Triad

The debate in the world of olympic weightlifting has always been over which is most important: strength, mobility, or technique? I have heard many arguments for each side, but what I have come to discover is that to truly be great, you need all three. You will not find a single world class lifter who does not posses a great deal of each. Let's take a look at each, and why it is important

Klokov, the supplest of Leopards demonstrating his ankle mobility

Mobility:

Before you can do a good snatch, you have to be able to do an overhead squat. Before you can do an overhead squat, you have to be able to do a squat. You will never be great at snatching unless you have a requisite amount of mobility allowing you to receive the bar in an overhead squat. The same could be said for the clean. If you do not have the mobility to get your elbows under the bar and create a good front rack, then you cannot do a good front squat, and if you cannot do a good front squat, you cannot do a good clean. Even the jerk requires good mobility, especially if you want to be a squat jerker. The primary areas olympic weightlifters must focus on are ankles, hips, and thoracic spine.

Ilya Ilin, perfect upright torso and rack position

Lu Xiaojun, squat jerking 453lbs at 169lb bodyweight. Hip and T-Spine mobility? Yup

Technique:

Being able to get into good positions (mobility) is crucial, but being able to get into those positions in a proper sequence and rhythm is just as important. Olympic weightlifting is one of the most technical things in the world- it is gymnastics with 400lbs. Being off by 1 inch at any point in the lift is the difference between a missed lift and a make. 

James Tatum snatching 145kg at the American Open

Donny Shankle clean & jerking

Strength:

Being able to get into positions (mobility) is key, and getting there with precision is critical (technique), but if you are not strong in those positions, you will just look really good snatching 75lbs, which nobody is impressed with (sorry if you snatch 75...). In the world of crossfit, when you snatch 225 and clean and jerk 275 people start considering you "strong". This makes me chuckle, since there are 14 year old Chinese girls who snatch 275. Anywho, the point is you gotta be strong as an ox... maybe stronger

The point in all of this is that in the triad of mobility/technique/strength, one is not superior to the others. They all play a vital role in an athletes pursuit of greatness, and they all interplay and intermingle with one another. I think this provides a simple (though incomplete and far from comprehensive) portrait of the Trinity. So often I find myself thinking of God the Father as the main character (Batman), God the Son as His sidekick (Robin), and the God the Spirit as the third member who sometimes shows up (Catwoman). What the Bible lays out for us is a far different picture though- one of mutual submission, glorification, and honor, and one where no one person of the trinity is of greater or lesser value than any other member. I am not going to even begin to try to explain the trinity, because the whole idea of it blows my mind. All I am pointing out is that each is distinct, yet each is important.

And yes, I just used a Batman analogy to describe the God of the universe... so sue me.