Weightlifting
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Understanding Weightlifting Training Programs
There has always been an interest in training programs for weightlifting. As long as I’ve been involved in the sport (over 50 years), lifters are always searching for training programs, hoping that the next one will bring about championship results or at least significant improvements. Of course, it’s never that simple. So I thought it might be helpful to revisit the concept of a training program in order to bring some clarity to the weightlifting community.
Who Are Weightlifting Training Programs For?
Let’s start out by making it clear that a training program is for those lifters who have already achieved proficient technique. That is, they don’t have any serious technical errors, and their biomechanics are sound. We can then look at a program for what it is—one step in a long pathway leading to performances at the peak of one’s potential.
The Goal of a Weightlifting Program
The next step is to look at the goal or the finished product. If we compare a beginner with an accomplished, elite lifter, we must arrive at the conclusion that the primary difference is the physiology. It is how the functions of the body have changed that is the most stunning difference. We must therefore realize that the training programs are the tool that has wrought these changes.
Key Factors in Designing a Weightlifting Program
The factors that a training programmer or coach can manipulate to achieve the desired results are as follows:
- Exercise Selection: The menu should only include those movements that will elicit a specific physiological response.
- Exercise Order: The explosive, most technical movements should always receive priority.
- Load: The total amount of weight lifted during a macrocycle.
- Volume: The total number of repetitions lifted during a macrocycle, mesocycle, or microcycle.
- Intensity: The amount of weight lifted per repetition, either in absolute or relative units.
- Intensity Zones: The allocation of volume into the various intensity zones—60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%, 105%.
- Recovery Modalities: They need to be rotated in order to avoid adaptation to a specific modality.
- Diet: The total number of calories, the ingestion frequencies, and the dosages of macronutrients.
How to Master the Art of Weightlifting Programming
In order to master the art of programming, the following educational experiences are crucial:
Academic Education for Weightlifting Coaches
University-level courses in the following topics are highly valuable:
- Anatomy
- Physics
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Biomechanics
Learn from Experienced Coaches
This one may be difficult, but it can most likely be achieved in post-meet gab sessions.
Gain Hands-On Experience
Planning programs for a large, but manageable number of lifters is essential for growth as a coach.
Self-Evaluation
It goes without saying that this should be taking place regularly in order to improve your coaching skills.
The Commitment to Coaching
I understand that all this preparation can be quite daunting, but there are no shortcuts to this process. It is strategic that many organizations characterize coaching education as a relatively easy procedure, but that is done in order to generate more course sales. Any skill, art, or meaningful practice is a long-term mastery process. At some point, a fledgling coach will have to decide that the pathway is a worthwhile one or simply give up. Of course, giving up does not suit the personality of a weightlifter well. In other words, you should be as committed to your coaching as you expect your lifters to be toward their lifting.
