Faster! Higher! Stronger! This famous Olympic motto was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 upon the creation of the International Olympic Committee. Examine the motto closely. Can an Olympic athlete run or move faster without getting stronger? Of course not! Can he or she jump higher or further without getting stronger? Of course not again! So what can we deduce from here? We can deduce that superiority in strength is a very vital asset for an Olympic athlete or any other athlete to possess if he or she is to outperform his or her rivals.
So how do we train for strength to improve our performance in our chosen sport or just to improve our fitness if we are not involved in any kind of sport? The obvious answer to this question would be to include Olympic weighlifting and Powerlifting in our training regimen.
Olympic weightlifting, as we all know, consists of two lifts, namely the Snatch and the Clean And Jerk. These two moves are highly technical in nature and it would be advisable for you to enroll in a proper weightlifting club and be trained by a qualified weightlifting coach. The mechanics for the performance of these two lifts are described below.
The Snatch
The lifter will first grip the bar with a hook grip. The distance of the grip is usually wide, almost to the collar. The back is kept straight, at an angle of about 45 degrees to the horizontal and the head is straight with the eyes looking straight forward. The thighs are almost parallel to the floor and the feet are about a shoulder’s width apart with the shins touching the bar. From this starting position, using the muscles of the glutes, hips, quadriceps and a strong grip on the bar, the lifter will then pull the barbell off the floor and at the same time extend his body upward to the maximum until he is standing on his toes. This maximum upward extension will cause the barbell to rise up to chest level, during which time the lifter will drop down into a full squat position to catch the barbell overhead. It is vital during the pull for the lifter to pull the barbell as close to his body as possible as this pulling path offers the least line of resistance. From the full squat position, with the barbell overhead, the lifter will then stand up.
The Clean and Jerk
The starting position for the Clean and Jerk is similar to the Snatch, except for the width of the grip which is usually about a shoulder’s width apart. From this starting position the lifter will then pull the barbell upward vertically (as close to his body as possible) while at the same time extending his body upward to the maximum. This maximum upward extension will cause the barbell to rise up to about chest level, during which time the lifter will drop down into a full squat position and flip his wrists outward (so that his arms are almost parallel to the floor) and catch the barbell at shoulder level. This is the clean portion of the lift.
From the full squat position of the lift, the lifter will then stand up with the barbell. The lifter will then bend his knees slightly for the dip. From this dip position the lifter will then push the barbell vertically overhead, while at the same time splitting both his legs, with one forward and the other backward – this is the split jerk. There are basically three types of jerk, namely the split jerk, squat jerk and power jerk, with the split jerk being the most preferred type. From this split jerk position, the lifter will then move his rear leg to the fore and stand upright with the barbell overhead. This completes the lift.
As you can see, the above 2 Olympic lifts are highly technical moves. If you don’t like to do them (perhaps because they are stressful to your knees – you have to drop down into a full squat) then try the standup version. In this standup version, you do not drop down into a full squat – instead you just bend your knees slightly to catch the barbell overhead for the snatch or catch the barbell at shoulder level for the clean.
Another way of training for strength is to do Powerlifting. Unfortunately, powerlifting is not yet an Olympic Games event but it is very popular especially in the U.S.A. It consists of three lifts, namely the Squat, Bench press and Deadlift. Like Olympic weightlifting, it is a one repetition maximum (1-RM) sport – a competitor is judged by how much he/she can lift for one repetition in each of the three lifts.
The repetition ranges per set of weightlifters and powerlifters during training are usually singles, doubles or triples with very heavy weights. Since their sports are one repetition maximum (1-RM) sport, it doesn’t make sense if they do more than 5 repetitions or 12 repetitions per set during training. It would be wise for Olympic Games athletes like shotputters, discuss and javelin throwers to include Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting in their training regimens as their sports are also one repetition maximum (1-RM) sports (during competition, they are judged by how far they can throw the putt, discus or javelin for one repetition). Decathletes too can benefit by including these two methods of training in their workouts as the 3 Olympic throw events are also part of their discipline. The same goes for 100 metres sprinters and long jumpers as their events are also of short duration and explosive in nature.
A third way of training for strength with weights is to employ some of the training principles that bodybuilders use such as the Pyramid principle and the Training to failure principle. The Pyramid principle is a system of training in which you decrease the number of repetitions as the poundage increase. An example of this training principle is shown below.
A Pyramid Bench press:
Set 1 – 140 lbs x 12 repetitions
Set 2 – 155 lbs x 10 repetitions
Set 3 – 170 lbs x 8 repetitions
Set 4 – 185 lbs x 6 repetitions
Set 5 – 200 lbs x 4 repetitions
Set 6 – 215 lbs x 2 repetitions
The Reverse Pyramid principle is the exact opposite of the Pyramid principle. Here you start off with the heaviest weight you can handle for 1 or 2 repetitions for the first set and then decrease the weight and increase the repetitions for subsequent sets. An example is shown below.
A Reverse Pyramid Bench press:
Set 1 – 215 lbs x 2 repetitions
Set 2 – 200 lbs x 4 repetitions
Set 3 – 185 lbs x 6 repetitions
Set 4 – 170 lbs x 8 repetitions
Set 5 – 155 lbs x 10 repetitions
Set 6 – 140 lbs x 12 repetitions
The Training to failure principle is a method of training in which you train to the point where you cannot do another repetition of an exercise in strict form. In other words, the muscle that is being exercised is completely fatigued to the point where another repetition is impossible. An example of a train to failure programme is given below.
A Train to failure Barbell Curl programme:
Set 1: Warm up with a light barbell curl for 15 reps.
Set 2: Increase the weight and curl to failure at 10 to 12 repetitions.
Set 3: Increase the weight and curl to failure at 8 to 10 repetitions.
Set 4: Increase the weight and curl to failure at 6 to 8 repetitions.
Set 5: Increase the weight and curl to failure at 4 to 6 repetitions.
Notice that the above program is a combination of 2 training principles – namely train to failure and pyramid.
The Pyramid and Training to failure principles can be used by Olympic athletes whose events are not of short duration, such as Wrestling, Judo, Rowing, 400 metres sprinting and even basketball.
Circuit training with weights and your own bodyweight is another method of strength training. To increase your strength while circuit training with weights, all you have to do is to increase the poundage used. To make bodyweight circuit training more strenuous, all you have to do is to make slight variations to the exercises. For example, instead of doing 2 arm pushups, try doing one arm pushups or 2 fingers pushups. Circuit training is suitable for boxers, taekwondo exponents and even tennis players.
Plyometric training is also a good method of strength training. It is a bodyweight training system and an example of a plyometric leg exercise is the jump squat. Clapping pushup is another example of a plyometric upper body exercise. Plyometric training is suitable for almost all the events of the Olympic games, such as athletics, gymnastics, football and diving.
