Category Archives: Olympic Weightlifting

Slow Motion

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I just got this handy camera that I will also use as a coaching tool. It can film stuff at 240 and 600 frames per second. This means that the camera is taking more pictures than the standard 30 or 60 fps, and thus can capture very fast movements (I got it for the Olympic lifts). Unfortunately the 600 fps degrades in quality (the resolution goes down quite a bit), and since the camera is taking so many pictures, you need a pretty hardcore light source to get the most out of it. The 240 fps works pretty well for my purposes in a gym, so I decided to share some of the videos with you after messing around with it on the first day.

It’s pretty sweet to watch the Olympic lifts when they are slowed down, and you can see little deviations in bar movement very well. Sammerr is the subject of our first video — he is a friend of mine that Rip and I have coached since he’s been at the gym. He’s a pretty damn strong 94 kg lifter (I just watched him deadlift 545 for a triple the other day), and was doing some 140 kg cleans. He’s clean and jerked 150 in competition, and these didn’t look particularly hard. His technique is solid in that the bar leaves the floor in a vertical bar path. Also note the shrug at the top of the pull.



After seeing the video slowed down, we thought it was pretty cool. So Sammerr loaded the bar to 90 kg and did a quick power snatch so we could film it. His form is, again, very solid (we finally got his start position consistent). My only nagging point is that he could have shrugged his shoulders a bit more at the rack, but a solid power snatch. It wasn’t that heavy — Sammerr has snatched 112 in competition and 120 in training. If he keeps pulling the bar vertical like he is here, he’ll easily hit at least 120 in competition.



For the hell of it, I also filmed one of my favorite people at the gym, “Peez”. She was power cleaning singles on the minute, so I had lots of footage on her. This was also the first time I coached in real time, then consulted a camera. It’s useful, but I don’t think a coach should be dependent on the camera to verify what’s wrong. Peez has come a long way in the last year and a half and has gotten pretty explosive on her power cleans.



Follow the jump for a squat video.
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A Living Legend

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Meet Brian Drescher, a living legend. I stumbled upon YouTube videos of this guy and was pretty entertained. Unfortunately the guy who uploaded his two best videos put a block on embedding them, so you will have to click them manually.

This guy apparently loves him some Olympic weightlifting. When he hits his lifts, he’ll say things like, “In your face! There it is! Still the king!” so fast you wonder how he was prepared to say it while supporting 100 kilos overhead. The guy must be crazy like Ricky Bruch, but generally has a jovial disposition (as opposed to Bruch’s ill-tempered nature).

The first video I saw was this one at the 2007 Empire State Games, and it gives you a splash of his personality.
For whatever reason, the YouTube account doesn’t allow links to the videos. You can find the account here, and it is the 2007 Empire State Games video.

But you’ll learn so much more from him in this next vid (my personal favorite) — he spits out his life philosophy while doing a set of 10 power snatches at 70 kilos (note the “Got Total?” shirt).

Don’t fret, we also have videos of him competing in the 2008 and 2009 Empire State Games. This is a real treat folks, because he is, after all, an American legend.




Guest Post: Charles Staley

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I recently hung out with Charles when he came to the WFAC for an interview for the Starting Strength website. I was very amused by his demeanor, his wit, and his almost kid-like playfulness. He’s a successful coach and has an emphasis on training like an athlete instead of a stereotypical fitness “exerciser”. You can get a feel for his style on his website, Staley Training Systems, but this anti-exerciser approach is prevalent in the following article that he wrote.
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Cheating To Win: Why You Should Take The Path Of Least Resistance

by Charles Staley

Cheating is perhaps the most maligned and least appreciated tactic in the weight room. It’s so important in fact, that I consider cheating to be the calling card of skilled lifters.


When we examine the three primary strength sports (weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman), it’s clear that cheating is an absolute prerequisite for success. Of the three disciplines, I’d argue that weightlifters have elevated the art of cheating to a sweet science. In fact, during the performance of the two competitive events (the snatch and clean & jerk), lifters violate almost every dearly-held notion in the personal training industry:

• During the “catch” phase of both the snatch and clean, lifters allow their knees to drift significantly in front of the toes.

• During the support phase of the snatch and the jerk, lifters aggressively lock their elbow joints against heavy loads.

• Both the snatch and clean start with what amounts to an accelerative deadlift with a heavy weight.

• In training, weightlifters rarely if ever use spotters— if they get into trouble with a lift, they simply drop the barbell on the floor.

• Both weightlifting events, as well as most of the assistance exercises they use, employ the use of maximum speed against the bar.

• Rather than use common set/rep brackets such as 3×10, 5×8, etc., weightlifters typically use many sets of 1-3 reps per set. Additionally, weightlifters avoid “failure” like Brittney avoids panties.

• Your weightlifting coach will never ask “How did that feeeel?” If your lift looked great, there’s no need to ask how it felt. If it sucked, there’s still no reason to ask.

• Weightlifters don’t do “cardio.” Try a clean & jerking a heavy triple and you’ll find out why.

• Weightlifters don’t lift in front of a mirror.

• Weightlifters, by definition, compete. Few weightlifting clubs will tolerate a lifter who won’t lift in meets. At least, not for long

• Weightlifters squat deep. So deep in fact, that there is a competition rule that forbids the lifter from touching his/her butt to the floor at the bottom of a snatch or clean.

• (Along the lines of the last point) weightlifters often round their low backs at the bottom of their squats. What’s that? You can keep your arch when your butt’s an inch from the floor? Send me the video.

• Weightlifters hold their breath during long portions of most lifts. They never “inhale on the lowering phase” or “exhale on the lifting phase.”

• Both the snatch and the jerk, as well as several assistance exercises for these two lifts) involve putting a barbell over your head.

And finally…

• As a global point, weightlifters seek the easiest way to lift a weight, not the hardest way.

It’s possible that I missed a few points, but I think my central point has been made. Now here’s what’s kinda interesting about all of this…

Most people who lift for the sake of improving their appearance typically try to avoid every one of these maneuvers. Yet, not only do weightlifters violate all of these sacred cows, they actually get better aesthetic results than their “exerciser” counterparts do, despite the fact that they don’t really lift for aesthetic purposes!

Recently I noticed a question on an internet forum from a 24-year old man who wanted to look like a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, in less than one year, starting from scratch as it were. He got plenty of advice, most of it relating to exercise choices, meal timing, set/rep brackets, and goal setting. My suggestion: if you want to look like an MMA athlete, why not become an (MMA) athlete?

Which of course, is the take-home point of this article. Any takers?

Giant Killer: Evgeny Chigishev

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Edit: This is another post by my friend, Brent. Enjoy.
–Justin
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2005, Doha, Qatar. It is the world weightlifting championships. The snatch session of the 105k+ men’s category is coming to an end. Of the 9 lifters competing in the A session, four of them have attempts left to obtain a result equal to or greater than 200k: Rezazadeh, the favorite, Viktor Scerbatihs, reliable as ever, Jaber Saeed Salem, an insanely strong athlete representing Qatar, and then there was Evgeny Chigishev.

Rezazadeh is just coming off a series of untouchable performances. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he clean and jerked the current world record, 263.5k, and totaled 17.5k more than the next competitor (Scerbatihs) with 472.5k (this is just 2.5k off from the greatest total of all time, set by Leonid Taranenko in 1998 at 475k). And in the 2005 Asian Championships, he totaled an effortless 460k, taking 10k jumps in all three of his clean and jerks, culminating in what appeared to be a fairly routine 260k.

Rezazadeh’s biggest problem is that it seems as if no one can challenge him.

Chigishev opens at 200k on his first attempt without trouble. Rezazadeh follows with an effortless 201k, which is greeted by great applause from the Iranians in the audience. Salem, who defeated Rezazadeh in 2003 in the snatch, also takes 201k, as does Scerbatihs in seemingly robotic fashion shortly after. Salem ups the ante with his third and final attempt at 205k, but is unable to rack the weight overhead to stand. Rezazadeh takes the lead again when he is successful at 205k, and with the pressure mounting, Scerbatihs fails on his third and final attempt to match Rezazadeh’s lift.

Chigishev has two attempts left.

He calls for 209k, a 9k jump from his previous effort. It is a considerable jump, but the Iranians in the crowd do not give him quiet. They whistle and they chatter, but Chigishev finds the focus to tune them out and explode the weight overhead. He is successful, and suddenly Rezazadeh is challenged.

Rezazadeh’s third attempt is 210k. He can’t call for 209k, since he outweighs Chigishev by 40 kilos, and it would also be unwise to take a larger jump to establish a greater lead, since this is his third attempt snatch. He has to make this lift, and he has to hope that Chigishev does not have it in him to succeed with a greater weight.

Rezazadeh’s final lift is, characteristically, effortless, and his performance is again awarded with loud applause. He’s wrested victory away from the hands of a Russian who looks like he should be posing on a bodybuilding stage.

But Chigishev has one attempt left, and he wants to send a message. He calls for 211k. If he beats Rezazadeh, he does not want to beat him by ruling on bodyweight. Chigishev wants to beat Rezazadeh, decisively and definitively.

Of course, Rezazadeh’s biggest fans are in the crowd. When Chigishev comes out for his final attempt, which will decide who takes gold in the snatch, the audience refuses to give him quiet again, even when he motions for it.

David Rigert, coach of the Russian National team, shouts at him to just fucking go, and Chigishev positions himself over the bar. With the crowd whistling and shouting, he’ll have to find his own quiet.

The problem with going up against people like Rezazadeh is that the illusion of his invincibility is as daunting as his actual ability to perform. If a man appears to be untouchable, people who try to best him are almost always going to be affected because of that illusion. Who can beat a man who is on the edge of becoming the strongest athlete the sport has ever seen?

The venue is packed. They are all there for Rezazadeh. But Chigishev stands alone over 211k.

His pull is violent, explosive. The bar is overhead, Chigishev locks it out, holds it there as it tries to wrench to his left. His knees are shaking at the bottom of the squat, but impossibly, he begins to rise, and methodically works himself to the top.

Rezazadeh is no longer in the lead.

And Chigishev, a modest superheavy at 125.77k, becomes a giant killer.

Matthias Steiner

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This is a post by my friend, Brent. One of his hobbies is to get on YouTube and watch videos of Olympic weightlifting, and he has done so for years (along with eating alone at restaurants, loving techno music, and getting chastised at work for having sweet hair). He has a pretty good knowledge of current weightlifters, and I’ve invited him to weigh in on well known lifters throughout the world.
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Matthias Steiner started competing as an Olympic weightlifter in 1995 for Austria. He was a relatively 70s big athlete from the outset, and rapidly grew into a competitive 105k lifter, and would eventually produce a 405k total at the 2004 Olympics, which ranked him 7th in what was a fairly tight competition. During his career with the Austrian Weightlifting Federation he competed in both the 105k and 105k+ categories.

By 2005, Steiner was unable to keep his bodyweight under the 105k limit and permanently moved to the superheavy category. It was also around this time that he and the Austrian Weightlifting Federation had a falling out, and he applied for citizenship in Germany. He wouldn’t compete for three years while his change in citizenship was pending.

Steiner reappeared on the international scene in 2008, making a strong statement when he won the Beijing Pre-Olympic Tournament with a 423k total. People were already speaking of the promise he held when he made another fantastic improvement in his showing at the 2008 European Championships. He was the only 105k+ lifter to snatch 200k, and made a lifetime PR clean and jerk at 246k in a solid 6 for 6 performance. Only Viktor Scerbatihs bested him by a kilo in total.

It was clear that Steiner would be the dark horse in the 2008 Olympic Games. He would face tough competition against Scerbatihs and the Russian colossus Evegny Chigishev. Steiner missed a crucial third attempt snatch and finished with 203k going into the clean and jerk, trailing behind Scerbatihs and Chigisehv in fourth place. Scerbatihs missed his second clean and jerk at 244k, but Steiner missed his first attempt clean and jerk at 246k before coming back on his second to take 248. Chigishev was successful at 240, 247, and 250k, which, along with his 210k snatch, gave him 460 for the lead.

Scerbatihs and Steiner would determine the medal rankings with their last attempts on the clean and jerk. To take first place, they would both need to take unreasonably large jumps in their attempts, but this was the fucking Olympics. Nobody was playing games, they had all quit school because of recess.

Scerbatihs would make a valiant attempt at 257, but was not able to pull through.

Steiner knew what he needed to do; he needed 461 to win, and he called for 258k on the bar. This would be a 10k increase from his second attempt, and a huge lifetime PR. The clean pinned him for a moment, but he powered out of the hole and set himself for the jerk. As he stuck the shit out of the jerk, the auditorium, which had held their silence during his effort, exploded with cheers and applause for he had produced one of the biggest upsets in weightlifting history.