Should you do your olympic lifts or strength work first?

Most often, the generic answer will be to perform the higher-skill movements first.

But is this always the case?

What’s The Norm?

Typically, weightlifting programs will program the olympic lifts first in a session, then follow that up with the classic strength lifts like the squat and press, and finally finish with some accessory work like bodybuilding or core exercises. The reason for this is that you want to do the most technically demanding exercises first so that you are not too fatigued to use the correct technique. However, there are times when it might be better to switch the order and perform your strength work before your olympic lifts!

When Should You Do Strength First?

There are a few reasons why you might want to switch the order of things…

Peaking Strength

In this instance, the goal of the training block is to PR the strength exercises. So why place them towards the end of the workout when you will be fatigued and not capable of demonstrating your true potential? By placing the strength exercises at the beginning of your workout, you can guarantee that you will have the most energy to devote to pushing yourself to lift more, and you won’t have to wonder if you could have done more if you weren’t as tired.

I’ve also found it useful to keep the olympic lifts lighter during phases of training when you are pushing your strength exercises. Because of this, you should be able to successfully complete all of your olympic lifts with good technique despite the fatigue you will have from your strength lifts. If you were to push the weight of your olympic lifts after your strength work, you may be able to complete the training but the lifts will likely feel much heavier or not as technically sound. As long as you can be ok with this, this is not always a problem, however keeping the lifts lighter is likely a better option.

Strength Limited Athletes

Another instance where this method may be applicable is with lifters who have decent technique but are severely strength-limited. In this case, the bottleneck restricting your performance needs to be attacked with as much energy as possible, so you may benefit from prioritizing your strength lifts for a longer period of time. This could allow you to increase your strength numbers, and in turn, your olympic lifting numbers much faster than if you followed a more traditional training program.

Hopefully, this helped! Feel free to give this a try and tag me in your videos @bigbendstrength! If you ever need a free form check on your videos, you’re always welcome to join my free discord here and drop your video in the #form-checks channel. 

By the way, I’ve got a free beginner weightlifting guide and a 6-week program! If you’re new to the olympic lifts, then check it out here!

And if you’re looking for a weightlifting program designed to help you set PRs, improve your technique, and get strong af, then check out a FREE WEEK TRIAL of my 3 & 5-Day OlyStrong Team at the link below!