Great Movements #1

This is the first installment of "Great Movements".  It could be called "Great Exercises" but I decided to call it movements which will give it a little broader scope.  I will be including conditioning & rehab exercises, flexibility  & mobility drills, and other techniques I use with the athletes I coach.

One of my current favorite lifts is a combo lift that utilizes the clean, overhead press and jerk.   It is really nothing earth shattering but the classic clean & press with the addition of the jerk at the end.

I will generally place this exercise at the beginning of an exercise session and if I am doing an upper/lower body split I will place it in the upper body session.  It is not overly taxing on the legs, so I would not be worried about doing this either the day before or after a hard leg training day.  I currently use this with my basketball teams in-season training and they usually perform this combo two days before a game.

What load to use?  When using combo lifts, the weakest movement determines the load.  So in this case, the Overhead Press will determine what load you will use.  I like using this combo in a strength/power phase so I will prescribe a load of 80%+ of the athletes Overhead Press 1 RM.  As far as sets and reps I like using 4-6 sets with the reps being 1+1-3+2 which means 1 Clean, 1-3 Overhead Presses & 2 Jerks.  I prefer the split jerk for most athletes and will have them alternate their lead leg.  So, if they finish the set with 2 split jerks, they will do one with the left foot forward and one with the right foot forward.

Before you try this yourself or with your athletes you must first qualify to even attempt the combo.  How do you qualify?  Well, you must first be able to do the three lifts of the combo on their own.  Do not try putting a combo together of several new movements.  So with this combo it must be asked, Can you Clean?  Can you Overhead Press?  Can you Jerk?  If yes to all three, you can then try them altogether.

Have Fun,
Mike Reid

Further Explanation of Combo lifts: www.t-nation.com