Sugden Barbell has put up some great video of a seminar in Glasgow done by none other than Misha Koklyaev.  This dude ain’t messin’ around.

I like this quote:

"Weightlifting is an art. A weightlifter shoots the bullseye of a target 100′s meters away. A power lifter brings out this huge cannon…"

Now the vids.  Notice this guys smile at the end of every lift.  He’s clearly having a great time.  Gotta love that.

Behind the neck jerk

No hands back squat … yes, that’s right, no hands!

190k Snatch

400 kilo x 3 deadlift (I can barely do a 400 pound deadlift for 3!)

Sarah Bertram, Oregon’s own superstar weightlifter, got 6th place in the Pan American games on Friday. 

Bertram completed her first two snatches of 85kg and 88kg, but just
missed her 90kg attempt at a new personal record.  The reigning Senior
National Champion, Bertram was in fourth place following the snatch
portion of the competition.

In the clean and jerk, Bertram successfully lifted 104kg and 107kg
during her first two attempts, but missed her final lift of 109kg. 

The following was something posted on the Irish Weightlifting Forum.  But, I thought it was appropriate to repost it here as a precaution (it would be a shame if that site crashed or something, and we lost access to it).

Transcript – Abadjiev Training Lecture (Transcribed by Jim Hooper, donating member of Weightlifting Exchange)

Content

First of all I would like to thank the Weightlifting Federation for inviting me here.

This material that I have prepared here for you for today is the same material that I lectured on in front of the Greece Committee last spring.

They specifically asked me to present my material because one of their athletes, Ekatarina Tanou, was using this method of training and has incredible results using this method. She was third in the world for 100 meter sprint, and last year she was one of the best white athletes, and she has been using my methods of training.

If you pay attention to what I am saying and if you think logically about what I am saying then you will see that this method is applicable to almost any sports training. We will be concentrating on weightlifting nonetheless.

Read the rest of this entry

My friend Mike (2010 National Champion in his age/weight class in Olympic Weightlifting -  he’s the buff dude in the above video) sent me this great list of Viking laws for success to share with you. 

They remind me a bit of what you might find in the Hagakura, the Japanese book of the Samurai.  Succinct and clear, and surprisingly relevant to your real life and to your fitness life.

OK, here we go:

VIKING LAWS

BE BRAVE AND AGGRESSIVE

BE DIRECT

GRAB ALL OPPORTUNITIES

USE VARYING METHODS OF ATTACK

BE VERSATILE AND AGILE

ATTACK ONE TARGET AT A TIME

DON’T PLAN EVERYTHING IN DETAIL

USE TOP QUALITY WEAPONS

BE PREPARED

KEEP WEAPONS IN GOOD CONDITION

KEEP IN SHAPE

FIND GOOD BATTLE COMRADES

AGREE ON IMPORTANT POINTS

CHOOSE ONE CHIEF

BE A GOOD MERCHANT

FIND OUT WHAT THE MARKET NEEDS

DON’T PROMISE WHAT YOU CANNOT DELIEVER

DON’T DEMAND OVERPAYMENT

AGRRANGE THINGS SO THAT YOU CAN RETURN

KEEP THE CAMP IN ORDER

KEEP THINGS TIDY AND ORGANIZED

ARRANGE ENJOYABLE ACTIVITIES WHICH STRENGTHEN THE GROUP

MAKE SURE EVERYBODY DOES USEFUL WORK

CONSULT ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP FOR ADVICE

The great British comedian just ran 43 marathons in only 51 days!  He had nearly no experience leading up to it.  He’s 47 years old.  And he is more accostomed to spiked heels than running shoes.

He’s raised over 200,000 British pounds for sport relief, in the process.  He had this to say before he finished:

“It’s been hell, 26 miles a day is a lot. Try that six times a week. At first the last six miles were pure agony. Then it changed to the first six miles. Then it was the middle chunk. But now it’s pretty much all the same. My feet are disintegrating, the small toes have lost their nails and they look like alien monsters but I’m told they will grow back. But I’ll make it; my body isn’t really determined but my brain is.”

[hat tip: Ross Enamait]

The New York Times Obit section has a profile on Henry Wittenberg who just died at the age of 91.  He was an Olympic wrestler and one of the first wrestlers to ever use weight training as a part of his prep. 

The result?  300 straight wins.  I’d call that an unfair performance enhancing thing-a-majigy (sp?).   If you were an athlete in the early days, and you lifted weights, you were the equivalent of an athlete on steroids today.

OK, that’s not exactly true.  So many athletes are on steroids now that even that isn’t much of an advantage. 

Actually, I love these profiles of older athletes who were pioneers in using strength and conditioning to enhance their sport.  Because of their “social proof” they’ve changed the way the world approaches sports training. 

Thanks Henry.

(Hat tip to Chris for sending me this)

Here’s all three of his attempts at each lift compiled.  Notice the wild way he misses his last clean and jerk.  He gets driven down by the spring of the bar in the set up for the jerk, so that he can’t use the bounce to get the weight up.  Shockingly, he still rides it down to a full squat jerk and misses behind.  One strong dude, no doubt.

Tommy Kono is arguably one of the greatest weightlifters who ever lived.  But he was also a good bodybuilder.  Here’s a slide show of some of his greatest photos:

Sumo Fan Magazine runs a tribute to the retiring Yokozuna (read: king of the world) Asashoryu.

The first story is about him at his peak in 2007.   In the second story, Chris Gould relates the reasons why he believes Asashoryu’s demise was inevitable.  The last article is just a collection of quotes from people “on the street” about what they think about the retirement of Asashoryu.

For some back story, in Sumo once you reach the highest rank, Yokozuna, you keep it for life.  It’s as much an honorary title as anything else.  Asashoryu has become one of only 2 Yokozuna’s to be effectively stripped of that rank in over 250 years.  The reason:  Bad behavior.

Now for us Americans, we wouldn’t think much of the guys antics.  He’s arrogant, hot tempered, prone to fights, disrespecting his opponents, and generally doesn’t give a shit what anyone else thinks about it.  Sound familiar?   He sounds American!

Nearly ALL of our professional athletes would fit most of that description.   If Asashoryu was a Basketball player here, he’d fit right in.  But, in Japan, his behavior is seen as an affront to the cultural harmony of the whole of Japan.  Sumo is their national sport.  The Yokozuna are moral standard bearers of the country, of every Japanese individual.  They represent them all.  At least that’s the belief.

As such, he had to go.

The trouble for the Sumo Association of Japan, however, is that Asashoryu is like the Michael Jordan of the Sumo.  The dude is amazing.  He brings in massive amounts of money.  And letting him go means letting go of a lot of money.  Not an easy choice.

I’m personally not comfortable with stripping him of his title.  But, I’m American, and I find his antics funny.  I have no interest in hanging out with the guy, but at least he’s fun to watch.

The good news for the Sumo Association is that they have a number of guys coming up the pipeline.  One of whom is my favorite Sumo player, Kotooshu (the Bulgarian).  Kotooshu is everything that Asashoryu is not.  Most importantly, he is considered Humble (at least he comes across that way in public).  And he is quite popular.  He’s beaten Asashoryu, and I think he could make Yokozuna if he works hard enough.  We’ll see.

But, not all Japanese are for his retirement:

‘I really respect Asashoryu for living his life the way he wants to live it. I wish I could live like him.’

And another,

‘I thought he was an exciting yokozuna and it is very sad news that he has decided to retire.  Sumo attendances will probably decrease because of this.’

Finally, here’s a recent match between Baruto (from Estonia) and Asashoryu.

And a discussion about it by Jasonryu

I go to Portland State University, home of the Vikings.  So little wonder that I’m into Svend Karlsen, the 2001 Worlds Strongest Man, who has a habit of screaming, “Viking Power!” at the top of his lungs every time he does a successful event.  (I keep trying to get my school to adopt him as our official mascot, but to no avail.)

Much like the other two strong man competitors I’ve profiled (Magnus Samuelsson, and Mariusz Pudzianowski) his training routine is outright insane.  But, hey, that’s what it takes if you’re going to be the Worlds Strongest Man.  Below I’ve posted his workout schedule and a 6 part video from Youtube about his training.

Day 1

Barbell Log press: 2-3 x 6 – 12 (that’s 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 12 reps)
Tire Flip:  3 x 6 – 8 flips
Stones: 3 x 5
Close Grip Bench Press:  1 x 4 – 6; 1 x 10-14
Lying French Press:  2 x 8-12
Push downs:  2 x 8 – 12
Crunches:  3 x 12

Day 2

Front Squat:  2 x 4-6
Karlsen Squats (see video below):  3 x 8-12
Leg Extension:  3 x 12 – 20
Calf Raise:  3 x 20
Concept 2 Rower: 3 x 500 meters

Day 3

Fast Walking or Easy Swimming for 1 Hour

Day 4

Apollons Axle:  1 x 1 – 3; 1 x 6 – 10
Log Lift: 1 x 4 – 8; 1 x 8 – 12
Karlsen Crusifix Flies: 2 x 8
Incline Log Press: 1 x 3 – 6, 1 x 12
Crossovers: 3 x 8 – 12

Day 5

Deadlift: 2 x 3 – 6
Seated Rows: 3 x 8 – 12
Pull Downs: 3 x 8 – 12
Shrugs: 3 x 12
Bent over side laterals: 3 x 8 – 12

Day 6

Fast walking or light swimming – 1 hour

Day 7

Super Yoke: 3 x 25 meters
Farmers Walk (in the Snow!!): 2 sets of 2 x 35meters
Conan’s Wheel: 2 x 3 laps
Truck Pull: 3 x 10 meters
Loading: 3 x 5 kegs for 5 -10 meters

Day 8

He says he “takes massage”. 

OK, here’s the 6 part video on Youtube.  If you like it, you should support Svend by buying it on Ironmind. Viking Power!

Part 1

Part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

part 6