An Olympic Weightlifting Peaking Program – Our 4-Week Training Leading Up to the Oregon State Championships

Posted by Nick Horton | 12 comments

The state championships this year went really well for us.  Beth and Amy won their weight classes. Brandon set 2 Jr. State Records (Clean and Jerk and Total, the snatch record was already his, and he matched it).  Chris hit life-time PR’s in the Snatch, Clean and Jerk, and Total.  Jake hit PR’s so big that he added 17.5k to his total(!).  And Dave and I both matched our best-ever contest lifts.

In other words: not too shabby! 

Sure, most of us (other than Chris and Jake!) feel like there are things we could have done better.  That is always the case.  But, clearly the work we all put in paid off. 

That begs the question, “what was the work we put in?!”

Below I’ve posted a (rough) template of the routines that I wrote on the white board every day in the gym for the last 4 weeks before the contest. (I’ve also posted a video of some highlights of May’s Training at the bottom of the page). 

Not everyone did every workout as written, but most came close.  (It is also the work done by a number of lifters who didn’t compete this time, but who have been making a lot of PR’s.  Aaron, the blonde dude at the beginning of the video has been hitting PR’s almost every week!)   

Now, of course, a few lifters didn’t touch this routine.  Beth (in the pic above), for instance, was coming in about 3 or 4 times a week and doing her normal CrossFit work on the other days. (See my article on combining Oly lifting and CrossFit here.)  She was training every day (like she usually does), but not always on Oly lifts.  For her, the work she did with me was totally focused on getting as many good singles in as possible on the snatch, clean and jerk, and front squat, and shoring up a few technical issues.  That’s it.  And it paid off. 

The day of the Contest she was “off” a bit, and quite nervous to start.  But, the training kicked in.  While she wasn’t hitting things perfectly, she was able to make both her openers solidly (in fact, she powered them both – albeit on her second attempts).  That was enough to beat out the other women she was up against.  And she won, and is now the State Champion.

The point of the training is to make sure that on your “bad” days (contest are almost always bad days!), you still get on the board and do well.  She put in the work and was rewarded for it.

Now … Most of my lifters do the PM workouts only (and the AM on Saturdays).  Brandon and I do twice-a-days because we can.  It’s the PM workouts that matter, they are the real meat-and-potatoes of the program.  If you want to try this, ignore the AM workouts unless you have a ton of time on your hands.  I’m just putting it in there because I think it is important to show it all.  I personally am the ONLY lifter who did AM workouts on nearly every occasion (Brandon has 2 jobs, so he can’t always do them).  For me, being in the gym IS my job, so I might as well lift. 

At 33 years old, I’m proof that you don’t have to be a teenager to work your ass off. 

Special Treat

One last thing before we dive in.  I make a lot of adjustments to all of my routines for masters lifters and lifters who have busy lives and couldn’t possibly do the maniacal routine you are about to read.  These lifters do very well.  It would be way too complicated for me to explain every little adjustment and routine that I make for each and every lifter on a blog … but, don’t worry!  If you find yourself wanting to know all the details, the ins and outs, and the methods behind it all, then you are in luck.

Dr. Michael Hartman and I are working on a BIG project together that will compile a massive storehouse of detailed routines and templates that the two of us have used over the years training real athletes in the real world (not just the routines used by high-level super talented freaks who can do anything and succeed, but also the programs used by real people like YOU).   To keep up to date on when this project will be released, make sure to sign up for my newsletter to the right of this page (and also to Dr. Hartman’s newsletter on his blog here.)

OK … without further ado … the workouts:

Week One – Squat Focus

Monday

AM

Front squat: 1RM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Back Squat: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 90% (do sets of 2 or 3 reps with what you made for your 1RM)

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

-Bodybuilding and core. (This is always optional, and should not be taken too seriously.  Just do “stuff”.)

Tuesday

AM

Front Squat: 1RM

PM

Front Squat: 1RM

Power Snatch: 1RM

Power Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Wednesday

AM

Front Squat: 1RM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Back Squats: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 90%

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

-Bodybuilding and core.

Thursday

AM

Front Squat: 1RM

PM

Front Squat: 1RM

Weak Link Training. (Work on what you suck at most. Could be snatch, cleans, or jerks.  Don’t go heavy, focus on technical details.)

Friday

PM – only

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Back Squat: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 90%

Saturday

AM – only

Front Squats: 1RM

Weak Link Training

RDL’s: Hvy 5  (this should be heavy, but NOT a true max.)

Sunday

AM – only

Back Squats: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 90%

Week Two – Oly Focus

Monday

AM

Front squat: 1RM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 80%+

Back Squats:  1RM

-Bodybuilding and core.

Tuesday

AM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Front Squat: 1RM

Power Snatch: 1RM

Power Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Wednesday

AM

Front Squat: 1RM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Snatch: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 80%

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Back Squats: 1RM

-Bodybuilding and core.

Thursday

AM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Front Squat: 1RM

Weak Link Training.

Friday

PM – only

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Back Squat: 1RM

Saturday

AM – only

Front Squats: 1RM

Weak Link Training

RDL’s: Hvy 5 

Sunday

AM – only

Back Squats: 1RM + 3×2 or 3 @ 90%

Week Three – Peaking

Monday

AM

Snatch: 1RM

PM

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Front Squats:  1RM

-Bodybuilding and core.

Tuesday

AM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Power Snatch: 1RM

Power Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Wednesday

AM

Snatch: 1RM

PM

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Front Squats: 1RM

-Bodybuilding and core.

Thursday

AM

Power Snatch: 1RM

PM

Weak Link Training.

Friday

PM – only

Snatch: 1RM

Clean and Jerk: 1RM

Front Squat: 1RM

Saturday

AM – only

Front Squats: 1RM

Weak Link Training

Sunday – OFF

Week Four – Pre-Contest

Monday

AM

Snatch: 90% of opener

PM

Snatch: Openers

Clean and Jerk:  Openers

Tuesday

PM – only

Power Snatch: 80% of openers

Power Clean and Jerk: 80% of openers

Wednesday

AM

Snatch: 80% of opener

PM

Snatch: 90% of Opener

Clean and Jerk: 90% of Opener

Thursday

PM – only

Power Snatch: 80% of opener

Power Clean and Jerk: 80% of openers

Friday

PM – only

Bar only, maybe up to 40% or so of your openers.  Roll out and stretch a lot.  Warm up as though your are about to lift heavy.  Screw around, then go home.  The point is to keep the body going, NOT to “workout”.

Saturday

CONTEST!!

Here’s the video I promised.  (Yes, for those in the know, the music is the background is my own.)

Your Monday Moment of Zen #16

Posted by Nick Horton | 6 comments

The above photo is of Tokyo From Atajo-Yama, Japan during the rebuilding period after the 1923 earthquake that resulted in massive fires that destroyed the city.  You can read more about it at Flicker, where I got the picture from the Oregon State University archives.

Zen Quote of the Week:

“Achievement has everything to do with creating a failure-resistant brain and thinking your way to success…you can take charge of the process…Winner’s brains actually operate differently than the average brain.” – Mark Fenske, Neuroscientist

This Week In the World of Weightlifting:

Anthony Ditillo has an article about Adaptability and how to use it in your favor.

Charles Poliquin.  Along the same lines is this article by Poliquin designed to bury you into the ground for 2 weeks, take 5 days off, then come back and be stonger than before.  This is similar to how many Olympic weightlifters train, including some of us at PDX Weightlifting.  His version is a bit more hardcore than most of ours, but it’s worth looking into.  Here’s a quote:

Let’s review: By the end of the first two weeks of this program, if you’re doing it right, you will . . .

1. Lose strength
2. Lose muscle
3. Be chronically overtrained
4. Experience aching tendons and joints
5. Be brutally sore (and train right through it)
6. Experience depression

Now I know you’re enticed! 

PDX Weightlifting.  You can see an example of how to do something similar to Poliquin’s method above, but as a weightlifter by looking at our 2 week “loading” phase here, and then our 2 week “unloading” phase that we did heading into a local meet on April 16th that resulted in most of us hitting PR’s.

Doctor Hartman is interviewed by Cedric Unholz.  Here’s an excerpt:

I view all strength training for athletes as general preparation so I really try to stick to the basics in the weight room.  In my opinion, all training can fit into one of three broad categories: strength, endurance, and mobility.

These three areas must be addressed in all athletes but to varying degrees based on the needs and classification of the athlete or team, and during different times of an athlete’s career. Most workouts contain a dynamic warm-up, 3-4 basic compound exercises, and then some remedial or corrective pre/rehab exercises.

I tend to focus on technique and quality of the lifts being performed and only bump up the training load when the athlete has demonstrated they are capable of handling the work load.  I am a huge proponent of the Olympic lifts and their variations in training so technique is taught and reinforced everyday.

Let that be a lesson to you.

Mark Young is interviewed by Bret Contreras about his new product, “How to Read Fitness Research.”  Here’s a quote:

Let me just say this; I recently saw a fitness product released that was based on a specific fiber type and its effects on fat loss.  The claims were pretty far out there and anyone one a reasonably sound research background should have had their BS detectors going off like crazy.  But guess what?  Based on the statistics on Clickbank (and talking to other people who participated in the launch) I’d say they’ve probably sold THOUSANDS of copies.  And get this…the product is almost $100!!!  So someone out there is making hundreds of thousands of dollars off of a scientific theory that doesn’t hold water.

Now that doesn’t mean that the program doesn’t work.  It might work because of mechanisms that are different from what the creators think they are.  And it certainly doesn’t mean that anyone who creates a product that isn’t evidence based is trying to rip you off.  Maybe they don’t know any better either.  What it does mean though, is that you should know whether the theory behind what you’re buying has any merit before breaking out your wallet and spending your hard earned money.

My product will help you do that.  So yes, I think weekend warriors should consider purchasing this product.

I’m pretty sure I know who he’s talking about, and I’m also fairly sure this person has no idea that their ideas (about why their program may work) are unsound.  This person may need to buy Mark’s product!

Doctor Hartman gives you a primer on transitioning from the Power Clean/Snatch to the Full Clean/Snatch. 

The transition from the performing of a Power Clean to a full Clean (or Squat Clean) can be a hard adjustment.  Novice lifters, without a ton of practice performing the lifts, will often spread their legs, in an attempt to lower their body in the catch position.  Spreading the legs, rather than squatting under the bar, works somewhat in the short term but long term delays progress.  When the legs are spread, meaning outside of normal hip-width or shoulder-width position used when squatting, puts you in a position where you are unable to go under the bar.

Mighty Kat reminds us that the “Artist vs Athlete” dichotomy is Bull Shit. 

When internationally renowned double bass soloist and Eastman School of Music Professor James VanDemark took up boxing two years ago, he saw immediate crossover benefits to his playing. VanDemark, a "lightweight" at only 5’6" and 138 pounds, immediately thought of the impact boxing could have on his students, so he sent some of his women students for a conditioning and strength-building session. They, too, came back with greater bow control, more confidence and stamina, and more energy, producing an even bigger and more focused sound from their big instrument.

Maybe as a weightlifting coach AND a musician, I should be marketing to the local music schools … Hmm.  Speaking of weightlifting musicians …

Mikhail Koklyaev continues to show us that having a good time is mandatory!

Julie Rohde vs Maria De La Puente at the European Championships 2008.  Tell me again that weightlifting makes you look manly?

Julia Rohde vs. Maria De La Puente EC 2008 by Maitolasi

Intermittent Fasting.  I’ve been doing some experimenting with Intermittent Fasting recently.  I’m not ready to discuss any conclusions I have, since I haven’t come to any!  In a few months, I’ll post up a full review of my experience.  But, until then, for those of you who are interested, here’s Martin Berkhan’s “Top 10 Fasting Myths Debunked.”

Efficient adaptation to famine was important for survival during rough times in our evolution. Lowering metabolic rate during starvation allowed us to live longer, increasing the possibility that we might come across something to eat. Starvation literally means starvation. It doesn’t mean skipping a meal not eating for 24 hours. Or not eating for three days even. The belief that meal skipping or short-term fasting causes "starvation mode" is so completely ridiculous and absurd that it makes me want to jump out the window.

Looking at the numerous studies I’ve read, the earliest evidence for lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed (George Cahill has contributed a lot on this topic).

 Alan Aragon has a guest post on Martin Berkhan’s site reviewing a position paper in the ISSN journal on meal frequency.  (In the post, Martin also looks to be spoiling for a fight with John Berardi … mud or jello?). 

The authors go on to assert that data on the eating habits of competitive athletes (in primarily endurance-based sports) shows a range of roughly 5-10 eating occasions per day. They suggest that this is optimal because it enables athletes to consume a culturally normal meal pattern in addition to meals proximal to the training bout. In response to this, I’d say that this range of frequencies is fine for this population. But, I’d also contend that the energy needs of competitive athletes in endurance-based sports can be 2-4 times greater than that of recreationally active individuals (who make up the bulk of the nonsedentary adult population). Therefore, applying the meal frequency of competitive athletes to less active populations is unnecessary & impractical, at best. In my private practice, I’ve seen recreational athletes succeed long-term with as little as 2 meals per day. The most common meal frequency range I’ve observed in physically active clients with long-term success is rather broad (3-6 meals per day). Whether individuals choose the higher or lower end of that range is based solely on personal preference and tolerance. 

Jon North does some lifting at the Seminars Glenn and he did with East Coast Barbell and the Edinburgh Center for Sport and Exercise over yonder across the water.

K-Star has two mobility workouts for the clean and jerk: one for the upper body, one for the lower body.  These are, of course, in honor of the recent CrossFit Games WOD that was Clean and Jerk (110#’s for ladies, 165#’s for dudes), as many reps as possible in 5 minutes … ouch!  Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this high rep bonanza to benefit from K-Star’s MOB.  Any self respecting Olympic lifter with tight shoulders, T-spine, hips, etc will get hours of painful enjoyment out of these!  

Crappy College Majors.  This isn’t weightlifting related, but it’s funny.  It’s a top 10 list of the college majors sure to make you jobless.

Richard Williams decided that Strongman was a better choice for him than the NFL.  Less money, less women, more iron.

Even as the younger Williams excelled on both sides of the line in high school, football was a means to another end, a way to earn a free ride to college. At Gardner-Webb, his ambivalence over the sport gave way to hatred. He felt like he had little control of his situation, and he questioned the motives of agents and scouts. But he couldn’t afford to quit. And he didn’t want to let his teammates down. "In a way," says Williams, "I was doing what my family and friends kept telling me was in my best interest. That was why I got an agent, set up meetings with teams. But in my heart, I knew I wanted out. My playing football made everybody else happy. Not me."

Children and Weightlifting is the topic of a great article on the Queensland Weightlifting website.

A retrospective review of injuries associated with weight lifting and weight training in preadolescents and adolescents found that weight lifting and weight training are safer than many other sports and activities (see the statistics listed below). In fact, the rate of injury for Olympic weight lifting was even lower than for weight training.

 Kendrick Farris is profiled in The Almagest.  Bless the gym, indeed.

 Finally, I don’t care how bad your form is, I am NOT going to spot you on your power cleans!  It’s all you, bro … pinkies …

Your Monday Moment of Zen #15

Posted by Nick Horton | 0 comments

Zen quote of the week:

“The word “Dinner” actually comes from the Latin disjejunare, meaning "to un-fast” or break the fast of the evening. Remarkably, the word was contracted in the Romance languages to ‘disnare’ or ‘disner’ in Olde French, or dinner in English. Thus the word dinner actually means ‘breakfast’.” – Brad Pillon

This week in the world of weightlifting:

Sean Waxman has a post on the mechanics of the various phases of the Olympic weightlifting movements.  Here’s an important quote:

It’s important to note, mechanics are not the same as one’s technique. Mechanics of Weightlifting are the forces involved with lifting a barbell and the causes behind them. Technique is the visual manifestation of these forces. Causes behind force production such as gravity, mass, and distance can be measured with precision. Using the aforementioned constants, variables involved with the mechanics of force production such as joint angles, bar trajectories, and balance are manipulated in order to establish the most efficient pulling mechanics.

The observable differences in “technique” have to do with an individual’s peculiarities such as anthropometry or leg/torso strength distribution. These peculiarities will dictate actions, which will suit an individual lifter’s needs. Simply mimicking a particular athletes pulling technique without possessing their anthropometry or peculiarities will often lead to poor pulling mechanics.

It’s for this reason that my own advice is to find elite lifters who have the same bone structure as yourself (ignoring gender, height, weight) and mimic them.  It does you no good to mimic the technique of lifters who are shaped totally different than you are. 

Don McCauley on Sweeping the Bar In during the pull:

Since the starting balance at the Set is on the forefeet and the push upward in the 1^st pull is upward through the rear half of the feet; that shift and maintaining correct torso position will help us keep the bar closer. But, what if the arms, which are hanging vertically at the start, do nothing but stay vertical? Well, they’re just not doing their part, that’s what.

Donny Shankle on the Jerk.  He tells a story where a pretty girl offered to kiss him if he made a 205k clean and jerk.  He tried hard, and he failed:

My head has never in my life hung so low. All I could think about was getting out of there. I never even got the girl’s name much less the kiss I tried so hard to fight for. If I do ever see her again, I will ask her if her offer is still on the table. The moral of this true story is, “Don’t miss the jerk!” If you do, then you will not enter paradise.

It’s hard to argue with that!

Chad Waterbury has an interesting Veggie-heavy take on a 7-day rapid fatloss diet.  I’m not generally for people doing extreme things with their diets.  But, Dan John does have a point, “fat loss is war.”  This line I find disturbing:

“Yuck. Vegetables. Who likes them, anyway? Not me. If I never had another one again it’d be too soon.”

Seriously?  How can you call yourself an adult if you hate vegetables.  What has our country turned into. Even the fitness guru’s don’t like them?  Veggies are awesome.  If you don’t like vegetables, my guess is that you don’t know how to cook.  Maybe you don’t like raw veggies, but that’s only one of many ways to get them.  My own favorite?  Pickled and slathered in vinegar!  Or better yet, fermented.  Kim Chee, baby!

Tim Ferris on 7 reasons you should eat more saturated fat.

Adam Stoffa on how Lamaze breathing can be used by anyone in a stressful situation, like he was during his child’s birth … when the babies heart stopped:

No one can control how their body reacts to a high stress incident, but we can learn to manage our physical response.  Controlled breathing, is an effective way to consciously bridge the mind body connection. Slow deep breaths helped me recover, but I didn’t have a plan or a breathing pattern to follow. At the end of this post, you will be much better prepared than I was to manage a high stress incident.  Learning about and practicing tactical breathing will give you a tool that keeps you in the game during a high stress event…so that you can help yourself and your loved ones.

Jared Enderton.  Ever wondered what Jared Enderton does for recovery from his many many workouts every week?  Here is one of many ways:  

After my first training session of course I drink a protein shake immediately, along with some type of fruit (banana usually). You have to refuel your body ASAP after working out! Then, I head over to the cold pool and hot tub. I then alternate for about 15-20 minutes. I’ll go about 3-4 minutes in each throughout the whole time, always ending in the cold pool. I don’t like to sit in the hot tub TOO much, as it can make you feel drained and zap your energy. So the time in the hot tub is usually only about 6-7 min compared to 13-14 in the cold pool.

Fred Lowe. Here’s a great collection of photo’s of Fred Lowe in the early days.  He’s had a long and distinguished career that is still in progress.  In addition to him being an 8-time senior national champion, and a member of 3 Olympic teams, he also holds a total of EIGHTEEN National Masters Records!  (If I counted right, I might have missed a few, you can check here.)  He also set 3 Masters World records, 5 Masters Pan Am records, 2 IWF Masters records, and 6 American Masters records … holy heavens!

Jon North has a new blog with links to his new T-shirts for sale.  Yes, the shirt DID add 100 pounds of freaky mass to his body.  His shirts can be found HERE.  So far, he’s only got the above model for sale.  But, soon it looks like he’ll have one that simply says, “Shankle”.  I may need that one. 

Jr. World Championships is being held in Penang Malaysia, and they’ve got a spiffy new website to go with it.

Weightlifting Events is a new website that hopes to promote the sport of weightlifting by making it easier for lifters to find and register for competitions.  I think this is a GREAT idea.  I never understood why USA Weightlifting hasn’t done something similar. 

Doctor Hartman on Training Theory.  Ever wondered what the best training program is?  Or, if there is such a thing?

Successful training programs can take on many forms and I would argue that any program will produce results given the right attitude, consistency, and work ethic of the athlete.  As long as the training program is used to improve strength and technique simultaneously, and does not favor one quality at the expense of the other, and takes into account the individual needs of the athlete, any program can be successful.

Well said.  In my opinion, the most important part of any program is your ability to actually do it!  If you’re consistent on a routine that fits your life, you work technique, you work strength, and you do these things with a serious amount of effort, you’ll make progress.  Now … get to it!

Greek Weightlifting.  Here’s a video of the Greek national team sometime around 2002 (ish).  The music is rather rocking …

Weightlifting Epiphanies on the recent trip to Ireland by the Cal Strength crew.

On the Thursday, most of our ECB lifters trained with Jon and Glenn. They gym was buzzing to say the least. I was tired from the week’s exertions and from the very little sleep the night before, but if you can’t get up for training with these boys, you deserve to be shot! I Snatched 114kg and then missed 116 twice. I tried to hit a double with 110kg four times, but I missed the second rep each time. There was simply not enough in the tank. This was the most I have ever hit during the week, though, so I was happy. I then Clean and Jerked up to 136kg and I was proper spent. Happy, but wrecked. Everyone trained really well and watching Jon Power Clean and then Full Clean and Jerk 160kg is always inspiring to watch.

Ben Claridad uses a metaphor for how he is planning his attack on the Collegiate Nationals:

Art imitates life.  So does weightlifting.  Example: Earlier this week, you and your buddies decided to go hit the dance floor at your nearest indie/electro dance party this Friday night.  Your training partners have since been subjected to you practicing your trademark “Wyatt Earp, mothafuckah!  Six shooters blazin’ towards the sky!” dance move for the past 3 days and are fast growing tired of you slow-mo shooting your imaginary pistols at them.  Friday night finally rolls around and you have just finished your obligatory pre-pump (accomplished remarkably fast, due to your knowledge of ancient Benbata techniques).  You throw on the V-neck whilst checking your image in the mirror.  And after seducing your mirror self with an intricate display of your six-shooter prowess, you’re out the door and on your way to your buddy’s house.  Wait.  Your buddy’s house?  I thought you were going to da’ club!

Bob Takano on the Zones of Intensity:

Zone 4 is the 80 to 89% range and 25% of the repetitions are going to go here and there will actually be a shift into more repetitions in this zone during the pre-competition cycle than there was during the preparation cycle.  The vast bulk of the repetitions are going to be in zones three and four.

He defines Zone 3 as between 70% and 79%. 

Glenn Pendlay on Making Weight:

The two biggest mistakes made are leaving too much weight loss for the day before and day of the competition and ending up spending hours in the sauna sapping your strength before you lift, or, making weight too early through dehydration, then maintaining your weight and dehydrated state for too long before lifting. You should not be in a sauna for hours and hours directly before competing, and you should not be in one at all the day before or two days before competing! The biggest trick to making weight is timing it right, and the following outline will tell you how to do that.

Finally, here’s Mikhail Koklyaev, who has a new blog … with the most bad-ass header of all time!  He’s got a picture up that was taken by Arnold, himself, and sent to Russian president Medvedev with the caption, “Your Russian strongman just lifted this 111kg weight, twice.”  I think he’s ‘made it’. 

Here he is with a friend partying in the gym.  Now THIS is my kind of workout music:

Your Monday Moment of Zen #12

Posted by Nick Horton | 5 comments

Zen Quote of the Week:

“You can’t run to get fit, you need to be fit to run"– Diane Lee

This week in the world of weightlifting:

Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl.  Ya, we all know that. But, what you might not know is how they are organized as the only publicly owned professional team in the country. 

Mike Tomlin.  While I didn’t have much stake in either team this year, I was a bit sad to see the Steelers lose.  Mainly because of Mike Tomlin. He’s the kind of coach I really can look up to.  To paraphrase his philosophy:

“Football is an emotional sport played by emotional men.  They need someone like me with a clear head to guide them.”

I can respect that.  We live in an odd country that devalues anyone who doesn’t win first place.  There is no silver medal in football, baseball, basketball, etc … But, in the real world, if you’ve worked hard and come far, even if you lose, you deserve respect.  

Sean Waxman is running an Olympic Weightlifting Essentials seminar on February 20th.  If you are in the Southern California area (or plan to be by then), make sure you sign up!

Steve Gough 2-part interview (PDF file).  Gough is a great American coach who also coaches in the Bulgarian-influenced style.  In this interview he talks about his training methods, his history, the lifters he’s coached, and how he feels about the OTC (hint: he ain’t a fan).

Donny Shankle on the Benefits of Auxiliary work.  Notice he said “auxiliary” not “supplemental”.  While in the normal world these terms are synonymous, in the world of weightlifting, Supplemental exercises are things like squats, pulls, rack pulls, Push Presses, Rows, etc.  Those exercises that are themselves serious strength exercises and are supposed to help you directly with the Snatch and Clean and Jerk.  Auxiliary exercises are more like “prehab” work – the small stuff – that is there to keep your body healthy, your shoulders mobile, your “core” up to snuff, and so on. 

While there is much argument over how much supplemental work is necessary for the weightlifter, and whether these exercises carry over as much as they are purported to do (Ivan Abadjiev has even said that he was considering dropping all squatting!!), there is little argument over the importance of doing the “little” stuff to keep your body running smoothly.  Adding in back extensions, face pulls, planks, and push ups (for instance) WILL make you a better lifter, because they will keep you from suffering from repetitive use injuries and getting “all banged up” from all that heavy-ass lifting you are doing.

Of course … I switch the words up all the time!

Vasiliy Alexeev. Ever wondered how the baddest super-heavy of the 70’s trained leading up to the 1974 world championships?  Well, wonder no more, here’s the details!

Doctor Michael Hartman has a post on the clean and JERK.  The purpose of his post is to focus on what those of you who suffer from a poor jerk (relative to your clean) can do to fix it.   This post focuses on the drive portion, which is generally where people screw up the worst.  One of the points he mentions is this little tid-bit:

No need for a ruler, but a general rule of thumb suggests the dip should occur by lowering the bar, through hip and knee flexion, a distance equal to about 10 percent of the athlete’s overall height. (5’8” lifter = a little less than 7 inches; a 6’0” lifter a little more than 7 inches). Any drastic difference may cause a problem.

This point could bring up an interesting discussion about the use of the “short dip” in the drive portion of the jerk …

70’s Big on not training when sick.

Jim Smitz has a post up at Iron Mind about the Overhead Squat: “America’s Favorite Exercise”

Bob Takano writes about the American Record Breakers meet in LA where 85k lifter Anthony Pomponio hits a 272k total in only his second ever meet winning him a big $1,000 bucks!!  On the ladies side, Lindsey Valenzuela, a woman he’s been coaching wins herself a $1000 for first place.   Great job both of you, and to all the other lifters!!

NSCA. The National Strength and Conditioning Association has published an article suggesting that Resistance Bands, when added to your back squats, may increase Rate of Force Development. (PDF here)  But, the authors were still skeptical. 

East Coast Barbell Bray has a new video inviting you to join them (below).  These folks are in Dublin, Ireland.  If you’re out their way and you aren’t training with them … God help you!

Barry Kinsella details his after-contest training.

Florida Weightlifting.  Bodybuilding weekly has a story on the women in the Florida High School Weightlifting Program:

What they’ve found is a sport where 90-pound girls are able to compete — and girls who weigh 250 pounds are also valued — and both can feel good about their bodies. And along the way, they’ve discovered another plus: growing self-esteem.

"Just doing something that they didn’t think they could do helps their confidence," says Lonnie Beckel, a former football coach and now the girls weightlifting coach at St. Cloud High School.

Beckel says girls pick up good techniques quickly because they’re not embarrassed to lift a light weight and to learn the correct form. Boys, on the other hand, want to prove how macho they are and usually start with weights that are too heavy.

That last statement definitely jives with my experience.  I’ve found females (as a rule) much easier to teach technique to initially.  In the long run it all evens out, but at first, young men (teens) worry that if they aren’t lifting enough weight, then they look unmanly. 

Ultimate Athlete.  Brock Leggins’ has a great quote for athletes:

“Entitlement is for the worthless and weak”

The sad fact is that many young athletes just don’t understand the importance of good sportsman-like (or sportswoman-like!) behavior. You don’t ever DESERVE to win.  First place is not going to just be handed to you.  And sometimes, even if you did everything right, you will still lose!  Deal with it.  You’re ability to deal with this is one of the things that defines you as an athlete.

A sports-coaches job is to make sure their athletes can WIN.  But, my job as a Strength Coach is first and foremost to help develop the athlete into a better person (both physically and mentally).  The Greek Ideal:  a Strong Mind in a Strong Body.

Conor Collins has a post on fixin’ them IT Bands .

Antonio Krastev.  Just incase you’ve forgotten, it’s been 24 years and STILL no one has beaten Krastev’s snatch record of 216 kilos.  Blame it on steroids all you want, but every lifter is on drugs at that level.   That is one powerful feat of superhuman power!

Jim Wendler on building up your Press.

Mike Reinhold on the Front Squat vs. The Back Squat and Back Extensor Muscle Activity.  I’m having a hard time buying his argument that (based on the EMG data of only one study), that the back squat may actually be a BETTER choice for sufferers of low back pain than the front squat because it produces less back extensor muscle activity which is correlated with more back pain. 

I’ve never had an athlete tell me that back squats made their low back feel better than front squats do.  And this is likely because of the factors that EMG doesn’t tell you, namely the torque and shear forces involved in back squatting.  I don’t care how good your form is, the back squat will cause you to lean farther forward than the front squat will and this will increase the shear force on the spine.  Back squats also allow you to go heavier which causes it’s own problems.  I’d need to see a lot of solid research to back up this claim before I’d change my mind that Front Squat are safer than Back Squats.

None of this is to say that one shouldn’t do back squats.  But, if you have low back pain already, there’s a good case to be made that front squats will be less painful, not more painful, than backs squats … and this bears out in most coaches experience. 

California Strength.  The guys at Cal Strength have another video up, this time with a fantastic title that rings soooo true: “The Monotony that Builds Champions.”  If you want to get great at anything, you have to learn to love the boredom.  Not just endure it … Love it!

Great Basketball players shoot free throws, lots and lots of free throws.  Great weightlifters snatch and clean and jerk all the damned time.

Elsbeth Viano has a post on Grey Cook’s Functional Movement Screen (FMS). 

There is some argument among strength coaches about whether one should: (1) screen every athlete at the beginning to make sure you are not missing any weak links; or, (2) use (FMS based) progressions combined with good intuitive coaching that fixes weak links “on the fly” as you notice them allowing you to avoid specific testing at the beginning.

I tend to go with the latter.  I will “screen” on the fly during the beginning of my time with an athlete (during their 2-week free trial).  I always start out by finding out if they can overhead squat and front squat with correct mechanics.  If not, why not?  And we go from there.  The point being that in the end, all my athletes need to eventually be able to do the motions of the FMS, and my programs are designed to make sure they can. 

In point of fact, Olympic lifting coaches like me have it easier.  Other strength coaches don’t teach the full lifts so they can end up with athletes who have serious mobility and stability issues that never get fixed unless you catch them with the FMS.  For instance, while other gyms let you get away with a half-squat (just to parallel – which they’ll call a full squat) we go ass-to-grass which requires far more flexibility. 

The Olympic lifts are like their own FMS.  Teach a person to do full snatches and full clean and jerks with proper form and no pain, and you have someone who can pass the FMS with flying colors. 

Here’s a cartoon about the over-doing-it type of trainers:

Finally, the most intense 1 rep max lift of all time:

Review: The Next 8 Weeks by Doctor Michael Hartman

Posted by Nick Horton | 4 comments

Doctor Michael Hartman has just released a new eBook called, “The Next 8-Weeks” all about preparing you to be a better Olympic Weightlifter.  It’s actually a bit of a misnomer, as the book has THREE full 8-week programs (math: 8×3 = … ) giving you 24 full weeks of serious training.

While I always advocate that potential Oly lifters go and get themselves a coach, the fact is, for many of you that just isn’t realistic.  MOST of the cities in the US don’t even have ONE Olympic lifting coach … not one.  Now, if you are young and you want to make lifting your life, then you should move to a city that does have one, since there is no other way to be serious in the sport without a coach to speed your progress (Portland is nice, btw).  But, for the rest of y’all, having access to rock-solid routines written by someone like Dr. Hartman (who has over a decades worth of experience with high level lifters) is the next-best thing. 

(Even if you DO have a coach, the more you learn, the better you’ll be as an athlete.  I always encourage my own athletes to be my “assistant” coaches with themselves.  In my experience, athletes who invest in learning as much as they can make the fastest progress.)

The book is divided into three 8-week routines, each focused on a different goal.  The first is STRENGTH, then second is TECHNIQUE, and the third is a HYBRID training system.  I whole-heartedly back these routines.  These are quite similar to the kinds of routines I put my lifters on here at PDX Weightlifting, and are based on the kinds of routines that the top lifters in the world have done to get to where they are today. 

You would do quite well for yourself to work through these routines exactly as written for the full 24 weeks and then do a contest.  You’ll be amazed at what you will have accomplished in such a short time.  After that, you could very easily just repeat the process.

A word of Advice:

One thing a lot of trainees do that messes them up is that they go around trying little bits of one routine here, and bits of another there, never sticking to any one program for long enough to reap the benefits. 

That is huge mistake, and it will cost you YEARS of progress.  Trust me, I know!!!  I’m the king of “average joe” lifters.  I grew up without a coach and had to figure it all out on my own.  I have tried EVERYTHING.  I’m not being hyperbolic.  I’ve done it all.  That may have helped me as a coach, fine (I know what doesn’t work), but you will NEVER be a great athlete (reaching your OWN potential is my definition of great) unless you hunker down and stick to the plan. 

It’s been said that while there are many paths out there that do work, and each coach has their own style, it is the athletes job is to fully invest in their coaches plan and just do it.  You can’t mix them.  If your coach is a “Russian” inspired coach, then go with it.  If he’s Bulgarian, then go with that.  If he does the Tommy Kono-like Classic Americana stuff, then do it.  What matters is that you follow the program and don’t get all side tracked trying to be a little of everything.

It doesn’t matter what Kendrick Ferris does, you do what your coach tells you to do.

Buy this book, and Dr. Hartman becomes your coach.  He’s written the routines.  Put them into practice and go through the entire program front to back.  Your future-self will thank you. 

In my opinion, he’s charging too little.  So, before he figures this out, you’d better rush your butt over to buy it!