MR. Platehead

In some ways it would be so easy if it was just about
teaching the Olympic lifts and centering training on those two lifts and
derivative movements. So simple, yet oh so boring, but beyond boring it would
be flat out wrong, it is a narrow perspective on training in general and
strength training in particular. Olympic lifting movements are part of a bigger
picture, but what we have going is a sheep walking phenomenon where this is
preached as the “way’ by certifying organizations. I expected to be taught the
Olympic lifts when I went through the USA Weightlifting Level One
certification. I was there not to be a weight lifting coach but to learn any
technical nuances and better progressions. I did it and we had to show a degree
of proficiency in the lifts and progressions to be certified (I abhor that
term, it always reminds of certifying beef). The USWF course proved useful, it
helped me to do a better job of teaching pulling technique, although I must
admit I have not taught pulling with a bar since the course. I include pulling
and shrugging movements frequently through each microcycle in strength
training, but with other modes aside from a bar. This reflects the sports and
individuals I am working with, one size does not fit all.  

Strength is not the only biomotor quality and there are many ways
to develop strength and power. The key is to understand the spectrum demands of
the sport, not just the strength demands, and then to chose appropriate
training methods to address those demands. What is happening now is that we are
certifying one trick ponies who fit one mode of training to every athlete they
work with regardless of the applicability. They are so narrow in their
perspective that they do not know what they don’t know. To get a feeling for
that perspective try watching a game through the hole in an Olympic weight
plate – it definitely narrows your perspective. That is what is happening.