For the 6 months or so Michael FitzGerald has been doing my programming for my goals in CrossFit. Recently that has adapted to him coaching me how to program appropriately for myself and for others, in other words being a mentor to me as a fitness coach. Currently Mike helps me determine a template for my training, and I take on the actual programming of the day-to-day workouts. Needless to say it has been a great experience so far, and as I continue in this journey I will share some of the things I have learned.
I have been dealing with a wrist injury for about 2 months now that has kept me away from being able to do any exercise needing me to place a bar in the front rack position. Most notably, clean and jerk. On top of that it has been a bad idea to load my wrist in any way that requires wrist flexion. This makes doing things like HSPU's, Snatches and anything heavy overhead also a bad idea.
Olympic lifting can be considered one of my strengths, and because of that can be a very useful tool in my training for CrossFit. Since I have not been able to do much of this I have learned to be creative with how I can get better at it without actually doing it.
So how do you improve on Olympic lifting without actually doing any Olympic lifting? When it comes down to it, Olympic lifting is just a jump while holding on to a barbell. After you jump, you use that barbell as an anchor to pull yourself under it. On paper it is a very simple concept, the problem is most people just don't know how to jump with a barbell in their arms or don't know how to execute pulling themselves under. Of course there is more to it. But when I think about training Oly lifting without actually doing any Oly lifts, really I have to think about it this way.
It was helpful for me to think about the snatch and Clean & Jerk as each having 3 distinct parts to each, ie. the first, second and third pull(not that you wouldn't otherwise). I have found that in my case I have to really focus on each separate piece individually.
First of all there is the first pull, also known as the deadlift portion of the lift. This is easy to continue to train without actually being able to do the full lifts. On the days where I would normally do Oly lifting, I have usually done some sort of clean or snatch grip deadlift @ a slow tempo especially on the eccentric part. This helps me build on my DL strength as well as forces me to focus on developing my first pull so that I am always setting myself up perfectly for the second pull. In this case I am not always going for highest load possible, instead I want to achieve the highest loads that will allow me to hit the proper positioning needed to execute the second pull. For anyone that has a clue, this is not a new concept, I have just been forced to do more of it.
Then there is the second pull, also known as the jumping part of the lift. Also not a difficult thing to train on its own. I have done a fair bit of snatch/C&J pulls. Sometimes with just a shrug, sometimes pulling my elbows high and outside (high pulls), sometimes from the hang, sometimes from the floor (including it with the first pull). I believe it is important just to switch it up as much as you possibly can. Again I try to keep the loads manageable so that I am maintaining proper positioning instead of going for maximal loads.
I have also done a lot of vertical jumping in general. Box jumps, max effort vertical jumps, jumps from sitting, bounding, multi level jumping, weighted jumping, or really any sort of jumping where you are focusing on triple extension (ankles, knees, and hips) has been useful. Typically I have paired jumping with some sort of squat, usually back squat because of my wrist, but I also intend on working Frankenstein squats as well (from the front but arms straight out in front of you).
Thirdly, there is the third pull. This has been the tricky one to train, something that is almost impossible to duplicate without actually doing it. I really had to think about what was actually going on in the third pull. I tend to think of the skill in the third pull as being able to go from complete hip, knee and ankle extension to almost complete hip, knee and ankle flexion as quickly as possible. Easily the hardest part of Olympic lifting to teach. This is something that might be able to explain why someone who has a greater vertical jump then another, might not necessarily be able to box jump as high. The vertical jump only requires the violent triple extension, where as the box jump also requires you to close all those joints as quickly as possible so you can land on the top of the box after reaching triple extension. With that being said, the box jump has been a useful tool for me. I have varied my starting position, such as, from standing, sitting, walking into it, running into it and even from the knees, allowing me to really practice opening and closing the hips quickly. I also intend on loading these efforts with barbells, dumbbells, weighted vests, sandbags, etc.
Finally, there is the jerk part of the C&J. Again the first part of the jerk is simply a jump, so all the jumping work I have been doing will no doubt transfer to the jerk. I cannot even hold a barbell in the front rack position so this has been something that has been tricky to work on. I am somewhat comfortable doing press, push press and jerks from the back, but max loads are too much of a risk. I can however continue to work technique and foot drills with light loads to ensure I continue to have a feel for the lifts. Footwork is always a key competent to keeping your Olympic lifting on track, so I doesn't hurt in this case to continue to do so.
I have also just continued to work on my squatting and pressing strength in general. High bar back squat has been a useful tool and as it has some obvious benefits to Olympic lifting. Bench press, even though a horizontal press, can arguably be beneficial in pressing/jerking over head, so I have programmed that in my programming as well. I have found in the past that increasing the strength in my triceps has been very beneficial in locking out heavy weight overhead, which means dips and pushups come in handy as well. The closest I can get to an overhead press without hurting my wrist would have to be HSPU off of paralletes or DB's. At this point any pressing strength will prove useful in the long run, given my situation.
Now of course tying it all together is a completely different story, but for someone who is a fairly confident weightlifter, I don't feel like it would be a tough transition back when my wrist heals as long as I stay strong in the areas I have mentioned above. So hopefully with lots of physio, massage, chiro and acupuncture, my wrist can get back to normal and I can report back as to whether or not what I have been doing has proven useful in getting stronger in my Olympic lifts.
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