Adrian Asks: I've been lifting a year and a half and have a problem setting up tight from the floor. From plates and off blocks I feel really strong but when it comes to the floor I can’t seem to get full scapular retraction and T-spine extension, which wrecks my first pull. How do I set myself up or mobilize to fix this problem?

Greg Says: You don’t want full scapular retraction when pulling from the floor—you want to arch the thoracic spine and depress the scapulae, but keep them close to neutral in terms of protraction/retraction, although I would err on the retraction side. In any case, if you can set up with a tight arch from a higher position, it’s clearly a lower-body mobility limitation, because that will be reduced as you move the starting position higher and higher and the angle of the hip is opened.

You don’t mention it, so it’s likely not the case, but if you have particularly long legs, this will make setting a good arch in your starting position even more difficult simply because you have farther to reach. In this case, I would suggest experimenting with a wider pulling stance.

In addition to stretching, experiment with changing your pulling stance and be sure you’re pushing your knees out to the sides inside your arms in the starting position and first pull; the latter will help open the hips a bit more and also effectively reduce upper leg length to make the position somewhat less demanding on hip flexibility.

Any stretches for the hamstrings, adductors and glutes should help improve this. You can also try doing slow eccentrics on snatch and clean deadlifts, focusing on maintaining the arch position all the way down to the floor.

Rocky Asks: I regularly read your articles and commend you on creating such a valuable resource of information for Olympic weightlifting enthusiasts. My question relates to coaching... Namely: What makes a good coach?

In your articles you refer a few times to the importance of having a good coach to guide and mentor your progress throughout your weightlifting career. Is it enough for a "coach" to give a few pointers when he/she sees you lift? Is it simply related to programming and understanding the needs and goals of given athlete? Or does it mean more?

I've noticed varying degrees of coaching (and commitment among athletes) in my weightlifting career and wonder what your thoughts are on what the ideal dynamic between coach/client should look like. Hopefully your thoughts will help people select the right coach and also encourage people interested in coaching (like myself) to ask the right questions.

Greg Says: This is a good question, but also a big one, so I hope I can do it justice here—I’m sure I will inadvertently leave out quite a few of my thoughts on the matter. Coaches generally are considered successful based on athlete performances—that is, the higher the level at which the athlete performs, the more successful the coach is considered. However, this is really only part of the issue. So many factors influence the ultimate abilities of an athlete in addition to coaching—genetic factors, the age at which the athlete began training, and the circumstances in which the athlete trains (e.g. financial support, outside obligations like work, access to facilities and equipment), among others. So much of coaching success, then, is dependent on the athletes the coach is able to work with. This can be the product of any combination of recruiting and pure luck.

Further, extraordinarily talented athletes can be successful despite of their coaching, not just because of it. That is, an athlete with unusually great talent can be a great athlete with any coach who doesn’t screw up too badly (although they’d arguably be even better with better coaching, of course).

Having said that, weightlifting coach is multifaceted. A good coach needs to be able to recognize, diagnose and correct technique problems; design training programs that allow the greatest possible progress for each individual athlete; coach effectively in competition; and encourage the best performances and commitment from their athletes. These four things are essentially unrelated—a coach can excel at one facet and be horrible with another. The obvious example is the coach who is a technical master but whose personality makes it impossible for athletes to work with him or her. In some cases, being extremely good in some areas can overcome a lack of ability in another, but to be the best possible coach, obviously one would need to master all elements.

I don’t know that there’s an ideal coach-athlete dynamic because each pairing of individuals is different with regard to what’s effective. Each athlete responds differently to various approaches—for example, some respond well to more authoritarian, cold coaches, while others need more personal and emotional connection to thrive. A good coach will be somewhat adaptable in this sense and know how to relate to each athlete to make the relationship work most effectively.