Maximizing Pulling Speed

Olympic Weightlifting is a sport in which acceleration and direction reversal are major factors.  The problem is that most accessory lifts necessitate bar deceleration before the completion of the lift.  Bands and chains alleviate this to an extent, but do so artificially since the bar deceleration is caused partially by the load increase.

The technique I use to train bar acceleration is jumping onto a box while doing Hang Power Snatches and Hang Power Cleans.  This gets me in trouble with OL purists, since it changes the bar trajectory, but I find it effective so it's worth a few arguments.

To perform these moves start with a low box (12" or less) and a dowel, or empty bar.

Establish starting position by jumping to the box a couple times, and working the starting position as close to the box as possible.

Once starting position is established perform 5 sets of 3-5 repetitions of the Box Jump HPS or HPC, experiment with weight and box height to determine what gives you most bang for the buck.  To get of the box lower the bar to hang position, and carefully step off.

I'm a fan of Complex Training so an alternative to the straight 5x3-5 is:

    3-5 Box Jump Hang Power Snatches
    rest 45-60 seconds
    1 80-90%-1RM Power Snatch
    rest 45-60 seconds
    3-5 Box Jump Hang Power Snatches
    rest 45-60 seconds
    1 80-90%-1RM Power Snatch
    rest 45-60 seconds
    3-5 Box Jump Hang Power Snatches
    rest 45-60 seconds
    1 80-90%-1RM Power Snatch
    rest 45-60 seconds
    3-5 Box Jump Hang Power Snatches
    rest 45-60 seconds
    1 80-90%-1RM Power Snatch
    rest 45-60 seconds
    3-5 Box Jump Hang Power Snatches
    rest 45-60 seconds
    1 80-90%-1RM Power Snatch
    rest 45-60 seconds

Teaching Olympic Weightlifting Movement Patterns

Most people develop the bad habit of using their arms to lift objects.  One technique that I use to re-wire these patterns is the use of the Dumbbell Jump Shrug.  I prefer the dumbbell version over the barbell one because it's easier to  keep the body and weight close to the center of mass using a neutral grip (palms facing each other).  The exercise is performed with the following set-up:

• Feet hip width apart and facing forward
• DBs held with neutral position at sides of thighs
• Keep the core tight
• Upper back slightly arched
• Chest a bit expanded
• Initiate move by moving the hips backwards, try keeping the upper body as upright as possible, knees will start bending slightly as glutes move back (the lowest position of the move should roughly match that of the bottom of a Vertical Jump).
• When the bottom position is reached, reverse the direction by thrusting the hips forward, as this happens the back and knees will naturally start to straighten
• Once the knees, hips and upper body are in the upright position continue the upward movement by raising on the toes and shrugging the shoulders at the same time.

Key Points:

• Keep the arms straight and loose as you travel upwards, once you're  fully extended (on tippy toes and shoulders shrugged as high as possible allow momentum to carry the DBs upward by allowing the elbows to bend.  DO NOT USE YOUR ARMS TO MOVE THE DBs UPWARDS!!!!.
• Start with fairly light DBs, the move should feel smooth and the DBs weightless at top position
• Keep repetitions at 3-10, but stop well short of form breakdown we're using this to engrain good movement patterns
  

Quick Observations

Power Lifting movements (Deadlift, Squat and Bench Press) are great exercises for training absolute strength, but the reason I love the Olympic Lifts (Snatch, Clean and Jerk) is that they teach proper power transfer.

Most elite athletes employ coaches to enhance their performance, but beginning athletes typically rely on those only possessing good intentions to teach them basics.  This to me is a big oversight since learning proper movement patterns as early as possible eliminates hours of frustration, and possibly injuries, down the road.

Hello

I will be writing about training techniques which athletes can implement in their quest for maximum speed and power.