The Olympic lifts and their variations have long been a staple of athletic strength and conditioning programs. They are performed standing up, involve most of the muscles of the body, involve a “triple extension” movement pattern similar to many sports skills, are performed very quickly, and help to teach the athlete to generate power. This post will cover incorporating these lifts into an athletic strength and conditioning program.
Squat versus power?
The clean and the snatch can be done where the bar is received in a full squat. This variation is called either a squat clean/snatch or a classic clean/snatch. In time more weight can he handled in the squat variations due to the fact that the bar does not have to be lifted to as great of a height. The challenge is that these variations are a lot more technical and require a lot more time to master – which may or may not be a good use of an athlete’s limited training time. This is the variation used in weightlifting competition.
Receiving the bar in a quarter squat, called a power clean/snatch, is another major variation. With this variation the athlete can lift about 80-85% of the squat variation. The positive here is that these are less technical and can be learned more quickly.
To catch or not?
There is a variation of the clean and snatch where the bar is never caught. These are called snatch or clean pulls. In a pull the entire lift is performed except the catch. The lift ends after the explosive second pull is performed. This is easier to learn and, since there is no need to drop the weights, means you don’t need bumper plates or platforms! All the explosive benefits of the lifts without the technical headaches. Some of us still like catching or receiving the bar. It requires the development of strength to receive that bar, the snatch (for example) is a totally different exercise when you have to lift the bar overhead, and catching the bar requires the development of some mental grit.
How to incorporate
These lifts need to be done first when the athlete is the most fresh due to the amount of technique that they require. Because they require power and technique, they need a low volume – no more than 3-6 repetitions per set (3 on the squat variations). Three to five working sets. Note that an Olympic lifter will do a lot more sets of each exercise but they are trying to develop a level of strength and technical expertise that most athletes don’t require.
