help requested: training for oly weightlifting contest

[igunick]

On the 3th of June, I'm competing in a oly lifting contest. And even though is mostly for fun, I still wanna do good Anyway, can anyone help me a bit with this? I normally train for powerlifting and only do oly lifting once every 2 weeks.

My workout template looks like this:
LB1
- Speed deads
- ME squat variation
- hams assistance
- core
(- grip)

UB1
- speed bench
- bench variation or triceps assistance
- rows
(- chins)
(- OH presses)

LB2
- Speed squats
- ME deadlift variation
- quad assistance
- core
(- grip)

UB2
- ME bench variation
- triceps assistance
- rows
(- chins)
(- OH presses)

I was thinking of changing the following:
- OH press becomes push press or split jerk when my platform is ready
- Part of the rows volume becomes clean or snatch variation (hang or from the floor)
- squat exercises will be either full squat,front squat or OH squat if I can get that deep
- Speed deads may become cleans or snatches too, I'm not sure about that one

So how does that look like?

[GqArtguy]

If you want to do OLing, you have to start thinking about what brings up the lifts themselves. I dont know how strong you are, but my first suggestion would be to make sure you have a flexibility work in place if you cant get rock bottom in a squat.

As far as the lifts themselves, where are your weaknesses? Post some vids up pronto to determine whether its a technique or strength issue. Also, are you married to going to the gym 4 times a week or can you do more?

Regardless, movements that youre going to want to think about using (in addition to the actual competition lifts) are:

SNATCH EXERCISES
Power snatch
Snatch below the knee
Snatch w/ a pause
Snatch from Blocks
Muscle Snatch
OH squat
Snatch Balances

SQUATS
Full Squats
Front Squats
Split Squats
Good Mornings
Lunges

CLEAN EXERCISES
Power Clean
Full Clean
Muscle Clean
Clean no Jump
Clean below the knee

JERK EXERCISES
Incline Press
Military Press
Push Press
Power Jerk
Split Jerk Press

PULLS
Snatch Pulls
Clean Pulls
Pulls from Blocks
Good Morning Pulls
Middle Grip Pulls

FOR EXPLOSIVENESS
Speed Jerks
Block Jumps
Long Jumps
Barbell Squat Jumps

Other important movements would be pulldown abs, side bends, back ext, leg raises, and some bicep work.

[igunick]

I can get down all the way with squats except for those OH squats I'm not sure. I'll have to check that tommorrow. But the squat isn't so important, I'm allowed to do the power versions of the two lifts in the contest. I'm probably gonna do a full C&J though.

I know what I got to keep an eye on. For the snatch I have to hold the bar closer to my body and for the C&J I have to put more force into the jerk part.
I guess I could workout a bit more, how many times do you suggest?

For the rest, I'll try to incorporate as much as possible of those exercises in my routine, I don't want to lose strength in my powerlifting lifts so the ones that don't fit into those four days I'll do on a 5th day.

[GqArtguy]

Originally Posted by igunick

I can get down all the way with squats except for those OH squats I'm not sure. I'll have to check that tommorrow. But the squat isn't so important, I'm allowed to do the power versions of the two lifts in the contest. I'm probably gonna do a full C&J though.

Eventually, your weight will be limited by the power versions because you have to pull the bar higher.

I know what I got to keep an eye on. For the snatch I have to hold the bar closer to my body and for the C&J I have to put more force into the jerk part.

I would still take vids, as you might know what you need to do, but actually correcting it is another endeavor.

I guess I could workout a bit more, how many times do you suggest?

You could work as much as you want, its just a matter of recovery. The more sessions you have, the more you can incorporate different movements and still maintain traits that you want to keep (i.e. benching). So while each session would have maybe 3-4 movements, youd be able to get the work you need and the work you want. Plus, these lifts are all about practice and the power to do them can diminish quickly so you can either do really long sessions with adequate rest or frequent workouts with lower volume.

For the rest, I'll try to incorporate as much as possible of those exercises in my routine, I don't want to lose strength in my powerlifting lifts so the ones that don't fit into those four days I'll do on a 5th day.

Unless youre doing wide PL squats, youll be alright with your squatting strength because youll be doing a lot of brute strength leg work. Your pulls should be fine if you DL in a similar fashion to your oly pulls. If you have a very different line of pull (which is often the case even if you pull conventional) then just do some DL maintenance to maintain your groove. But you know that you dont have to train the DL to be good at it. Heres a very general example of how things could look like:

Snatch
Clean or clean assistance
Light Overhead movement
Abs and core

Light Snatch assistance
Bench (maintenance)
Front Squat
Lunge

Clean and Jerk
Snatch pulls
Oly Squat
Core and Abs

Clean or clean assistance
Snatch
Lunge

Heavy Overhead
Heavy Clean pulls or DL maintenance
Core and abs

As you can see, this is a lot of work so youll have to start with low volume. If you leave the gym feeling like you could have done more, then leave it for the next day, youll be so hungry for it that youll be able to move good weights around. Also, make sure you do rotator cuff often and some bicep work, either as a warmup or a finisher to maintain shoulder and elbow health. The above is just an example and youll eventually have to find what works best for you and what hits your weaknesses in the lifts the most.