If you want to compete in the Olympic lifts, doing them 1x/week will not work. You'll have to do them a minimum of 3x/week, which will require a completely different schedule than the one you propose.
Member
Olympic lifting question
Mark,
I am starting to train with an Olympic lifting coach on Saturdays because I would like to eventually compete. I have competed in powerlifting for a few years ( I am 37) and want to continue (550 squat, 405, bench, 605 deadlift) but I am a complete novice with the olympic lifts. Would you take a look at my proposed layout. My thinking is that two of the days will be really to drive strength and the Olympic day to learn the lifts.
Thursday
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
haltings 1x8/rack pull 1x5
Saturday
Olympic lifts
Monday
Squat 5 singles/5 doubles across
Bench 5 singles/5 doubles across
power clean 5x3/power snatch 5x2/shrugs 1x5
Thank you
TMPHBITEU
If you want to compete in the Olympic lifts, doing them 1x/week will not work. You'll have to do them a minimum of 3x/week, which will require a completely different schedule than the one you propose.
Member
I would also say that if you can, try to find instruction more than 1 day a week - I was originally self-taught mostly, and then finally got 1 day a week instruction. Later, I had a chance the work with a coach three times a week - the progress I made in comparison was AMAZING - I think I added 10kg to both my lifts in less than a month. You're strong enough that technique will be the main issue, and it takes a while to get to the point where you are even aware enough of what you're doing well to benefit too much from doing it yourself. If you can, even for a limited period, get more coaching, that'll make the process a lot easier and faster.Originally Posted by miked96
Right now, I'm back to getting coaching 1 time a week, but I've got a good enough idea of what I'm doing wrong when I mess up that those other two days are pretty productive. It's taken a good while to get there though.
Also, you should ask your coach for a program - Olympic programming can be kind of weird, and tends not to be quite as straight forward as programming for powerlifting. Moreover, everyone has really strong opinions about how you should program, and these can often be contradictory. The best thing to do is whatever your coach tells you to do, since then you don't have to deal with trying to process all that crazy contradictory information.
vxmorpheusxv
I haven't had a coach, so please stop me if I'm speaking out of turn, but I wouldn't go so far as to do what I bolded above. Generally it seems like a bad idea to follow someone blindly.
TMPHBITEU
I'm glad you pointed that out, v.
Member
Sorry, I said it a bit more absolutely than I meant to - I ask my coach why my program is the way it is, why she uses certain cues, etc, etc, but I just find that following a single style, especially at the beginning, can help you with the consistency that is vital in Olympic lifting. Trying to merge different styles of lifting can be kind of confusing at the beginning, and the information out there for Oly lifting tends to be much lower quality than for power lifts.
I just personally had a bad experience cobbling stuff together from the internet, so if I had it to do over again (with access to a coach) I would tend to stick to what they suggested unless it was blatantly not working for me. At the same time, I still look at other sources for different perspectives, and I find that I'm less dependent on a coach as time goes on.
TMPHBITEU
The problem with Olympic weightlifting in the United States is that nobody does the sport, and consequently it is hard to find a coach, so most new lifters get to go through the process of rediscovering the sport and inventing their own coaching. This has been done by weightlifters for decades, and though far from ideal, it can work if you're willing to read, experiment, and pay careful attention to what seems to be working and what is not. This, plus the fact that many WL coaches are both expensive and incompetent, makes your approach the best in this situation. Read, watch, ask, evaluate, and decide.
Last edited by Mark Rippetoe; 11-28-2011 at 07:58 AM.
Member
I don't know if it's allowed to mention John Broz in Rip's forum but if you search the internets you will find some interesting information about his approach to weightlifting(heavy squats every day+ oly lifts).
Member
I can attest to this. My now ex-weightlifting coach once proudly announced "We have eliminated the back squat!" I asked him why and he explained some nonsense about specificity and the back squat being inferior to front squatting and then directed me to a Bud Charniga article he had printed out. For some perspective, there are 2 lifters out of the 25 or so regulars who can snatch bodyweight and plenty still who can't even c+j bodyweight.
He was a very shitty coach and I had to figure out seemingly basic things like hip extension vs jumping on my own while I forked over 100$/month. He also had an amusing habit of smack talking Kendrick Farris for "focusing too much on getting big and muscular".
TMPHBITEU
See what I mean? This is typical. You guys remember this next time somebody says there's nothing wrong with American weightlifting.
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