Weightlifting: Strength & Power Training for All Sports Harvey Newton USA Weightlifting, the governing body for the Olympic sport of weightlifting, is currently experiencing unprecedented growth. This is largely due to CrossFit, the popular fitness training modality that embraces the use of weightlifting s competitive movements, the snatch and the clean and jerk. With this increased popularity of weightlifting many ask, Should I attempt to train like a weightlifter? This is a challenging, technical sport. Maybe I should just stay with bench press, lat pull-downs, and leg extensions. True, learning proper and safe technique in the competitive lifts takes time and requires solid instruction. But, the competitive lifts also call for a coordinated, total body effort performed explosively, all physical characteristics present in most other sports. This article provides insights into how non-lifter athletes can benefit greatly from weightlifting training. When I was asked to author Explosive Lifting for Sports the basic premise was how non-lifter athletes could benefit from this type of training. The list of sports and their application of these lifts include: Baseball Basketball Football Ice Hockey Soccer Tennis & Racquet Sports Track & Field Volleyball Wrestling That is the short list of sports in which athletes choose to train like weightlifters. It s easy to expand the list to include nearly all Olympic
sports, including, at least from my personal experience rowing, cycling, shooting, bobsled, and even figure skating. It should be noted here that even within the world of barbell sports incorrect terminology might lead to confusion. Without getting too scientific, the non-olympic sport of powerlifting (squat, bench press, deadlift) is truly strength lifting. These athletes produce a modest amount of power by moving huge weights slowly through relatively short ranges of motion. Weightlifters, on the other hand, move lighter masses explosively through greater ranges of motion, thus producing much greater power. Thus, weightlifters are truly powerlifters and powerlifters are actually strength lifters! Confused? Let s consider a continuum of resistance training possibilities. Note that weightlifting is the most advanced form of resistance training. It s a good idea not to begin one s lifting experience at that end of the continuum. In fact, one is well advised, as in any sport, to start simply and progress through to the more complex activities over time. As will be explained shortly, this does not preclude an athlete from learning the basics of weightlifting technique while at the same time engaging in more general resistance training. Terminology Today athletes from virtually all sports in the Olympic Family engage in some sort of resistance training. This is the correct term for various ways in which resistance is utilized for muscular benefit. The popular and most commonly used (but incorrect) term is strength training. However, this is a very specific term, suggesting certain variables are in place to cause real gains in strength. Unfortunately many athletes fail in this pursuit. Any properly designed resistance training program produces four primary by-products: - increased strength and/or power
- improved body composition - greater flexibility - injury protection Resistance training may include bodyweight, elastic bands, resistance training machines (plate loaded, weight stack, inertial, hydraulic, etc.), training in the pool, or free weights (barbells and dumbbells). The term strength training is relatively new. Organizations such as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (originally the National Strength Coaches Association) popularized this term by working with non-weightlifters to increase strength for improved sporting performance on the court or field. True strength training requires the use of external loads of sufficient intensity to produce real gains in maximum, or near maximum strength. As in all sports, training with greater intensity of effort also results in fewer repeated efforts, or repetitions. To truly develop greater strength one must utilize high resistance and fewer reps. Unfortunately far too many poorly informed athletes avoid real strength training due to the misconception that training with higher loads leads to undesired increases in muscular bulk. Such is not the case. Of course not all sports require maximum, or near maximum strength during performance. It is incumbent upon coaches to determine an athlete s particular needs. Would additional strength transfer to improved sports performance? If yes, we know that strength training can accomplish that goal. But regardless of the need for additional strength, nearly all athletes can benefit from greater power. Power, simply stated, is explosive strength. Both strength and speed of movement contribute to improved power. A naturally explosive athlete who is deficient in strength can increase power by becoming stronger.
Finally, achieving optimal flexibility and increased injury protection due to stronger bones, muscles, and connective tissue contributes to improved sporting performance. Training Variables Although this is not a black and white issue, real strength training normally consists of medium to heavy loads with rep schemes of six or fewer. Strength/power athletes should train this way most of the year. Moderate loads that utilize eight to 12 reps tend to focus on muscular hypertrophy. Although most people tend to train with this rep scheme it does not mean that the average person performing three sets of 10 arm curls experience a significant increase in upper arm circumference. Light loads with which one may perform greater than 15 repetitions tend to focus on muscular endurance. This scheme is often popular among endurance athletes, often fearful of getting too big. It should be noted that for many athletes muscular endurance is better achieved via one s specific sport than in the weightroom. How one trains tends to dictate the benefits obtained. A weightlifter or powerlifter is unlikely to do well in a bodybuilding (hypertrophy) competition or a repeated effort (muscular endurance) performance. Similarly, the bodybuilder, with the greatest hypertrophy, is not going to win at weightlifting or powerlifting. Finally, the individual who performs 25 reps with light loads will not excel in weightlifting, powerlifting, or physique. Sport specific training suggests that a training modality should mimic the physical characteristics of one s sport. It s often been pointed out that there is no barbell on the football field or basketball court, therefore why perform explosive lifts like snatches or cleans? While this point is accurate another consideration is whether or not joint angles (against resistance) in certain exercises may simulate field or court performances. Applying explosive power against an external resistance in a manner similar to a sport has obvious benefits. Two exercises popularly used by volleyball, for example, are the power snatch and the push press. Both
involve triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips, ending up with the hands overhead, not unlike in the game itself. But there are dangers in trying to make common barbell exercises too sport specific. Years ago, while serving as a consultant to USA Cycling, I noted that juniors were encouraged to squat with their feet fairly close together and spread forward and rearward about the length of their bike s two crank arms. From the standpoint of sport specificity this might make sense. However, squatting with an external load on the shoulders in this posture is likely to cause injury. We are trying to guard against injury, not cause one! Coaches must learn a good deal about resistance training if they are to implement a sound training program for their charges. Not everyone may need, or is ready for the same routine or the same intensity. Minus this level of experience, a sport coach is well advised to seek the talents of a strength training specialist. Why Weightlifting? Popular acceptance of strength training for improved sports performance began in the late 1950s. At this time, before the advent of resistance training machines and the appearance of weightlifting s barbell rival, powerlifting, weightlifters were the model for improved muscular strength and power. What s old is new again, right? Today we find weightlifting riding a huge wave of acceptance as the best way to resistance train. Although much of this has been backed up by extensive scientific research, there remain many detractors. Again, training like a weightlifter may not be necessary, or even suggested, for everyone, but it is certainly worth a look. Gains in muscular strength, power, hypertrophy, and flexibility are readily available through weightlifting training. As stated earlier, in order to assure long term benefits and to establish safe and effective technique it s a good idea to adopt a long-range (multi-year) approach to this type of training.
Mastering the Lifts The majority of today s strength coaches echo the benefits of training like a weightlifter, so why not? The first step is to establish a solid foundation of muscular fitness. One reason CrossFit athletes, particularly females, find weightlifting an easy sport into which to transition is that their CrossFit activity has created a very strong, solid foundation. There are no hard and fasts rules, although USA Weightlifting does suggest evaluating new lifters via several screening movements. Minus these, can an athlete hold a plank for several minutes? Can he/she perform full range of motion push-ups or parallel bar dips? Are full range of motion, non-kipping pull-ups or chin-ups achievable? How about lunging across the court and back? If suitable muscular strength and flexibility are evident, the weightroom novice should engage in several months of general weight training ( weight lifting, two words) or bodybuilding. After gaining an appreciation for the basics of barbell exercises via neural adaptation a beginner gains additional strength by engaging in a period of powerlifting. During this introductory training it is vital to also learn effective weightlifting technique. Using a dowel or PVC, or extremely light weights, a lifter practices both the split and squat style techniques for snatch and clean. There s a lot more to these lifts than simply yanking the barbell off the platform and hoping it moves into the correct receiving position. Learn correctly in the beginning and progress will continue for many years. While learning technique for later use these movements also serve as an excellent warm-up for the more general training that follows. Once the solid foundation is established, it s time to move to the platform. Coaches, in particular, are encouraged to take part in USA Weightlifting coaches certification programs so they can learn correct teaching sequences, basic training programs, and other foundational components of this sport. Finally
Any form of resistance training must be adjusted to the competitive calendar of the athlete s chosen sport. While resistance training is encouraged as a year- round activity, we must realize that the primary focus is on other sport results. Weight training, or weightlifting, is easily utilized during offseason, preseason, and in-season. In fact, use of weightlifting movements even during the peak of the competitive season (scaled back in terms of intensity and volume) quickly reinforces the physical benefits of training earlier in the year. In other words, a brief training session, once or twice a week, that consists of a few sets of combination exercises, such as power snatches followed by overhead squats, or power cleans followed by front squats followed by push press successfully maintain offseason gains in strength, power, and flexibility. One does not need to search far in order to find non-lifters singing the praises of explosive lifting. Even if a non-weightlifter may never step onto the competition platform the simple utilization of this sport s training methods provides a fun, challenging, and rewarding diversion. Harvey Newton was USA Weightlifting s first national coach. He served as the 1984 USA Olympic Team Coach for weightlifting, along with being the USAW executive director (1982-1988). While at NSCA (1993 1999) Newton served as Executive Director, Director of Program Development, and Editor-in-Chief of Strength & Conditioning Journal. The author of Explosive Lifting for Sports, he heads up Newton Sports (www.newton-sports.com), a coaches education operation.