I think yesterday’s post is pretty important and relevant to most of you. At least go over the information and use it to start actively thinking about what you do in training. If you’d like to spark more discussion, then add it to yesterday’s comments.
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I don’t know who Warrick Brant was before my friend Jacob sent me a video of him front squatting 350kg.
This dude is cocked diesel and a solid Australian competitor. From his profile:
After Breaking my neck in 2001 and having multiple screws and plates put in to hold my neck together, I realised how important it is to do the things you love and to never give up.
Since then I have won multiple powerlifting and strongman titles and have never been defeated in Australia or by any other Australian athlete.
Apparently he’s stomping ass in Australia. Apparently he’s been a big dude for a while. Here is a vid of him doing a 412kg car deadlift:
Whether you are a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger or not, he is an inspiring man. He has lived his life in a continuous desire to succeed. In this video as well in his autobiography, he puts an emphasis on having a mindset that won’t fail. Everyone on this site isn’t going to be the best in the world at what they do, but you can still set your goals and stomp towards them, never letting up. Whether it was bodybuilding, business, acting, or politics, Arnold knew what he wanted and did everything he could to obtain it. Let’s do the same.
PR Friday — keep all of us posted on your training along with your recent personal records.
I’ll announce the winners of the face contest tomorrow. This video is more important. This is a video of 20 year-old Olympic weightlifter Pat Mendes squatting 363kg/800 lbs. Completely raw. He weighs 130kg/286 lbs.
As previous discussed, Pat has dual citizenship in USA and Brazil, so he’ll probably be lifting for one of these countries in the 2012 Olympics. His goal is to win gold medals and set world records — very exciting regardless of which country he lifts for.
Pat is coached by John Broz in Las Vegas. Check out the BROZKNOWS YouTube Channel for more videos of his lifters. Here is the website to Average Broz’s Gymnasium.
This is one of the most impressive lifting feats I’ve seen. This could be because posting training videos on the internet didn’t happen until recently, so we don’t have tape on guys like Pisarenko, Krastev, Dimas, or Kurlovich. In your opinion, what is the most impressive strength feat you’ve seen?
James Henderson tells it like it is (his sweet haircut and shirt that says “BAAD” reaffirm this fact). He impressively preaches many lessons in the following video, and I’ll highlight some of them for you (you’ll appreciate them more if you watch the video, because Henderson is awesome).
Lesson 1: Light repetitions, heavy weights
You can’t get strong unless you lift heavy weights, yes. Heavier weights are necessary for structures to adapt and to neurologically get used to handling heavy weights. And light reps. Yeah c’mon.
Lesson 2: Thank you very much.
Be nice to everyone, even if you’re a big, imposing figure.
Lesson 3: Take your time, and do it right.
Be patient with strength training. Over time, you won’t need “all that fancy stuff like shirts and drugs”. It’s easy to say if you’re a massive human being, but exhaust solid training before reverting to other means.
Lesson 4: If you take shortcuts, you get short responses.
“We believe in workin’ for what you get, ya know, ain’t nothin’ gonna be givin’ to you.”
Lesson 5: “Why play with little change when you can go for the big dollars?”
Lesson 6: Be positive about your workout.
James requests 405 on the bar (to bench with), and says, “Gonna have a good workout today. A powerful workout.” There’s not doubt in his mind he’s gonna move some weight.
Lesson 7: Respect your warm-ups.
Watch James bench 405 for a few reps, then go back and watch him bench 225. They don’t look that different, and it’s because he reps out the light weights the same way that he’ll rep out the heavier weights. Respect your warm-up sets. At the very least you won’t expend any unneeded energy on lighter weights because of bad form, and you’ll establish solid motor pathways.
Lesson 8: Blow off some stress.
Training can be a sufficient outlet for stress. It’s probably preferable to murder.
Lesson 9: Call out your spotters.
If they aren’t doing their job, accuse them of being drunk.
(See 5:30 of the video. Might be the best part.)
Lesson 10: The Zone is a delicate place, and it requires good people and a good environment.
Pretty self explanatory. This is why there are a lot lifters who opt to train in their garage instead of the local fitness gyms.
Lesson 11: Speed.
Think speed on all of your lifts and it will make it feel faster, even on the heavier lifts. James did 500 for 6 reps while thinking “speed”, and THEN he bumped on up to 600 for a triple. His focus at 500 was to move the weight fast. Moving a weight fast will increase the number of muscle fibers that are innervated, so James is on the right track.
Act: 2010 Olympic Weightlifting European Championships
Scene: 105+kg weight class
Actors: 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Matthias Steiner (144.4kg body weight), 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Evgeny Chigishev (130.6kg), 20 year old Ruben Aleksanyan (144.5kg)
Snatch
The 20 year-old Aleksanyan opened with a pretty solid 190kg snatch. Steiner, who hasn’t competed since the 2008 Olympic games, took the same weight as his opener. Steiner racked the weight solidly overhead but had a hesitation in the bottom of the snatch before he stood up with the good lift. Chigishev, who was beaten by Steiner by 1kg at the 2008 Olympics, opened with a beautifully easy 195kg. Even though Chigishev has gained 6kg since the Olympics, he still weighs 15kg less than the other two lifters, but looks extremely strong and powerful (especially with his beard). Aleksanyan hit 195 for his second attempt all though he had to wrestle with the squat. Steiner lost his second attempt of 195 behind, much to his chagrin. He went for it again on his final attempt, but looked slow on the pull and never racked the bar. Aleksanyan called for 197 on his third and final attempt, but didn’t pull the bar high enough for a no lift. Chigishev lumbered to the bar for his second attempt of 200kg, and it almost looks like the bar flies out of his hands before he racks it. Easy second attempt for Chigishev. He asked for 205 on his third attempt, pulled the bar, racked it, and squatted it with some trouble, but it looked good for his third made lift. This was significant for Chigishev because he is only 6kg away from his best of 211kg, and he’s doing it 2 years out from the 2012 Olympics. Look for him to storm into those games looking for retribution for his missed opportunity in 2008.
Looks like Chigishev is gonna roll with this one, right? Not so fast my friends…
Clean and Jerk
Steiner opened with a white lighted 230kg clean and jerk that seemed some where in the range of medium to heavy. Chigishev opened with pretty standard 235, although I would have expected him to be a little faster on the clean (the front squat was easy, though). Steiner calls for 236 on his second. The clean required some extra oomph but it was never in doubt, but he had to wrestle the jerk into place once he racked it. Nevertheless it was still good for a 2-1 good decision. Not to be out done, Aleksanyan hit 237 for his opener. The clean wasn’t picture perfect, but he rocked the piss out of his jerk. And here’s where things get a little hairy…
Chigishev came back out for his second attempt of 240, and he was ready to do work. You could tell he was going to hit his lifts and force the other two lifters to push it for a medal advancement. He cleaned the weight and started squatting it up when his thigh comes up lame. He missed the lift and would sit out for the rest of the competition. Chigishev was sitting on a 440 total. Ain’t too shabby, but now his European Championship was in jeopardy. Aleksanyan smells blood so he calls for 246 on his second attempt to go into the gold medal position. He has a victorious, yet tough clean, and then left the jerk out front. No lift. Aleksanyan follows himself to repeat the 246 on third attempt. This is fucking competition after all. The clean and front squat were equally painful, and then he held the jerk overhead for a wonderful instant…but he let it drift forward and he tried to hang on but it drove him into the ground. No lift. A valiant effort by the 20 year old who was crushed by his defeat.
But don’t forget about Steiner. He’s been watching in the back this whole time and has One. More. Lift. He had found himself in a eerily similar situation to the 2008 Olympcis. All Chigishev can do is watch from the warm-up room. The room is tense as Steiner approaches the bar. The clean is racked, and Steiner is stuck, seemingly pinned at the bottom. He battled with the bar, and by god Steiner is a fighter, and the crowd roared as he ground out a dead stop front squat with about 550 pounds. Steiner, who is known for his come from behind victory, knew he was close. He dipped, he drove, but it wasn’t enough. The bar fell to the floor as he agonized over his loss.
