With day 4 in the books, most of the camp athletes are geared up for tomorrow with the assumption that we will be going heavy in the snatch and clean and jerk. Today was a "recovery" day of sorts with some time spent off-campus around Colorado Springs. (Though the hike to Helen Hunt Falls didn't seem like recovery at this altitude). Below are some observations and the single workout from today.
Workouts:
Observations:
1. Strength is irreplaceable. At a young age there is no replacement for strength. Technique is developed over years and years of reps and precise work. The same is true of strength. It takes time and focus. So often coaches mess that balance up and we over-emphasize the lifts to the neglect of foundational strength. (Vice-versa can also be true) What I saw today was the lifters with the biggest lifts had the biggest squats. No surprise there. BUT clearly some coaches balanced that well and as the reps and lifts catch up to their pulling and squatting strength. The US could see some pretty strong lifts coming down the pipeline with the foundational strength that has already been created at such an early age. (Their technique isn't bad either). Bottomline: Coaches balance technical developemt with strength gain. Don't over-emphasize one or the other. Both are important but the lifts that are far less "fun" and carry less "glory" still need to be worked for the contiued success of your lifter.
Example A: Nathan Damron at 19 years old and 83 kg bodyweight with a 220kg FS Squat today. Click here.
2. On the flipside of the coin from point 1, be careful to focus on the technical pieces even on recovery days. So many of the movements that are listed on the workout above are specifically written for technical growth NOT heavy load. The no feet movements this is especially true of. The entire point of those movements is to learn how to move with the bar, always applying pressure to it, and working on timing and speed. NONE of those things are gained when you allow technical deficiency to fall off under the banner of hitting big weights. Let the movements be what they are designed to be. Lighter weight, technical focused lifts should be exactly that. There's no need to push it past your technical ability when that's not the point or focus. We saw the environment get the best of some of the kids today though I can't blame them too much for it.
More to come… heavy day tomorrow (we hope).