Olympic lifts in a full body workout

[abett07]

I just had a weight session were I performed nothing but olympic lifts with very light weights and had lots of fun with these lifts.

Given the technical nature of these lifts can they provide good results with both size and strength to justify the extra effort required to learn the lifts ?

and can the olympic lifts still be used in a routine with lifts such as squats,deadlifts,benches ,presses without over training ?

[Abaddon]

Well, it all hinges on the relative worth of learning how to perform these exercises, and that really can only be decided by you.

The size and strength benefits will come with heavier weight. But heavier weight will only be possible with good technique, so... back to the relative worth question.

As for including them in a routine, yes they absolutely can be integrated. Spartigus is one member who trains in these lifts regularly, in addition to conventional bench, deads and squats.

And they are fun, for sure. The lighter the weight, the more of a cardio focus these lifts have - from my limited perspective, at least (think Crossfit). Clean presses and snatches etc are great exercises for building muscle and power.

But again, if you're not committed to learning proper form, it's a fool's endeavour.

[abett07]

Originally Posted by Abaddon

Well, it all hinges on the relative worth of learning how to perform these exercises, and that really can only be decided by you.

The size and strength benefits will come with heavier weight. But heavier weight will only be possible with good technique, so... back to the relative worth question.

As for including them in a routine, yes they absolutely can be integrated. Spartigus is one member who trains in these lifts regularly, in addition to conventional bench, deads and squats.

And they are fun, for sure. The lighter the weight, the more of a cardio focus these lifts have (from my limited perspective, at least. Think Crossfit). But you can consider clean presses and snatches etc as great exercises for building muscle and power.

But again, if you're not committed to learning proper form, it's a fool's endeavour.

thanks for the response ,just to clarify I dont want to sound lazy about learning proper form its just that I would want these exercises to give results that can be gained from lifts that are easier to perform such as squats and deadlifts

[Abaddon]

Originally Posted by abett07

thanks for the response ,just to clarify I dont want to sound lazy about learning proper form its just that I would want these exercises to give results that can be gained from lifts that are easier to perform such as squats and deadlifts

Never, ever, ever stop doing squats and deadlifts.
But all free weight exercises will give results if performed properly, and with heavy weight.

[Spartigus]

They can be good, they take time to learn though, but the amount depends on you. I played around with then for a while, they were a lot of gun. I know GL and Carl have a lot of experience with them as well, and they are very good at exercise programming so they will be able to give you a lot of insight.

I probably rushed into them a lot, and I did have quite a few close calls with almost getting hit with barbells and almost falling over and that sort of thing. But if you ease into them you will be fine.

I did the Oly lifts 2 times a week, but you can do them more often if you want and if it fits in with your program. But lets say you spend 2-3 weeks learning them with light weights + doing heavy front/back/overhead squats and a some heavy pressing and pulling you should hit everything.

You can read this too Chinese Olympic Training Methods

If you want to learn them, ontop of good youtube videos and reading online, you can read Tommy Kono's book, "Weightlifting Olympic Style", its a great book. Though the best thing would be coaching from a good coach.

[BendtheBar]

I use them with my fullbody approach. I use a structure like this:

--Pull exercise
--Squat exercise
--Press exercise
1-2 assistance exercise

My pull lifts are cleans, high pulls or rows, and once a week deadlifts. On days where I do light cleans I sometimes add in rows as an assistance exercise based on how my back feels.

[glwanabe]

Originally Posted by abett07

I just had a weight session were I performed nothing but olympic lifts with very light weights and had lots of fun with these lifts.

Good. It's good to have fun with you're sessions. It's even better when the moves performed are moves worth performing.

Given the technical nature of these lifts can they provide good results with both size and strength to justify the extra effort required to learn the lifts ?

Absolutely!

This question has been the basis for a lot of what Steve and I have been working on. The wholebody aspect of these lifts is tremendous.

When looking at Olympic programs that supplement a wider array of assistance exercses you see lifters with very impressive physiques.

More importantly is the fact that the assistenace work is truely treated as assistence work. They are not worried about bodybuilding, but rather at creating strength. The Olympic lifts reign supreme as the lift to progress. Assistence work is done a weights that will not impede this aspect in the training.

So far from what I have been able to dig up, the Russians may have some of the best natural weighlifting programs, followed closely by the Chinese. This is said in the context of programs with a wide array of assistance work being done.

Can the olympic lifts still be used in a routine with lifts such as squats,deadlifts,benches ,presses without over training ?

Yes!

Russian and Chinese lifters who's programs employ a wide array of assistance lifts.

[Pull14]

Going along with what the others have said, yes they are fun to perform and can do quite a bit in the strength/physique departments. It will take a long time to learn and perfect the lifts, so I'd suggest you just spent 10-15 minutes before or after your lifting and practice technique with an empty bar. It would also be great if you could get your hands on a camera so that you can review the lifts. This allow you to still focus on the "slow" lifts but also get technique work in for the oly lifts. When you feel that technique is good, you can start adding the lifts to your programming.

The slow lifts (squat,bench, dead, press) can and should be used along with the Olympic lifts. As for over training... training in weightlifting is all about adaptation.

The importance of the o-lifts in your program will depend on goals. If you want to focus on the snatch/c&j than all work will focus around them. If you simply want to add these lifts AS assistance, then it doesn't matter as much since the o-lift is the assistance and not the main lift.

[abett07]

what would be the best olympic lifts to start with besides the power clean ?

[Abaddon]

clean and press and snatches are 2 good exercises to start with.