Are Olympic lifts the only way to get explosive?

I get a lot of questions from guys who believe that they need to do Olympic movements to get explosive. When I ask them why they either shrug their shoulders (most have narrow shoulders and no traps so I have to look closely) or they site some BS about wanting to be faster and this will help them be a better player or help them lift more. In other words they don’t really know what they mean.

Lee Atrill is a good mate of mine and one of the best Olympic lifting coaches going around. He has been to World Champs and Commonwealth games and he has a good coaching eye. Lee and I have a good healthy debate about the merits of the Olympic lifts. We are both conflicted of course. I am a powerlifter who believes simple is best. But I do have common sense on my side.

What I do see with athletes who are convinced that the Olympic lifting is the way to go is a long road ahead. The movements are difficult to learn. They tend to spend a lot of time stretching and working with broom sticks. I like to get my guys working from day 1 with the goal of getting stronger. I want to see progressive increases in strength levels and changes in body composition. I don’t see this when guys to stuff with a broom stick or PVC pipe for weeks on end.

This argument needs balance of course. 12 year old kids are a good project for Olympic lifting. I believe that kids this age who should be limited to working with light loads are best suited to engaging with the Olympic lifts. Bu the average guy who is 18 who starts weights needs to carefully consider the value of spending all of that time learning the movements when they could be getting strong with the powerlifts.

As for becoming explosive, for me it’s about getting strong in the first instance at least. Once the base has been built we can consider explosiveness. But that comes down the track. My strategy in this case is to work in the range of 40-60% with the powerlifts. This is explosive. Doing a half arsed power clean which is more like a reverse curl. This is not explosive.

There you have my views. There will be some who disagree and that’s fine. But don’t tell me that you need to do Power Cleans because Ben and Owen Franks do them. There are hundreds of guys in the NFL and NRL who are just as explosive who don’t do power cleans.

Ben Franks at Eastside

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Off season training for rugby and league players- the olympic lifts

I hear a lot of discussion about the importance of Olympic lifting to developing strength and power in rugby players and league players. Firstly I need to be upfront here. I am not an Olympic lifter and I am not from an Olympic lifting background. I am a powerlifter. I did use cleans and pulls in my training in the past and I am probably better placed than most to teach these movements. But I am a powerlifter and more comfortable with the powerlifts obviously.

From my perspective the current fixation with the Olympic lifts comes from a couple of different camps. There are those that look at the movements and see the explosive nature of them and then assume that they are the key to becoming powerful and fast. Others look at prominent figures like Owen Franks and want to copy what they do.

Where do I stand on the Olympic lifts? I certainly believe that they have their place. But they are not the most important element for me.

Technically the Olympic lifts are very difficult. This doesn’t stop people doing them. In fact I see them being performed poorly on a regular basis. The problem with poor technique is that the lifter exposes him or herself to the risk of injury. My other big issue is that poor technique means that the amount of weight that can actually be used will be very limited. And this really negates the benefit.

My approach to off season training is to include power cleans and pulls in phase 2 and 3 of of season training as follows:
(2) Maximal strength phase- 1 December to 31 January
(3) Power phase- 1 February to 31 March

In the initial 12 week block the 3 powerlifts are the foundation. I also use this phase to learn the Olympic lifting techniques that will be used in phase 2 and 3. This means that we will spend 30-45 minutes every 2 weeks during phase 1. This is a vitally important part of the program.

My experience has taught me that most rugby and league players pick up the powerlifts reasonably quickly and struggle with the technical aspect of the Olympic lifts. My approach of spending time working on technique during phase one and waiting until phase 2 until the movements are a significant part of off season training is designed to address this. This investment has proven to be a good one.

bigger stronger smarter

Ben and Owen Franks

Ben and Owen Franks in the gym this morning. Great to have these guys training at Eastside in the middle of the World Cup. Both hit PBs in the clean off blocks with Owen cleaning 150 kg.

These guys continue to take strength training and rugby to another level. It will be great to have them training with us during the off season.

Franks brothers

Ben Franks and Owen Franks, Crusaders and All Blacks. Crossfit Canterbury.

These guys don’t leave anything to chance.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/5193903/To-be-perfectly-Franks