Jan 27, 2012

Technique, is your style the best? That is the question every athlete asks themselves. Unfortunately the answer to that question ends up being an undoubtable yes. If I just described you, stop and think about your train of thought. Is your technique really the best? Better than all those international athletes that do something different? I bet not. I bet the difference between a top competitor and a merely good athletes is that the top competitor has mastered his/her style. So long as the technique does not introduce massive inefficiency, the best technique is the one most practiced.

Find a technical style, find a coach, and practice as hard as you can until you master that style. The more time you spend talking about how great your style is, the less time you spend training.

Jan 13, 2012

The barbell snatch is a great way to strengthen and protect the shoulder. The long range of motion and flexibility requirements mean that the weight usually stays low (except in elite lifters). This means that your shoulders are able to withstand snatching on a regular basis without hurting recovery or risking injury, provided your technique is correct.

The snatch can be a great lift to compliment the bench press (a high load/ low flexibility movement) because it will help you to stretch out your shoulders while making them stronger. The type of strength that is developed is unique to the snatch and can be a great addition to the training of athletes who execute some form of throwing movement in their sport.

Having alot of strength in shoulder rotation can be very useful in avoiding injury from repetitive throwing motions. It can also help bench pressers by restoring flexibility to the shoulders and providing a novel way to train.

In addition to the ability of the snatch to improve performance or prevent injury in other sports, it can be a great lift to add in for non athletes. The snatch is a lift that requires intense dedication to technical practice and therefore it can be very rewarding to train for those who don’t have a particular sport related goal. Training the mind and the body, the snatch is a great lift for anyone.

Jan 2, 2012

I don’t really like the idea of making new years resolutions. To me it seems like a way to postpone something you ultimately don’t want to do. Most people who make new years resolutions tend to give up trying to complete them a few months later. If you need to do something, anything, set a performance based goal immediately, then work until that goal is complete. The use of an external time frame, such as saying “I’ll start tomorrow” or “I’ll start next month” is simply a way of putting off the completion of your goal. If instead you approach the problem by thinking “I’ll start today,” you will approach the problem with much more dedication.

With all that said, here is a top 5 resolutions every weightlifter should have.

1) Make more time for recovery. Mobilization (aka stretching) is crucial in preparing muscles to receive heavy loads in safe positions without injury; however it takes time, somethings that all weightlifters need to devote more of to mobilize. Diet, rest days, better food, sleep, and possible supplements are also important parts of recovery. Make sure to note these factors in your training log and see if you are meeting your goals.

2) More technique work. That’s right, you need to spend more time training at lighter weights to correct the mistakes you make while going for heavy singles. I know that most weightlifter would prefer to spend every day maxing out, but unless you have been training at a high level for 10+ years you probably need to spend more time at lighter weights making sure that your technique is spot on.

3) Core work. I know the buzzword “core” is no longer in fashion in many circles; however I think it’s the best way to term midline stability/abdominal training because everyone knows what it means. Yes, core did originally refer to the idea that the majority of strength came from the hips, and the the zones that are increasingly further from the hip are increasingly weaker. If you didn’t know that, know you do; if you did, please don’t remind everyone in the comments. Anyways, you need to do more core work. For the weightlifter, this involves both the front an back of the torso. Think reverse hyper and weighted ghd situps.

4) Fast squats. Who doesn’t like squatting heavy? Every weightlifter loves to go heavy on squats, both front and back, but it is important to remember that this training is about developing strength and power for the snatch and clean & jerk. If you start to go very slow on your squats, make sure to drop the weight a little or implement some Westside style speed training to that the strength you develop adds to your lifts.

5) Eat more. Is it time for you to move up a weight class? Now is a good time to decide that you need to start gaining the weight for your next move up. You should evaluate how tall you are for your weight class. Most people find that they are too tall to be in their, currently light, weight class. If this is the case you should start gaining weight as you ill lift more when you weigh more. If you have just moved up a weight class it’s a good time to lean out (without losing weight) and finish growing into that class, a process that takes quite a long time.

Once again, Happy New Year!

Dec 28, 2011

Here is a great article that describes 1) how scrappy and dedicated weightlifters are to their sport and 2) the general importance of starting early. I’m always happy to see news articles that are able to provide reasonably good descriptions of weightlifting in the context of proper sport training. There has been too much fear mongering about lifting weights (in any way). I hope that with the rise of crossfit, there will be more and more articles like this one that describe the safety and joys of weightlifting for both adults and children/teens.

It’s important to start early for any sport, and weightlifting is no different. Starting with a PVC pipe or broomstick is a great way to get the technique down in a way that is safe for children as well as unskilled adults. I’m not trying to scare anyone out of starting weightlifting later in life, you’ll still find it a thoroughly stimulating (i.e. challenging) experience. Starting at 35 will put in in a good position to become reasonably stronger, more flexible, and one might say more fit; however your chances of winning an olympic medal or even going to an international competition are quite low. Starting children early gives them the potential to perform at the best of their abilities, during peak athletic years.

The New England Weightlifting Championships were held in Danvers, MA at North Shore CrossFit. Although the meet was limited to lifters registered in the New England LWC, there was a very high turnout. North Shore CrossFit’s facility was large enough to accommodate the approximately 80+ lifters who competed. The meet was so large that 2 platforms were used to allow the meet to proceed at a reasonable pace.

For each session, the lifters were split by weight class groups with the lighter half on the first platform, and the heavier half on the second. Due to the two platform setup, there were an increased number of misloads; however the loaders and judges did a commendable job of controlling the confusing setup. The warmup facilities were quite expansive; giving plenty of room for the large number of lifters to prepare. There were some complaints of  poor quality barbells in the warmup area, but no lifters appeared significantly effected.

I will post official totals when they are made available. I can tell you that there was quite a large spread in the lifters. It was great to see so many beginner and first time lifters competing, with enough experienced lifters to provide stiff competition for the top competitors.

How are you feeling today? I’ll feeling pretty slow and weak. Why? Because I just had a week of max effort training. All of that intensity work has left me tired and tight. There are quite a few ways to recover from a week of intensity both in and out of the gym. I know you’re thinking that it shouldn’t be possible to recover in the gym, but not only is it possible I would say it is crucial to learn how to recover in the gym.

In order to counteract the tightness and soreness that results from a period of hard training, light barbell complexes are your best friend. I find that my shoulders take the biggest beating after heavy snatch and jerk training. I’ll use a complex of 5 Sotts press from the back in a snatch grip followed by 5 Sotts press from the front in a jerk grip. I usually use just the barbell and I go for a few sets of that until I feel my shoulders have loosened up. Overhead squats are another another good option because they are a great flexibility movement that loosen up the legs and shoulders.

I will add in these light complexes before and after workouts when I’m feeling very fatigued because they help me stretch and increase blood flow to fatigued areas, helping recovery. Experimentation is your best friend with these complexes. I’m still looking for the best way to help me recover in the gym and the only way to improve is to try different movements. Try it out for yourself and see how in the gym recovery changes your performance.