subject: How to Get Faster for Football With the Olympic Lifts [print this page] How to Get Faster for Football With the Olympic Lifts
How to Get Faster and Stronger for Football and Increase Speed with the Olympic Lifts
When it comes to increasing football speed and getting stronger and faster for football, the Olympic Lifts have become a source of major controversey.
I've always found it funny how the football training pendulum swings. A decade ago, only the top College Football schools used the Olympic lifts in their strength and speed building programs. Then, if filtered down to the point where just about every high school football player in the country was at least doing Power Cleans. However, over the last few years there's been a backlash against using the Olympic Lifts in football weight training programs.
Critics say the Olympic lifts are hard to teach, hard to learn and can easily be replaced with speed, or Dynamic, work.
The Olympic Lift crowd proclaims that anyone who attempts a clean will be out sprinting the sprinters (for the first 10yds, anyway)
Are the Olympic lifts useful for increasing football speed and making you stronger on the football field?
The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle.
We'll take on some of the myths, provide some truths, and I'll show you how to use the Olympic Lifts in your football training program so everyone is happy.
Cleans and Box Squats - The War Continues
The biggest argument for not using the Olympic lifts comes from the Powerlifting world where Box Squatting is king. It is said that Box Squats actually produce more explosiveness than Cleans.
Once and For All, What's More Explosive - A Power Clean or a Dynamic Box Squat?
"A Power Clean starts on the floor, where the bar is picked up in a controlled manor, once the bar passes the knees, the athlete explodes the bar up and catches it in a Squat.
In a Dynamic Box Squat (using chains or bands) the athlete un-racks the bar, sits back (pre stretching the hams and glutes), descends while getting pulled down by the force of the bands, sits and relaxes some muscles while keeping others tense, then has to activate all of those muscle fibers at once to explode the weight up.
From the description alone you should see which is better for football speed training!
Remember, we are after explosive training here, the goal is not just to be strong but strong and fast.
Even when doing speed training for football, we are concerned with explosiveness rather than just straight-ahead speed. We need to build the muscles to be able to cut quickly or to deliver a shot that will knock the fool out.
However, this does not mean that Power Cleans shouldn't be done!
They will still build explosiveness, but from a different path. They are hugely helpful in bulking the upper back and traps as well.
For the hip-explosiveness gained from Power Cleans alone the effort to learn at least basic form is well worth it. Use them as an alternative Speed exercise or use them as your heavy leg movement. Keep the reps low, the sets high and get the bar moving as fast as possible!
They Take Too Long to Teach!
I have to agree with the O-lift critics here. For many coaches, especially those with small budgets, who are primarily football coaches and strength coaches second, the act of teaching even the Power Clean can become daunting. Frankly, over the years I've seen players who, despite the best coaching efforts, just are too unathletic to pull off a clean. Now, they usually aren't good football players either, so take that into account.
If a coach has done any of the Olympic lifts, or taken a USAW course, then have at it.
But, if you are unsure, then don't teach it!
There's a much simpler way to use these explosive lifts while avoiding the form issues.
Olympic Lift Variations for Explosive Football Power, Strength and Speed
The Olympic Lifts can be complicated, but their variations and assistance movements are not and produce much of the same effects.
Here are some of the top Olympic Lift assistance moves for football:
Snatch Grip Deadlifts
The much wider grip used on Snatch Grip Deads just force you into a lower position, thus making the hamstrings and glutes to work harder. Plus, the benefit of the work the entire back gets.
Whenever you can involve the hamstrings more, the better off you are for building leg strength and especially for football speed! If your hams are weak, forget being fast.
I would use straps on a SnDL because of the wide grip.
This is a "go-heavy" exercise. Treat it the same way you would a regular Deadlift - heavy, low reps, multiple sets.
Romanian Deadlifts
RDLs are similar to a straight-leg Deadlift, with the exception that instead of simply bending at the waist and pulling up on the bar, you have the hips travel backwards when bending over. These are widely used in O-lifting circles. For many, the SLDL neglects the hamstrings while overworking the lower back. This is especially true for short-leg, long-torso lifters.
The RDL will probably do more for your hamstrings and glutes than any other exercise, with the exception of Deadlifts. It really is a very underrated movement for both athletic performance and for aesthetic appearance. Remember that your hamstrings are largely responsible for your speed on the football field, so don't slack.
Be sure to keep a flat back; you can use both clean and snatch grips for variation. This is a movement where you definitely want to keep the reps low. 4 X 6 is a good set-rep scheme to start with. Eventually you can turn this into a very heavy, low rep movement, but if you haven't done much RDL'ing, then start with 4 x 6.
Really push those hips back, stretch those hams out, then pop up.
Clean and Snatch Pulls
These have always been a favorite of mine. Because of the slow start followed by the explosive pop, they are ideal for football training. Plus, they give you huge trapsand who doesn't love huge traps?
Clean and Snatch Pulls are great for those who are having trouble mastering the full version of the lifts. Simply grip and rip.
While these don't have an eccentric phase, the slow start can teach discipline and the ability to explode from a slow but rolling start. There are times when you must do this on the football field so you'd better train for it.
Pulls fit nicely into your lower body day; preferably right after your heavy movement for the day.
Go with multiple sets of low reps to keep the form honest and the bar flying. 5 - 8 x 3 is a good starting point.
