THERE ARE NO SLOW LIFTS,,,JUST SLOW LIFTERS!

DISCLAIMER

I would like to start this article by saying, I have never invented anything. Everything I chose to do in the last year has been stolen from one source or another and pieced together to suit my needs. Yes there is an art in forming a solid training program,but I just wanted to start this article by saying ...My name is Mark and I am a pirate. If you have a great training idea, I'll steal it and use it. I'm sorry I can't help myself,it's who I am. I hope you can forgive me.

With that being said I would like to thank Louie Simmons,Joe Defranco,Kerry Overfelt John Smith,James Smith,Craig Smith and any other Smiths I may have forgotten.

THE PROBLEM

I am a fan of everything strength/throwing related. I am a professional heavy events athlete (the best and only summer job I have ever had) and the training I do for that sport is pretty intense. Many of the people outside the heavy events circuit have a hard time understanding what it takes to compete at the highest levels of that sport. The amount of events that have to be mastered and the sheer weight of the implements thrown can be overwhelming at times. Needless to say, you don't find many athletes on the highland games circuit who ,if they were being honest, will tell you that they are weak .

I have been in the sport for sixteen years ( I started when I was 16 years old) and for 15 of those years I trained the way I was told to train. I did my cleans, snatches, Olympic squats and core work like a good little thrower. I searched for any bit of info that would help me throw things farther,higher or straighter. I got pretty strong in the Olympic lifts, I cleaned 355 lbs. and snatched 270lbs. in 2006 and had a rock bottom Olympic squat of 550lbs.

I hated to clean though it hurt and the fact that I was inflexible in my upper body prevented me from racking a weight until the weight was heavy enough to push my hands down to my shoulders. My wrists hurt, my elbows hurt and I would get frustrated ,because some days I would be able to rack a heavy clean and other days the weight would be shot away from my body because of my rubber band like muscle tension. I could pull a clean grip hi pull to a pin set at mid chest with 475lbs. Yet my best clean was only 355lbs. Although my clean and snatch were getting better I had not hit a pr in the weights or stones in over two years. Something was wrong.

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION

I started to search out other ways of training and I found my way to Westside. No I'm not a lifter at Westside ,but the training they do there caught my eye. At first I tried to incorporate the Olympic lifts into the Westside template. I asked Louie Simmons about how to do it at a seminar and he made the comment “I don't like the Olympic lifts, but this is how you should do it.” I blew it off as a powerlifter talking trash about Olympic lifting and took his advice. Then I heard him talk again and he talked about how there were much better ways of developing power besides the Olympic lifts.

Louie said in his 2006 aticle entitled “Did you know”...” No one tries to lift a heavy weight slowly . In powerlifting , one must lift great loads. While these loads appear to move slowly, explosive strength is a must. In the United States, every university does some Olympic lifting. I ask them why. Their reply is that it builds explosive power. But in Europe, particularly in the old C.C.C.P,,who invented the term “explosive power”, they never mention the Olympic lifts. Dr. Yuri Vekhoshansky, who invented shock training, or , as we call it , plyometrics, talks about bounding ,jumping,plyometrics, and depth jumps ,but never Olympic lifts.

So I started reading everything I could from strength coaches who were ...

A. NOT USING THE OLYMPIC LIFTS

and

B. HAVING SUCCESS WITHOUT USING THE OLYMPIC LIFTS.

Louie Simmons,Joe Defranco and James Smith became required reading and I read everything they wrote.

Joe Defranco had a fantastic quote;

“To me, the Olympic lifts are kind of like a distant cousin…although you never see or talk to this cousin, you feel obligated to invite him/her to family parties, weddings, etc., because he/she is “family”. Like distant cousins, the Olympic lifts won’t go away because coaches feel obligated to “invite” them into any training program where “explosiveness” is one of the goals. The reason that most coaches feel obligated is because that’s what the coach before him/her did; and it’s what the coach before that coach did; and it’s what two coaches before that coach did. Hopefully you get my point. Well, it’s time to get out of this rut that we’ve been in for so many years and try something new. There are so many other options to develop “explosiveness” in athletes. Let’s start incorporating some other options! Hell, while we’re at it, let’s stop inviting distant family members that we barely even know to family parties and weddings! “

I decided to give it a shot,,,drop the Olympic lifts and see what happens. At this point I was almost sure I was going to fail and be back to the clean and snatch in a matter of months. My major problem was I knew I had to pull. The heavy events are almost all pulls. The caber, weights, weight for height, hammer even the stone is a pull. I looked around and didn't have to look much further then some other pros on the heavy events circuit who had already followed the path I was about to travel.

Craig Smith was known as a super powerful dude. 600 lbs. Zercher squats and 700lbs. Deadlifts are corner stones to Craigs training. I listened when he talked and watched his videos on line. I would add the deadlift to my training. Here is another tough pill to swallow. I have been told my whole life that the deadlift was too slow of a lift to help throwers...matter of fact it will MAKE YOU SLOW! (Even though this statement is a common one heard in throwing circles , it makes as much sense to me as lifting of any kind making you “muscle bound”.)Craig was anything but slow and his throws were and are through the roof. I decided to take his advice and add the deadlift.

The other pro I talked to was Kerry Overfelt. Kerry ,ranked in the top five in the U.S., Was another deadlifter. He is also a jumper. Kerry spends a lot of time jumping and doing Olympic style pulls in his training. Notice I said Olympic style pulls not Olympic lifts. So I had my program set I would deadlift, hi pull, box squat and do good mornings. Add in a few (very few) assistance exercises and I was good to go.

I also dropped the majority of my core training. I used to do endless amounts of twisting and turning, sit ups and leg lifts. Now I do Landmines, bar twists and standing abs. Sometimes I do one exercise per workout, sometimes I say screw it and go home early. My thinking here came from John Smith of Southern Illinois. He once told me that the best core training I could get would be from throwing and heavy squatting and pulling.

THE RESULTS

I spent the winter training and working my new plan. I would throw indoors with the shot put once a week or so and i was noticing my standing throws getting further. I chalked it up to the increased strength levels ,but I was sure when I went outside and started moving my throws would be down and I would be in big trouble. Well to make a long story not quite so long...my throws went up. I pr'd in the 28 and 56 #weights for distance and also the heavy hammer . My caber was much better and although I had a technique issue with my weight for height by the end of the season I was back on track with that as well. I was stronger, faster and more explosive ...AND I HADN'T DONE A CLEAN OR SNATCH IN ALMOST A YEAR!

MY ATHLETES

Thats me though, maybe I have some freak genetic mutation that makes me throw like junk when I do the Olympic lifts and throw far when I do the “slow lifts”. I needed a better test.

For the last three years I have been the strength coach for Marion L. Steele Amherst football and for the last ten years the throws coach as well. I am a certified strength and conditioning consultant and a USA weight lifting club coach. I work with athletes both at Steele High school and in my private s&c business. So when I dropped the Olympic lifts from my program I dropped them from the programs of the atheltes I trained as well. Guess what ? We improved! The kids got faster they got stronger and they threw further. Between the throwers I coach at Amherst and the athletes I work with in my private business I trained four throwers at the Ohio State Track and Field Championships last year. Adam Altabbaa went from 158' to 171' (discus)and placed 8^th (all state in Div.1) Drew Ebersole went from 155' to 179' (discus)and was third in Div.1, Steph Liptak was 12^th in Div.1(126' discus) and Kailey Volk was 12^th in Div.2.(120'discus). There program conisted of wide stance box squats, good mornings, heavy benches and deadlifts and lots of jumping. None of them did any Olympic lifts in 2006 or 2007.

In week ten of our football season I needed an exercise that would not tax my players legs and still give them a nice solid test and a fun workout before rivalry week. I decided that I would let the kids hang clean for the first time in about 9 months. I decided to keep them from trying to go for a pr so late in the season. I would let them go for a heavy set of three. We had at least ten athletes clean their former max or more for three reps without doing the powerclean! How is it possible? Deadlifts, box squats,hi pulls and weighted jumps. Stronger ,faster athletes and no sore wrists ,elbows or shoulders.

I remembered something Louie had mentioned at the NTCA conference last year . He said that if American lifters would do special exercises to increase the power and strength in the muscles that are used when cleaning and snatching that their clean and snatch would get better. I think he may have something here. It sounds simple ,but many American Olympic lifters do not follow that advice. They spend all there time snatching,cleaning ,front squatting and back squatting,but don't do enough special exercises to increase their lifts.

I know the thought of dropping the Olympic lifts from your program might make you cringe. Believe me it made me cringe. Once I took the leap though my throws went up, I got stronger , my nagging injuries healed up and I was able to transfer my new found power to field. My athletes improved and got faster in the ring and on the football field.

My advice to coaches is to stop taking months or years teaching your athletes to clean and snatch so they can have “perfect technique” . I want my throwers to have perfect THROWING TECHNIQUE I don't care how well they can do a snatch. You have 4 years at best to train your athletes , get them strong now. Don't take weeks or months teaching them to do cleans with a pvc pipe,when you can take five minutes and teach them to box squat or jump.

I don't expect many coaches or athletes to drop the Olympic lifts from their training. I would be surprised if that happened,but if one athlete takes the path less traveled,,,well ,then that would make all the difference!

good stuff!!!

Like I have said before.  if your a good Olympic Lifter and not so good at Power lifting you should probably put more effort into Powerlifting.

If your a good Powerlifter but a shitty olympic lifter you should probably do more olympic lifting.

I have also said this before,  THEY BOTH WORK !!! 

Mark is a great example,  Quality Olympic numbers, Quality enough to throw far.  He was at a level in O- lifts to throw far.  Switching to Power type lifting was a good choice because that was where he had more to gain.  Upon completion he had it ALL, both good o- lifts and power lifts!  NOT one sided.  AND.........PR's thru the arse!

So I say to you, the great power lifters,  Do some cleans and snatches!  I say to you, the great cleaner and snatcher get after some deads and squats!

I'm done.

Roy Bogue wrote: Like I have said before.  if your a good Olympic Lifter and not so good at Power lifting you should probably put more effort into Powerlifting. If your a good Powerlifter but a shitty olympic lifter you should probably do more olympic lifting. I have also said this before,  THEY BOTH WORK !!!  So I say to you, the great power lifters,  Do some cleans and snatches!  I say to you, the great cleaner and snatcher get after some deads and squats!

Great wisdom Roy.

Great article, Mark.

I think throwers who do dedicated oly lifting programs are only hurting themselves.

Valenti wrote: Changing the exercise every week is the only way I can train this heavy year around without getting hurt.

My max effort PRs were always set on the second week after I got used to the exercise again.  I understand why you change (to avoid the chance of injury as you said).  Takes some discipline not to go for that big one the second week though.  Sometimes a 30-40lb jump over the first week.  Shows you are keeping throwing as the primary goal.  Smart.  Thanks for the posts.

Valenti wrote:  in Europe, particularly in the old C.C.C.P.,who invented the term “explosive power”, they never mention the Olympic lifts. Dr. Yuri Vekhoshansky, who invented shock training, or, as we call it , plyometrics, talks about bounding, jumping, plyometrics, and depth jumps, but never Olympic lifts.

I have resisted responding to this specific point in Mark's article, but have come to the conclusion that I should.  The point noted above is either the result of some type of misunderstanding or was taken entirely out of context.  If Verkhoshansky never mentioned the Olympic lifts, it was simply because there was no need to promote the O-lifts in the Soviet Union, as they were universally considered an essential and integral part of any power athlete's training program. 

Perhaps what Verkhoshansky was doing was promoting the findings from his sports science studies that indicated the benefits to power athletes offered by various types of jumping, a fact that was presumably not well-established or widely known at that time.  In contrast, he had no need whatsoever to promote or discuss the benefits offered by Olympic lifting movements. 

I have recently discussed this point with my old coach, who was a coach in Poland during the Soviet era and actually lived and coached/studied in Russia for 6 months.  He confirmed that all Soviet throwers and other power athletes would definitely include a variety of Olympic lifting movements in their training routines. 

Whether the Olympic lift variations necessarily need to be included in a thrower's lifting routine in addition to various forms of plyometrics might be a debatable point, but the fact that all Soviet, Eastern block, and virtually all other throwers have actually done so is not.