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 19, 2012

The bar is taken off the rack from behind the neck in a similar fashion as the back squat.The lifter takes a snatch grip on the bar and then attempts to drop into the bottom position of an overhead squat without any upward leg drive on the bar. The purpose of this exercise is to build speed into the bottom position of the snatch (the third pull). Therefore it is imperative that the lifter does not drive the bar upward in any way. Typically only very light weights can be used.

Often abbreviated DS

Jan 16, 2012

Do you come forward on your front squats? I know I had that problem for awhile. Coming forward will often cause you to lose the bar forward even if your legs are strong enough to lift the weight. There are three ways that I approached fixing my problem. The first is mobility work. I found that my hips and ankles were very tight, thus limiting my ability to squat deeply without coming forward.

The second way was adding in back extensions and reverse hypers to my training. These two assistance exercises helped me to strengthen my hamstrings and glutes; therefore making me strong at the bottom of the squat. Before I added in these exercises, I would come forward because I wanted to use my stronger quad muscles to lift the weight. Now that my leg strength has equalized (my anterior/posterior… aka. front/back muscles are now balanced in strength) I don’t feel the need to learn forward because of a lack of strength.

The third way was the “lean back” cue. This cue was the most effective of these three methods. After I unrack the bar and walk into position, I think about sitting straight down and leaning back a little bit. It is this leaning back feeling that helps me to stay upright during the squat. I’m not actually leaning back; the cue helps me to counteract the impulse to come forward with a net result of causing me to squat with a vertical torso, the most effective way to perform a front squat.

Jan 9, 2012

Today I learned something new, a new way of using the pvc pipe to improve your technique. I usually use the pvc pipe to warmup with some basic mobility drills, and I have seen people start their warmup set with the pvc pipe if the barbell constitutes a moderate load. But I had not heard of using a pvc pipe to help teach a proper back position until I read this article from EliteFTS. This article does a great job of describing how to cue a tight, properly positioned, back by placing the pipe (or broomstick) against the back of someone who needs help finding the right position.

It’s a pretty simple technique that works by helping the trainee to feel what a good back position is. The ability to know where you body is and what it is doing during sport is a crucial skill for all athletes. Knowledge of body position is also a skill that many non athletes lack. The more athletic experience someone has, the more likely they are to understand what their body is doing. Sports like gymnastics done at an early age tend to produce athletes that are the most aware of body position. These types of athletes will learn new movements faster than others. This pvc pipe teaching method is great for those trainees who don’t have a large athletic background and therefore need a little help to find the right back position.

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!