Powercleans want from 125kg to 140kg. Bench press went from 305lbs to 325lbs. Full back squat went from 385lbs to 435lbs.
However, there were some problems associated with those gains (stiffness, unwanted hypertrophy).
An example for this year’s program modification has been:
Instead of doing three days of power cleans, we do one day of power clean (approx 110-125kg), one day of hang snatch (60-75kg) and one day of clean and jerk (100-110 kg).
Instead of back squatting heavy three times per week, we are doing one day of heavy back squat, one day of front squat (relatively light) and one day of a bench squat).
Seems to be working better. Less pain and suffering and more quality on the track.
May I know the time span those gains were made in?
I would suggest you to get a force mat, or even better an accelerometer, and check how the program is affecting the power output. You want to stay within certain drop-off points in order to progress more rapidly.
An alternative to changing exercises during the week is changing % of 1RM. That gives you the possibility to work on different portions of the power bell.
And how would you propose I pay for these items? Hahahaha…
A stop watch works well. And I have infrared timers for short accels that we use to monitor power over 10m.
Loss of power was not a problem, it was injuries (primarily sciatic problem) and CNS overload. He can jump up and easily grab a basketball hoop at 5’10" from a stationary position.
Also, why would I change his lifting loads for clean, snatch, jerk and squat if I am using the weights to work Max Strength? We do med-ball throws, box jumps and we sprint on the track for power.
As strength goes up, the ability to advance it over the same lifting volume without compromising overall CNS limits is reduced.
Switching the lifts from max strength to power doesn’t reduce the stress. In fact, it shifts that portion of it closer on the F/T curve to the sprinting, making things worse. If you test using weightroom output as a guide, you risk missing the real picture- results on the track.
You can:
Advance one lift and bring the others up to prev bests.
Advance several lifts with less lifts/reps overall.
this brings up an interesting dilemma. If you move up far enough, how do you pare the program? Do you drop reps on all the lifts or drop one of the lifts? If you drop one, do you drop the squat to keep the remaining lifts closer together or drop one of the others since the squat can remain farther to the right on the F/T curve? If you keep the squat, what would go?
Intuitively (or should I say, without thinking too much), I have decided to reduce our squatting volume, keep our Olympic lifts where they are, and let the bench press go up a bit. From experience in the last few years, increases in squatting and power cleans didn’t amount to improvements on the track. I assume if we started with a 60kg power clean and he improved to 120kg, we would see an improvement on the track.
Strangely enough, I’ve seen better correlations with bench press (when his bench press looked strong and effortless, his sprinting was good). Not entirely sure why. I assume it relates to General Organism Strength. The squatting and power clean improvements perhaps drained too much away from sprinting (similar muscle groups).
Ok. Sounds reasonable (last sentence, I presume you meant HAD assumed)
As for the second point- I’ve found the same thing and I remember coaches talking about it back when I was in Univ, BC (before computers).
Since we’re talking about fancy topics like omegawave, PNS, accelerometers, etc…have you ever looked into meditation type audio discs such as holosync? I imagine that would be a powerful tool to calm the SNS. I have a sample disc and find it to have quite an interesting effect.
And how would you propose I pay for these items? Hahahaha…
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Force mat is $ 1200, accelerometer is $ 3000.
A stop watch works well. And I have infrared timers for short accels that we use to monitor power over 10m.
A force mat or accelerometer are more selective and precise, as the performance components are less. You can say sprint over 10m is more specific, but it’s not about specificity, really.
Loss of power was not a problem, it was injuries (primarily sciatic problem) and CNS overload. He can jump up and easily grab a basketball hoop at 5’10" from a stationary position.
Power (and intermuscular coordination in the case of some accelerometer) monitoring is exactly about monitoring the CNS load. It’s not about jump height, that doesn’t tell much per se.
Also, why would I change his lifting loads for clean, snatch, jerk and squat if I am using the weights to work Max Strength? We do med-ball throws, box jumps and we sprint on the track for power.
You have came to the conclusion about changing exercises and intensities throughout the week by yourself, so you know the rationale.
Three high intensity weight sessions of the volume you have used in the past are just not physically bearable for a sprinter who has to perform power and track work on top of that. From there comes the CNS overload.
I was suggesting an alternative, but the solution you found is already a better one than what was previously done.
Switching the lifts from max strength to power doesn’t reduce the stress. In fact, it shifts that portion of it closer on the F/T curve to the sprinting, making things worse.
Volume minimization and buffering are the keys to manage the stress.
If you test using weightroom output as a guide, you risk missing the real picture- results on the track.
I was not referring to the accelerometer put on the barbell, rather jump testing. With certain accelerometer we can see clearly the CNS disrupting or stimulating effects of a training program. A bit less informative can be a force mat.
You can:
Advance one lift and bring the others up to prev bests.
Advance several lifts with less lifts/reps overall.
Personally preferring the second choice. But to do that, you cannot push them all in every training session, hence working with different percentages of 1RM, which is also functional to the simultaneous development of MxS and strength-speed (I use this term so that it suggests what kind of work I am referring to more than the generic term “Power”).
Do you drop reps on all the lifts or drop one of the lifts?
Which way was the correlation? Perhaps the bench was a reflection of his heightened levels (as expressed on the track) due to changes/reductions in training element loads?
“when his bench press looked strong and effortless, his sprinting was good”
Is that what you meant? Basically, good bench press (particularly heavy loads moved easily) correlated well with good sprinting performance. I agree that appropriate unloading (or should I say “proper management of loads”) was the root of the solution.
Cause and effect. I’m curious if you think that his bench performance perhaps was a reflection of his improved sprinting due to relaxing other training elements? (as opposed to his sprinting improved as a result of his benching)
I think it is the former (relaxing and managing other elements). I can’t say that the bench press improvement directly resulted in better sprinting. I have a lot of football players with great bench presses, but average speed.
Hate to say it, but I’d probably keep bench and squat in, and drop the Olympic lifts. The OL’s are closer to the sprint demands and could create problems. I do find the Olympic lifts a little more useful for tapering, as squatting tends to keep the athletes stiffer in the hips.
How many top sprinters had exceptional cleans or snatches?
Closer together on the F/T curve and closer in movement. Problem is, the OLs are also closer on the F/T curve to the sprinting itself, so potentially more competitive for the same CNS resources.
You certainly see this during the taper where bench press feels very easy. I can almost always get a PB in bench during the taper period. I think it’s quite a good measure of recovery.
