bear-ing it since 72
bear-ing it since 72
Monday, 7 March 2016
"Zeller Curl. This curl is named after Artie Zeller who popularized it some years back, and is now widely used by New York City bodybuilders. Take a heavy dumbbell, heavier than you can curl to the shoulder in good form, and swing this weight to the shoulder. Hold the elbow against the side, on the hip if possible. Now, lower the weight, leaning back while doing so, fighting the downward movement of the weight every inch of the way. When it is down all the way, swing it up to the shoulder again and repeat... It may take a little practice to master this movement, but since Marvin feels that it is one of the very best, it will be worth a little special attention."
Sunday, 14 February 2016
Alternative Assistance Exercises for Olympic
Weightlifting
Part One
In this article I want to discuss alternative
exercises for Olympic weightlifting. We all know the exercises that our coaches
hammer into us and these are what I like to call the ‘main stream’ exercises
like the power clean, front squat and high pull etc etc But like in any sport
quite a few imbalances throughout the body are developed due to the constant
use or over use of the main stream exercises for and in that particular sport.
So what are the imbalances? I think the
imbalances lie in the ‘entire posterior chain’ & ‘hip flexors’
of the lifter and It makes sense to me that if these imbalances are addressed
by or for the lifter then this will allow the lifter to have a better posture
and better posture will I think allow for better pulling position in the first
pull of both the lifts,(clean & jerk and snatch) and therefore allow for a
smoother pull throughout the entire lift. What I mean by this is if you start
right then you got a better chance of finishing right.
The first exercise that every athelete should do
is the Cable Pullthrough. This movement really hits the lower back
muscles and they offer a training stimulus that overloads the posterior chain
with only a fraction of the loading forces on the spine. This movement should
be considered as a universal movement and should be used by any athelete. This
movement is a staple of many 900lb squatters in powerlifting circles but it
offers great value to the olympic lifter because it helps to teach the athelete
to learn to dissociate their hips from the lumber spine. As David Tate, (2012)
reported to of said is that ‘the pull through is one of the best movements to use to bring up the
glutes, hips and hamstrings. These muscles of the posterior chain are the most
important when it comes to squatting and deadlifting. Its important to
remember in order to ensure a smooth carryover to Snatch & the Clean &
Jerk the athlete should use the foot stance for those lifts and I would
recommend the foot stance while the athlete is in the bottom position this is
because the posterior chain is under considerable strain and its at this point
of both the movements that strength is needed. I feel it is a good idea to use
3-4sets of 15 reps range.
The next exercise is the Rear Dumbbell Flye.
This movement helps to ‘strengthen and thicken’, Alway (2002) the
posterior deltoid, (rear delt). You see the deltoid is desgined to rotate the
arm in a circluar fashion and the pectorial muscle, (chest) and latismiss dorsi
(lats) help to move the arm forwards and backwards. However the deltoid is a ‘poor
mechanical lever’. Alway (2002) and this can give rise to the protetial for
injury. Also the if the athelete has weak rear delts then their shoulders will
be pulled forward by the stonger chest muscle. If you look closely at a boxer,
they have weak rear delts due to the stance they adopt for fighting, ie.
Shoulder rolled and hunched forward.
This position for the boxer and most critically for the olympic weightliftier
poor upper back posture. Yes the bar in the front rack position is caught
easier but the first pull can be compremised due to the thr rounding of the
upper back. So by strngthing the rear delts with rear dumbbell flyes the
athelete can miminise the risk of injury to the upper back, improve posture by
the shoulders been pulled back and thus allowing for a straighter spine, which
in turn allows for the correct merchanical set up for the first pull and
stabalitly of the shoulder girdle when the weight is over head.as compared to muscles that have only one function, but the
The following three excrsies are for the
trapezius and this muscle is very strong but is very eaisly hurt when used too
expolsively and the olympic weightlifter needs to shrug expolisvely &
sometimes violentely. So these movements will help to develop the strength
& muscle of trapeziuism. These moevements are the Kelso Bench shrug,
Rear Shrug and Hise Shrug.
The Kelso shrug with dumbbells helps to strengthen the lower
(& middle) portion of the trapeziusm. This part is often neglceted by
lifters and it can lead to the upper back starting to round as the load on the
bar becomes heavier. Once the upper back starts to round then the lifters form
breaks down. Even thou the lifter can pull the load and compelte the lift its
quite noticable that the lift was harder just below the knees, around mid-shin
level because the upper back starts to buckle and thus changing the posture to
a mechincacial disadvantage. Try to
image the lower trapeziusm as the middle portion of a spring standing up. Once
the spring begins to bend at the middle the upper spring will collapse and then
the lower portion of the spring will collapse too. I would sugguest 3 sets of
15 reps with a moderatley heavy weight.
The Rear Shrug was
a favoruite of 8 time Olympia winner Lee Haney and for good reason. This shrug
can really pack on the meat and strength of the trapeziuism. However there is
something that I have observed while using rear shrugs instead of front shrugs
and that is rear shrugs help to pull the shoulders back and by doing this they
help to improve the posture. Another advantge is that rear shrug develop the
grip as it is harder to hold a bar behind you. Also as wightlifters we shrug to
the front quite a lot and I think this creates an imbalance in the shoulder
girdle and upper back muscularity. Rear shurgs build the middle portion of the
trapeziuism and also hit the upper portion at the same time, while in my
experince the front shrug only works the upper trapeziuism area. Use rear shrugs
to help strengthen & balance out the trapeziuism so I would like to
surggest a set & rep scheme of 3 sets of 10-12 reps with a heavy weight.
Now to Hise Shrus.
These were devepoled by Joseph Curtis Hise an old timer strongman who used this
method of shrugs to bulk up his upper body with great mass and strength. This
movement is preformed by placing a barbell on your shoulders like you are about
to squat but you take a deep breath and shrug your shoulders up. You will only
get around a 1 inch or 2 inch upward shrug movement but this method will build
a huge amount of lung power & trapeziuism power. The other advantge to the
lifter is that they will also find that holding the bar in the receive postion
(of the snatch epesically) feels more soild thus building the confiendce to
handle more weight overhead. The Hise shrug can be worked for 3 sets of 20-30
reps for muscle gain or 3 sets of 3-7 reps for strength and power.
Ali Oksala
MONDAY
MONDAY
MORNING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/2 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/2 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1
EVENING
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/2 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
15 min rest
5. Front squat
50%/2-3 + 70%/2 + 80%/2 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 97-98%/1
TUESDAY
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/2 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
15 min rest
5. Front squat
50%/2-3 + 70%/2 + 80%/2 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 97-98%/1
TUESDAY
MORNING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
15 min rest
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
15 min rest
EVENING
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
15 min rest
5. Front squat
50%/2 + 70%/2 + 80%/2 + 90%1
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
15 min rest
5. Front squat
50%/2 + 70%/2 + 80%/2 + 90%1
WEDNESDAY
MORNING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
EVENING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
15 min rest
3. Front squat
50%/2 + 75%/2 + 85%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 100%/1
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1x1-2
15 min rest
3. Front squat
50%/2 + 75%/2 + 85%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 100%/1
THURSDAY
MORNING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
15 min rest
3. Front squat
50%/2 + 70%/2 + 80%/2
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
15 min rest
3. Front squat
50%/2 + 70%/2 + 80%/2
FRIDAY
MORNING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
EVENING
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 98%/1 + 100%/1 + 101%/1
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 98%/1 + 100%/1 + 101%/1
15 min rest
5. Back squat
50%/3 + 70%/2 + 80%/2 + 90%/2 + 95%/1 + 100%/1
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 98%/1 + 100%/1 + 101%/1
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 90%/1 + 95%/1 + 98%/1 + 100%/1 + 101%/1
15 min rest
5. Back squat
50%/3 + 70%/2 + 80%/2 + 90%/2 + 95%/1 + 100%/1
SATURDAY
MORNING
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 45%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 45%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
1. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 45%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
30 min rest
2. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 45%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1
EVENING
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
3. Snatch
30%/2x2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
30 min rest
4. Clean and jerk
30%/2-2 + 50%/1 + 60%/1 + 70%/1 + 80%/1 + 85%/1
| |
Saturday, 13 February 2016
Snatch - Heaving, Dropping & Balancing vs Hanging & Overhead
In this discussion I wish to talk about Snatch variations
and their relevance to the full snatch itself. All these movements have their
place but as I have been experimenting by programming them in and out of my
training cycles. I have come to notice a misuse of these movements and its
starting to look that these movements, other than the Hanging & Overhead
Snatch, may not have transferable skills to the full Snatch.
Now all the movements relate strongly or try to relate
strongly to the completion, speed and precision of the receiving position of
the snatch. But I think after examining and using these lifts that the Heaving,
Drop and Balance Snatch have little transferable skills and the athlete is
better served to focus on Hanging Snatch and its variations off blocks and the
Overhead Squat because these two movements match closely to the full Snatch.
Where as the others do not and to understand this it is necessary to give a breakdown
description of the Snatch.
The Snatch is made up of several elements and the first
element can be described as the Snatch Grip Deadlift, which the lifter executes
by pulling from the ground to standing upright. The next element is the triple
extension – the Shrug, the Standing Calf Raise and the drive of the hips to
meet the bar. At the completion of the Snatch Grip Deadlift and the Triple
Extension the load is effectively pulled upward against the body in a Snatch
Grip High Pull, into a Power Snatch, while the lifter is pulling themselves
under the bar. At this point the lifter will find themselves in the Bottom
Position of the Overhead Squat and will complete the Snatch by standing up and
bringing feet tighter.
Now lets look at the Heaving Snatch, Drop Snatch &
Snatch Balance, well, more importantly the starting position for each ot these
lifts. If you analyse these lifts from their starting position you will see
that the bar starts at the back of the neck on the shoulders and the lifter drops
under the bar. While the Snatch
requires the bar starting from the floor. Now here is my question..
At what point is the lifter in the above position in the
Snatch? The only time the bar is overhead/behind the lifter in the Snatch is
when the lift is received at the completion of the movement. And at what point
does the lifter drop under the bar in the same manner as those lifts ask you
to? To me the lifter has already pulled,
split, dropped and landed in the Snatch where in the above movements
the lifter is required to push, split, land and drop.
So the sequence of events to execute the lifts is wrong for
skills to be transferred over to the Snatch –
- Snatch - Pull, Split, Drop &Land
- Heaving Snatch, Drop Snatch & Snatch Balance - Push, Split, Land & Drop.
In the film Rocky 2, Micky Rocky’s trainer had him chase a
chicken and Mickey said we need greasy fast speed. Well that’s what the lifter
needs in the Snatch too. I don’t expect chasing a chicken will help but what
will help are the above movements as they are used to develop speed, timing,
precision and reinforce foot placement. But as pointed out if the sequence of
the execution of the movements is not correct then there will be no or little
skill transfer to the main lift. So what do you do?
Well as coaches and lifters we use the Hanging Snatch and
its variations as well as the Overhead Squat.
Lets take the Overhead Squat first as its easier to explain.
The overhead squat strongly mimics the receive position of the Snatch. It also
serves to help the lifter become flexible in the bottom position and it also
helps to strengthen all the muscles of the upper body, which help to stabilise
the bar over head. Its possible, with work on a steady linear cycle, this
movement can be overloaded to 40-50kg of over the 1 rep Snatch max. By doing
this it will be possible to strengthen the entire body to hold a lesser load in
the correct position. What would make this movement more effective and the
skills more transferable is to execute the movement from the bottom position as
if the lifter would be in the Snatch. The Chinese use this technique quite
well.
Now what about speed and precision and foot placement? Well the Hanging Snatch and its variations
will help to deal with these problems and it closely mimics the full Snatch
itself. The skills are very transferable from hang to full Snatch. You can do
Hang Snatch off high blocks, low blocks from below knees, just above knees you
can even do Hang Snatches just before the position you drive the hips.
The Hanging Snatch & Overhead Squat are very good
movements to help progress the lifter in the Snatch. The Heaving Snatch, Drop
Snatch & Snatch Balance are also very good movements but should only be
used lightly in a program and I am tempted to say help build confidence but the
Hanging Snatch & Overhead Squat do that more effectively. So for now i am
struggling to find the benefits of the Heaving Snatch, Drop Snatch & Snatch
Balance compared to the benefits of the Hanging Snatch & Overhead Squat.
Coaching The Inner Chimp.
This paper is based on the writings of Dr Peters theory
called “The Chimp Paradox”, which is a mind management model that was used
quite successfully with the British Cycling Team. This mind theory states that
the mind is divided into two parts.
The two parts of the mind consist of “inner chimp” , which
is the part that runs our emotions and gut instincts, makes snap decisions and
thinks in black and white. While, the other part is rational, logical and
require evidence and sees things in shades of grey. Peters says that we cannot
live without the inner chimp but it dominates our mind and it can be
catastrophic.
The inner chimp will come up with a plan for you if you
already do not have one. But the problem with this plan is that it will be
emotional, maybe neurotic and it will be haphazard. The inner chimp is based on
your own emotional makeup and gut instincts. So for example, if you are
sensitive to emotional outbursts then this will be part of the inner chimps
plan.
It is possible to control the inner chimp but the problem is
the chimp turns up when we don’t want him/her to do so. For example you maybe
eating a strict diet because you maybe trying to hit a competition weight for
your lifting class but the inner chimp tries to tempt you with junk food or it
tries to convince you that eating healthy is a pointless activity and that food
is to be enjoyed. This part of the inner chimp is your minds survival
instincts.
Another example of the inner chimp at work would be if you hear
an athlete say “that wasn’t me out there” after a poor or uncharacteristic
performance. In this case it was not the athlete but his inner chimp taking
control because the athlete at some point had given away control to the inner
chimp because the athlete had lost faith in their abilities or plan they had.
So what does an athlete or coach do? Well you would set out to control the
inner chimp by recognition and control.
So how do you recognise and control the inner chimp? Well
the most basic recognition of the inner chimp would be at the prehistoric level
of the sexes. The prehistoric level of the inner chimp is hardwired into mind
because it is the most basic line or level at which the mind has for
development, a starting point if you will. This prehistoric level is designed
for survival of yourself and the species. So the inner chimp of a male is
driven by alpha type ego, acquiring and exerting power and territory as well as
sex while a female’s inner chimp is insecure, maternal and more emotional and is
hardwired to flee or freeze rather than stand and fight like the male’s inner
chimp. So knowing this its possible to control the inner chimp of both sexes,
but of course there will be variations of these inner chimps within the sexes
due to modern environmental and social backgrounds.
As a coach the male inner chimps can be controlled by giving
them group tasks, which help to satisfy the alpha within them and this helps
the inner chimp to focus its energy on allowing the rational and evidence
requiring part of the mind take more control, which in turn allows more focus
on the male athletes own performance in training and competition because the
males inner alpha chimp wants to look dominant in all tasks so therefore must
maintain a high degree of skill, strength and power. Where as the female’s
inner chimp needs more vocal reassurance and the couragement to realise her
alpha female characteristics. This can be accomplished by allowing the female
athlete to train among the males and treated on the same level as the male
athletes. This will (hopefully) have the effect of male dominance rubbing off
on to the female, which will trigger the prehistoric survival instincts to
emerge.
Now, there are 4 principles, which apply to a coach and to
the athlete. These are:
1.
Have a Plan
2.
When the inner chimp speaks – let it speak and let it finish.
3.
Answer the inner chimp with logic and rationality.
4.
Dismiss the inner chimp by using keys words unique to you.
These words or phrases are a personal choice and with the coach it depends on
the relationship they have with their athlete.
Its important for both the coach and the athlete to know and
understand that the inner chimp is like the Terminator it will absolutely not
stop. The inner chimp is always there, it starts the day you are born and it
dies when you do. But it can be controlled and to control it you must have a
plan and as a coach you must not only fight your own inner chimp but your
athletes too, As an athlete you must fight your inner chimp when you need too,
like the night you are in bed, alone trying not to think of the competition the
next day.
Reference:
Anonymous.
2014. Coaching the Whole Chimp: Why Coaching the Athlete isn’t Always
Enough . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.sportscoachuk.org/blog/coaching-whole-chimp-why-coaching-athlete-isn%E2%80%99t-always-enough.
[Accessed 10 January 16].
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