I didn’t watch most of the Men’s weightlifting. While the lighter weight classes are impressive, I’m just not that interested in watching the smaller guys. I don’t understand why there’s even a 56k class, but the fact that this lightest weight class lifts about the same as me doesn’t help my self-esteem. Besides, the Chinese took gold all those classes. In fact, the damn Chinese had 7 of the top 3 spots in the 56, 62, 69, and 77 weight classes (7 of 12 spots combined). The only close gold battle seems to be in the 62k class, where gold and silver finished with 321 and 320 respectively. The next closest was the 77k class which was separated by 3 kilos, and then the other classes at least had a 5kg discrepancy between gold and silver.

I didn’t watch the 85k class either, and I make not apology. The best total in the 77k class would have placed 4th in the 85 class. The best snatch in the 85s (173) was only 3k more than the best in the 77s (170). Same thing with the clean and jerk, but a 4k difference (209 to 205), and that puts the best total was within 7k. Here’s the 85k clean and jerk session (English TV version).

This post will be full of pics and vids, so… Continue reading →

Last week the World Weightlifting Championships occurred and they were very entertaining. The women were pretty impressive; the 75kg class was lifting about what I currently lift. I was a pube away from quitting right there. If you’re a guy, take 80% of your body weight, match that up with the women’s class and observe what they are lifting. If you can’t lift that, then…look man, I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t…I just can’t.

I don’t have any vids of the 75 session itself, but it included Lidia Valentin, who is…a favorite of this site? Here’s a video from the 2009 World Championships.

In other news, Julia Rohde is one of those bulky weightlifters who causes women to flee from the sport. The 53kg German lifter finished in 14th place with 85/106, yet was 3rd overall at the European Championships a few weeks earlier. Here’s her 102kg opener at the Europe Championships.


Here are some of the final clean and jerks in the 69kg class. The only women sessions I watched were 69 and 75, and both were impressive. The Chinese lifter who takes 140 for her opener hits a beautiful jerk that drives her very low on her final attempt (I screen capped it on the Fan Page album in case you missed it).


Here are the snatches from that session (in case you’re new, snatch occurs before cj). The best snatch in this class was 118 by Russia’s Oxana Slivenko and she also tied the best cj with 148. Those are some impressive numbers. That 266 total is almost the qualifying total for the 94kg class for the American Open. The best 75kg class lifter finished with 130/163=293 which is about what I could lift. Yikes. A Chinese 75+ lifter hit a 182 clean and jerk, which is just fucking scary. She finished with a 328 total.

There will be more information on the men’s results tomorrow. Thanks to Brian Smith for collecting some info for this post.

Veteran’s Day is a holiday that is formerly called Armistice Day that commemorates the armistice between the Allies and Germany in World War I. It took effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. In the Commonwealth it’s known as Remembrance Day to remember those that have died in the line of duty. In the United States it honors all military veterans.



There are many different types of jobs that military servicemen can hold, but the common theme among them is sacrifice. The infantryman sacrifices for long months in the most barren areas of the world. He sacrifices years of his life in combat zones and sacrifices bodily harm — some more so than others. Some are hit by flak, some are blown up, some are shot. Some are medevaced and some are patched up and step outside the wire again because they can’t bear the thought of letting their friends down. He sacrifices his emotion as he leaves the combat and steps back into civilization. Many sacrifice their ability to un-see their friends falling apart and killed in front of them. Others wish that it were them instead and live with the guilt that they survived and others didn’t.

The medic, the corpsman, the nurse sacrifices daily to keep friends and strangers alive. They may live with the horror of losing someone in their care, whether the victim could have been saved or not. The maintainer works on aircraft, vehicles, and other pieces of equipment that others rely on. They pull extended duty to make the impossible happen whether at home or deployed. They keep the world functioning for pilots and drivers. They provide covering fire as door gunners, they ensure the safety of their cargo, whether it’s human or supplies. They sacrifice back-breaking hours and efforts to assist those in the direct action, often finding themselves in the thick of it.

The special operations units engage in dangerous missions, putting their lives at risk daily for recognition that they will never receive. The things that they accomplish are hardly televised, they will never receive thanks, and often their job isn’t known or understood by a civilian. And they wouldn’t want it any other way.

Above all, each soldier, Marine, sailor, and airman sacrifices freedom. They are held to higher standards, meticulous laws and orders. They are taken from their families and often miss their children being born or growing up. They cannot travel on a whim and are underpaid. They lose relationships, break their bodies, and struggle with their memories. They know their country will never fully pay them back for everything that they’ve sacrificed. They lose the freedoms and liberties that a civilian takes for granted, but in the end…they, above all, earn that freedom.

Some veterans still find it odd to be thanked for what they do, but they should know that the thanks is there.

It’s also PR Friday. Post training updates or PRs to comments. Weight is irrelevant — you don’t have to be strong as everyone else to post here, just work hard. What is your least favorite lift to do?
Follow the jump for the Q&A (coming in a few minutes). Continue reading →

Konstantinovs took a hiatus from posting videos on YouTube, yet he seems to be back with a couple of non deadlifting videos. I had read that he was going to go up a weight class and he certainly looks bigger. Check out this pretty simple 551 bench.



The curious thing isn’t that he’s speaking English, it’s that he’s using the slingshot. It’s curious because Konstantinovs is a raw lifter (and known for his deadlift if you’re a noob). I’ve seen Kelly Starrett talk about using the slingshot as well, and he even used it for an excellent “shoulder flexion with external rotation” mob.

Continue reading →

Just because I haven’t mentioned it in a few days doesn’t mean we aren’t busy kicking cancer in the BALLS. THIS ISN’T A GAME. The 70’s Big Movember team has 37 members and has raised $1,720 so far. That’s under $50 a member, so we’re gonna need a better effort out of our current and future members. If we all aim to get at least $100 each, then we’ll plant a much more firm kick to cancer’s balls.

70’s Big Contest
Don’t forget that I’m giving the team member that has raised the most doll hairs cash and money prizes. Currently Jacob Tspykin is dominating this contest so far, but we’re only 9 days into November. Here is the top ten thus far:


Anyone can join the 70’s Big Movember Team.
Both guys and girls can join it. And no, you don’t have to grow a mustache (although it helps). Guys are encouraged to grow facial hair or celebrate their beards, yet you don’t HAVE to. If you’re not joining the team and raising money on the account of having to grow facial hair, then it sounds like you like cancer. This is my formal invitation for all girls and guys that read this site to join the fundraising team — even if you only raise a few doll hairs, ever doll hair counts.

Steps:
Go to movember.com
Select country
Search 70’s Big
Select the real official team and not the thieving impostor team
Post a social media message that says

I’m raising money with one of my favorite lifting sites, 70’s Big. Help us kick cancer in the BALLS by donating: (post link to your profile here)

Jacob Cloud interviewed his friend Steve, a prostate cancer survivor and self proclaimed dirty old man. He explains how to prevent cancer, what to do when diagnosed, and sprinkles in profane comments throughout. Congrats to Steve for setting the example on how to kick cancer in the BALLS.
Watch until the end.



Edit: So what do you guys want to talk about in the comments?