Train Like an Athlete – Look Like and Athlete – Olympic Weightlifting for the Masses
I’m a bit late on this, as this happened over a month ago, but Congratulations Sarah on a 4th place finish at Nationals. She hit a 85k snatch, and a 98 clean and jerk for a 183k total!!
Here’s a Youtube video of her kickin’ ass back in 2006. This girl’s on her way to the top.
Some great lifting from cats like Casey Burgener, Natalie Woolfolk, etc. Even a surprise split clean!
But the 24-Hour Fitness banner in the background makes me want to puke. No gym chain in the country has done LESS to help Olympic Weightlifting than 24-hour fitness. When was the last time you saw a lifting platform and bumpers at 24-hour?
62 kilo’s of power!
He’s likely to retire after this coming Olympics. He’s been winding down the last few years, and has been battling injuries. But, there are precious few people around who can give him a run for his money.
Notice the bar with the first lifter in this video. THAT is why these bars cost so much. Can you imagine what would happen if you tried doing that with a power bar?!
As a side note, is it just me, or does the little Turkish dude nearly catch the bar (on his snatch) with the top of his head?
Sage is a 63 kilo Class lifter, and daughter of one of our greatest coaches, Mike Burgener (who has helped me greatly in getting my own club started, thanks Mike!). Notice too how fast she gets under the bar. That is imperative!
How hard does she train? Here’s a hint:
Then back up again:
I’ve been up and down that drive way myself, and let me tell you it’s even steeper than it looks on camera!
More Work:
Watch how Melanie Roach VERY quickly dives under the bar in her clean, then appears stuck. But, she isn’t!! She uses the bounce (a lot of bounces) to get out of the hole and makes a clean lift.
Check out how fast he gets under the clean after his second pull. That’s what I’m talking about!
Two Bulgarians go to Sicily for a Contest. They loose their luggage in route. Forced to train outside in bare feet (though one does wear flip flops for his snatches).
The Moral is, don’t complain too much about what you don’t have. Just train, have fun, and get stronger.
Just a reminder of what we’re all striving for (next contest April 19th!), including Ivanov clean and jerking 175k and Boevski doing a squat with what looks like Jupiter.
