I’ve heard alot of people on this board saying that maximal strength for sport is nothing without the explosive power to go along with it. I’ve heard Olympic lifting is just the thing, but where do I go about finding an olympic lifting program, since I have no idea what in the world it is. Thanks FootSoldier
Aurthur Dreschler’s “Weightlifting Encylopedia” is the best place to start. It’ll have detailed descriptions on how to perform the OL lifts and many of their variations. Or, find a weightlifting coach in your area and have him take you through a couple sessions to learn the lifts. IMHO, you really don’t need to learn the olympic lifts themselves. Instead, focus on the following: power clean, power snatch, push press, power jerk, snatch pulls, and clean pulls. You will get the exlposive benifets without having to focus on technique quite as much. The actual OL lifts could take a while to learn to execute in a safe enough manner befor you can use any meaningful weight. Now back to you in the studio.
you could just get by on really hang clean pulls and power clean pulls probably (the push press may help, but the jerk is pretty much useless). I think charles staley has an article on how to do the pulls, for athletes who don’t have the time to learn full on lifts at meso-rx or some place like that… Other thing to note, the ever unpopular Mel Siff is a big proponent of overhead squats, he mentions football players and other athletes who got great benefit from them.
It should be pointed out that explosive power does not have to be reserved for just Olympic lifts. Squats, Benches and Deadlifts can also be done explosively if one follows Prilepin’s table of sets and reps. Check out any member of Westside Barbell, and you’ll see how explosive a powerlift can be. Jim