Sep 28, 2020
How do we program the Olympic lifts if we want to add Olympic
lifting or potentially compete in an Weightlifting meet?
Andrew, Matt, and Niki discuss how to add Olympic lifting to a more
traditional program with a focus on the Big 4 lifts.
Andrew recommends adding the power variants first--usually the
power clean. The cleans can replace the volume deadlift slot
and move to the first exercise of that day--before the intensity
squat. For the deadlift intensity slot, pull some of the
volume from the volume slot into back off sets.
As a lifter progresses and she becomes more proficient at the
lifts, her volume, frequency, and intensity of pulling from the
Olympic lifts will all increase. This means that deadlift
pulling will have to decrease.
The way to think about this is as a budget. There is only so
much time and so much stress that an athlete can recover
from. The other aspect to this is that the Olympic lifts
require practice, so there is a tradeoff between too much emphasis
on practice without developing strength and not enough practice.
The other thing Andrew recommends is catching the bar where you
pull it. This means that for a light power clean, you might
barely have to bend your knees. As the weight gets heavier,
you catch it lower and lower, eventually turning a power clean into
a clean.
They discuss the mentality that weightlifting requires.
Weightlifting will involve missed reps and fluctuations of your
daily capability. If you pulled a grindy deadlift a few days
ago or life has been particularly stressful and you're not as
recovered as you normally are, you can't grind through an olympic
lift--you simply don't complete the lift. Your daily 1RM--and
the resultant percentages off that 1RM--will fluctuate more
day-to-day than for the slow slifts because, again, you can't grind
through a heavy olympic lift. This requires an understanding
of long-term progress and an acceptance of missed reps and
adjusting based off your capabilities that day.
BLOC sales and special offers: https://barbell-logic.com/offers/
Connect with the hosts
Connect with the show