Re: ASCA national conference presentation
It would be very difficult if not impossible to apply louie simmons ‘powerlfiting’ philosophy to Olympic lifting.
If you are suggesting using a clean and jerk as a max effort exercise or something similar then this would prove dangerous due to the massive technical side of olympic lifting. However, you could use some sub-maximal power cleans or hang snatches in a dynamic effort day.
The main area I think you can take from the westside system is the need to highlight weak areas and and then strengthen them specifically through ‘special’ exercises.
Personally I think you can caught up too much with trying to tamper with already successful systems and not respecting them for what they are, for example the westside system is very good in developing strong powerlifters. A good olympic lifting is aimed at producing olympic lifters. Neither of these two groups of people are team sport athletes, and neither do they mean because they are good olympic lifters does it mean they are going to be good rugby players.
Again it is matter of finding the right recipe for the athlete or group of athletes rather than sweeping them with a ‘particular’ system.
To truly ‘grasp’ the system i suggest reading his book which can be found on his website. Here he talks about his early beginning as an olympic lifter and why his experiences in that sport drove him to powerlifting.
