Five Essential Lifts

by Jim Aikens

I was out to lunch the other day with my buddy Tony Holler. We hadn’t gotten together for a while so it was nice to catch up.  We talked about a number of things, family, a little politics and mostly about training and track & field. During our discussions we started talking about weight training and what my thoughts were on it.  I told Tony that I was into Olympic lifts as the foundation of the weight training for my athletes. Olympic lifts teach the explosion and athleticism needed to be a great thrower or football player.  The Olympic lifts are all about using the hips and coordinating the proper movement from the ground up. Tony liked what I was saying and thought it might be of interest to some coaches, so here it is.

I will be the first to admit that I am not an expert when it comes to weight training, but I know what has worked for my athletes. I like to keep things simple when teaching lifts and designing workouts.  Below are the five essential lifts that are the basis of my weight training routines.  The hang high-pull, the front squat, and the overhead squat are great exercises to help develop strong cores, strong legs and hips, and aid in the development of overall body strength. If you combine the hang high-pull with the front squat, you essentially have the hang clean. Likewise, if you combine the wide-grip hang high-pull with the overhead squat you essentially have the hang snatch.  So, I use the hang high-pull, front squat and overhead squat to prepare the athletes for the more complicated hang cleans & hang snatches. I like to use the hang exercises because I feel they still work the required parts of the body and are safer than taking the weight from the ground. I don’t have boxes and even if I did, there is no place to store them.  I will spend a few weeks with the initial three lifts before I progress to the cleans and then eventually the snatch. Once the athletes get the basic hang clean & hang snatch down then we can spend time refining their technique.  I find this process has worked pretty well when you have large groups and limited time in the weight room. I must stress, this is hard to get across to kids, it’s not the amount of weight that is important, it’s the technique that is important. Just like in throwing, if you focus on technique the distance will come. In lifting, if you focus on technique the weight will increase.

Generally, we perform these lifts twice a week, usually on a Monday & Thursday sequence.  I am also a big proponent of having the athletes roll for 10 to 15 minutes after a workout.  I find this is enough time for them to reap the benefits of rolling (cutting down on muscle soreness and keeping  the athletes more limber).  On Tuesdays & Fridays the athletes choose press variations (bench, incline or decline bench, military) as well as an option of other auxiliary lifts.  I have included a description of our Olympic lifts and some points of emphasis for each lift.

Hang High-Pulls are the foundation.  This lift teaches proper body position & posture, helps the athletes to develop the proper muscle firing sequence and teaches the athlete the forceful triple extension of the ankle, knee and hip joints. This lift sets up everything else. I always start with the hang position (bar below knees) when they are first learning. They may eventually get to the power position (bar on floor) as their strength & technique improve.

• Keep shoulder back: Imagine someone placed an ice cube between your shoulder blades. 
• Look slightly up: This helps to keep the back from rounding.
• Maintain this position as you squat down to roughly a ½ squat (the bar should be just below your knees).  
• Initiate the lift by extending the knees, hips & ankles. DO NOT begin to pull the weight up with the arms until extension is achieved. Lift the weight with the body not the arms. Use the momentum that you have created in the bar to help you lift the bar with your arms. Keep the weight close to your body.
• Continue to pull the weight up with your arms until your elbows are even with your ears. 
• The lift can be done with closer grips similar to the clean. The lifts can also be done with wider grips similar to the snatch. I have my athletes lift closer grip one day and wider grip the next.

Front Squats develops strong legs & hips.  The athlete also learns how to rack the weight in the clean as well as how to drop down with the weight as you would with a clean. 

• Wrist about shoulder width apart (if this hurts their wrist, they can widen their grip).
• Sink elbows into ribs (This helps set an anchor for the bar).
• Feet shoulder width and slightly pointed out.
• Maintain the same posture that they had at the start of the high pull.
• Ideally, the athlete should sink down until thighs are parallel to the floor. I have found some athletes just do not have that hip flexibility. For those, you try to get them to go as low as they can and keep working with them to increase hip flexibility.

Overhead Squats makes the athlete engage their core, legs, and hips in order to complete the movement. The overhead squat also helps the athlete develop the strength to catch and hold the bar in the snatch. This lift also helps the athlete to learn how to drop down with the weight as they would with a snatch. 

• The body position is similar to the front squat except the bar is raised overhead with arms extended.
• As the athlete drops down to the squat position, they must work to keep the bar stacked overhead.
• Be aware that initially many athletes attempt to put too much weight on the bar.

Hang Cleans are essential to my lifting program. They help to develop the strength, explosion and coordination that is necessary to be a successful thrower or lineman. I will usually introduce the clean after a few weeks of doing the high pulls and front squats. To teach the hang clean the athlete performs a hang high-pull. When the bar is high (elbows to ears, this is a cue, rarely does this happen) the athlete will drop under the bar into a front squat. After a few sets of combining these two lifts the athletes generally get the basic concept then you can start refining their technique.

• The athlete performs a hanging-high pull (look at the hanging high-pull steps)
• When the weight is high, the athlete drops under the bar into the front squat position.
• The athlete then finishes the front squat.

The Hang Snatch, like the clean, is excellent in developing the strength, explosion, and coordination that is necessary to become a successful thrower or lineman.  To teach the hang snatch, the athlete performs a wide-grip hang high-pull. When the bar is high (cue: elbows to ears) the athlete will drop under the bar into an overhead squat. After a few sets of combining these two lifts the athletes generally get the basic concept and then you can start refining their technique. 

• The athlete performs a hanging high-pull with the wide grip (look at the hanging high pull steps).
• Pull the weight high.
• When the bar is at its highest point drop down under the bar to an overhead squat.

I hope this article is of value to coaches of both track and football athletes. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of these ideas in more depth please feel free to contact me at CoachAikens@gmail.com

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