While training for an opportunity to push at the 1996 U.S. Bobsled National push championships, I received an injury to my right shoulder. The Bobsled team, at that time, required an eight-item test, which included 30, 60, 100, and 300-meter sprints, five consecutive hops, vertical jump, 16lb. weight toss, and a power clean, as their testing protocol. Formerly in an athletic program that did not require the power clean as a mandatory lift, I had no experience with such a highly technical lift. To make matters worse, a coach who was at that time, fairly new to the technical instruction of the power clean, tutored me although not very well. With improper tutelage and lack of effective monitoring, my technical abilities were limited and as a result my right shoulder was injured during a missed lift.
My story is not an uncommon one. Numerous athletes, and some excellent technicians with regard to Olympic lifts, injure themselves, for various reasons with explosive lifts. In this article I would like to discuss the reasons I believe coaches need to reconsider their position as to the usage of Olympic lifts in their training programs.
A coach's influence on their athletes is an enormous responsibility. Athletes depend on their coach for guidance and direction in many aspects of their sport. One of the many areas a coach will influence their athletes is in the realm of strength and conditioning. Unfortunately, due to budget restraints, many coaches are not able to attend important seminars or workshops whish focus on the athlete's strength and conditioning needs and are left with the difficult task of designing programs based from journals or videotapes purchased from various experts and organizations. While the use of journals and videotapes can be beneficial in the establishment and understanding of training protocols, we must remember excellence in regards to lifting skills are developed over time and with professional supervision and are not mastered by reading journals or viewing videotapes.
The coach should understand that skill development is essential within the foundational programming of the athlete. Unfortunately skill development does not receive the consideration that is needed by many coaching staffs and strength and conditioning organizations who promote explosive strength training methods utilizing free weights. The term "skill development" is no longer a progression towards technical expertise culminating with a highly skilled Olympic lifting program, instead the norm looks quite different.
In volume 14, number 2 of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal; an article appeared on page 19 titled "Maxing out in the power clean using a 10-point scoring system". The article reviewed a 10-point grading system for each athlete's lift. Each athlete was awarded points based on each phase of the lift and permitted to continue to the next weight level based on their previous performance grade. If the athlete received an eight or higher point grade, they moved forward with their lifts. If the point grade was seven or lower, they were not credited with the lift, but would be given an opportunity to repeat the lift if the grade was above six. From the surface, this method of monitoring lifts would appear effective and reduce potential injuries to the athlete. However, as minute as two points may seem, they correspond to proper or improper technique of an explosive movement generating a great deal of momentum. If the athlete has not previously trained or has any postural anomalies creating joint instabilities, the athlete becomes "an accident waiting to happen." Lack of skill or a missed lift may be just that impetus necessary for an athlete to experience a career ending injury.
Many coaches are not able to spend time perfecting their own skills, let alone have time to truly perfect their numerous athlete's skills in such a short period of time. Regrettably, a number of strength and conditioning coaches and organizations will disagree with this statement to the detriment of the young athlete. It is not that these coaches and organizations wish to see athletes injured, but I do feel a more responsible approach is needed, such as utilizing equipment and movements, which are less hazardous.
Some organizations have designed workshops demonstrating highly technical lifts such as the power clean, snatch, clean and jerk, and squat utilizing many experts in the field, both technically and programmatically. However, these workshops are usually 2-3 days long, and are unable to train the coaching staff in these lifts to the degree of technical expertise needed for imparting a high quality of skill to their students.
Another problem is in the application of such lifts. A number of coaches are concerned with the immediate application of the above mentioned lifts and their impact on a team's performance. Coaches do not like to consider that another team's program may be superior to their own team's program. Unfortunately, many organizations believe that without the Olympic lifts, a team is a disadvantage. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are other methods by which a coach can program their athlete and develop the necessary explosive abilities required for their sport. The concern is that without an extended skill development phase monitored by technical experts, the athlete may be put in harms way.
Olympic lifts require an athlete to move heavy loads, utilizing high velocities, which initiates momentum during the acceleration phase of the lift. Once upward movement has decreased to the point where gravitational forces overcome the bar, the athlete must catch the bar by dropping underneath it. If the athlete has any postural distortions, particularly with shoulders, back, or knees, and miscalculates the lift or has poor technique, injury potential becomes markedly increased. Why take the risk of injuring an athlete and their career with lifts that have not ever been proven to enhance an athlete's ability to play their sport? The first duty of a strength and conditioning coach is to design and teach a strength and conditioning program that enhances the already God given talent of the athlete, with the safest program possible.
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