STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

FOR SPORTS SPECIFIC BENEFITS

WEIGHT LIFTING

By Clive Brewer MSc, CSCS, Mike Favre MEd, CSCS, Linda Low BEd

WHY SHOULD EXPLOSIVE LIFTING BE DONE WITH SPORTS PERFORMERS? Effective strength training for sports performers begins with a working knowl- edge of basic movement mechanics. Kinesio-logical analysis (the study of joint and muscle actions in movement) of any sporting movement will indicate that the primary basis of strength-power training exercises for an athlete in most sports should be closed-kinetic-chain exercises that allow maximum force in gross muscle structure (especially around the legs, hips and trunk) to be reached in minimum time (1).

Force production It is well documented that strength (the ability to produce force) and power (the product of force x velocity) gain is specific to the angle of the joint at which training occurs (2), and therefore training actions should be utilised that reflect the total dynamic range of movement that an athlete might require in sports perfor- mance. Consequently, exercises such as squat, snatch and the squat clean (and

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Top-level sports performance is based on the need to develop power (the prod- uct of force x velocity). The basis for power generation in a sporting context is the stretch-shortening cycle (or plyometric response) that occurs within muscle fibres. In order to train the recruitment of maximum numbers of motor units (a motor unit is a motor nerve and all of the fibres innovated by that nerve), multi- joint, multi-muscle exercises that allow maximum force generation in minimal time have formed the cornerstone of training exercises for sports performers. The ‘snatch’ and ‘clean’ weight training movements and derivatives of these exercises, are the major resistance training exercises for developing power in sports per- formers. If there is to be an effective transfer of training effect between sports performance and training action, these movements need to facilitate a plyometric action. This can be done if the strength and conditioning coach teaches his/her athletes to perform a double-knee bend (DKB) action within the training move- ment for both the snatch and clean lifts (and derivatives of these). The DKB allows a greater force to be transmitted more effectively, greater transfer of training effects to other sports and also it is a safer lift with less potential risk to the back. This article explores the importance of explosive weight training to the sports performer, illustrates the action of the double knee bend and explains its importance in both power generation and transfer of training effects, and expands upon the first pull phase of these lifts: If this stage of the lift is com- pleted appropriately, the double knee bend is more likely to happen.

derivatives of these exercises) should form the cornerstone of the resistance training routines for sports performers*1. Indeed, there is considerable evidence indicating a high degree of efficacy using these move- ment-specific training exercises in order to produce superior performance gains in strength/power-oriented sports (3,4). These exercises (weightlifting movements

*1 Although many coaches may be more famil- iar with the powerclean as a training lift, the squat clean is a lift which requires the athlete to accelerate to the same maximum velocity in a shorter period of time: As the bar has to be pulled to a lesser height in the squat clean (rel- ative to the powerclean), athletes can typically lift greater weight, and also the required speed of movement under the bar is greater in the squat clean, thus there is greater potential for the transfer of training to the sports performer.

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