Big dudes, big weights

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!)

Training for the National Aerobics Championships may not be the best way to get big and strong, but it clearly IS the best way to be super sexy … oh, ya!

[hat tip:  Brandy]

Ok, seriously, after watching this vid, I’ve GOT to go to the gym   I’ve always been a big fan of David Rigert.  Like Tommy Kono, he was the complete package:  He was strong, he had great technique, he was a showman, and he looked the part. 

The theme song here is over the top in ALL the right ways … oh ya!

Check out these new vids from the Iron Mind Youtube channel of Jaber Saeed Salem (or Yani Marchokov, depending on your “persuasion”) and one of my favorite lifters Marc Huster

And Marc Huster:

Found this video over at 70’s Big.  It adds to the point I was making in my Clean and Jerk for the Shot Put article.

Hat Tip: Ryland

Bret Contreras, inventor of a glute-bridge variation he calls the “hip thrust”, and author of an exceptional book on glute strengthening, has finally made a video explaining his flagship exercise (see below).

After reading his book a little while ago I started having some of my lifters try doing a bodyweight version for higher reps to simply get the form down. 

I assumed that given that most of these lifters are serious competitive Olympic weightlifters (with ever growing butts!), that the body weight version would be very easy, and once they got their form down, we’d be moving up in weight rather quickly … I was wrong.

Yes, some of them are ready to add weight, but a surprising number still find the simple 2 legged body weight version VERY hard.  (It doesn’t help that I have them do it after doing the Oly lifts and our “normal” strength moves like Front Squats and RDL’s.)

I’ve found that doing it one-legged is a great way to add resistance without adding resistance (sort of speak).  But, once even that is getting too easy – and you’ve mastered proper form! – then it’s time to move up to Bret’s full version.

Take a look at this:

Great interview with Donny Shankle.  Best quote, “You gotta pull on the bar like your ripping the head off of a God-damned lion!”

These guys are blowing my mind.  They’re a NY based group that goes out to public parks and playgrounds to do their workouts on the pull up bars, parallel bars, monkey bars, etc.  And they are getting fantastic results.  Lot’s of muscle ups, wild chin/pull up variations, and other gymnastic-esque goodness.  I love it!  It’s inspiring me to dust off my old goal of one-arm chins.  (Real one-arm chins, of course.)

They’re helping to prove my theory that if you want to look (and be!) truly muscular and powerful, train your lower body like an Olympic weightlifter, and your upper body like a gymnast.

Here’s a few vids:

Don’t forget to check out their blog here.

[hat tip: Fitness Black Book]

Another great issue of Strength+ magazine is out.  You can go here to download it.

Inside are articles on the 2010 Nationals, including the Burgener couple making the world team. (As a side note, I was sad not to see Oregon’s Sarah Bertram not making the team, but that’s another story.)

The issue also has articles on Olympic weightlifting’s use for football, gymnastics, and even how to juggle weightlifting with parenting!

Bob Takano contributes a piece, “An Introduction to Weightlifting Training Programs.”

A retrospective of the 2000 National Championships.

And finally a great comparison of the technique of Casey Burgener and Matt Rue, “Who’s got better technique?  You decide.”  This one’s just fun. 

For my part, I’d go with Casey.  But, I’m not one who thinks there is such a thing as “perfect” technique that applies to everyone.  Different body proportions will dictate a lot of what a lifter is going to have to do given the fact that the bar is a fixed object (the diameter of a plate is the same for everyone regardless of limb/torso length).  Not just height, but leg and arm length both relative to torso. 

But, the things I DO emphasize with my lifters are in line with Casey: Getting into a solid vertical jump position in the second pull and a deep extension at the end of the second pull (like a bow and arrow). Yes, Casey’s hips start high, but they don’t RISE too high – that’s the important thing.  The first pull exists ONLY to set you up for a powerful second pull. Period.  He does that.  Very solid.

Here’s a vid of the 105k’s at the 2010 Nationals