• Fitness & Health
• Sport & Exercise Science
• Physical Education
• Strength & Conditioning
• Sports Medicine
• Sport Management
• Dance

Why We Continue to Olympic Lift

This is an excerpt from New Functional Training for Sports 3rd Edition by Michael Boyle.

The use of the Olympic lifts has become controversial as more coaches embrace the simplicity of the trap-bar jump, but we believe that Olympic lifting enhances athleticism and develops eccentric strength. Most importantly, it’s fun.

Athleticism

Olympic lifting has been shown to have excellent effects on total body power, but increased power outputs are not the most important reason to Olympic lift. The number one reason we do Olympic lifts is for the positive effect on coordination and athleticism. I don’t know if there is anything more beautiful to watch in the weight room than a well-performed Olympic lift.

Forty years of experience tell me that the best athletes are also the best Olympic lifters. Coaches might ask themselves if this is a chicken and egg scenario. Are better athletes better Olympic lifters, or do Olympic lifts make you a better athlete? I am not completely sure, but based on what I have observed, heard, and read, I believe Olympic lifting enhances athleticism. I have compared Olympic lifting to tumbling in relation to Olympic lifting’s ability to develop athletic ability. I love that an athlete has to perform a jump (the concentric part of the lift) and then navigate a moving object to create the receiving position (the eccentric portion, or the catch).

Eccentric Strength

The number two reason to Olympic lift is to develop eccentric strength. Pulling a weight is one thing. Actually catching and decelerating that same weight is another. Producing a powerful concentric contraction and then catching and decelerating a moving object might be the most difficult and beneficial skills an athlete can be taught in the weight room. They also might be the best injury-prevention work you can do. Not only producing force but also managing force and decelerating a load are critical skills to learn in contact sports.

I happen to think there is tremendous injury-prevention value in the eccentric strength developed in the catch portion of the Olympic lifts. In sport, injuries often come while absorbing contact, not while delivering a blow. This rapid eccentric component is not present in any exercise besides the Olympic lifts, which makes them of particular benefit to the muscles around the shoulder girdle. In my years as a hockey and football strength coach, shoulder separations and concussions were rare. I think Olympic lifting played no small part in that.

Fun

Fun? Yes, Olympic lifting is fun. Some athletes learn to enjoy the grind of attempting to lift a heavy load. However, I don’t think many people would describe a heavy set of squats or deadlifts as fun. Athletes seem to enjoy Olympic lifts much more. In fact, I always believed Olympic lifts were the great equalizer in the weight room. In sports such as American football, the smaller, more explosive athletes rarely competed with their larger teammates in the bench press and the squatting movements, but in the Olympic lifts, the skilled athlete could often outlift a heavier, larger teammate. This was both rewarding and fun.

More Excerpts From New Functional Training for Sports 3rd Edition

---