I've had a number of questions recently regarding how to participate in our weightlifting program, how many days a week to train, how to get started, what to do on Fridays, etc., so I thought I'd take a few minutes and try to give a little guidance.
First of all, let's be clear on one point: this is a weightlifting program! This is much, much more than just an "oly class". I have designed this program to help everyone achieve success in the sport of weightlifting, where the goal is to snatch and clean and jerk more weight for one rep at a time. The way to do this is by perfecting technique in the lifts, and GETTING STRONGER. Because of this, we do a lot of snatching and clean and jerking, and a ton of strength work. The result is that these sessions are meant to be HARD, and if you do them right, you should probably not have the energy to do another workout on the days that you do weightlifting and get maximum benefit from both.
That said, lets talk a little about frequency of training (how often you come to weightlifting). This is pretty easy for those of you for whom weightlifting is your primary focus and weightlifting excellence is your goal: come at least three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday if at all possible. I write a three day per week program for a few reasons. I think three days a week is sufficient for most of our lifters to make great progress, it seems to be a reasonable expectation to get people to commit to, and it is what seems to work given our scheduling limitations at the moment. If you can come four days a week, then great! Come in on Fridays too and work lighter weights, really dialing in the technique for Saturdays heavy session (more on this later). Now, if weightlifting is not your only focus, and you are trying to balance other training goals (i.e., CrossFit), then things get a little trickier. Consistency is the key to making progress, and you will get out of the program what you put in to it. If you can come three days a week, then great, do it. If you can only make it twice a week, then do that. And if you can only make it once a week, all is not lost, and I still encourage you to come in and get some extra coaching and some extra practice in on the snatch and clean and jerk! There are plenty of people who just want to get a little extra work in on the lifts, and we welcome them with open arms and want to help everyone achieve their goals! Just realize that progress won't be as significant as it could be with more frequency, but you are likely doing the lifts at least a few times a week in CrossFit classes anyways, so maybe that one day of extra coaching is all you need to jump start your progress.
With that out of the way, I want to lay out a plan for how to actually follow the program, and what to do when you come in each day. I will talk more about the rationale for our program in a later post, but to be brief, Days 1 and 2 each week are the priority workouts in our program, and Day 3 is a "bonus" workout that you have to EARN by showing up and completing Days 1 and 2 at some point during the week. Day 1 is always programmed for Tuesday, and Day 2 is always programmed for Thursday, and if you come in on either of those days you will complete that programmed workout. Friday we treat as a "make-up" day, so if you missed either Day 1 or Day 2, you will complete the workout you missed (or pick one of the two you missed if that's the case). Now, if you made both Days 1 and 2, but will miss Saturday, then you may complete Day 3 on Friday. We program Day 3 for Saturday, and if you've made both Days 1 and 2 by Saturday, then complete Day 3 on Saturday, otherwise make-up the workout you missed on Saturday. Again, the priorities are Days 1 and 2, and Day 3 is a bonus for if you made both Days 1 and 2 at some point during the week! This doesn't mean don't show up on Saturday if you missed a workout, it just means you'll be doing the workout you missed.
What about you folks ready for four days a week? I haven't forgotten about you. If you can make all four days, then absolutely do it. We will just take Friday as a light day. Come in and do light technique work on the snatch and the clean and jerk, focusing on just getting ready for Saturday's heavy day. No heavy squatting on this day; I want your legs fresh for Saturday!
Okay, hopefully that helps clear up some of the confusion and establishes a guide for how to follow along. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please ask!
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