www.StrengthPlusMagazine.com | 2011 JUNE 1

VOL. 2, ISSUE 3 | JUNE 2011 BY ATHLETES. FOR ATHLETES.

Strength+ Strength+

marks birthday marks birthday

with sweeping with sweeping

policy changes policy changes page 8

Dutch Weightlifting Dutch Weightlifting

Coach Introduces Coach Introduces

Cardio ProgramCardio Program

Based Solely on Based Solely on

the Olympic Lifts the Olympic Lifts page 25

Sequence Sequence

Photos of Photos of

Suleymanoglu, Suleymanoglu,

Kurlovich,Kurlovich,

Rigert, Rigert,

Zakharevich Zakharevich

and and MOREMORE! ! page 16

Bruce Klemens Photo

www.StrengthPlusMagazine.com | 2011 JUNE 25

By Tom Bruijnen, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT

Owner & Head Coach, Sportquest - Amsterdam, the Netherlands

A common misconception people have when they hear the words

"Olympic Weightlifting" is that it's a sport requiring big guys to lift

huge amounts of weight over their head. The Weightlifting Aerobic

Circuit (WAC) fitness program has been designed to breakdown this

misconception by teaching people more about the Olympic movements

while also increasing their own conditioning and strength. Get fit and

have fun with gravity! All you need is a 5 kg bar at the beginning.

Competitive weightlifters as well as athletes in other sports have incor-

porated the WAC fitness program into their daily training schedules.

They use the WAC fitness program in their warm-up and cool-down

phases of their workouts and as recovery sessions after strenuous com-

petitions. In these phases, the athletes use anywhere from a 5 kg to a 20

kg bar, depending on their strength levels. The more experienced lifters

from other sports use the WAC fitness program as part of their off-

season training and have been known to use up to 60 kg during this

time.

The WAC fitness program can be done individually or in groups, space

being the only limiting factor. The use of music can add to the WAC

experience; however, it should only be used in the background for en-

tertainment value and should not drown out the instructor’s voice. If

desired, the pace of the workout can be controlled by counting the reps

out loud to the lifter, with he or she performing the next rep only when

it is called out.

The WAC Fitness Program

The WAC fitness program is a six step guide to learn the Olympic

movements of weightlifting, including essential training exercises used

by competitive lifters. Upon completion of the WAC fitness program,

most people will have a better appreciation for the sport and its com-

plexities. It is important to note that not everyone will be able to

achieve the correct technical positions. However, even the most flexi-

bility-challenged participants should be able to complete the power

versions of these exercises.

Weightlifting Meets Aerobics:

How to Use the Olympic Lifts as the Cornerstone of a Cardiovascular Workout Program

From the Editors:

Why We Chose This Program

In response to reader demand,

last December we began our

search for a great cardiovascular

program that utilizes the Olympic

lifts almost exclusively. Since

then, we’ve looked at dozens of

different options; CrossFit uses

the lifts in many of its Workout of

the Days (WODs), several com-

petitive weightlifting coaches

have offered suggestions, and we

even consulted a few globogym

personal trainers for their ideas.

None of these avenues sat very

well with us. In order for CrossFit

to be effective, athletes must rely

on far more than the Olympic

lifts, and we feared that pulling

out only the WODs that used the

lifts would skew the results and

possibly lead to injury. Most com-

petitive weightlifting coaches we

spoke with are so specialized that

they seem to struggle with creat-

ing a workout for general condi-

tioning purposes only. And glo-

botrainers, well, enough said on

that front.

At this point, we felt we needed

to think outside the box a little.

(continued on next page)

26 JUNE 2011 | www.StrengthPlusMagazine.com

WAC-1: Introduction

1 Snatch High Pull (S)

2 Behind the Neck Military Press (J)

3 Overhead Squat (S)

4 Clean High Pull (C)

5 Deadlift (S/C/J)

WAC-2: Coordination & Isolation

1 Snatch Pull (S)

2 Push Press (J)

3 Overhead Squat (S)

4 Lunge (J)

5 Hang Clean Pull (C)

6 Deadlift (S/C/J)

WAC-3: Speed & Flexibility

1 Drop Snatch (S)

2 Military Press (J)

3 Drop Lunge (J)*

4 Clean Pull (C)

5 Back Squat Jump# (C)

6 Romanian Deadlift (RDL) (S/C/J)

Like most physical exercise, you need to be of sound health in order to

complete the WAC fitness program. If you have any questions regard-

ing your health, please see your doctor before attempting any of the

workouts described below. Supervision by a coach or trainer who

knows about Olympic-style weightlifting techniques and also under-

stands aerobic and fitness training is recommended.

The exercises in each successive workout have higher difficulty and

are interdependent as a learning sequence. The (S), (C), and (J) behind

the exercises in the WAC workouts indicate that the movement relates

to the snatch, clean, or jerk, respectively. A mixed learning method,

incorporating both the top-down and down-top approaches to learning

technique, is utilized in the WAC program.

Editor’s Note: Each workout is intended to be completed three times in

a circuit with the same weight. For example, the lifter would complete

one set of each exercise and then start over from the beginning in a

round system until three sets of each exercise had been completed.

Weights, reps, and rest periods are dependent upon the participant’s

skill, strength, and fitness levels. As this is intended to be a cardiovas-

cular workout, higher reps with lighter weight is preferred to lower

reps with heavier weight. High reps with heavy weight is ideal. We

have modified the names of some exercises from their strict Dutch

translations in order to match terms used more commonly in America.

(continued from previous page)

Well, at least outside the U.S.

anyway. This past January we had

gone to Amsterdam to take in a

little bit of the European weight-

lifting scene and met up with two

Strength+ readers, Bas and Alex

Faber. Bas and Alex were gracious

hosts, and we quickly became en-

amored with their city; their club,

Sportquest; and their head coach,

Tom Bruijnen.

Tom explained that one of the

major obstacles to the develop-

ment of weightlifting in the Neth-

erlands is that everyone there is

so focused on cardiovascular de-

velopment (There are more bikes

than people in Amsterdam.) that

they have hardly any interest at

all in the Olympic lifts. In order to

generate interest in the lifts, Tom

knew that he had to get creative.

If the people wanted cardio, he’d

give them cardio. And snatches

and clean and jerks too.

Fast forward a few months.

We’ve been back to Amsterdam.

We’ve looked through stacks of

cardio-Olympic lifting hybrid

workouts. And we haven’t liked a

one of ‘em. So, we turned to Tom,

who, as it turns out, has also

completed a stint as the President

of the Dutch Weightlifting Federa-

tion. - RC & MC

Have questions about the

workout program described

in this article?

E-mail Tom directly at

office@sportquest.nl

www.StrengthPlusMagazine.com | 2011 JUNE 27

Aerobic Intensity

Due to the fact that the WAC fitness program is so new, only a limited number of case studies have been un-

dertaken. However, after comparing the heart rates of 54 participants who completed WAC-6 with a 1 minute

break between each set to each lifter’s maximum heart rate (MHR), the group was found to have heart rates

averaging more than 80% of their MHRs. This percentage range corresponds to high intensity aerobics.

Please feel free to research the effects further and publish results! - TB

Notes

* Drop lunges focus on teaching lifters how to split their feet quickly in a jerk. The start position is the same as that of a

jerk from behind the neck. Only from there, instead of thrusting the bar upwards, the bar remains firmly planted behind

the lifter’s neck while the athlete splits his or her feet into the proper catch position for the jerk. - RC

# Back squat jumps emphasize the explosion phase of triple extension. While triple extension, as indicated by the full

extension of the ankles, knees, and hips, is widely denigrated as inefficient if employed during the completion of the

competitive lifts, it may be very beneficial to the non-competing population at large. To perform a back squat jump, first

perform a traditional back squat but instead of stopping at the top, continue to push through the floor until your heels or

entire foot, depending on the weight being used, comes off the ground. - RC

WAC-4: Learning the Lifts

1 Hang Snatch (S)

2 Hang Snatch Pull (S)

3 Front Squat (C)

4 Power Clean (C)

5 Power Jerk (J)

6 Split Jumps (J)

7 Good Morning (S/C/J)

WAC-5: Proficiency & Strength

1 Hang Snatch (S)

2 Snatch Pull or Clean Pull (S/C)

3 Front Squat (C)

4 Hang Clean (C)

5 Split Jumps (J)

6 Push Press (J)

7 Good Morning (S/C/J)

WAC-6: Putting it all together

1 Snatch (S)

2 Snatch Pull (S)

3 Front Squat (C)

4 Clean (C)

5 Clean Pull (C)

6 Back Squat (C)

7 Jerk (J)

8 Good Morning (S/C/J)