Programming Corner: Olympic Weightlifting Cycle

Olympic Weightlifting: October 14th to Dec 15th

Goal: Increase athlete’s olympic lifts.

This olympic Weightlifting cycle will expose our members to specific olympic weightlifting strength. We will be using weightlifting complexes and traditional lifts to help expose athletes to increased intensity and time under tension while still maintaining a heavy emphasis on technique. 

Below is a lift of our priorities of the cycle.

Weightlifting

• Snatch, Clean and Jerk

• Squats (maintenance)

  • Back

  • Front

  • Overhead

Gymnastics (metcon)

• Ring Dips

• Pull ups

• Pistols

Metcons

• Heavy 1-2 x / Week

• High intensity, power intervals 1 x / Week

• GPP

Accessories

• Snatch Pulls

• Clean Pulls

• Unilateral squat

• Isometric Core

• Upper Body stability

Tests:

• 1 Rep Max Snatch

• 1 Rep Max Clean & Jerk

Training the lifts:

We will be using a mix of complexes and traditional lifts for this cycle. We will vary this from week to week with one week using a complex in the snatch and a traditional clean and jerk session in the same week and the following week will be the opposite in which we’ll have a traditional lift in the clean and jerk and a complex in the snatch. The goal with this is to be more varied in our coaching and delivery. 

Context:

This cycle has 1 main goal: Increase athletes’ Snatch & Clean and Jerk. The movement pattern we’re looking for is a SQUAT in both the snatch and the clean and jerk. 

A side goal is to increase athletes technical ability on these lifts and their understanding of the nuances of traditional Olympic weightlifting technique versus the higher volume CrossFit olympic weight lifts.

Advanced/Intermediate L2: Olympic Weightlifting

Athletes in this category are those with good technical ability in the two lifts. They don’t have to be the heaviest lifters but their technique is good and more consistent. These athletes want to be as close to the written percentages as possible. 

In order for these athletes to get the most out of this cycle, encourage them to get to the gym 5x/week and hitting all the accessory work after class. 

NOTE: Athletes with poor technique but are considered to be advanced or intermediate because of their experience and fitness levels will be the toughest challenge for you as a coach. It will be important to work with these athletes to get them bought into the “technique first” approach. If you need to fix a movement pattern (example: athletes who can power more than they can squat because of how they perform their lifts) it will take a lot of finesse and convincing, however it will be extremely worth it if they stick to the process.

Beginner/Intermediate L1: Technical Focus

The biggest roadblock for beginner and intermediate athletes in this cycle will be the use of complexes. These will be simplified as needed during the cycle in the scaling options. Movement pattern is more important than load. This is a great cycle for beginner and intermediate because it can help set them up for success in the long run. 

Cycle Priorities: 

Snatch and Clean & Jerk : Our target is to increase their lifts. We are testing the 1 rep max of  each lift in the first week of this cycle and again in week 8. The more beginner the athletes are, the higher the chances of success in that goal. The more experienced and advanced the athlete, the less chances athletes have to improve the actual number. 

Beginner: What will bring athletes to be successful is their technical improvement and confidence in their ability to do the actual lift. Your job with beginner athletes is more technical. 

Advanced: Success for advanced athletes can be as little as an RPE change in their 1 rep max. Advanced athletes with impeccable technique rely more on the loading progressions than beginners. But considering that advanced athletes in class are not professional weightlifters, what will hold them back will most likely be bad habits. Having a strong focus on details and dialing back loading when you feel is appropriate will be crucial. 

Squats (Maintenance): There will be one squat dedicated session every week. The squat will change every week from back to front to overhead. The percentage for this squat will be around 80-85% or so which is heavy for the amount of reps we’ll be doing.  

Metcons: Our metcons will include one heavy metcon per week, one interval specific per week that will aim to help athletes maintain their power endurance. Otherwise, our metcons will be more classic CrossFit with a GPP focus. 

Accessories: The accessories in this cycle are closer linked to the goals of the training cycles than the previous cycles. Anyone who wants to really improve their ability to lift heavier in these technical lifts should look to include these accessories in their training for the next 8 weeks.