Weightlifting seminar to benefit an athletic strength program

Includes bibliographical references (pages 13-18) and recorded video file in MOV format, 20:28 in length.Athletic programs across the country increasingly understand the importance of developing the strength of their athletes. While most Division I institutions are able to provide their athletes with full time strength and conditioning coaches, this is not always the case for many colleges and universities. The California State University, Northridge (CSUN) athletic department has been faced with the problem of not having a full time strength coach. The lack of a strength and conditioning specialist on campus has placed added pressure on each coach to design and implement an adequate strength training program for his or her athletes. The purpose of this project was to develop a seminar to help coaches at CSUN learn and implement a style of strength training called weightli:fting. Weightli:fting is also known as Olympic-style weightlifting and consists of the snatch, clean and jerk, and their variations. By learning weightlifting, the coaches would have the ability to begin integrating it into their current strength programs. Prior to the seminar, some important steps were taken to ensure its success. The first step was the acquiring of the USA Weightlifting Club Coach certification. The second was the presentation of a pilot seminar to better develop the actual seminar. The third step was the development of a teaching video to be utilized during the seminar. The fmal step was an advertising campaign to gain support for the seminar. The seminar was held on June 15, 2000, from 8am to 12pm. A brief presentation introduced the seminar content. The coaches then moved to their lifting stations and the snatch lift progression was presented. Each lift from the progression was explained, viewed and practiced. After the snatch progression, a short break (15 minutes) was provided. The clean and jerk progressions followed the break and were presented in the same fashion as the snatch progression. This seminar has provided some future possibilities worth considering. These include preparing and training other graduate and undergraduate students to teach the seminar, holding regular weightlifting clinics for the coaches at CSUN, and presenting the seminar at area high schools as a form of community outreach. Finally, once weightlifting has been established within athletic strength training programs, the effects of weightlifting on athletic performance can be tested and thus provide research opportunities for both faculty and students