Utilizing Olympic-Style Weight Lifting in the Development of Our Athletes

The High School Perspective: By C.J. Stockel, MSED Flowery Branch High School, Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator The Olympic lifts and the exercises that support them are the basis of our football training program at The Branch. Our philosophy is YES to the POWER of 4: 1) exercises are ground based (we are standing up), 2) exercises are multi-joint and multi-muscle, 3) equipment used is free weights, and 4) exercises are explosive in nature. This philosophy describes what an athlete does in competition, and we train to produce the best athletes possible. However, it is not exercises that we are teaching, but rather movements that will be used on the football field or any athletic field. Triple extension and applying force into the floor is what an athlete does in competition. The Olympic lifts replicate this with a bar in the hand and produce more power