning the Technique
- Teaching Olympic Exercises
- Planning Modern Weightlifting Training
- Basic Weightlifting Exercises and Sports Movements
- Body Composition in Weightlifting
- Injuries in Weightlifting
The teaching approach covered by Urso is called the Druzhinin Method. It is a weightlifting method that consists of breaking down the lifts into four phases, as follows:
Snatch: Starting Off and First Pull, Pull Phase
Clean and Jerk: Starting Off and First Pull, Pull Phase, Jerk from Chest.
For example, the jerk from the chest is taught in this sequence:
- Starting position
- Split without weight and without raising the arms and recovery
- Split without weight raising the arms and recovery
- Load and push
- Full jerk with barbell plus additional weight
Each sequence is broken down into Phases, Elements to be Observed, Optimum Position, and Trajectory. These sequences are supported through the book, with photos showing each position.
Weightlifting: Sport for all Sports is extensively referenced, and the second edition was published in 2014. However, Urso continued to be published in prestigious journals such as the European Weightlifting Federation’s Scientific Magazine.
If you’re serious about learning how to lift and the science of weightlifting, invest in a copy of Weightlifting: Sport for All Sports. (TSS)
[Weightlifting: Sport for All Sports by Antonio Urso in paperback (and Kindle in other languages) through Amazon.com.]
