A very prominent and highly debated topic in the field of Physical Preparation is if the use of Olympic lifts & the associated variations are applicable for a means of developing Explosive Leg Strength & Power for various Sporting Disciplines (a la American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Volleyball, etc.)
Here are two articles, both of a conflicting opinion to an extent, on the implication of Olympic lifts for General development of Explosive Leg Strength and Power. One is by Jim Wendler of Elite Fitness Systems and the other by James Smith of Power Development Inc.
http://elitefts.com/documents/olympic_lifts.htm
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/olympic_lift.htm
If you have read or are familiar with either of these two articles you will understand that there is no definite answer to solving the problem of whether Olympic lifts should be implemented or not.
To solve the problem, one must have a greater schematic view of the Sport Training Process, and look at a broad list of background information regarding the individual and their specific Sport.
Take into account the holistic considerations of the individual & their sport.
Ask Who am I training (male, female, biological age, level of qualification, specific position of the sporting game etc.)? What are we training to develop (in this case Explosive Leg Strength and Power)? When & Where is this training place in the annual cycle of the sport (in-season, off-season, etc.) Why have I selected this exercise, jump, throw, lift, etc. specifically as the OPTIMAL method of developing (in this specific case) Explosive Leg Strength and Power? How am I going to utilize all this background information to properly construct the best plan in hopes of developing the athletes Explosive Leg Strength and Power. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the holistic considerations, the thought process must be much more in-depth and extensive than what is presented. Specifically these could be orthopedics of the athlete, height, weight, relative strength levels, etc.
Once a careful collection and analyzing of the information has been executed, then the coach can make the best decision to select what is optimal for the athlete in hopes of further developing Explosive Leg Strength and Power.
Now lets consider a few specific groups of athletes with the thought of implementing Olympic lifts for their general development of Explosive Leg Strength and Power.
Examples of those with reasons for not using Olympic lifts (based of a very minuscule and general consideration of information) would be those with improper technical/tactical execution of the Olympic lifts, Baseball Pitchers, American Football Quarterbacks, Athletes who have poor bio-mechanical leverages for these lifts, those who have improper mobility or flexibility of the muscles surrounding the trunk, lower back, knees, ankles, or hips, and other athletes with individual pathology to the shoulder, arm, and wrist.
Examples of those who can/could/should utilize Olympic lifts, athletes with good leverages for performing the lifts, proper technical & tactical execution of the Olympic lifts, American Football Linebackers, Running Backs, and Defensive Backs, those with sufficient mobility or flexibility of the muscles surrounding the trunk, lower back, knees, ankles, or hips, and other athletes with no pathology of the shoulder, arm, and wrist.
For the first group of athletes, those who for one reason of the other should not utilize Olympic lifts as their method of developing Explosive Leg Strength and Power, there is still a plethora of other methods of developing Explosive Leg Strength & Power, which will be discussed below.
Development of Explosive Leg Strength & Power can also be achieved via various jumping exercises, be it vertical jumps, horizontal jumps, jumps with a prior counter movement or run up, throwing medicine balls, plates, or other implements in a variety of ways, simple bounding, sprints w/ a sled, etc. etc. Some of these exercises most notably vertical jumping & OH Throws, from an anatomical and bio-mechanical stand point achieve the same movement as Olympic lifts (a la extension of the three joints of the lower body, being the ankles, knees, and hips, along with respect to human movement, in a vertical plane.)
There is no study or research to my knowledge that deems Olympic lifts as a better way of developing Explosive Leg Strength & Power compared to other Methods such as Jumps & Throws, or in contrast Jumps & Throws better than Olympic lifts. Until a study or research proves one to be more optimal for General development of Explosive Leg Strength & Power for sporting disciplines that require this ability, it lies in the job of the coach and/or athlete to take into consideration the individual trainee (holistic, orthopedics, training background, etc.) and the sport discipline (Football, Basketball, Baseball, etc. & the specific position of the game), to make the best educated decisions on selecting a method of development.
Caveat Emptor,
Ryan
Hi Ryan
great article. Another point to consider is whether or not the coach is qualified to teach and therefore use the Olympic lifts. I don’t use them with my guys because quite frankly I do not have the expertise or experience to teach them correctly. I know a lot fo coaches probably feel this way too.
Cheers
Jack
Jack,
Thanks for the words, I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
Excellent point regarding the need to as a coach have the knowledge, experience, and practical application to teach the Olympic lifts.
Same could be said for any sporting form, why have a coach who specializes in one sport and isn’t qualified to teach the technical and tactical parts of the sporting form, try and teach another sporting form? Doesn’t make much sense.
Best of luck with your athletes,
Ryan
Hello,
Would you agree that much of an Oly lifters explosive abilities are about their supplementary training and
genetics than the Oly lifts themselves?
Brandon
Brandon,
I will first address your questions. But I have some physiological aspects to add via the muscle contractions & reflexes that entail execution of the said lifts.
First:
Would I agree that much of an Oly lifters explosive abilities are about their supplementary training?
First lets define Supplementary training as “all other training other than that specifically pertaining to the execution of the competition skill”
Thus my answer would be, Yes and No. This is a very specific question that requires a specific answer. Here’s a few thoughts.
Yes. There are certain parts of their Supplementary training that would be directed to increasing their explosive abilities. Jumping exercises (Box Jumps, Vertical Jumps, Bounds, etc) & any exercise, drill, etc. that is done via Dynamic Effort (see Zatorisky for definition) are two means that you will find in most lifters General Preparatory (and Special when pertaining to the Competition lifts) Exercises. The jumping exercises is in all likelihood something they utilized in their youth to set a base of the pinnacle for them to attain Sports Mastery.
No. Keep in mind that not all supplementary training is targeted at developing Explosive strength. Some may be directed at increasing muscle cross section via repetition or sub-maximal effort for a specific area of the human anatomical musculature (weak hip or knee extensors, scapular elevators, etc.), targeting of a specific weakness in the execution of the competition lift via Maximal or Sub-Maximal Effort (a la High, Clean, or Snatch Pulls/Shrugs, etc.) These means will also lay a base for the pinnacle of reaching Sports Mastery via the execution of the Olympic lifts.
Now onto Genetics.
Yes. There is definitely a reason that these athletes are performing at a high level in their specific sport discipline. Their are a plethora of factors that could play into the reasoning behind why they are a model athlete for Olympic Weightlifting. Predispositions could be optimal height, anthropometric measurements, bio-mechanical leverages, weight (although there are various weight classes), body composition, muscle elasticity, high amount of Type II muscle fibers, high level of performance in Special Developmental and Preparatory Exercises, etc. All these factors again lay a solid base for the pinnacle of Sports Mastery.
Now lets quickly go over what the Olympic lifts do physiologically.
First the lifts activate what is called the Stretch-Shortening Cycle. Before execution of the first pull of either lift, there is a short moment in which the muscles of the lower extremities are stretched (eccentric or pliometric muscle contraction), then once full extension is achieved after the completion of the second pull the muscles be come shortened (concentric or miometric).
After the “scoop”/full extension has been achieved, another lengthening occurs of the leg extensors. There is a spinal reflex that is activated by the muscle spindles, a la Stretch Reflex. The muscle spindle is a proprioceptor that reacts to the magnitude, speed, etc. of this stretch. The Olympic lifts take advantage of this reflex. A high proprioceptive stretch reflex will be observed in anyone who has the ability to display Explosive abilities. Thus, the proper execution of the Olympic lifts train the muscle spindles.
This is all just off the top of my head, I imagine this gives you a pretty good idea of what my opinion is. If you have any further questions, rebuttals, your own opinion or other things to add (that goes for anybody reading this), please feel free to do so.
Thanks,
Ryan