A weightlifter friend of mine sent me this pic the other day. Whether if this is a legit pic or not is irrelevant, it’s still the premise that I want you to focus on.
The pic shows that placing the spaghetti noodles in a precise manner it can be positioned to support 33kg or 3.3kg overhead…not sure if that’s a random comma or what? Move one noodle out of position and the supportive structure will more than likely lose it’s structural integrity and not be able to support the weight.
This is right on for Olympic weightlifting. Optimizing your position to generate the most force and allow you to fully utilize your strength is very important. Just like the spaghetti model, the engineer placed the noodles in a way to optimize it’s tensile strength to hold the weight overhead. This couldn’t ring any truer for the great sport of weightlifting.
If a weightlifter’s heel starts to raise up during the first pull then they’ll be out of place, diminish their force production, and more than likely throw off their timing. The bar can also crash on the weightlifter and potentially pin them, despite having the leg strength to squat that same weight. This is why technique is vitally important.
In a few circles there’s a debate about what is more important to focus on strength or technique. The fact is they both matter, the focus shouldn’t be a general blanket statement but be on the needs of the individual athlete.
Strength or Technique
Typically for most sports, I’d suggest that the athlete focus on one skill set at a time then move on to the next. However in weightlifting, I believe you can focus on technique and strength with some modifications.
Here’s the thing, if you’re working on technique you’ll be going much lighter in the lifts and you won’t need much reserve strength to power through the lifts = less taxing. However the volume may catch up to your joints, but as long as you’re smart about your training- back off when need be, diet correctly, sleep, regen etc… then you should be fine.
Because you’re going lighter in the classical lifts (snatch, clean, and jerk) or using specialized exercises,you can use that reserve strength to focus on building up your squats, pulls, and/or press.
Weekly Strength and Technique Split
The structure of your weekly split is dependent on how often you can train and how long you train. For instance a 3 1/2 hour training session x6 a week may not be a viable solution for you. For me I find that splitting the lifts (snatch, clean, and jerks) and the strength work on different days helps save my energy, allow for a more focused training session, and shortens the time in the gym.
Sample Weightlifter
Say this weightlifter needs to work on his/her leg drive during the pull, build squat strength, some pull strength (secondary), and needs do some pre-hab work to build stability within the hip and scapula.
The split will be spread over 5 training session.:
- Day 1: Strength Day- This day you’ll focus on your squats, uni-lateral leg strength or quad/hip auxiliary, upper body, and abs.
- Day 2: Technique and Pull- This day you’ll focus on your positioning, make sure you to count your reps or total time spent on each lift, and your pulls and back extensors. I typically like to add in some back auxiliary work.
- Day 3: Strength Day- Squat focused, unilateral leg or quad/hip auxiliary, upper body, and abs. You can alternate the squat or if you’re focused on a specific squat you can do this same movement.
- Day 4: Technique and Pull- technique, alternate the pull, and back auxiliary.
- Day 5: Moderate lifting and Strength- here you’ll do your full lifts at a moderate weight to maintain the timing and then work on your strength focus- squat or pull and upper if need be.
Now that you have a plug and play template, let’s put in the movements to see what it’ll look like.
Example Weightlifting Scenario
Day 1: Strength
- Back Squat 5×8 drops sets of 3×8
- Jerk Squat Dips 4×5
- Overhead Press (OHP) + Pull Ups 4×10
- Split Squats + Isometric Hip Thruster 3×12/30sec
- Push Ups + Inverted Rows 3×15
- Bi/Tri 3x20sec
- Side planks + Toe Touches 3×30 sec 15lbs + 10
Day 2: Technique and Pull
- Snatch Pull + Snatch from above the knee block work (ATKB) 5×2
- Clean Pull + Clean from (ATKB) 5×2
- Behind the Neck Jerks 5×3
- Clean Pull 4×2 *5sec descent on last rep.
- Single Leg RDL 3×12 + Reverse Flys
- Single Arm (SA) Farmers Walk + Single Arm (SA) Waiters Walk 3x20yards
- Weighted Back Extension 3×15
Day 3: Strength
- Front Squat 6×3 drops sets of 3×4
- Behind the Neck Jerk Squat Dips 4×5
- DB Incline Press 3×12 + Pull Ups 3×12
- Step Ups + Single Leg Hip Thruster 3×12
- SA DB OHP + SA DB Row 3×15
- Bi/Tri 3x20sec
- Pallof Stir the Pot + Isometric L Sits 3×15 each way/ x20sec
Day 4: Technique and Pull
- Segment Snatch (pause 3sec above the knee) 6×2
- Segment Clean (pause 3sec above the knee) 6×2
- Jerk Pause in Dip (5sec) 6×2
- Snatch Pull 4×2 *5sec descent on last rep.
- Single Leg RDL + Face Pulls 3×12/15
- Single Arm Farmers Walk + Single Arm Waiters Walk 3x20yards
- Isometric Back Extension 3x30sec
Day 5: Moderate Lifts and Strength Work
- Snatch- moderate weight (75-85%)- 20-30 min go by feel- minimum of 6 sets. Usually done with x1 -2 reps.
- Clean and Jerk- moderate weight(75-85%)- 20-30 min go by feel- minimum of 6 sets. Usually done with x1 -2 reps.
- Back Squat- 5×4 medium intensity
- Planks weighted 4x30sec
- * you can add in a quick upper/lower body auxiliary depending on how you’re feeling.
Notes:
Editor note: *This sample program above is for a weightlifter that has already developed a strong foundation and can handle high volumes.
- You can change the set/rep scheme as needed for each. So say you wanted to do the Russian squat routine, then you can adjust the squat movement as needed. However you should should take into account your recovery and play it safer on your technique and pull day. Keep in mind that programming is like an eco-system, if you change one aspect it will have an effect on others.
- For the weightlifting selection you can choose whatever movements work best for your particular focus. For instance if you have a problem not extending, then a pull before you do the lift maybe a beneficial method.
- Splits: Day 1-5 doesn’t have to be within the same given week. Example workout days- Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun, Tues.
- If you wanted to condense the days into 4, you can switch the focus to 2 days of lifting and 2 days of strength, or 2 days of strength, 1 day of technique, and 1 day of mix. There’s many ways to do a split and make adjustments. However just make sure that your priority, in this case the squat, is given it’s time to be focused on.
- You don’t have to do ALL the auxiliary workouts too, you can cut out some and spread it to an option day, cut it all out, or do x1-2 sets. There’s a lot of variables to take into account. The principle remains though.
Conclusion
The point of the post is to emphasize that your position AND strength is both equally important for your success in weightlifting. Taking time out to focus on these skill sets will pay dividends for you in the future. That may mean to take a step back so that you can build a strong foundation.
I also want to reiterate that the plug and play program above is just ONE example of many. The reason I chose this specific template is because I’ve found this method much easier for the weightlifter to focus on and allowed them to recover a bit quicker. Sometimes heavy squatting after a technique session, can mentally obliterate you. Of course there is times that it’s beneficial to push the weightlifter past their comfort zones…but that’s post for another time.
Not sure if this was a jumbled mess, however I hope that you all gained something out of this.
Train smart,