Acquiring Lifting Technique (1933) Author Unknown

 

                                                                 

                                                               From this issue. Vol. III, No. 1, 1933.

                                                                 James Grogan, Charles Treadwell

                                                                  Click the pic to ENLARGE, bozo. 

I'd like to start this one off with the best original poem/joke I've ever worked on to date. THE most important and pleasing thing I've ever written. Okay then: 

I knew a woman nicknamed The Bus. When she wanted to move to doggystyle, she'd smile, wink, and say, "Please move to the rear of The Bus. 

A couple minutes later it was, "Please hold on while The Bus is in motion." 

Non-transit types won't understand. 

Fuck Ya. 

Okay now . . . 

Improvement of the lifting technique is something for which the ambitious lifter must ever strive. I should say that no lifter has as yet achieved the acme in this respect, and what is more, it will probably be a long time before anyone shall reach such point of perfection. 

In view of the standard so are attainted on some records it might be surmised that further progress is almost, if, indeed, not quite impossible, but to venture any such opinion would be tantamount to acknowledgement of your lack of understanding of this fascinating pastime and its true possibilities of advancement. 

Remarkable as many of the great men of the past have seemed, it is no more than a matter of fact to call to mind the startling manner in which the records have been erased and rewritten time and again on those feats in which modern lifters take any degree of pride. 

True, there are certain lifters who have become sidetracked and have been but little practiced by the later generations, so we have no fair means of judging the respective abilities of the older and younger men who have figured so prominently in our sport. 

 

Speaking of technique, reference should be made to the accompanying illustrations, where a high degree of this quality is depicted. Especially so in regards to the two hands snatch, and particularly should be note the two poses of Nathan McCann. 

Note: So many men from the past, fine lifters, are now unknown to us. During this earlier, pre-social media era, the PR/Sales machine was somewhat smaller. There was no soap-opera, near-pro wrestling hooey about a cold sore on Lasha's lip or some Olympian's woes over a house-pet with the sniffles. So, they were forgotten for the most part. A strangely different time, filled with more naivete, less money, and for me, much more interesting people than today's lot of puppy-puppets with the attention span of hummingbirds. King Vitriol, mild version!   

Undeniably, technique of a superior sort is required if one is to squat on the toes in the manner shown by the rear pose, and you may recall that we have already shown you Vogt, famous German champion [who? see what I mean], in  a similar position. 

However, as nifty as this style of lifting may appear to the uninitiated and as much as the ambitious lifter may consider this to be the ultimate in the realization of snatching perfection, it possesses certain outstanding faults which must be understood and carefully weighed before making this your choice of lifting styles. 

On the other hand, the chief disadvantage lies in the precariousness of the position, the balance being most difficult on the toes; even outstanding objection to the low squat method of lifting. 

The next disadvantage pertains to the difficulty in getting up to an erect position with the weight and many otherwise good lifts are spoiled because the athlete finds it an impossibility to stand up once the arms have been straightened. 

From the viewpoint of novelty, there may be nothing to compare with the flashing before the audience of such a style as this . . . 

. . . but when the lifter has a limited number of trials to register his success on the lifts, it may prove wiser to choose and master a style which assurance of a low percentage of failures. 

As concerns the matter of getting the maximum of drop in the snatch, I should say that too little is gained in this respect through use of the squat to compensate for the disadvantages of precariousness and difficulty in getting up with the weight. 

When an efficient split style is employed, the arms as well as the legs are in a position which makes for greater power in completion of the lift, for in comparison with the squat one is enabled to immediately arise on the rebound and the arms and legs may be taught to work in unison as the body is lowered and then again brought to the erect position and while in the squat it becomes necessary to either stop momentarily in order to steady yourself or to limit the poundage in order that a rebound may be possible, no such cessation of the continuity is necessary when the split is properly mastered. 

Though there should be not the slightest doubt in the mind of the reader as to the type of lifting I advise by way of preference, nevertheless, I wish to be frank in saying that one does see rare individuals who make out better on the squat and who must therefore be encouraged to improve themselves in their choice of this style.

 What I wish particularly to discourage is any sort of wholesale adoption of this squatting idea by the general run of young bar bell enthusiasts. 

Improvement in technique in the split style would consist for the most part in mastering a good and efficient rebound so that you might snappily drop under the weight and bounce right back up again to the erect position; which would likewise be true in the squatting style of snatching. And, at the same time we must not lose track of the prime essential of the power you put into the effort of pulling the weight from the floor to the maximum of height which might be necessitated by the style you use. Which causes us to pause long enough to remark that the first essential in your training is, after all, the acquisition of strength which will enable you to handle the limit in poundage. 

Having pulled the weight to the greatest possible height, you must learn to get down as low as possible, by sitting to the lowest possible extent in the squat and by splitting sufficiently wide in the alternate style. 

The speed with which you can pull the bell from the floor and drop into the split determines largely the success you will register, and as well you must cultivate and master the ability to rise immediately. Not only is there an attempt to thus formulate the rules but the utmost in both technique and efficiency demands that this be accomplished.

Among the illustrations above you will note three of young Philippine Islanders, or Filipinos, whom I have found to be the most progressive in the adoption of the latest wrinkles in lifting technique, just as quite apparently they are in the adoption of a progress policy politically [say what?]. 

Mr. Messina is shown snatching in a low squat, but I should think he has failed to pull the weight back sufficiently far and so is most likely to lose the balance of the bell. He certainly has a low position though.

I desire particularly to call the attention of my readers to the two other poses, of B. Lintag starting the two hands military press, and of P. Nieto at the completion of a lift. There is something about the positions of both these young men which commends  them. 

First -- Lintag has his thumbs under the bar in the proper manner for the pressing of your limit and his entire bodily stance could well be copied by a lot of lifters who are primarily interested in acquiring form which would pass officials anywhere.

P. Nieto has been caught in a finishing style which I especially like to see and which is extra good for the military press. In properly centering the body it is necessary for some men to move the body forward in this manner as the arms are extended above the head. Of course, it is possible to keep the bell in front of the body at the finishing position, but this amounts to an unnatural restriction and limits the efficiency of the press. 

Recently I witnessed some official lifting in another part of the country and was amused to see some of the athletes ruled out for finishing a press in this manner. To move the bar back of the head is in no sense an infraction of the rules and in no way can it be said that the rules are violated if if the body moves forward to to center itself under the weight [little did the author know what abominations past were soon to be passed]. 

It would be the most natural thing in the world for the lifter to press in the manner depicted by these two poses, that is, while holding the body as shown by Lintag [who? see what I mean] as the bell passes the face and shifting to the position shown by Pinedo as the lift is completed; it is understood that this shifting of the body does not take place until the very last stage of the press or until just the point where the elbows are locked. 

In performing a correct snatch it is likewise not only desirable but efficient that this finishing position of the body should be assumed, as nothing better assures the safe locking of the weight overhead. There is no need of fear that the weight will fall backwards as the shoulders and arms lock in natural manner to secure the weight in this position.

The ambitious lifter should extend every effort towards throwing the body forward under the bell as he snatches, and especially at the finishing stage. Not only do the arms straighten out more securely but the lift will be more certain to pass the officials. 

What has been said of the snatch applies equally well to cleaning and jerking. Among hundreds of lifters you will run across a wide variety of styles in cleaning and I should say that at least half of the lifters whom you will see in any large representative group will display form that is far from commendable; this does not apply to the athletes whom you might see in the Olympic games or large National or International events, but will be seen to be true among larger numbers of those whom you might rightfully regard as better than average in the game. 

Too many fellows fail to dip sufficiently as the bell is pulled to the chest, relying on the least amount of bend in the knees to aid them in pulling the bell to the chest, relying on the least amount of bend in the knees to aid them in pulling the bell to the chest, a goodly percent of them employing neither a split or squat. 

Even though it should entail exercising at deep knee bends and other leg work calling for complete contractions, over a period of months in order to change the habits respecting use of the legs in raising your weights any bar bell fellow who wants to accomplish anything will do well to lay off actual lifting until he acquires the habit of always lowering the body to the extreme in lifting. 

The rule that applies here, without exception, is that the cleaning, snatching and jerking movements must be performed in an exaggerated manner at all times and the lifter must not spoil himself through the use of light weights which necessitate but slight use of the knees. 

Success on these lifting movements, in other words depends upon getting down under the bell and upon this one objective ALL efforts must be concentrated. 

Very few lifters are so constructed naturally as to be suitably adapted to the full squatting style in cleaning, but regardless of your choice of style be certain to drop to the full extent in cleaning. 

Likewise in jerking the bell to arms' length overhead, the complete drop must be employed if you are to be truly efficient in your efforts and practically all that has been said of the snatch is equally applicable to the jerk.

Let the ambitious fellow first develop the muscle and strength which are so essential and then master his lifts in the most thorough manner and lifting technique of a superior sort will be a reality. 

Enjoy Your Lifting!