Olympic Lifts

I have not made my stance on the Olympic Lifts a secret over the years. In short, I think they suck. While my opnion of them is basically unchanged, my reasoning for this opnion is somewhat different. Years ago, I was extremely influenced by HIT. While I learned a great deal from HIT, and still apply many of its philosophies into my training today, one of the things I didn't like is how close minded it is. I wouldn't even CONSIDER other training techniques because I was convinced they were all dangerous, inefficient, blah blah blah....I was being a moron.

Now, I don't like Olympic Lifts, not because they are dangerous, but because they are impractical. I actually do think that Olympic Lifts can help develop power...but so can a MYRIAD of other exercises, and in a fraction of the time. Broad jumps develop power. Box jumps develop power. Speed Squats develop power. Vertical jumps develop power. Tire flips develop power...the list goes on and on. Olympic lifting is a SKILL and nothing more. It takes a high degree of skill to safely and effectively perform a power clean or a dumbbell snatch. If I can spend 5 minutes teaching kids how to broad jump, and then spend 10 minutes broad jumping, I still have 45 minutes or so to turn them into jacked up monsters. If I spend 30 minutes on the clean, that drastically reduces the time I can spend on other areas. Many of my clients need to get  more powerful AND get bigger, stronger, leaner, etc...to spend so much time on one lift is a waste of their time, money, and effort.

To get more powerful, you need a MAXIMAL INTENT to accelerate a load. This concept is known as compensatory accceleration. That is why box jumps are great...the height of the box necesitates the intent to jump high! Tire flips are another example. If you don't put all you have into that initial push, then be prepared to have a 450 pound tire headed back down towards your feet!

YOU BETTER PUT ALL YOU HAVE INTO IT!

IF you still feel the need to perform Olympic Lifts, then stick to High Pulls, and nothing else. We will implement them at times for variation, but my personal favorite power developers will always be any jump variations, band/speed squats, and tire flips.

Don't take it from me though...listen to Buddy Morris, Strength Coach for the Pitt Panthers football team...www.youtube.com/watch

Get lean, get jacked, get strong, dominate. Feel free to comment, let's get some discussion going.