CTCs Weightlifting Method
There are two major sections of our weightlifting page:
1) The Olympic Lifts - explained in detail in the webpages below. These are used by many universities and athletes and I highly recommend any athlete take the time and effort to master these skills.
2) The CTC athletes focus more specifically on a program developed by the Nike Speed Development team. The button below will take you to the video of our session and also link you to the podcast that explains it throughly.
Including 60+ Technique / Lifting Videos
Click the links below for dozens of technique videos and explanations.
Special thanks to Kelsey Couts, former track athlete at Penn State, and current USA Weightlifting competitor. We shot these videos at Pinnacle Weightlifting Gym in Colorado Springs. Kelsey was actually one of my instructors during my USA Weightlifting certification class and Pinnacle Weightlifting has one of the best lifting cultures and coaching staff you’ll find.
The Colorado Track Club Weightlifting Method is free and is easily available in this section of our website. Start by reading,The Basics, found on the link below to grasp some of the safety requirements, recommended resources, and coaching considerations. The “Position Pictures” button consists of still shots / photos that coaches can use to teach the basic positions.
By far, the most valuable part of these pages are the dozens of short lifting videos with advice to help the athletes master the movements.
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Our videos are broken into the following general categories: Snatch, Clean, Clean & Jerk, Deadlifts, and Squats. Click on the links above to see several video examples of the lift. We have other exercises that address Core Work and Drills that are done outside the weight room. Click on the links below to go to the videos associated with the lift you want to see.
Who Can Benefit from Olympic Lifting?
Great question. You will find several successful distance runners throughout history that did not lift weights often. You will also find talented people who had to lift just to barely hang on to elite running status.
Shorter distance athletes will more likely require a dedicated lifting program for success. For example, 1500m and down.
Many / most, not all, mid-distance folks (3K - 5K runners) will require a dedicated lifting program for success at the highest levels.
You might as well learn the basics at a young age because you will likely need it at some point. If it doesn’t work for you, at least you know how to do it. If you are shooting for the top of the sport then you will likely leave no training stone unturned.
Coaches should try to get Olympic Lifting curriculum introduced into high school gym classes as electives. We had our kids getting a solid workout in school and that benefit allowed us to focus more on running and drills at practice.
Olympic Lifting is a skill that people can take with them long after their high school or college days are finished. It may take an entire year for HS kids to get through our Olympic Lifting videos. That is okay: constantly reinforce safety and form - the added weight and strength will come later.
On the high-level NCAA end, our weight training coaches did most of the work and program design for our athletes - nearly all of our athletes worked on Olympic Lifts throughout the school year.
Equipment Basics
One of the basic pieces of helpful information in Olympic Lifting is bar selection. The women’s bar is slightly shorter with a smaller diameter and is lighter. Notice the length difference is not in the grip area, but at the ends of the bar. I’ve used red tape throughout our video series so the athletes can see the different grip selections used for the different lifts. Some grip selections will be inside the red tape (clean) and some grip selections will be outside the red tape (snatch).
In our videos you will hopefully notice that we use bumper plates and rubber landing mats, with a wooden surface for our feet. If you start dropping steel plates you will likely be thrown out of your gym and you will also destroy the bars, and likely your hearing and the weights as well. Olympic Lifting bars spin freely and have the precise diameter to allow for the weights to fit snugly. You can build a basic set-up at home for a very reasonable price - you can usually find some used equipment on a place like Craig’s List as well. I see many people buying cheap elliptical machines, bikes, or treadmills that will likely break within a year. Olympic Lifting gear will likely provide a better workout, is cheaper to get started with, and is more durable than trying to go cheap with an expensive piece of cardio equipment. Consider your neighbors if you are in an apartment building. Youtube has several great resources for sound mitigation and building your own platforms.
Basically, my lawyer says that you, the consumer, are responsible for your actions and purchases and that the Colorado Track Club makes no guarantee regarding your benefit or improvements from purchasing anything we use on this site, or from you following our directions. Injuries or death may occur from nearly any physical activity, including activities discussed and demonstrated on our website. Consult with a medical professional and do thorough research before you attempt any exercise program.
Weightlifting Session Example
10-20 minutes to warm up (PVC pipe, broomstick stretches, push-ups, air squats, jump rope, etc..). If we are lifting heavy, the warm-up will be longer.
The first set of an exercise is normally with a lighter weight so the athlete can detect soreness or other problems. Often, this “set” is part of the warm-up and is not included in the number.
The workout card will look something like this:
C10a: Power Clean from Power Position; 4 x 5, heavy (you could do 1 more rep if asked to) - the athlete may do a few reps with 30% less weight before starting this first lift.
S8a: Snatch Lift Off; 5 x 5 (5 sets of 5), moderately challenging weight (you could do 3 more reps if asked to)
S9a: Snatch Pull from Power Position; 5 x 6, moderate
S10a: Snatch High Pull from Power Position; 4 x 6, moderate
11 minutes of HEAVY core work. That means the athlete will get wrecked by a 12 minute core session with many exercises and little rest. Think military boot camp, but harder for 11 minutes. We want the athlete to develop an awareness of the effects of lactic acid / hydrogen ion overload and to be comfortable exercising in that pain.
15 minute stretching, hydration, and cool down.
We will actually use our phones and videos from the website to teach the athlete what they may be doing incorrectly. Notice the most challenging lift is first (C10a). There are a few considerations to think through when writing your workouts.