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| Don't forget why you're training. Unless it's to be a clown then this isn't going to work. |
Often
when we become dedicated to a sport or hobby we fall into certain groups or
cliques over time. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as we don’t lose
sight of our goals. The same can be said for trends especially in the fitness
world. New workout programs with ever-monumental names conveying their
awesomeness surface regularly. This isn’t to say that all of them are
worthless, but many are misguided and often too intense for the intended
audience. Commonly the more intense a program's name the worse the exercise prescription.
Two types of exercises that seem to designate a program as extreme these days
are plyometrics and Olympic lifting.
High
intensity plyometric exercises, think jump squats and box jumps used for
increasing ones explosiveness, are not a weight loss program. They can be part
of a program, but I’ve seen trainers, and I use that designation loosely, use
plyometrics for the bulk of an hour-long session because they’re hard and burn
a lot of calories. While this may be true, we need to stop for a second and
look back to the client’s original goal. Was it weight loss, strength,
flexibility, conditioning? Now, as a trainer, injury prevention should be the
first consideration followed closely by the client’s goals. The liberal use of
plyometrics for weight loss is taking a lot of risk with ones health,
especially if the goal isn’t to increase their reactive ability or vertical
jump. Plyometric exercises are quite taxing on the body generating ground
reaction forces, essentially the force being sent back through the joints, between 4 – 11 times ones body weight upon landing. The
national academy of sports medicine states that, “plyometric training is one of
the more advanced training tools, the athlete needs proper levels of
flexibility, core strength, and balance before progressing into plyometric
training”(1). So having novice weight loss clients do this continually
for an hour is simply reckless and missing the point of their inclusion in the
first place.
A
similar argument can be made for Olympic lifting. Certain training programs
that have gained popularity lately use this type of lifting on a regular basis.
This isn’t to say that Olympic lifting is a bad thing, but the athlete must be
ready for it. Olympic lifting is one of the most technical forms of weight
lifting requiring athletes to have ample flexibility, core stability, and
technique. Outside of the actual Olympics these lifts are best used for
training explosiveness, meaning nowhere near maximal loading. If they are being
performed with near maximal weight or as endurance exercises then the athlete
has been led astray.
Trying to power clean a max weight is not a good idea.
If you’re not training for the Olympics then you’re missing the point, if strength is the goal then squat and deadlift. Performing Olympic lifts in a
fatigued state is even less advisable; they are not endurance exercises and the
risk of injury increases exponentially if they are being used this way.
Focus on the overarching goal is paramount. If it’s not to become more explosive then why take the extra risk
of Olympic lifting? If a non-athlete wants to work on vertical jump or add a
bit of intensity to a program then box jumps work fine and keep risk down as
long as proper volume is used.
Always
keep your goal in mind when selecting exercises or programs. Hindsight is
always 20/20 and being injured sucks. Remember WHY you’re doing what you are
doing and just because others are doing something doesn’t mean it’s right.
-KO
1. Clark, M. & Lucett, S. (2010). NASM Essentials of sports performance training.
Philadelphia, PA: Lippencott, Williams, & Wilkins.
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