A Review on 2014 World Championships

While Almaty is almost halfway across the World, 11 hours ahead of the Eastern Seaboard, flights were relatively smooth for both Holley and I, along with the entire USAW contingent and support team that made the trip. Athletes arrived in a few waves respective to their weight classes and time competing.

Attending The World Weightlifting Championships over the last decade or so has been a wonderful experience, and watching Holley Mangold train and compete in her first Worlds was actually fun. You could see her confidence grow as the days wound down towards her competition in the 75+B contest.

Holley trained well and it showed in her performance, going 5/6 and finishing 13th overall and scoring valuable team points for Team USA. These points, coupled with next year’s Worlds in Houston, Texas will determine our total slots for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hopefully our path and goal towards Rio will be unimpeded and produce an Olympic slot for Holley and Columbus Weightlifting.

Anyone that knows Holley will recognize her rise to a challenge, such as competing at Worlds, and this meet was no different. Her performance is indicative of her normal big time meet increase in kilos and in the clean & jerk, her best lift, the 141kg last attempt turned out to be the B’s session best performance.

Speaking of performances, there were some great ones and the home team of Kazakhstan certainly didn’t disappoint. Both their men and women came to play and certainly Ilya’s smashing World Record performance in the 105 class was one of legends.

If I could sum up again all the lifts, both training and competition, it would come down to speed under the bar. Lifters from around the World are lightning fast and certainly looking at performances such as Apti Akudov, 85kg were more of an indication of the norm when watching lifters pull under the barbell.

As a personal coach, now in my 2nd World’s I really appreciate the help and guidance from Chris Wilkes and Zygmunt Smalcerz, who helped count and assist in our overall plan of scoring valuable points and securing a better placement in Holley’s B session.

Most of the training hall saw the same type of lifting going on that you would see in any taper type week from here in the USA to many countries abroad.

Yours in sport,

Mark Cannella

The Wrist Injury – When Your Elbows Don't Get Through On A Clean

PAIN… Stabbing, breath taking pain…

You might not realize how important your wrist is during the Olympic lifts until there is a sharp, hot, pain, stabbing into it as you try to receive a weight. The injury this article is focusing on happens when an athlete is receiving a clean but their elbow doesn’t clear their thigh. When the elbow catches the thigh, the weight that is in the athletes hands continues to drive down and compresses the wrist.

This all happens in a millisecond. It can happen to any athlete, amateur and experienced. It will terrify new lifters and baffle experienced lifters.

A Personal Story

Unfortuently, I can speak to this subject very well. It was 2011 and I was about 2 weeks out from the National Championship. My program had me pushing to my maxes for the day. The day was going great. I matched a PR in the snatch 130kg. Then it was on to clean and jerk…

The clean and jerks were going great. I felt strong. I felt quick. My technical cues that I had been working on were holding well. I matched my PR at the time with 160kg. Then I put on 165kg.

It happened so quick, but in that flash all I remember is the sheering stabbing pain. I rocketed backward from under the weight. Laying on my stomach holding my wrist. The pain so sharp. All I could think about was the stories I’ve heard about people breaking their wrist. The scars on past weightlifters who share their battle wounds and the stories that accompany them over a beer.

Here is the video… I put 3 snatches and then included the one clean and jerk and then then clean that I got injured on…

Then slowly the sharpness went down, but my wrist felt utterly limp. Slowly I started to be able to make a fist and then open my hand wide. Would I be ready for nationals?…

I gave it a week. It was now one week out from Nationals. Time to try a little weight. In the snatch my elbow would buckle under 70kg. My second warmup weight. Nationals were off.

After nationals I gave it two more weeks of rest. If I did anything in the gym it wouldn’t include turning the bar over (into a receiving position in the snatch or the clean). I tried a little test at the end of the additional two week. Still sharp as a knife.

I started to worry. What if something was torn in there? What if I don’t catch it now and it has devastating consequences to my future lifts? Off to Ohio State Sports Medicine.

An MRI and X-Ray later and I’m told its tendonidious. Ugh… you little bitch Drew… nice medical bill.

However, that trip to the doctor did unlock some huge healing. The doctor put me in a brace that isolated my wrist and thumb from movement. I was told to wear it day and night. I was allowed remove the brace to train but no turning the bar over and I had to tape my wrist for support.

That isolation from the brace increased my healing more in the next two weeks then it had in the previous four! So worth those medical bills…

I was then on to slowly adding weight back on my lifts.

Here is what you must remember if you or your athlete hurts their wrist

1. If it is screaming at you when it happens… GO TO THE HOSPITAL… get the right action asap… If I would have done this I could have been back at the weights weeks earlier!
2. Isolate your wrist and thumb! Just grabbing onto a book or a box at work is enough to keep that wrist pain coming which keeps you from being able to get to the weights.
3. Check out this great wrist wrapping technique Holley Mangold learned from the Olympic Training Center when she hurt her wrist. Use it for your training!

Injuries are the bane of a weightlifters existence. Our poor judgment and want for heavier numbers can put us into dumb positions. Stay smart.

When you get an injury let it heal! I’ve seen athletes suffer months with this injury. Don’t post pone your heavy training because you can’t stand to be out or you feel like a wuss. If you keep putting your injured wrist into sharp painful positions it WILL linger.

The Next Year of Training

If my memory serves me well I was able to get back into the heavy weights at a steady pace. Sure there were painful moments. Yes, there were days I had to back down and move on. But one thing clearly sticks in my mind. Around 90kg on a snatch for me there would be a sharp pain turning the bar over but the pain would quick dissipate. Then any lift after that one wouldn’t hurt anymore. This went on for about 9 months. Weird.

Did that lift sound good to you? – The Power of Rhythm and Timing

When rhythm and timing is the difference between a National title

It has all come down to this moment… The third clean and jerk in the National Championship for the title of National Champion. However, before we get to the ending lets look at the last half a year…

Training has been good. Coming off the normal tweaks and pains of training weightlifting our athlete is getting into quite the routine. She has her eyes set on performing well on the National stage, and you are very aware as her coach that she has a good shot at the podium. Let the work ensue.

Through six months of training, you cycle through two strength programs, and weekly customize her training specific to issues she is having in her technique. She is strong and she likes to depend on that strength in her movements often by muscling weights off her hip. When she muscles weights it really affects how she receives the weight in both the snatch and clean and jerk. She doesn’t seem to be able to smoothly transition out of the hole.

Finally, Nationals arrive and the cards are playing out in your favor. Where you knew your athlete had a good shot at the podium it has played out that she has a shot at gold. It all comes down to that last lift… Her third clean and jerk.

As she walks out there tension is high. As you remind your athlete to breathe you realize you need to breathe yourself. She approaches the bar. She is set in a good position… all the points you look for are there in her start position. She pushes through the floor… She muscles at the hip. The weight pounds her in the hole like a hammer hitting a nail. She is at a dead stop sitting in the hole but she is strong… she grinds through the clean standing up. She pants trying to get just a little more oxygen. She sets… she misses the jerk. She was just out of juice.

For weeks you replay the moment in your head. You think, “If standing with that weight wasn’t so hard she could have had more energy for the jerk”… But she is strong. Stronger than most of her competitors, and that clean wasn’t close to her max front squat. What else could I have done…

How Rhythm and Timing Fit into Weightlifting Technique

What is rhythm and timing? Let me define my interpretation of “rhythm and timing” – A timed sequence of the movements in either the snatch or clean and jerk that have a distinct rhythm.

Snatch – You can see and hear the “rhythm and timing” in the snatch at the top of the second pull and execution of the third pull. Another way to say this is the point of extension of the hip and immediate closing of the hip as you pull under the bar.

Clean – Just like the snatch, you can see and hear the “rhythm and timing” in the clean at the top of the second pull and execution of the third pull.

Jerk – There is a distinct “rhythm and timing” in the jerk at the start. The point of unlocking the legs to dip and then driving.

The snatch and clean rhythm and timing can be heard. This was taught to me by Olympic coach Mark Cannella who learn it from Olympic Coach Wenbin of China. It goes like this… “Pop-Pop”.

“Pop-Pop” and how to apply it to our technique training

This drill or cue I’ve found can do a few things. It can slow a lifter down when they’re pulling too soon, and it can cut a lifters pull who may be pulling too long. Both of these are great corrections.

The first “pop” is the bar brushing the hip and the second “pop” is the sound of the feet connecting to the floor. If an athlete does this correctly there will be a distinct rhythm you can hear, and if an athlete does this incorrectly you’ll be able to hear how that rhythm changes.

Here is a quick video I put together for our 60 Day Challenge that explains this:

Watch the video on YouTube

Why You Should Start Thinking More about Rhythm and Timing

When an athlete executes good rhythm and timing one major thing happens that is VITAL to weightlifting…

The weight will be going UP as the athlete is traveling DOWN.

This has a few huge benefits for the athlete.

1. The athlete will have an opportunity to receive the weight correctly. In the snatch this means they’ll have more opportunity to punch and lockout on the weight, in the clean they’ll be setup to “kick” out of the hole rather than “grind”, and in the jerk they’ll have an opportunity to have the weight help them rather than “heave” it up there.
2. The athlete will be moving more efficiently and thus saving energy
3. This is the crazy speed we see when we watch great weightlifters

Here is one of my favorite examples… Mark Cannella filmed this at the 2011 World Championship in the training hall. This is the 85kg lifter from Poland who won the gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games, Adrian Zielinski. LISTEN to the “Pop-Pop”

Watch the video on YouTube

Update: My friend Walt Maken make a quick slow-mo of the video above if you’d like to see it watch below:

All I can do is encourage you to think a little more about the rhythm and timing involved in weightlifting. I hope both my videos in the article help and give you a good starting point. If you want more information we’ve put together a video series from Olympic coach Mark Cannella and Olympian Holley Mangold on a cue that can help with rhythm and timing.

My story at the start of this article is a heart breaker that we all know can happen for more reasons than just rhythm and timing… but… if that athlete would have “kicked” out of the hole rather than grind from a dead stop… we all know there would have been more energy for the jerk.

Give your athletes the best opportunity. Help them with rhythm and timing.

Want Speed in the Lifts? – Don't Anticipate

In 2009, I was just getting into the sport of weightlifting. Now over 5 years into the sport it is hard to think back to the struggles at the beginning. However, one struggle is unforgettable.

That was the struggle of understanding how to be fast.

At the time I really used exercise and physical exertion as a stress reliever. I would go into a Globo Gym and hit it hard in a circuit-style, just trying to get a real good burn and forget about the day. When I started training weightlifting all of that stopped. Now I had to focus and work on moving correctly. My day job at times would still lead me to stress, and I’d head into Columbus Weightlifting looking to “kill” some weights to relieve it.

I remember telling myself, “I’m going to be fast and kill this bar”, or “I’m going to drive this bar harder than I ever have before”. (Honestly… what I said to myself was much worse but I’m trying to keep a PG rating). All in an effort to relieve stress.

The result = The bar would move slow, crush me, and then I would be even more enraged!

Now, 5 years later, I look back and clearly see what was happening…

Speed

For a new lifter the act of trying to be faster often slows the lifter down. The reason trying to be fast slows a new athlete down is they just haven’t “felt” at what point to be fast in the lift yet. Notice I didn’t say they haven’t “learned” where to be fast in the lift. New lifters are told all the time where to be fast, and if a new lifter was asked where to be fast often they’ll discuss it pretty well.

Knowing and feeling in this case are two very different things.

So what happens instead?

The new athlete who is focusing on being “fast” and “killing” the bar adds speed that pulls them away from correct positions. A few examples I often see:

• Ripping the bar from the floor which pulls the athlete forward
• Shooting the butt up at the start which does feel “fast”
• Accelerating incorrectly past the knee which causes the athlete to miss the power position (high hip)

Anticipation

The above examples are generalized. I feel the cause lies with “anticipating” the end result too soon! Rather than being patient and moving through the movement the athlete fires early in some form. Arm pull-butt thrusting at the sky-misery!

Think of it this way… The positions are a train track… Say the track starts in Columbus, Ohio then goes to Pittsburgh, PA then to Philadelphia, PA. One morning you couldn’t wake up and say, “hey, I’m going to get on the train today in Columbus and go to Philadelphia BUT I’m going to skip Pittsburgh!” It is a train track. Train tracks are fixed and where they go, the train goes. Same with the technique you need to hit these positions on your way to finishing the lift!!

Looking at “anticipation,” if the new lifter is so focused on finishing the lift it is very easy for her to miss positions. Help the athlete understand the next steps in the lifts and move through the movement!

Every athlete will be different so application will be different… Say I have an athlete who can easily go from above the knee to the power position to overhead… but when the bar is on the floor they miss their hip! Then we would do some work from the blocks just below the knee. It brings them closer to the area where they’re moving correctly but still challenges them because its a bit lower. More on correction below.

How Do We Fix This?

Every fix is different depending on the athlete, BUT the principles are the same. We need to move through the movement – “Floor” to “Above the Knee” to “The Power Position” THEN to “The Receiving Position”.

We must get the athlete to understand and feel the movement. Lets looks at our example above and fix them.

• Problem: Ripping the bar from the floor which pulls the athlete forward
• Fix: Teaching the athlete to remove the slack and the push through the floor. This will allow the athlete to start the lift well, which gives them an opportunity to move through the other positions.

 

• Problem: Shooting the butt up at the start which does feel “fast”
• Fix: Teaching the athlete how to rise correctly with hip and shoulders together. Again, this will allow the athlete to start the lift well, which give them an opportunity to move through the other positions. Here is a video of a cue I use often for this particular issue.

 

• Problem: Accelerating incorrectly past the knee which causes the athlete to miss the power position (high hip)
• Fix: If the first pull is correct then we need to help the athlete understand what happens after the above the knee position. WE OPEN TO THE POWER POSITION (high hip) TO DRIVE ON THE BAR! I love working from blocks from above and below the knee to get this done. The weight isn’t on the athlete and they’re able to really focus on moving correctly to the next step!

 

So the secret to being fast… Moving correctly through the positions will then allow us to be FAST! 

PS… The Masters module in the World Weightlifting Learning Library just launched! If you’re a coach who is training masters athletes and having these questions pop up…

• How do I adjust programming for a masters athlete?
• How do I write programming for a master athlete?
• How do I help my masters athlete gain mobility?
• How do I correct my masters athletes technique?
• Will my masters athlete ever lift more than they have when they were younger?

This module is for you!

 

The "One Thing" That Will Truly Make or BREAK a Lift

It was the 2012 Olympic Trials. Holley Mangold entered the warm up area knowing that months prior she was written off as an athlete who wouldn’t make the Olympic team. The blows to her ego in the last 18 months included not being invited back to the Olympic Training Center, missing the world team by a kilo, sleeping in a laundry room so she could afford to train, and the list goes on…

Through all of this the people closest to her made indirect comments that could only be interpreted as a sign of doubt in her making the Olympic team for 2012.

What were they saying? They just kept bringing up the 2016 Games!

Her coaches, parents, training partners, and friends. “You have plenty of time for 2016”, they said…

There was truly only one person throughout all of this who thought Holley could make the 2012 Olympic team.

That person was Holley.

I bring up this story because in my time getting to work with Holley Mangold there is one thing that has been constant.

Holley is mentally tough.

Holley won’t miss a lift because of her own internal doubt. If its a do or die lift, I can tell you right now. Put your money on the girl.

No, I’m not saying Holley doesn’t miss lifts. Holley does miss lifts, but not because of doubt. Holley might miss a lift because she is a bit exhausted, out of position, or just not strong enough. These are all very different reasons than self-doubt.

But how does Holley do it? What is the girl telling herself when she approaches the bar?

Here is one of her tricks…

Holley and Heather Smith were training together one afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. Heather who was with Holley was nearing a PR at 100kg, a weight Holley had done many times before. Holley hadn’t done this weight in a while as she was just coming back from wrist surgery so she considered it a come back PR for herself as well.

To make things interesting Mark Cannella slapped down $100. He told Heather a 100-for-a-100, as Heather had never lifted that weight ever.

Holley quickly objected! What about a $100 for her as it would be a come back PR. Mark declined the offer.

As both Holley and Heather attempted the lift they each missed twice. They both decided to take one more poke.

Holley made it… Heather missed.

Then the mindset was revealed.

As Heather walked away she made this comment, “I was thinking, if I could only make it I’ll have a $100.”

Let me retype that encase you missed it, “I was thinking, if I could only make it, I’ll have a $100.”

That is a doubt!

Holley replied thinking nothing of the statement, “I thought if I make a 100kg then I can make 110kg in a competition.”

Not only was Holley’s statement void of any doubt, but she is setting up part of the game she plays on the competition platform. Holley has a range of weight of 10 kg in her mind that when she hits a lift in training she feels absolutely confident she can hit 10 more kilos in a competition.

But, here is where the real magic comes in for her. When she approaches the bar on the competition platform. The PR attempt or the lift for the win. Holley isn’t thinking about the weight currently on the bar.

Holley is thinking about what she hit in practice and why that makes her able to hit the lift in front of her.

Think about the significance here. Holley has left the moment. She has left the stress. She has returned to a safe place and given herself all the confidence to make this lift.

Next time you approach the bar… ask yourself what you’re thinking.

PS. A good friend of mine, and supporter of Columbus Weightlifting has started writing great articles on mindsets in weightlifting. In his latest article he shows how Holley Mangold gave herself an advantage in the warm up room during the Olympic Trials. Check it out and give yourself the same advantage at your next meet!

Problems Receiving Weight? – Fix Your Feet

Ever get a bit crunched while receiving a lift?

So did Aaron Jannetti when we challenged him to commit to 90 days of weightlifting to improve his technique. For more than 3 weeks we made Aaron use mats during different lifts to force him to move his feet correctly! As Aaron describes it, “It took 3 weeks for it NOT to feel like my crotch would explode”…

So why did we do this?

First, I want you to think about a tripod…

If you don’t open the legs up enough on a tripod it won’t be able to support as much up top… and the same if you open the legs to wide… it will also not be able to support more up top.

So how do you know where your feet should be landing?!

We want your butt to be able to sit between your ankles… not behind them. This may feel wide to you, and yes, you may squat just fine with a narrow stance but that doesn’t mean you’ll receive big weights just as well. Even if you can squat big weights!

Second, lets talk about timing…

When we drive and the bar starts to go up off of our hip the next step is to get under it. Not moving your feet to do this a shame because at the moment your feet move (even slightly) your butt can then accelerate under the bar easier.

Third, lets talk about a solid base…

When your feet smack the ground firm and flat. BOOM! You have a solid base to apply force into the bar.

If you land like a ninja… all on the toes… easing yourself down toward the heel…

SMACK the weight is going to take you to wobble city… if you’re even that lucky!

I want to introduce you to a drill that the lovely people of The 60 Day Challenge are about to go through this week.

The Mat Drill –

Mats are something we use to help athletes move their feet. It is an obstacle… something “physical” in the way that they must land on. See the below video of Aaron Jannetti using the mats.

Our mats are very thin being around 1/8-1/4 of an inch. They are 22in long and 11in wide, and we apply sandpaper with the adhesive backing to the bottom of the mats to prevent them from slipping as much.

I encourage you to grab some mats. Try this drill out on your athletes that are having trouble receiving weight!

PS. We’re have a FREE online foot movement clinic starting soon. Since it is free and we want to provide great attention to all taking the clinic we’re limiting the numbers of athletes and coaches. Please apply here for a spot.

 

A Competition Surprise… The One You DO NOT Want!

When is 115 kilos not 115 kilos?

I, like many of you never thought twice when I would load up 115kilos during a training cycle to snatch or clean & jerk this weight, yet for many, this is completely incorrect.

Let me explain further.

Most of the time I would put on a 20kg, 15kg, 10kg and a 2.5kg combination on one side and do my lift and hopefully make it! The issue with loading it this way or for that matter any way other than prescribed down below, sets one up for a false sense of security.

What the heck am I talking about Willis?

In a meet, especially in a National competition or International competition, the weights used, kilogram specifically are loaded with the heaviest weights first on each side. So for example, 115 kilos for a men’s bar would be loaded as a 25kg Red plate and then a 20kg Blue plate. If a women’s bar, same configuration with then a 2.5kg red change plate added to each on the inside of the collar.

Why does this make a difference?

If that bar described up above was loaded with lighter bumper plates such as 10kg or 15kg’s or for that matter, similar pound (lb) configurations, a few things might happen. One, the bar would have plates loaded almost to the end of the sleeve. The bar whip and the bar center of gravity (COG) when pulling off the ground will be affected. Plus, it takes longer to load and unload a bunch of 10’s and/or 15’s whether kg’s or lbs.

This creates a false sense of what 115kg really feels like in a competition. Now, imagine going to your first National competition or a local competition where the bar is loaded with just a few plates as prescribed.

The weight possibly will feel heavier to the athlete and the COG will make the bar actually feel different on the pull as well as the jerk. This change is amplified as the weight is increased.

 

So how to fix?

When loading a bar in training, load the heaviest plate as often as possible. In a men’s bar, that means putting a 25kg(red) plate on asap. This will allow the lifter to acclimate to the feel of the bar and how it moves with the heavier plates. As weight is added, the athlete will then become used to the whip and feel of the bar throughout the entire movement. This is extremely important when competitions are decided by usually one or two kilos!

We included some pictures of bars loaded to give you an idea of how easy it is to get away from the ideal loading pattern as well as the proper way.

As a coach or athlete strive to make this part of your loading pattern as often as possible, especially when you nearing close to a competition. Heavier plates on first and often is the key.

We welcome your thoughts on the subject since there are so many CF athletes and the like on this blog.

Yours in sport,

Mark Cannella

A 43kg/95lbs Increase in Only 60 Days… The Story

Have you heard of an experienced athlete gaining 23kg/50lbs in 60 days to their total?

What about an athlete who gained 43kg/95lbs in ONLY 60 days?

Well it is true. They did it with the 60 Day Challenge.

Click the above image to see it full size… You NEED to read the caption on it…

What is the 60 Day Challenge?

A weightlifting program that came out of a bet… Last year Aaron Jannetti was receiving much heckling for wanting a higher total BUT not wanting to commit to the process.

Now Aaron isn’t just a guy off the street… Aaron is one of the owners of Endeavor Defense and Fitness and is very well versed in Weightlifting, CrossFit, Krav Maga and Jujitsu. So telling an athlete with years of experiences that more could be done is never an easy sell…

Enter: The Bet

Aaron came to Mark Cannella and said, “Fine… I’ll give you my life for 90 Days. I’ll do whatever you tell me and no more. The only exception is I have to teach but I promise not to participate anymore than I need too for teaching.” (Remember… Aaron teaches CrossFit and self-defense classes.)

After 60 days of that 90 days… Aaron had added 23kg/50lbs to his total…

You can scroll back through the whole process documented here: The Original 90 Day Challenge

The creation of The 60 Day Challenge Program

We took this opportunity to pull together a program for anyone who wanted to improve their consistency and ultimately increase their total.

The program was built on the same principles that got Aaron his gains. When we opened it to the public… Over 180 athletes signed up.

The program has 8 weeks, and will put the athlete through a number of “technique correction” drills. The real “challenge” is… Can you commit for 8 weeks? Can you get over the little voice in your head that is telling you silly things like… “OMG… If I don’t do a muscle up everyday I’ll forget how too”, “Bill totally PR’ed today… I should max right now and see if I have a PR in me…”, and my personal favorite “Rest is overrated”…

This program will take you on a journey. A journey that has given athletes crazy results… There is only one thing you MUST do… COMMIT!

The Results:

Mike Roberts who took first place increased his total by 34kg/75lbs a 34% increase over his starting total… In 60 Days… (Received $900)

Chris Baldwin who took second place increased his total by 43kg/95lbs a 22% change over his starting total… In 60 Days… (Received $450)

Aaron Capriglione who took third place increased his total by 20kg/45lbs a 16% change over his starting total… In 60 Days… (Received $180)

$1530 was delivered back to the athletes…

The 60 Day Challenge is Back

The program has changed but is still built on the same principles. What makes this program so unique is that in 8 weeks, not only do you have a program to follow, BUT it is built around technique correction!

You have an open line to support and communication with us during the whole thing. You’ll understand areas of you technique that need improvement and the drills available to fix those errors!

No other program does that. No other program has these DOCUMENTED results in 60 days…

Don’t miss out

Find out more here: The 60 Day Challenge II

The Hip and Shoulder – Seen on the National Stage

One of our defining moments in the courses we teach on the sport of Olympic Weightlifting occurs when we discuss hip height at the start of the pull for both snatch and clean.

While we discuss many lifters, both USA and abroad, it is at this point we specifically discuss lifter, Norik Vardanyan, (2012 Olympian), a newly minted USA Record Holder for the snatch at 168kg during USA Nationals this past weekend in the 94kg weight class and what turned out was the highlight of this year’s Nationals with a fierce battle among many lifters in this division.

As we watch his lifting prowess, notice his hip start and position relationship of elbow to knee. While Norik fits in the technique model of our elbow and knee relationship, also notice his hip is definitely higher at the start than most lifters, no matter what bodyweight class.

With this thought process in mind on that relationship, one might say that his hip height is where all lifters should start the pull, yet like Lee Corso from ESPN when he states, “not so fast my friend”, we need to step back and analyze the situation a bit further.

One size doesn’t fit all and just because Norik starts this way doesn’t mean all lifters should start this way.  Our start position is based on a few things; the limb proportions of the athlete, the philosophy of the coach and depending on where you lift, possibly the overall design program of the country.

E.g. Greek lifters being taught to pull under with not much emphasis of a jump from their feet.  With these things in mind, notice we see most athletes on the world stage starting slightly lower with the hip.

Norik’s position works really well for Norik Vardanyan and he was probably taught this way from the very beginning of his lifting career.  With that thought in mind, there is only one person that has the same type of body proportions where you would want to emulate this high hip position with success and that is…

GUESS WHO… **Cough cough… HIS DAD…**

I bought this poster and framed it, like many others just getting involved in weightlifting, trying to find the ‘secret’ to lifting.   This poster at one time was in a lot of gyms in the US and I suspect a lot of gyms worldwide.

I would imagine many impressionable young lifters and coaches attempted to emulate Yurik Vardanyan’s position , whether lifting or coaching it, ultimately though, to their demise.

Why you may ask? Remember that we are looking for relationships between elbows and knees to set our lifters at the proper position based on those proportions.

Almost everyone in the world does not have these unique proportions, thus, you don’t see this start position usually in world class lifters!

Because most athletes in the world do not have the unique proportions when compared to Norik or for that matter, his dad, Yurik, an approximate 40 time world record holder in his own right, one must understand that the athlete should not be trying to ‘copy or emulate’ this unique starting position.

As a side note, I attended the 96 Olympics in Atlanta, (a great lift by Dimas to win in ’96 above)  and would stand next to some of these greats, Valerios Leonidis, Greek 62kg and Akakios Kakiasvilis, 94kg lifter, seeing where their hip and knee joints were in comparison.

I also noted this with one of our best, Pete Kelly, 105kg, who I consider one of the greatest technicians in the world, bar none.

Pete’s hip height was literally set a few inches below mine, much like a low rider on a car, yet my overall height was essentially the same.

I could instantly see how he got tremendous pulling power from his starting position with his limb proportions and it was during these formative years of lifting that I really started asking myself how and why technique was driven by limb lengths or lack thereof.

At Columbus Weightlifting, we set our lifter’s starting position based on the relationship of the hip and the shoulder and the knee and the elbow to ensure that these proportions are sound for a good start that leads to a good finish.

Stop by our gym and find out how we can set up you for success on the start of the two quick lifts.

Yours in sport,

Mark Cannella

Coping with Time – Rest and Athletes

I loathe time off. I’m not good at it. I feel antsy, bored, irritated, and have an uneasy feeling that I’m wasting valuable training time that could be used to improve my technique or strength. Basically, this is how I feel inside when taking time off:

Even though I’ve battled injury this past year and a half with back, neck, nerve, and hamstring problems, it’s still hard to take time off. What I’m learning at my older, and wiser age, is that taking time off is more beneficial than I once realized.

As a strength coach at the collegiate level, I make all my athletes take time off after long training cycles. I also plan rest weeks into training cycles. So why can’t I take my own advice and REST??? Well, here’s why:

This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete at the 2014 USA Weightlifting National competition in Salt Lake City. Three days later I still have a bad taste in my mouth because of the meet that I had. Now I got a total at my first nationals with a 270, but this is well below what I’ve totaled in the past.

Having this dissatisfying meet, I am extremely eager to get back to training. Because I have such a hard time coping with this, I made myself create a pros and cons list of taking a few days to rest to shut down the engines and recharge the batteries:

 

PROS

• Chance to recover
• Quality time with my wife and puppy
• Skate with my hockey guys
• Go get a massage
• Have time to sit in the steam room and hot tub
• Work on mobility
• Work on flexibility
• Allowing for a mental break
• Chance to do something other than weightlifting for once
• Write more articles
• Play golf
• Play more ping pong
• When I come back to training I’ll really be ready to go

CONS

• Not training

The only cons I came up with led back to one thing: Not training. Okay, so I’m not working technique or lifting heavy weights. Won’t the time off help me recover so I’m better able to lift with good technique and become stronger? I have trained every week I’ve been able to this past year.

The time I was out with injury, I was in the training room and weight room working on getting healthy. So I’ve really not taken any time off in actuality. This list has helped me realize something: taking time off will only help me train harder and more effectively when I get back.

1 week out of 52 possible weeks is nothing. Now that I’m at the end of this article, I am completely happy with my decision to take some time off and enjoy some other things, for the short while I’ll be able to enjoy them.

I’m sure my wife will thank me for this as well!