Programming Corner: Power Endurance Cycle
Power Endurance: August 12th to October 13th
Goal: Increase athletes' ability to produce submaximal force over a longer period of time or over more volume.
This Power Endurance phase is about getting our members exposed to more volume of power specific olympic weightlifting and increasing their resistance to fatigue both in power output and in technique. It’s also important to understand what POWER is. We’re looking to increase an athlete's ability to produce force QUICKLY relative to an external object (barbell in this case).
Power Endurance has us implementing limited rest and a controlled percentage in the hopes of increasing their work capacity and maintaining their technique at a relatively heavy load for the volume requested.
Tests:
30 Bar Muscle ups for Time / 30 Kipping Chest to Bar Pull ups for Time - This test will be done in Week 1 of the cycle and in Week 8
For Time: 20 Snatches @ 75% & 20 Cleans @ 75% - This test will only be done in Week 8 Context: This cycle has 2 main goals that we can prioritize based on the level of our members:
Power Endurance: Increase athletes endurance at submaximal loading (75%)
Technical Endurance: Increase athletes ability to execute technically sound movement at submaximal loading or intensities
Advanced/Intermediate L2: Power & Technical Endurance Athletes in this category are those who have a good understanding of the movements and the nuances between the power and the squat lifts.
They understand the main goal of the power lifts as increasing their ability to generate vertical force & speed. They may not be technical masters but they can execute a Power snatch or Clean AND a Squat Snatch or Squat clean quite well. They also have a good understanding of the Bar Muscle up skill although they may not have a ton of endurance.
For these athletes, the goal of the cycle is truly to focus on the actual power output (Reps executed at the desired %) & the technical endurance is always a focus but for these athletes it’s less of an obstacle.
We may have to adjust the % up or down based on their capacities. An example of this is to lower the % for your most advanced athletes who have a very powerful profile. 85% in a power snatch may not be possible for multiple reps. Athletes may need to have their % increased, especially athletes who may have slightly less technical ability and as a result their max olympic lifts are lower than their potential.
No matter what however, technique is always a priority with olympic lifts since the movement pattern is CRUCIAL for improvement. If you have athletes in this category that consider their % light but have major technical flaws, increasing the % to match the RPE is not appropriate.