The Olympic Lifts Are About Power and Triple Extension
Been there, done that. It’s probably the first rationale you hear. “The O-lifts are for generating power. “ More specifically, “O-lifts build power in the triple extension.” (triple extension being hip, knee, ankle) I can’t tell you how many times I made the case for O-lifts based on this rationale alone.
This one will throw lots of O-lift advocates a bit. It’s not so much that this is a myth. Both points are correct. I’m including it as a myth because many coaches think this is the whole reason. They will argue with other coaches that it’s about power and/or triple extension; end of story. If that were it than a lot of coaches who are opponents would be right.
powerful triple extension
The 2ndpull of the clean & snatch, and the jerk, produce some of the highest power outputs of any training movements. That speaks volumes. Many of us love the chart in John Garhammer’s research which show the O-lifts having higher power output that heavy squats. Clearly you can train explosive strength with the Olympic lifts.
Here’s the catch (literally). If you base your reasoning on just the power output, then why not just do the pull variations explosively? There’s an argument for that based on it being easier to teach, fewer limitations to athletes with wrist concerns, and less technique to monitor in training.
If it’s just about power in the triple extension, then clean and snatch pulls are just as good.
That’s why this is a myth. The power output in the triple extension isn’t the whole story. People are leaving out a key part. The catch. Receiving the bar on a lift is an explosive resisted triple flexion.
One more time because thinking about this is new for many.
One of the greatest benefits of utilizing Olympic lifts as a training modality, is that they teach BOTH producing powerful triple extension and resisting triple flexion.
big eccentric forces on landing
If you just use pulls and skip receiving the bar, you’ve missed half the benefit for athletes. Clearly after an athlete has produce this explosive force, they now must rapidly relax many muscles, pull under the bar rapidly, and then rapidly resist the large forces pushing them down as they receive the bar. We have huge amounts of eccentric power. Eccentric power being expressed by resisting triple flexion.
Developing better eccentric power in the basic movement will give your athletes an edge. All things being equal, I’ll bet on the team using Olympic lifts over the team doing explosive pulls every time.
Why? Because out on the field advantage is gained by the athlete that is more powerful eccentrically as well as concentrically. Because eccentric flexion forces at the hip knee and ankle are what cause most lower body non-contact injuries.
When an athlete goes into a rapid change of direction at higher speeds, they have to apply large braking forces to the ground. That’s accomplished by controlling large eccentric forces as they bend their hip, knee and ankle to slow down and change direction. If you have higher eccentric power capacity, you can do this faster and in fewer steps than your opponent.
eccentric power resisting triple flexion gives you an edge
So many athletes (and coaches) and focused on running faster and jumping higher. What good is it without the ability to land or decelerate? That’s where injury happens. They are out of balance and don’t have the “brakes” to go with their “engine.” They can move fast, but they can’t react to an opponent.
Don’t miss out on half the benefits of an Olympic lift. The eccentric power in a fundamental athletic movement is a huge benefit. Recognize it. Program it. Educate your athletes and coaches on it. Finally, use it.
