Olympic Exercises - Olympic lifts have been know to be some of the best methods to rapidly improve power output. The downside of olympic exercises are the extreme joint strength and range of motion prerequisites and the amount of teaching, coaching and supervision needed. For those lacking maturity, coachablity, joint prerequisites (like wrist mobility to do a clean grip front squat) and consistency, we prefer to use med balls and plyometrics as a means to increase power. We proceed with caution when performing overhead olympic lifts (like the snatch) with our throwing athletes due to the stress on the rotator cuff.

Why we like them so much: Olympic lifts are really fun to practice and master and are not only great for increasing force production but also increasing the athletes ability to absorb / decelerate force (which are both crucial skills in most field sports and therefore can even be seen as a great injury prevention tool).

Key Points:

• Weights must be moved in a fast, controlled and athletic manner

• Olympic lifts primarily train the nervous system and secondarily the muscular system.

• Olympic lifts can help improve coordination and athleticism

• Olympic lifts greatly improve power (and help develop eccentric strength - the catching of the weight)