After his 225 x2 and 255 x2, here is Tian Tao’s 275kg Squat in the 2014 Worlds Training Hall.
This was the heaviest training hall Squat by a 85kg lifter.
(Video also on Facebook and Instagram @atginsta)
More: 85kg Squats from the Training Hall
Tian Tao 275kg Squat Almaty 2014 Worlds Training Hall is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Update 02.01.2015: Regardless of usefulness here is one with 142kg (315 lbs).
(Original Post from 07.12.2012)
Check out Simon Brandhuber doing Kneeling Jumps with a 90kg barbell on his back.
BTW, he was 4th in the U23 69kg with a 141kg Snatch (3rd) and 165kg (6th) Clean & Jerk.
Kneeling Squat Jumps is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here is Om Yun Chol’s 168kg (Triple Bodyweight) Clean & Jerk from the 2014 World Championships.
Update: This Still Frame makes a nice desktop wallpaper I think.
(Make sure you watch in 1080p50 for the best experience)
(Video also on Facebook and Instagram @atginsta)
After missing both his openers in the Snatch and C&J and losing the snatch to Kim Tuan Thach’s 135kg, Om was under a lot of pressure. In the Press conference he said
“I was so afraid of losing because I put so much effort into winning at the Asian Games [with a 170kg World Record] a few weeks ago.”
He also mentioned the rivalry with China. Despite them having such a big pool of lifters to draw from he managed to beat their athletes and will beat them again. “I will protect my gold medals.”
Trivia:
More from Om:
Right click + “Save Link as” to download the 1920×1080 version.
Here is Hookgrip’s slow motion video of his Clean & Jerks.
Om Yun Chol 168kg Clean & Jerk Almaty 2014 World Championships is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here is a Dmitry Klokov warming up in the 2014 Worlds Training Hall.
Many athletes used something like ABC heat creme before they started their warm-ups (the hall filled with that distinct smell). Dmitry Klokov does it the classical way – with movement.
More:
(Video also on Facebook and Instagram @atginsta)
Dmitry Klokov Warm Up 2014 Worlds Training Hall is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
From the 2014 Worlds 77kg Session…
Here is Kirill Pavlov (KAZ) with his 195 kg catapult Clean.
Many roads lead to Rome.
Kirill Pavlov 195kg Catapult Clean is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here are some Clean Pulls from Tom Schwarzbach (85kg, Germany) in the 2014 Worlds Training Hall.
Cues from coach Thomas Faselt:
(Video also on Facebook and Instagram @atginsta)
Tom Schwarzbach Clean Pulls Almaty 2014 Training Hall is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
From the 2012 Chinese Nationals …
A 19 year old Tian Yuan (48kg) lifts unofficial Clean & Jerk and Total World Records.
WR = 98/121/217, Tian = 95/126/221
Thanks to wlift84 for submitting.
Tian Yuan 95kg Snatch + 126kg Clean & Jerk at 48kg (Unofficial World Record) is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Reader Minh, who already translated the Kim Tuan Thach Pofile, did it again. This time he translated a show with Vietnam’s other top 56kg lifter – Tran Le Quoc Toan.
Jump to the Translation below.
Title of the show is : A star with dreams
0:20: MC: welcome to our show. Today, we will meet a young 20 year old athlete
0:34: (clip of Toan doing accessory lifts)
0:43 Toan: Hello, my name is Tran Le Quoc Toan. I am a national level weightlifter, and my best achievement is winning goal in SEA Games.
Weightlifting is my passion, and I am glad to be on the show
1:10 MC: please welcome Tran Le Quoc Toan (then she went on and asked for volunteers to come up and try lifting the barbell, so 2 skinny dudes volunteered and introduced themselves)
2:32 MC: Toan, show us what we can do with the barbell. (he proceed to show a muscle snatch)
MC: what’s the heaviest you can lift?
Toan: 167kg ([minh] I assume this is his CnJ PR [/minh]
MC: how long have you been involved in weightlifting?
Toan: near 8 years
MC: when you started, how much did you lift?
Toan: 7kg
MC: let’s see how Toan went from 7kg to 167kg in 8 years
3:18: Narrator: Tran Le Quoc Toan, our number 1 weightliftinger. Born in Da Nang, he came to weightlifting at 14 years old. He overcame many challenges life had for him, with his passion for weightlifting. His achievements include: national youth championship from 2006-2009, national weightlifting champion 2009 at 56kg, national university game champion 2010, national weightlifting champion 2012, SEA Game 26 champion with 280kg total, 4th at London 2012.
4:03: MC: let’s get to know our 20-year-old athlete. Our interview will begin with the beginning of Toan’s weightlifting career. You started with 7kg, why so little?
Toan: in the beginning, there’s a stronger emphasis on technique, not strength.
MC: maybe since all we see athletes being concerned about the weight lifted, but not the behind-the-scene in training. Can you let us know, with 7kg, what are the things required from the athlete with regards to technique?
Toan: when I started, I only trained the first pull. My back must be tight, strong and I must stand up straight.
MC then asks the two volunteers to give it a try. You guys should watch them struggle for the LOLZ. The taller one is 183cm , and Toan is 150cm. MC notes that his height probably is a disadvantage when it comes to weightlifting.
Toan keeps telling them to both keep their back straight.
MC: how long did you do this?
Toan: after 1 month, I was able to perform the first pull with my back tight, strong and straight.
MC: so in weightlifting, precision must be really important?
Toan: precision in good technique is a must if an athlete wants to lift big
MC: So what’s after 7kg?
Toan: 12kg, then 2.5kg to 5kg increments
MC: so when do you start going overhead?
Toan: after first pulls are perfect
MC: what’s after the pull?
Toan: turnover [minh]I think that’s what he meant #rustyvietnamese[/minh]
MC: can you show us?
6:50 Toan demonstrates a hang muscle snatch
MC: how long did you have to practice the turnover?
Toan: only a few days
MC: How much can an average person lift?
Toan: 40kg
MC then asks the 2 volunteers if they can lift 40kg
7:30: first dude did a 40kg hang clean and jerk, and said it was a tough effort, took everything in him. Upon being asked, Toan said for an untrained person, this is good
7:54 second dude’s turn [minh]totally LOLZ worthy [/minh]
MC: how were our “athletes” performances?
Toan: very good [minh]TROLOLOL [/minh]
MC: how was their technique?
Toan: horrible
MC: (laughing) Why?
Toan: Athletes without strong fundamentals cannot lift very efficiently. This takes a long time and a great deal of effort.
MC: can you show us how you lift 40kg?
8:53: Toan demonstrates 40kg clean and press
9:15: MC: how fast was your progress compared to others?
Toan: what others can do in 6 months, 1 year, I can do that in 4 months
MC: why was your progress so fast?
Toan: My family situation was tough, and I have a strong will.
MC: how was your training different from others?
I must progress fast so I can earn money for my family
Toan: if a weightlifter’s life is stable, he sees weightlifting as a hobby. For me, weightlifting is a career, so I must progress fast so I can earn money for my family.
10:00 MC: let’s go over some of your competitions. In the National Youth Championship 2005, how long have you been in weightlifting?
Toan: 7 months
MC: what does this competition mean to you?
Toan: it was a turning point for my weightlifting career. At first, my coach only planned for this competition to be an experience for me, he didn’t expect me to medal.
MC: what did you lift?
Toan: 80/100
MC: 80/100 after 7 months of practice!!!! How long would it take an average athlete?
Toan: I think approximately 2 years
MC: what did your coach expect?
Toan: honestly, he only saw this competition as a chance for me to know competition, to deal with stage fright. I was clueless. I didn’t know how a competition was run, I just remember trying my best.
MC: what were your best lifts in training at the time?
Toan: 77/97
MC: but in the competition, you lifted 3kg more each lift, how did you do that?
Toan: I had no idea. Once I stepped on the platform, I just did all I could.
MC: how was your feeling after getting the gold medal?
Toan: elated, like i was floating on clouds.
MC: let’s interview Toan’s coach about his training
11:55 Coach Phan Van Thien: Toan has always shown strong determination and competitive nature. His resiliency has always been strong. Despite injuries, Toan always practiced hard to finish the training program. To me, he’s a good athlete mentally and physically
12:25: Toan: That’s my coach from Da Nang, Phan Van Thien
MC: do you still train with him?
Toan: yes, whenever I visit Da Nang
MC: he talked about your injuries. How did they happen?
Toan explains the process of calluses forming and causing bleeding. He doesn’t use gloves, and could only use straps in training
MC: you first mentioned weightlifting for you is a career, a source of income. When would you say weightlifting is your passion?
Toan: when my techniques are perfect, and I attempt to break all 3 records
MC: let’s go over Toan’s progress
13:50: Narrator: at 14 years old, Toan signed up for weightlifting at 56kg. After 7 months, we won National Youth championship 2005. In his first 3 years, his PRs went up 10kg a year. In the years after, he increased 5kg. He won National Championship at 56 totalling 258kg. He won National University Sports Games 2010 totalling 261kg. He won SEA Games 26 in 2011 totalling 280kg. In London 2012, he came 4th, totalling 284kg.
15:00: MC: how did you feel every time you win a medal?
Toan: it’s a strong effort by my coaches and me.
MC: which medal most strongly signifies your effort and your coaches’?
Toan: When I won SEA Games 26 in 2011.
MC: what happened?
Toan: there was a lot of pressure, it was a stiff competition. Both I and the Indonesian athlete missed our 2nd lift. It added to the tension going into the 3rd attempt. In 1st attempt, he went 148, I went 149. 2nd attempt, he went 154 and I 153. We both missed. In his 3rd attempt, he made 154, so I had to make 155 to win. In training, I made 160. I was really nervous. But one I came onto the platform, my focus was strong, so I blocked out all the distraction.
After succeeding in the lift, I felt really happy, but had no energy left. I felt the support of my family, coaches and friends as I locked out the 155kg jerk
MC: that is significant. It’s also Vietnam’s first gold medal at 56kg at the South East Asian level [minh]wrong!!! Hoang Anh Tuan came 2nd at Beijing 2008 at 56kg [/minh]
Your PR was 160, so how come you only lifted in the mid 150s?
Toan: it was my coach’s strategy.
MC: before the competition, do you know your rivals’ PRs?
Toan: no.
MC: When do you know what they can lift?
Toan: when they are on the platform, and finish the lift
[minh]Toan went on to explain more about the competitions. I won’t translate this, since most of ATG’s readers are more than familiar with competition protocols [/minh]
20:00: shows highlight of Toan’s performance at SEA Games 26. It shows him snatching 125.
20:21: MC: What does this medal mean to Vietnam?
Toan: the Indonesian athlete has never been beaten in competition. So this is a good turning point for us Vietnamese athletes. I hope my performance inspire my fellow Vietnamese athletes to push even harder and win more internationally
MC: Toan’s training career has not always been smooth. Let’s go over a few of his setbacks
21:20: Mrs Le Thi Quynh Nga (Toan’s mother): in 2009, when he came home, all we could do was hug each other and cried. I was very sad, and worried.
Coach Thien: Toan’s mood at that time was down.
Tran Le Quoc Thanh (Toan’s younger brother): when Toan came home, he couldn’t do anything except resting on the bed. I could only tell him to try and get up to eat. Toan said “I am really disappointed in myself. We are poor and here I am useless, wasting even more money”.
22:00 MC: what happened to Toan?
Toan: I was injured in 2009, after 3 years of training. I was training at the national training facility.
MC: why were you returned to Da Nang?
Toan: at the time, I wasn’t performing well, and my injury made it worse. So they returned me back to my hometown [minh]that’s harsh, given that he just recently won national championship [/minh]
MC: what were your injuries?
Toan: shoulder, [minh]he explained more about his symptoms, but my medical vocabulary is limited [/minh]
MC: is that a typical injury?
Toan: usually weightlifters suffer more knee injuries.
MC: describe your situation, your feelings at that time?
Toan: I had no confidence, no hope when I thought about weightlifting. I was also embarassed, being returned from national training facility.
MC: what was your most depressing thought?
Toan: I just wanted to quit weightlifting altogether.
MC: What stopped you from quitting?
Toan: My family and friends were very encouraging and supportive to me. Also, Coach Thien made a training program focused on rehab exercises, muscle strengthening. It took me more than 1 year to recover and come back to training weightlifting.
MC: How long did that 1 year feel?
Toan: for a professional athlete, that 1 year felt like eternity, given that an athlete’s professional career is only 7-10 years long.
MC: when did you come back to national training facility?
Toan: late 2010
MC: if other athletes sustain this injury, would most quit?
Toan: yes, but usually they sustain injuries not as serious.
MC: let’s see what Toan’s coach has to say about this difficult time.
25:19 Coach Thien: during this time, after being returned back to Da Nang, Toan’s mood was depressed. His hope of contributing to Da Nang and Vietnam’s athletics was gone. But after his rehab period, Toan came back to training even more intensely and strived to get back the image of a tremendous athlete he once was.
27:16 MC: let’s hear from Toan’s families about his training.
27:20: Toan’s brother: when Toan started, it was tough for him, he said “brother, this is a trying period for me.
Toan’s Mother: everyday, he biked to Da Nang’s club, despite rough weather conditions. He skipped lunches during practices. When he came back from practice in the evening, he said “mom, I am really hungry”. That was when I realized that he was so into training, that he was willing to skip breakfast and lunches to commute to the club.
Toan’s brother: The staff said he must show up at 04:00 to practice together with the team. The club was 15km away from home, so that meant Toan had to get going at 03:30. We were poor, so the bike was in bad condition, it was slow. I felt bad for him, because he had to wake up early to go to work, so that our parents could have money for my education. I always feel emotionally moved by his dedication to our family.
28:28: MC: When you hear this interview, do you remember that time?
Toan: We were poor at the time. We didn’t have many things like the others. I woke up at around 03:00 to help my mom bring some stuff out to the market so that she could sell them. Then I biked to the club. At around 04:30, the team started warm ups and we ran around the club.
MC: what did your mom do?
Toan: she sold breakfast and lunch.
MC: other than your mom, is there anyone else in your family earning money?
Toan: 2 of my older brothers went into Ho Chi Minh city to find some labour work. My 2 younger siblings were still in school. I tried to spend as little as I could from the salary the club gave me, so I can send the money home.
MC: you stopped going to school?
Toan: yes, after 2 months of training and being told I had some talent.
MC: did your mother agree with you quitting school?
Toan: no, she wanted to to continue going to school. But I stopped because it would have been tough for my mom to come up with the money for me and my 2 younger siblings to go to school.
MC: how did you ask for her permission?
Toan: I asked many times. I said I am old enough to help making some money for the family.
MC: did you think you would be successful at first?
Toan: I didn’t think about that. I just trained as hard as I could. Successful or not, weightlifting would still be the career I chose
MC: what were you thinking during those 15km bike rides?
Toan: I thought about the exercises the coaches would prescribe, what the training volume, intensity would look like.
MC: how was your diet?
Toan: I wasn’t hungry at that time of the day
MC: do you get your nutrition taken care of at the club?
Toan: at that time I wasn’t on the city’s team yet, so my breakfast and lunch weren’t covered
MC: so how did you deal with that?
Toan: I skipped breakfast and lunch, biked home after AM practice and ate a bit. 1400 I woke up again and biked up there for PM practice. PM practice ended by 1700.
MC: before being selected for city’s team, did you have other jobs?
Toan: if that day only had AM practice, in the PM, I took up some labour jobs, carrying rice.
MC: how long until you were on the city’s team?
Toan: 2 months.
MC: and 5 months after you won the Youth Championship. let’s interview Toan’s family to see what they have to say about this period
31:30: Toan’s mother: His father’s wish was for him to achieve success, to bring medals home alone with some happiness . Those were his last words. Toan has always been quiet, never expresses himself vocally. He only replied “I will try my best”.
31:51: Toan’s brother: Every time Toan returned home, everyone here knew of his achievements. I even asked my school for some days off to hang out with him. The first thing he did was burning some incense and paid some respect to our father’s portrait.
Mother: then Toan said “Dad, these medals are dedicated to you. Before you passed away, this was your final wish, here are the medals”.
Brother: Toan also said to mom ” this is some money I saved from my salary. It’s the education fund for the two young ones in the family. I am not home to take care of them, help me take care of them. And Toan cried.
Mother: I hugged him and cried with him. That was some big money.
32:42 MC: When you won your first gold medal, how much money did you get?
Toan: 700,000VND ($32 US)
MC: and your mother thought it was some big amount. When did your father pass away?
Toan: 2 months before my competition.
MC: he was supportive of your weightlifting career?
Toan: correct.
MC: did you know the bad news?
Toan: it was Sunday morning, and I was in a training camp preparing for the National Youth Championship. I wasn’t allowed to leave the camp. I was sleeping, and coach woke me up, told me he would give me a ride home, my father had passed. I was shocked, I didn’t think it was true. Only when I came home, I knew it wasn’t a joke.
MC: many people experience a shock, affecting their performance if their closed ones pass away. How did you overcome this emotionally and performed next?
Toan: it was my father’s wish. I remembered one time, my father told my uncle “Toan can succeed at anything he puts his mind into. He will only stop when he succeeds. His will is strong”.
That was my thought to help me perform better.
MC: was your father sick for a long time before passing away?
Toan: yes, but he didn’t want to tell us, so we wouldn’t worry and spend money on his medication. Only when it was so bad, and he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
MC: how did you turn this tragic event into something positive?
Toan: I thought my father will always support me, every step of the way.
MC: now what are your plans, now that you achieve many great things and how many medals have you won?
Toan: my goal is to win Asian Championship. About medals, I’ve won too many I can’t count [minh]too bad he came 4th, totalling 283, Thach Kim Tuan 2nd at 294 and Om Yum Chol at 298 [/minh]
I planned on competing for a while, and right now I am taking my coaching certifications, so after my athletic career ends, I will become a coach.
MC: what do you think of Vietnam’s weightlifting?
Toan: we have many strong athletes that are capable to medalling at Asian and International level.
MC: lets wish him some success.
*36:25 Toan’s teammates and coaches take their turn wishing him success. They say he has always been a supportive member of the national team, and they are always behind him supporting him and his success.
Toan’s brother: I am always proud of you, my brother. My friends at school always commented on your talent, your fame. I tell them I am not proud because you are famous, but I am proud because you are a family man, always sacrificing yourself for your siblings. I wanna thank you for your hard work and sacrifices so that I could continue and successfully finish my education.
Mother: I wanna wish you happiness, health. I hope you are always confident and bring medals home for our country and for us
Tran Le Quoc Toan Profile is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Previously in the 2014 World Championships Training Hall …
(Video also on Facebook and Instagram @atginsta)
In German we have the expression “Not macht erfinderisch”, which translates to “Necessity is the mother of invention”. This is definitely true for athletes in the worlds training hall who want to do more than just Snatch, C&J and Squat.
So what do you do when you just squatted 275 at 85 and want to catch a chest pump, but there are no benches around? Correct, you have your coach push a 25kg plate down on your back while you do Push ups.
You probably saw Hookrips photo of Tian Tao. Back then there were some question as to what he was actually doing here. Unfortunately I was only able to film his last rep.
But since these are the little things you usually don’t get to see unless you are there I still thought it was worth a share.
Tian Tao Weighted Push Ups Almaty 2014 Worlds Training Hall is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here is Nadezhda Evstyukhina’s 126kg Gold Medal Snatch from the 2014 World Championships.
Same weight as Yue Kang and Kim Un Ju, but Nadezhda weighed in at 74.4kg, 110 grams lighter than Yue and 230g lighter than Un Ju.
You can see how pissed she is, since that weight should have gone up on her second attempt if all had gone to plan.
Make sure you watch in 1080p50 for best quality.
(Video also on Facebook and Instagram @atginsta)
Trivia:
More: Watch Nadezhda Snatch 135kg and Squat 200kgx2.
Nadezhda Evstyukhina 126kg Snatch Almaty 2014 World Championships is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Previously in China … at the 2009 Chinese National Games.
Wlift84 is scouring CNTV for all the hidden weightlifting gems and here are two nice ones.
Wang Mingjuan and Yang Lian Snatch 99kg at 48kg, one kilogram above the current world record. Both also beat the total world record.
Wang went 99/121 (also above WR at that time)/220.
Yang Lian still holds the official snatch/total WR with 98/217.
Here she went 99/119/218
Also at this competition a 16 year old Tian Yuan went 93/117/210 (unofficial YWR) and cleaned 123 twice.
Wang Mingjuan & Yang Lian Snatch 99kg at 48kg in 2009 (WR Weights) is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here are a couple of clips from the 75kg Warm up Area at the 2014 World Championships.
Features the for Asian countries typical glute and hamstring smashing massage, shows an interesting manoeuvre from Kim Un-Ju at around 1:50 and finishes with an amped up Lydia Valentin.
More:
75kg Warm up Area Almaty 2014 World Championships is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here are Apti Aukhadov’s Snatches from the 2014 World Championships.
From Hookgrip’s post on Facebook:
Apti Aukhadov Almaty 2014 World Championships Snatches is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
What has Clarence Kennedy been up to?
That was the question I had after I saw his new uploads. For the few not knowing him I suggest you watch his youtube videos in chronological order or check out his Highlights on ATG.
+ Some never before seen footage.
When did your knees first start to bother you? Was it before training with the Poles and then reached its peak there? Was there a specific moment? What happened the past few months?
My knees first started to bother me around June 2012. (Video from that time).
During that point the injury was minor and it could have been dealt with by just resting and deloading. It wasn’t sudden but gradual. It was clearly an overuse injury caused by too much training.
I was training 6 times per week during that time and I actually made a lot of PRs so I continued to train heavy and that’s when I made a big mistake.
Due to this my patella tendons got more and more damaged to the point where I developed chronic patella tendinitis in both knees.
September 2012 I got a cortisone injection in one of my knees and it didn’t help at all. I was an idiot and still trained heavy, because I thought I only need to train hard till December, get a medal at the Europeans and get funding from the Irish sports council, then I can rest.
So I continued to train heavy and upped the frequency and volume of my training.
I was so overtrained that I had insomnia for almost 2 months straight
Of course, as you know during the Europeans I failed to total. I got angry at this since without a total it wasn’t possible to obtain a grant from the sports council. It’s like a false start in a 100m race.
So out of my anger I continued to train heavy which was obviously extremely stupid but I was young and inexperienced in the world of weightlifting and didn’t understand the consequences.
I remember a few days after the comp I squatted 240kg 3×3, followed by 5×2. and during that time I was so overtrained that I had insomnia for almost 2 months straight.
Feb-March 2013 I still managed to train hard without any kind of rest period, of course, my knees got worse so I started using pain killers during most of my heavy sessions along with lots of caffeine.
At this point, I was really pushing it I found it impossible to train without knee sleeves, painkillers and taking long warm ups. I was like an old man inside the gym.
This is when my training was at my absolute hardest, it consisted of very high volume Olympic lifts and fewer power variations than before.
Example of a Training Week during that Time
Below is a video of one of my hardest training sessions: Friday 1st of March.
Morning Session:
Evening Session:
Bodyweight: 91.0kg
May 2013 I finally decided to take a rest. I took a deload lifting at 50% 3 times per week for one month. However, this didn’t benefit my knees at all.
June 2013 I came back to training too fast without gradually increasing the weight, I wasn’t conditioned to lift heavy weights so as a result I injured my upper back, I didn’t anticipate this but it wasn’t that serious.
August 2013 – September I was invited to Opole club to train. The programming by Szewczyk (who was a good friend of Abadjiev) was drastically different from my programming while I was training in Ireland.
It had a higher frequency and higher intensity.
The Training Plan (Click photo to see larger version)
It was by no means harder, but it was different. For example I usually trained Back Squats much more often than I trained Front Squats.
The theory was that I had weak quad strength relative to my posterior chain strength so needed to increase the amount of Front Squats and stop doing Back Squats like a mad man.
While a good theory I got a lot weaker and it felt like I had a knife stabbing into knees every time I performed a lift.
BTW how did you get the connection to lift in Poland?
Kevin D’Arcy an Irish weightlifter went to Poland before the 2008 Olympics and made friends with a lifter named Pawel Nadjek. April 2012 I asked Kevin if I could get in contact with Pawel, so he sent Pawel my youtube videos.
He was impressed with my lifts but not my technique so he gave me advice and that’s how it all started.
Here is a video of Clarence training in Poland.
The increase in frequency really damaged my tendons I knew at that point I definitely needed surgical intervention instead of trying to solve the problem with physio.
September – October: I competed in the 2013 European Junior Championships.
When I was over there I just wanted to go home, play video games, get surgery and then slowly go back to training. But while I was over there I decided to try my best.
My knees were in so much pain at this time that I needed an anesthetic injection into both knees before the competition. This was a bad idea at the time as it gave me a false sense of well being and further damaged my knees.
I could barely walk after the competition. Afterward, I flew back to Ireland to rest and get surgery.
You mentioned 10 Front Squat sessions per week. Can you go into some detail about the training Poland? Like how heavy did they want you to go on the Front Squats? Other things you didn’t like there? Or maybe there were things you did like?
Front Squats were actually light and every set composed of singles. In the morning, I front squatted around 150kg for the first couple of weeks and this didn’t increase that much during the time I spent there. In the evenings, I went heavier up to around 170-180 Fridays I went to the max (all this can be seen in the terrible jpeg image above).
The coaches wanted me to improve my form instead of increasing weight as I mentioned above they wanted me to increase the strength of quads.
The program had no assistance exercises written down, but we all did some after training, but it wasn’t encouraged. For example, I did weighted sit ups and some upper body exercises.
In my opinion, this program isn’t suited for youth or junior weightlifters. Youth and Junior weightlifters need to do more volume because with an increase in reps there is always a decrease in weight which is safer on the joints.
This program is only designed for top level lifters that have had years of experience with weightlifting technique. It’s a great program but there’s also a risk you’ll end up in the emergency room.
I didn’t like the increased frequency and I think it was the main thing that contributed to more knee pain, my knees were always being subjected to harsh training without rest.
When I was training in Ireland I had more rest between sessions even though they lasted longer and were harder. When you increase the frequency you get more practice with the technique that was the advantage but it affected me negatively.
I suppose that was also one of the things I did like since I was training so often my technique felt like second nature, but at the same time my injured knees prevented me from preforming the lifts correctly.
What treatments did you try before you finally got surgery?
It was recommended by the doctor that I avoid surgery until I try other treatments. Cortisone injections were not recommended. I tried platelet rich plasma injections into both knees this is where they take a sample of your blood, spin it in a centrifuge and inject the platelets into your knee.
Cool! But it didn’t work at all, after this I tried shock wave therapy which felt like someone repeatably smacking my knee with a hammer at high speeds. It was useless for me although there are people that benefit from these treatments.
After these treatments we decided I needed surgery. He gave me an option for a more invasive operation, but didn’t recommend it as he explained it messes with the structure of the tendon which weakens it.
Of course, I choose what he first recommended which was a patella debridement, this is minor surgery and the recovery time is usually 6 weeks.
Here is a video of what that looks like.
Did all go to plan? Are you 100% back to normal?
The surgery did help, but I wouldn’t say my knees are 100% there is still pain, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was.
How long were you out?
The surgery was performed one knee at the time in case it didn’t work (surgery is always avoided as much as possible) so I was out for quite a while and also there was a long waiting time between surgeries but I was fine with that because I needed a break from training.
I started training properly around June 2014.
How was the rehab procedure? When after surgery did you walk again?
The doctors recommended I apply stress to the tendon as soon as I could. Like I said the surgery was just minor, it was only keyhole surgery so I walked a few hours after surgery.
They also recommended I start light training as soon as possible so I squatted 70kg a week after. But by far the best exercise that helped my knee was eccentric Decline Single Leg Squats (on a slant board).
Do you have any nagging injuries at the moment?
Yes, always. I have slight pain in my right elbow, slight pain in my left shoulder and of course a slight pain in my knees. It’s almost impossible to be a great athlete without having some kind of injury.
One of the important things you learn in this sport is how to differentiate between a serious and non-serious injury, when you should rest and when you don’t to rest. I always try to find the source of the problem which can be anything from bad form to muscle/strength imbalances.
How does your training look now?
These days I’m only training 6 times per week and I’m training less hard than I was back in Feb-April 2013. Below is an example of my current training program although this varies quite a lot from week to week. I plan to start doing more heavy singles with Olympic lifts soon.
A typical training these days consists of 3 strength exercises (high volume) and 1 Olympic style lift usually singles. So for example yesterday looked like this (in this order):
and then
When I want to peak for competitions, or focus on Olympic lifts I usually do Snatch and Clean and Jerk in the same session, drop almost all assistance exercises, Bench Press and Pulls.
I also increase the frequency to get more practice with technique, however I don’t like doing this too often because I’m at a greater risk of injury. So a session 1-1.5 months before a competition would look like:
And a few assistance exercises
Usually I don’t even write programs and just auto regulate, I found this is better during some periods of training but not for other periods such as before a competition.
biggest thing that has changed is my attitude towards training
In the past I hated Front Squats (maybe I still do!).
So if I trained without a program I would just end up doing Back Squats. At least when I write a program I always try to finish it no matter what.
But the biggest thing that has changed, is my attitude towards training. Before I thought I could become the best weightlifter in the world by training the hardest
When I was told to do 6 sets I would do 10. Of course, I got diminished returns from this type of training and went backwards instead of forwards.
Right now I only care about the end results instead of focusing on training more than everyone. I’m trying to train as optimal as possible and lift the heaviest weights I’m capable of with the least amount of effort. Obviously training is always going to be hard there is no way around that.
I have always believed the lifter with the highest Sinclair coefficient is the best. I don’t really care about placings in competitions. I’m more interested in getting as strong as I possibly can because that’s all that matters in this sport.
Did you change anything in your training that was the result of the knee injury? Like avoid certain things? Different Technique?
Yes. A misunderstanding around the internet is that I developed tendinitis from ‘dive bombing’ my Back Squats. These kids need to learn what a stretch reflex is. Back Squats actually put the least amount of strain on my knees and helped a lot with rehab.
I injured my knees from training too hard, too often and without any deloads.
Because my knees still hurt slightly I have to avoid doing power variations and Jerks as its at this angle of the squat that hurts the most. I completely dropped doing Power Cleans.
The dip of the Jerk is the most painful movement for my knees and this is why in some of my max Jerk attempts I would just descend in the dip and give up!
See an example of that with a 202.5 Clean & Jerk attempt.
These days it’s possible to perform Jerks with only small bit of pain, but because of the risk of injury I only do the bare minimum to maintain technique.
How often do you Front and Back Squat per week?
I squat every day. I would even do light Squats on off days. I think most people shouldn’t squat every day you have to be conditioned and it only makes a small percent difference anyway compared to squatting 3 times per week.
The only reason I don’t squat 3-5 days per week is because the technique feels foreign to me when I take a day off.
Front Squat to Back Squat Frequency Ratio?
It varies. Pre competition or when I want to focus on getting PRs in the Olympic lifts I would almost completely drop Back Squats and only do it to maintain strength. If I wanted to increase my strength I would do the opposite – almost completely drop Front Squats. Sometimes its 50:50.
I guess people will be very interested in your squatting in general. How heavy do you usually go? Pause vs non-paused?
I go heavy in the Squat 5 times per week and alternate between pause Squats and regular Squats when I feel like it. There’s nothing complicated about what I do. I like the pause squats because there’s less weight, therefore there’s less strain on my body.
The set and rep ranges I like to do: 6×3, 10×3, 10×2, 5×5, 8×1
What about other training details, like what variations do you like most/ least (block/deficit, stuff like that)? What about Presses, Back Extensions, smaller stuff like that?
I always keep training simple and stick to the basics.
The only compound movements I do are: Snatch, Clean and jerk, Back Squat, Front Squat, Deadlift, Clean Pulls, Snatch Pulls (deficit), Hang Snatch, Pause Back Squat and Bench press.
I don’t bother doing block work, but that doesn’t mean I think they’re useless. I just think there’s no point in over complicating training.
For injury prevention I do: Weighted Sit Ups, Rear Delt Flyes, Back Extensions, Glute Ham Raises, Skull Crushers, Shoulder Raises, Bicep Curls and maybe a few more, but I usually stick to these 6. I always use progressive overload even in these small movements.
Talk a bit about some of the post surgery training?
During my time off I still trained just to maintain muscle mass, practice technique and maintain the strength of my joints and tendons.
Surprisingly I still managed to maintain most of my muscle mass and technique. My strength dropped very quickly, but I also gained back my strength very quickly once I started lifting heavy.
For example, I trained only 2-3 times per week with each session lasting around 40 minutes. During a typical session I would do Front Squats or Back Squats at 50% 3×2, Snatch or Clean and Jerk at 50% 3×1 and a few assistance exercises.
After 7-8 months of rest, I slowly increased the volume and intensity, starting training at 4 days per week and eventually lifting 6-7 days a week.
I didn’t do a lot of Olympic lifts, instead I focused on strength because that’s what I lacked. I hit 140/180 and 210 in the Front Squat very quickly but after that progress slowed down quite a bit so I had to up the intensity.
Okay and what are you aiming for in the next 2, 6 and 12 months?
I don’t really have any goals and I don’t really focus on the future. To be honest I’m more concerned about my next training session.
Many people want to see me compete more often (I only competed around 8 or 9 times) and go to the Olympics, but honestly I never really cared too much about competing.
I enjoy training most of all
I enjoy training most of all and it’s the number one reason I continue to train.
Of course, I will compete eventually to prove I can lift big weights in a competition environment, but right now I’m focusing on getting as strong as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to do this. Any final words?
I just like to give a shout out to Jean from First Pull for giving me advice on technique.
This website needs more views than my 20 second long videos!
Clarence Kennedy Interview 2015 is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Previously in Kazakhstan …
Here is a 290kg Front Squat from Ilya Ilyin’s worlds preparation.
I hope he will upload more of his training PRs, because from what I heard this is not even close to what he ended up Front Squatting before worlds…
See his Progress Tracker here.
Ilya Ilyin 290kg Front Squat is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Hookgrip got his hands on some 2012 Asian Championships footage.
Previously I only posted a couple of clips of Behdad Salimi.
So it’s nice to see how the 85kg guys performed there.
| Pl | Name | Nation | B.W | Gr. | Snatch | C&J | Total | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
| 1 | Moradi Sohrab | IRI | 84.82 | A | 168 | 170 | 1 | 210 | 216 | 1 | 388.0 | ||
| 2 | Rostami Kianoush | IRI | 84.82 | A | 168 | 172 | 2 | 201 | 211 | 2 | 383.0 | ||
| 3 | Sa Jaehyouk | KOR | 80.01 | A | 162 | 167 | 3 | 203 | 3 | 370.0 | |||
(via IWRP)
2012 Asian Weightlifting Championships 85kg w/ Moradi, Rostami, Hyouk is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Persian speakers, the weightlifting world needs your yelp.
If you can help translating / summarizing parts of it, that would be great.
I am sure Behdad has some interesting things to say.
First Summary:
The most important part is that he is asked what was the reason for his bad performance and he replied that he was tired because he performed 3 consecutive heavy events in 45-50 days. That made him tired before worlds because his body did not recover in time.
So he says he was tired for the last competition – which was quite evident if you watched him huffing and puffing. He says he was disappointed with himself because he had achieved great performance figures during his training leading up to the events during the year.
He does not elaborate much but does mention for example that in movement of Clean and Jerk, in the Clean part (not the Jerk) He has reached 270kg – So he is cleaning 270kg well that is how I translate it as.
The most interesting part is when he mentions that Bagheri (his previous coach he had a problem with and left the federation) was a great coach and had he the experience he has now 2 years ago.
He would of tried to sort his differences out with him and accepts he made a mistake by opposing Bagheri. Also another interesting news is that Bagheri has registered for The Weightlifting Federation election as rezazadeh can not run for another 4 years.
Thanks to Randolf for sending this in.
Behdad Salimi TV Interview *Translation Needed* is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Previously in China …
Li Ping’s (53kg, China) still standing 103kg Snatch World Record at the 2010 Asian Games.
She Clean & Jerked 127 here for a 230kg Total.
A year earlier in 2009 at the Chinese National Games she already Snatched 103kg, Clean & Jerked 132kg for a 235kg Total. All above world records at that time.
Thanks to wlift84 for submitting.
More 53kg World Records: Zulfiya Chinshanlo’s 134kg Clean & Jerk.
Li Ping 103kg Snatch World Record at 53kg is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Here’s Lydia Valentin’s 124kg Snatch Almaty 2014 World Championships.
With Kim Unju (North Korea) testing positive this should bump this lift into Bronze medal territory.
For best quality choose 1080p50 in the settings.
(Video also on Facebook and Instagream @atginsta)
More Lydia:
Hookgrip Slow Motion
Lydia Valentin 124kg Snatch Almaty 2014 World Championships is a post by Gregor from All Things Gym.
Previously in Iran …
In May 2014 Behdad Salimi Cleaned 265kg and missed the Jerk.
More:
Behdad Salimi 265kg Clean (Missed Jerk) is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.