Report on Trip to Bulgaria - Philippe Hedrich (1975)

 International Olympic Lifter October 1975

*Full disclosure: I know they kept spelling Ivan Abadjiev's name wrong throughout the entire article - not sure if it was a French to English thing or what, but for historical integrity I left it as printed.

The Quebec Weightlifting Federation, being a little more fortunate than the rest of the provincial associations, were able to send in December of 1974 a group of four lifters and two coaches to Bulgaria to study the training methods and the lifting program of that country. Following is a translation of the report on their experience as given by Philippe Hedrich, a member of the group, and published in the Quebec Newsletter. PARTICIPANTS Athletes: Yves Carignan, 60kg Pierre Charbonneau, 75kg Gabriel Voisard, 82.5kg Claude Hardy, 110kg Coaches: Jules Sylvain Philippe Hedrich Except for a slight delay in leaving Paris for Sofia, the trip Montreal-Paris was made without difficulty. I will not dwell on these unimportant details anymore than on the return trip, since it is my lot to write this report, on the eve of our departure in our “Pliska” hotel room in Sofia. There was six inches of snow and it was still snowing upon our arrival at the Sofia airport at 8:40 pm on Monday, December 16. We were met by Mr. Abadchiev (Edit: Abadjiev is referred in this spelling throughout the piece), the Bulgarian national coach; Mr. Kanelov, his assistant; and Mr. Alexandar Stefanow, the interpreter place at our disposal by the Bulgarian Weightlifting Fed. The latter is a young international commerce student who speaks very good English, a little French, fairly good German and very good Russian. Having arrived at the “Pliska” Hotel which is considered to be a fairly good hotel in Sofia, Mr. Abadchiev immediately concerned himself about our accommodation and having assured us that our supper would be served shortly, informed us that training would start at 10:30 the next day. We had just set foot in the life of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Elite, at least we believe that this was the way the “Elite” does things. I have presented this report under five headings for ease of reference: 1. Organization of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation 2. Recruitment and Training 3. Competitions 4. Different “Elite” groups and their training 5. Middle and long-range aims

1. Organization

The Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation is subsidized, on the one hand directly by the Government, and on the other hand by the benefits accruing from a government controlled lottery called “TOTO” where bets are placed on the outcome of various sports events. 

In Bulgaria, it is there possible to bet on weightlifting competition results, amongst others, and athletes’ photos such as Kolev, Bikov, Todorov, Nikolov, Nurikjan, etc. are prominently displayed in cafes for publicity purposes. 

The Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation is divided into 28 regional communities (in a fashion similar to that of the Bulgarian Government itself.)  Heading the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation is a committee of 71 persons comprising:

a. Regional delegates

b. Coaches

c. Referees

d. A representative appointed by the Ministry of Finance

e. A representative appointed by the Ministry of Education

f. A representative appointed by the Ministry of Public Health

g. A representative appointed by the Communist Party

h. Several other representatives from different organizations (depending on the sports involved)

This committee selects amongst its members, the Executive Committee which consists of 11 persons and is in office for four years (after each Olympic cycle.)  The Executive Committee form sub-committees as follows – 

a. Athletes’ sub-committee (President in office, Kolev)

b. Coaches’ sub-committee (9-11 persons)

This sub-committee’s main task is to attend to methods (methodology) and training programs.  It may, if needed, be assisted by specialists in different fields, e.g.: medical, educational, psychological, etc.  Once a year this sub-committee meets with the full time paid Bulgarian Coaches (there are approximately 120) during a Convention of two to thee weeks’ duration, as required, to update the knowledge of the country’s coaches.

c. Referees sub-committee (9-11 persons) chosen from the Federation’s 71 member committee

c. Medical sub-committees

c. Sub-committees assigned for looking after children (the mandate of the last two sub-committees (d) and (e) will be revised January 1975)

All of the sub-committees meet at least once a month.

The “patron” of the Federation, who in Bulgaria is the Secretary-General (Technical Director) is Mr. Stoev.  His is employed by the Federation, although elected for a 4 year period.  Mr. Stoev has been in office since 1964 (after Tokyo.) He has requested to be relieved of his functions this year but his Federation requested that he complete his term, which he accepted. Mr. Stoev is also Secretary of the European Weightlifting Federation. 

2. Recruitment

There are in 1974, sixty weightlifting clubs in Bulgaria.  They are in fact, “all sports” clubs with weightlifting sections.  The Federation numbers 120 full time coaches and 170 so-called volunteers, all of whom are physical instructors specialized in weightlifting and who do the real recruitment in primary schools. In order to emphasize how these clubs operate and the method of recruitment, let me cite the case of the typical town of Asenovgrad which has a population of 50,000 and is situated 115 miles from Sofia.

Name of Club: Asenovez

It is a “sportsplex” entirely built and subsidized by the Bulgarian Government.  This club can cater to most sports, and has three weightlifting rooms, a medical clinic, a sauna, tennis courts, a chess game room, a projection hall and a rest lounge.

The weightlifting staff consists of three professional coaches and three volunteer physical instructors. The responsibility of the three professional coaches is to train young (and not so young) athletes but not weightlifting.

The young athletes, recruited by the physical instructors, start weightlifting training at about 11 to 12 years of age.  For one year at the rate of three times a week, they train under the supervision of the instructors but the first year is devoted entirely to theoretical and technical work, without real weights (wooden discs on the bars), films and explanations of basic movements.  After a year or more, they begin proper training under professional coaches but lift in proportion to their potential only at about the age of 14 or 15. 

The medical sub-committee is at the present time in co-operation with the Coaches sub-committee carrying out experiments with typical groups, 9 to 10 years old. 

In Bulgaria there are weightlifting classes in sports schools, but this will be covered under the heading dealing with the “Elite.”

The training of the lifters in the clubs is more or less based on that followed by the National Team and the “Elite.”

3. Competitions

Here, I will only deal with competitions at the national or international level and not with those at the regional or club level. 

Teams – Bulgaria has two championship leagues at the level:

“A”League: 19 teams

“B”League: 15 teams

These two leagues take part in three competitions a year: February, June and September.  There are nine men to a team, with a maximum of two per class.  Depending on the group (league), these competitions may last two or three days.  Points are awarded by classes, as follows:

1st in each class – 12 points

2nd “ – 10 points

3rd “ – 8 points

4th “ – 7 points

5th “ – 6 points

6th “ – 5 points

7th “ – 4 points

8th “ – 3 points

9th " – 2 points

10th " – 1 point

The Champion club for the year is that which has scored the most points durin the three competitions. 

At the end of each year the “A” league teams which have placed 9th and 10th transfer to the “B” League and the “B” league teams which have place 1st and 2nd transfer to the “A" league. 

The Juniors also have two leagues of 25 clubs each, the difference being that one league is formed of lifters 18 years of age or less while the other consists of 19 and 20 year old lifters.

An athlete may compete in a higher age group for all of that year, but he may not revert to a lower age class.  These two leagues take part in two competitions, one in April and one in July.  The first ten clubs in each league take part in the “finals” in October or November. 

The winner of the “finals” is determined by adding the points of the members of each club, of the 18 year old group and of the 19 and 20 year old groups, this to prevent the possibility of a club putting its best lifters in the same age group (19 and 20 years old.) 

The winning Junior Club is awarded the “Crystal” Cup. A club that wins the cut three times in five years retains it and an equivalent cup replaces it.  The clubs which place 1st and 2nd in the “A” league and in the Junior Leagues acquire the right to take part in the team competitions abroad. The clubs located near the border may also compete with those of adjoining countries.  The athletes who are members of an “Elite” group or of the National Bulgarian Team, must rejoin their parent clubs for team competitions. 

Individual Championships

The Bulgarian individual Championship, (also regional or club Championships) is divided into 4 age groups:

A. Senior (open)

B. 23 years of age and below (21 to 23)

C. 19 to 20 years of age

D. 18 years of age and younger

An athlete may not take part in two individual championships during the same year. A Junior may take part in a Senior Championship but in that event, he may not compete in the championship for his age group. The participation and qualifying standards for the different classes are as follows:

1. Weight class

2. Master in Sport, Bulgaria

3. Candidate, Master in Sport

4. National Senior Championship

5. Championship, 23 years of age and under

6. Regional Senior Championship

7. Championship, 19 and 20 years of age

8. Championship, 18 years of age and under

To be an Honours, Master-in-sport in Bulgaria one must have placed as follows:

a. First in European Championships

b. In the first three in the World’s Championships

c. In the first four at the Olympic Games

A Bulgarian athlete who qualified as:

a. Master in Sport receives a 15% salary bonus if he works in the sports field

b. Honours, Master in Sport receives a 25% salary bonus under the same circumstances.

An athlete who has qualified as Honours, Master in Sport, may register in any faculty of a Bulgarian university, without having to pass entrance examinations. He may follow the courses at his own speed and write his examinations on request. Athletes under 15 years of age may not compete without the approval of the medical sub-committee. 

The present Bulgarian records are:

4. The “Elite” and Their Training

In Bulgaria, there are 4 weightlifting “Elite” Groups, as follows:

a. Sport schools

b. Juniors

c. 23 years of age and under (national team reserve)

d. National Team

The number of athletes in these groups are, respectively:

a. 8 x 32 athletes

b. 32 athletes

c. 32 to 36 athletes

d. 32 to 36 athletes

At the present time there are in Bulgaria, also about 10 sports who benefit from the advantages offered by the Sports Schools, including weightlifting to be sure, which has 8 classes spread out between the end of primary school courses and the secondary level.  These athletes follow the same programmes as the regular schools, with the exception that half the day is devoted to sports and the academic programme takes into account the requirements for extensive competition training periods. These schools are not under the direct jurisdiction of the Federation but under that of the regions which ensure the attendance of their most promising material. This is a boarding school under state control. The students only return periodically to their families. If a pupil is particularly gifted in sports but has difficulties in his academic studies, he is sent home. 

The directors of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation believe that the achievement of accomplishments in sports cannot be done without high intellectual qualities (!). More often than not, athletes who arrive at a tender age in their schools learn the basics of their sports before doing any serious training 

The training programme for the older athletes is closely related to that of the “Elite” (see training programme.)

Juniors – 16 to 18 years of age: For this age group, there is a single class of 32 students, engaged in secondary studies and preparation for “phy-ed” professorship. This school is located next to the “Diana” residence which houses the National Teams of most of the sports. The Juniors often train with the National Senior Team. 

23 years of age and under (National Team Reserve): The concept for this group is as for the preceding one, except that more time is available for training since most of the participants are students at university level.  As for the National Team, the three main events of the season are the Danube Cup, The European Championships, and the World Championships. 

The National Team – World Champion: The reason for our trip.  We were slightly late on Tuesday morning for the first training session (bus problems.) Around 11, everyone had completed his warm-up and the large machine was already on its way. The Bulgarian National Team normally consists of 36 athletes (4 by weight class). While not luxurious, the training room has 11 platforms (really only two, the remainder being rubber strips to muffle noise caused by the dropping of weights, but the athlete lifts directly from the wooden floor), three fixed squat racks, 7 or 8 pairs of mobile racks, abdominal board, suspension wall ladder, etc.  The room has also at least 25 Olympic bars of which 16 or 18 are “Eleiko” bars, the rest being German “Schnell-Hantle” bars and Polish bars, plus two machines made in Bulgaria and which are still in the prototype stage.  These machines deserve a special paragraph.  

The Bulgarian National Team training schedule is as follows:

The exercises are not necessarily done in the listed order and I only saw two or three athletes doing bench presses during the week that we were there. As you may have already realized the Bulgarian National Weightlifting Team members are full time lifters.  They do no other work except the odd few who devote a few hours a week to studies. They all live in the “Diana” residence and train together. Each day in the training room, there are two coaches, a physiotherapist, and a doctor in attendance. The training pace is fast and with each movement the athletes try to reach their maximum. 

Contrary to our practices, the Bulgarians warm up a lot, then with three or four bars, they immediately try their maximum (sometimes 10 to 15 attempts with maximum load and gradually decrease the load while increasing repetitions.) We were able during our stay, to witness several training attempts at breaking world records (barely missed.) 

Mr. Stoev told me that Nikolov before leaving for the World Champs in September had snatched 180 kg three times during one training session and had jerked 212.5 kg. The world record at that time totalled 385 kg for the 90 kg class.  It is true that a certain Rigert has since surpassed this. 

The current Bulgarian National Team lifters, most of whom were there are: (the performances or titles are official for the 74 season, Olympic champions excluded.)

The three main annual competitions for the Bulgarian National Team are:

1. Danube Cup (April – 10 to 15 days of special preparation)

2. European Championships (June) – 25 days of special preparation

3. World Championship (September) – 25 days of special preparation

During these preparations the athletes train particularly on the control of the Olympic lifts for the first 10 days then attempt anticipated maximum loads. The rest of the time is spent with 90% of maximum loads. 

Mr. Abadchiev explained to us that the main success principles followed by his Federation and the athletes to succeed are:

1. Adaptation of the human being to his environment

2. Provision of a make-shift environment for each sports person, according to their needs

3. Exploration of the potential of the human being with reference to the sport involved

(Edit: I feel like a fourth, highly anabolic principle may be missing from this list)

The Bulgarian athletes have a maximum limit of 6 to 7 competitions per year. 

5. The Machines

The Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation is at present developing electronic equipment especially for weightlifting.  In fact, we were able to try two machines which permit the measurements of

a. The vertical trajectory of the bar to the nearest millimeter

b. The height to which the bar is raised

c. The speed in 1/10 of a second at any moment of the rise of the bar

The engineer who is working on this project has promised to send me details and prospectus to our Federation as soon as the equipment has been fully tested and patented. This same engineer is also working on another project. This is an electronic eye device one of which will be placed in front of each training platform (at least for the “Elite”). After each movement, each athlete can at a glance, read the height and speed at which his lift was done. 

6.  Middle and Long Term Forecast

1975 – 1) open 10 new clubs

             2) 1st sports schools championships

1979 – World Championships – Projection for this event: Competition Centre with 2500 seats (In Sofia) and 4 training rooms for the “Elite” capable of handling 36 athletes each

1990 – Have 50 weightlifting classes in sports schools with 1500 pupils

2000 – Have 120 clubs and 350 full time coaches

Taken from Official Newsletter/Bulletin Officiel-Federation Halterophile Canadienne (Canadian Weightlifting Federation) Volume 5, Number 2

Five, Four, Three, Two, One - Done! - Jim Schmitz (2000)

 MILO March 2000

As I stated in my previous MILO article, “Power Training for the +35-year-old Strength Athlete,” most of us can’t train like Bulgarians or even young weightlifters in their prime. I once coached and trained America’ strongest weightlifters: Patera, Wilhelm, Martinez and Clark, to name a few. Now I’m coaching more lifters past their prime than looking forward to their prime. These strength athletes want and can still lift some really heavy weights, but they must train quite differently. I am going to present here some training principles and programs for the strength athlete who might be past his or her prime or might not have the time, energy, desire, or ability to train long, hard hours, but would still like to be strong, healthy, and lift some pretty heavy weights, just for the fun of it.

Hopefully you already know how to do the Olympic lifts and have some experience and understanding of training and your ability. If you are a beginner, this really isn’t the program for you, but of course, if you want to try it, go ahead. If you are a beginner or making a comeback after a long layoff, then do the basic five exercises, but do them light and for three sets of five reps for one to two weeks.

The program consists of the five best and basic exercises for developing strength and power: snatch (S), clean and jerk (C&J), deadlift (CDL), squat [back squat (BS), front squat (FS)], and bench press (BP). However, included in these exercises are variations, such as high pulls [snatch (SHP), clean (CHP)], power snatches (PS), power cleans (PC), push jerks (PJ), and overhead squats (OHS). You could also do dumbbell bench press (DBP) instead of barbell. There is a lot of room for options, provided you do squats, pulls, and pushes. It’s very important not to do too many exercises or sets and reps. This is quality training at its optimum.

So, here we go: our example weightlifter is 40-years-old, weighs 90 kilos and does 90 snatch, 110 C&J, 140 back squat, 130 front squat, 140 deadlift, and 125 bench press. Let’s also say as a young lifter her did 110 S, 140 C&J, 180 BS, 160 FS, 180 DL, and 150 BP. Now I will outline a four week cycle, light (70%), medium (80%), heavy (90%), and maximum (100%), with three workouts per week. Also, remember I write weight x reps for only one set with that weight, or weight x sets x reps if more than one set with that weight.

*To try and make things easier here’s a key for the exercises abbreviated above:

S – Snatch          C&J – Clean & Jerk         CDL – Deadlift     BS – Back Squat          FS – Front Squat

BP – Bench Press           SHP – Snatch High Pull               CHP – Clean High Pull      

PS – Power Snatch    PC – Power Clean           PJ – Push Jerk      OHS – Overhead Squat            PC&PJ – Power Clean & Power Jerk    P&SS – Power Snatch followed by Squat Snatch on Final Rep 

P&SC – Power Clean followed by Squat Clean on Final Rep

There might be a tendency to want to lift more and do more sets and reps. Resist the temptation to do more; your knees, back and shoulders will appreciate it, big time. If the jumps between weights are too big, then take smaller, more comfortable jumps and add a set or weight at the end, but only do one rep. However, with practice and training you should be able to take the bigger jumps. When you finish the four-week cycle, start over again and adjust your weights where you can. If you are going to compete in a competition, then train light the week before. If you prefer to or you can only do this power strength program twice a week, then do programs A and C, eliminate B, but put B’s bench press workout in program C.

You can vary your exercises depending on how you like to do them, that is, all power snatches, or from the hang or off the blocks or combinations. But stick to the basic five, snatch, clean and jerk, deadlift (high pulls are in the deadlift category), squats, and bench presses (inclines are included here.) I’ve included some combinations such as PC&PJ, which is power clean followed by push jerk, that is one power clean and one push jerk for each rep, or five PC’s and one PJ after the last PC. P&SS and P&SC mean you power the first reps and squat the last rep; a set of five reps is four power followed by one squat.

Also, thoroughly warm up with at least 15 minutes of stretching all your joints and do lots of warm-up lifts with an empty 20-kilo bar. And do plenty of stomach exercises, sit-ups, let raises, crunches, etc.., and do them at the beginning of your workout, right after your stretches. I recommend two sets of 25 sit-ups, followed by side bends and trunk twisting, and then two sets of 25 leg raises.

Cardiovascular exercise, jogging, bicycling, swimming, cardio machines, or whatever should be done on alternate days, not your weightlifting days. Twenty minutes of cardio won’t take away from your strength; more than that might.

If you want to add some weight training (body-building) exercises, do so after you have done the above basic five. Also, follow the same principles as your power training, not too many exercises and sets and reps: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 will work very well. However, for weight training exercises I recommend 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 for sets and reps.

Be very patient, persistent, and conservative in your training and weight selection, and respectable weights and gains will happen. And most important of all your muscles and joints will feel great.

*Photo credit to Bruce Klemens

Summer Training - Bill Starr (1969)

 Strength & Health October 1969

Last evening while I was deeply engrossed in Valentine Michael Smith and his exploit’s in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, the telephone interrupted my journey.  Christi Lou, my answering secretary, said “It’s Jack.”

Jack King and I get together about once a month via the phone to share gossip and to talk training. He had sustained a dandy of a leg injury last fall and through sheer determination and sensible weight training  had moved his lifts back up past their former best.

“How’s the program coming along”, begging his favorite subject.

“That’s why I called. I’m really stuck. Everything is going bad. No zip in the pulls, the squats are hard. Nothing seems to be responding.”

“When is your next meet?” I asked and sent Kimie for some Kool-Aid as I figured I was in for a long conversation.

“I’m not sure, probably some time in October.”

“How long have you been on this program?”

“Since December.”

Often the obvious is evident to everyone but the person involved. Jack was so obviously stale. He needed a change. I remember reading where Gary Cleveland changed his program every six weeks to avoid staleness. I suggested that he switch his program completely – in fact, radically. The following is a summation of our hour-long conversation. The readers can feel fortunate, they get the advice for 50 cents, Jack’s phone bill would keep me Bachtell’s best for month.

Summer training should be fun. During the lifting season the athlete has to be gearing his workouts towards an almost immediate, pressing goal of competing in a contest. When spring hits, the meets invariably stack up with state, district, National Y, Junior National, and Senior National contests all coming within two or three months of each other. Layoffs are impossible at this time. In fact, any let down on a serious training program for the Olympic lifts will have negative consequences at this point in the season.

After the spring flood there generally aren’t any major meets for some four or five months. This allows a time for the athlete to evaluate his schedule and to develop some of his weaker points. A casual visitor in the  York Gym is often confused in July to see the fellows doing chins, one-hand dumbbell snatches, lat machine push-downs, and other seemingly non-related exercises. While the off-season training program should be an enjoyable time, a time where there is virtually no pressure to a make a lift, it is a most essential time in relationship to the lifter’s total yearly plan.

The primary objective in a summer training routine should be conditioning. I should insert here that the same rules hold true for the powerlifters except that they lay back from the heavy poundages in the fall after their national competition. Likewise, those Olympic lifters who made international teams this summer and trained for high level performance right through the summer months will pull back in the fall and begin preparation for the next season.

The modern-day weightlifter actually needs to set up a yearly plan of training, leaving it flexible enough for alterations along the way. A year’s program could be broken down  into various segments, but the one I prefer is 1) conditioning cycle 2) power training 3) Olympic lift training. The summertime, for most, is the ideal time to work the conditioning cycle. It is the months when one can build a strong fitness base for the next nine months.

Again, the primary objective of the summer program is to condition the body, especially the cardiovascular system. The advice I conveyed to Jack is certainly not new, but so often the obvious is easily overlooked, In setting up an off season program, keep two objectives in mind: 1) work the weaker points and 2) strive towards physical fitness. The first can be accomplished with a little common sense. Let us assume that your press is the lagging lift. Then load up on shoulder work for 2-3 months. Include a wide variety of exercises and hammer the weaker muscle groups until they respond. In season this is impossible. Off-season it fits in perfectly. Experiment. Find out if bench presses can help your press. For some they do, while for others they are a waste of time. Work dips, behind-the-neck presses, dumbbell presses, rack presses, all sorts of include presses until you discover what works for your particular body. The same rule applies for the pulling muscles. If the snatch has been your nemesis, be creative and see what might influence a change. Try bent-over rows, flip snatches, one-hand snatches, snatch dead lifts until a formula clicks.

The other objective, to increase total fitness, can also be accomplished. I suggested to Jack that he increase the reps on all of his exercises, doing no less than five on any movement and ten on some. For conditioning, one can work out more often (twice a day if time permits) and move through the exercises more rapidly. One of the best total conditioning exercises is the squat performed in high reps and done as rapidly as possible. Here’s how it works. You will be doing five sets of 10, counting warm-ups, in as short a period of time as possible. Start light for a warm-up (135) and do 10. Now as soon as you can change weights step back in the rack and do the second set with an increased poundage (205). Reload and take a 20-30 second break and do the third set with around 255. Two more sets done as soon as you are able and your pulse rate will be close to 200 and your legs will scream for mercy. Record your time and your top poundage. Next time you do these attempt to increase the top poundage and decrease the time. Twice a week is plenty for this one. Tommy Suggs and I insanely did this one summer and before calling it quits we were up to 360 for 10 for our top weight in less than 7 minutes for 5 sets. We had no trouble keeping up with the York College soccer team that fall. The cardio vascular work is fantastic.

As I mentioned earlier, do some experimenting in the off-season. Try some exercises that may have carryover value that you have always wanted to do. Dr. John Gourgott had a lot of faith in wide-grip chins  with weight to help his pull. Few have used this, but the summer he was in York over half of the team  was draped from the chinning bar. How about one-hand snatches? Not much time for them with a meet a month away, but the summer is great for such things. No guarantee that they will add one pound to your snatch, but there are some European lifters that do quite a few.

It is important to make summer training enjoyable. Choose exercises that you do enjoy (without completely avoiding your weaker points) and train for fun. If you plan to lift for 8 or 10 years, you simply cannot pound your body with the heavy exercises for 12 months out of the year, year in and year out. Don’t pressure yourself for heavier and heavier poundages on any of the lifts you select. Take the gains as they come. Chances are they will come easier by taking the pressure off.

Train as rapidly as possible. Give the heart and lungs a thorough workout. You can get so much done in 45 minutes if you don’t make the training time a social hour. If one were to watch Rick Holbrook go through 4-5 complete exercises in 45 minutes he would certainly realize that Rick is building a superb physical state as well as becoming stronger. Get that pulse rate up over 120 (it’s easy enough to check) and keep it there until you finish.

Include at least one day of running in your off-season program. Two is preferable. One day of running and one day of participation in another sport is better yet. Don Reed and I go to the YMCA at least once a week to chase a paddleball or volleyball. Some like to swim once a week. All well and good. Regardless of your choice, the eye-hand, hand-foot coordination aspects of other sports has its carry over value to weightlifting.

“In summary” I related to my North Carolina water brother “the summer should be used to work the weaker points, to build a solid fitness base, a time of experimentation, and an enjoyable training season.”

Jack, agreeable as always, assured me that he would follow the advice. The theory behind the program is sound and when the big contests come flooding in next spring, the lifters that have taken the time to build a solid foundation in the Summer or Fall will be just a step ahead of their competitors. And I guess that’s really what it’s all about, being a step ahead.

My deed done for the evening I settled back to the adventures of Valentine Michael. Perhaps he would reveal how he put on muscle by just “thinking about it” and save me a heck of a lot of time in the gym this summer. 

Behind the Cuban Curtain - Tommy Kono (1967)

 Strength & Health February 1967

In 1958, Cuba had but 80 active weightlifters. Today they have 13,000 registered active weightlifters with a growing enrollment all the time. This is a tremendous amount of lifters when you consider the fact that Cuba has a population of less than 7 million people in an area slightly larger than South Carolina.

In the recent Central American Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in June of 1966, Cuba won the weightlifting team title by amassing 30 points, one point more than the favored home-town Puerto Rican squad. The well conditioned Cuban team won the team crown despite the fact that their ace heavyweight lifter Verona who had officially totaled over 1,100 was left behind in Cuba for disciplinary action (character building.)

I was especially interested in the training system used by the Cubans so when the chance came to have a brief chat with them prior to judging the middleweight class, I cornered their weightlifting coach Marcelino Del Frade and inquired about their present program for grooming top notch athletes. The story he related and later elaborated on by the delegate and President of the Cuban Weightlifting Federation David Mye at their room in the Olympic village was most enlightening and interesting. I gathered the following story from Del Frade and Moye and pass it on to the readers of Strength and Health magazine.

Cuba is methodically recruiting and developing more weightlifters with an eye toward dominating the sport in future Central American Games. Their long range program is to be able to match strength with the U.S. team and then aim higher for world and Olympic titles.

The campaign to recruit more lifters started in 1958 under the Castro regime. To discourage the immense interest in bodybuilding which did not help to improve the standard of weightlifting and was not developing any new lifters from its ranks, the government under Castro purchased all the gyms one way or another and retained the former owners to instruct ONLY weightlifting.

Between 1961 and 1962 Russia sent to Cuba a total of 250 Olympic sets as a good-will gift and to help encourage the sport. These sets were dispersed all over the island and competition in some type of lifts were held.

In the beginning lifts requiring very little skill were employed in these contests. Lifts such as Squat and Press, or Dead Lift and Jerks were used to interest young adults and teenagers. Gradually the supplementary lifts such as the Squat and Dead Lift were eliminated from the competitions and contests only on the three Olympic lifts were held.

In the meantime thousands of pamphlets on the Olympic lifts and about the sport of weightlifting were printed and distributed among the general public so all the people of Cuba would understand the sport. A “Big Push” was on to educate the Cuban public on the facts of weightlifting and to make it one of the national sports.

To stimulate more interest in the development of the sport and weightlifters the former Russian world’s heavyweight champion Alexi Medvedev spent a period of 3 months in Cuba in 1961 giving clinics and coaching budding future champs. Olympic and world champion Yuri Vlasov was especially flown in to Cuba from Moscow to give demonstrations and exhibitions in various parts of the island.

With the facilities available and the interest created the next step of the Master Plan was a very important one for the development of a powerful weightlifting team. The one important ingredient missing at this point was the availability of good, qualified instructors to groom the vast amount of lifters who were eager to learn the finer points of weightlifting.

The Cuban government, working within a strict budget, employed only a handful of weightlifting instructors and the remaining coaching staff was made up of volunteer instructors. Five of the more talented and knowledgeable men who were better informed about weightlifting techniques were sent to Russia to study under such former world champions and world record holders like Medvedev, Dr. Arcady Vorobiev, chief coach of the Soviet team, and Dr. Roman of the Russian Institute of Physical Education.

After 13 months of intensified schooling in the science of weightlifting in Tbilisi, a “hot bed” for the sport in the Soviet Union, the 5 Cubans of which one was Marcelino Del Frade returned to their native country to disseminate all the knowledge they had acquired to the other coaches and trainers in Cuba.

Through all this work the Cubans now boast of over 100 weightlifting gyms and have over 50 well qualified, full-time, paid weightlifting instructors… and, of course, 13,000 lifters. Because of the great demand and interest in the sport the gyms are also open 24 hours a day!

Despite the fact that weightlifting is enjoying great popularity in Cuba the number one sport is still baseball. But in general sports participation in this Caribbean island is fantastic. The athletic programs take part in municipal meets, then to one of the six regionals and finally to the national championships. The Cuban program for promoting sports run closely parallel to the Russian method in this respect.

In Cuba, as in Russia, there is no such thing as professional athletes. According to the Cuban track and field delegate Ricardo Perez their athletes are never hounded by scouts or tempted with big financial offers to turn professional therefore the athletes can concentrate on developing their potential to the fullest. They compete not for financial gains but because of the love for competition and sport.

One of the phases of their work program was finished with the success of winning the team title in weightlifting at the Central American Games. The next phase might very well be the team title in weightlifting at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, next year.

With an army of 13,000 lifters to choose from and with some of the lifters on the Cuban team at the Central American Games only 20 years of age Cuba has a very solid foundation to build a strong weightlifting team which may threaten the solidarity which the U.S. now enjoys at the Pan American Games. Cuba has already begun planning to dominate the weightlifting event in the 1970 Central American Games which will be held in Panama.

One of the future plans which they mentioned to me was that of inviting some of the best weightlifters from the various countries in the Caribbean area to take part in a contest held on their island to give additional experience to their team. They also hope to have Leonard Zhabotinsky in Cuba for some weightlifting exhibitions.

If Cuba continues to support its weightlifting program they will eventually be a strong contender for some world titles and world records. They may eventually dominate the weightlifting scene on the western hemisphere. All this by an island with a populate of less than 7 million people.

Related to the Cuban system, this podcast with Arthur Chidlovski and Weightlifting House several years ago has a very nice breakdown of how the Soviet system worked for low and mid-level athletes.  Stuff like increased food allowance, etc... kind of set the table for incentives for the Communist bloc athletes. 

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/arthur-chidlovski-weightlifting-was-made-for-communists--43895154

Also, visit Arthur's site as it's a treasure trove of classic weightlifting information.

http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/

Training System of the Japanese Lifters - Kenji Onuma (1968)

Strength & Health November 1968 

They didn't mention this as part of their training, but the forearm muscles on the author have to be huge.  3500 words to just say hard work - sheesh.  Still a nice snapshot in time for the lifting happening in Japan in the mid-late 60's. 

Recent issues of Strength & Health have featured a series of very well written articles on the training systems of the Polish, Hungarian, and Soviet lifters. The readier will notice that the current training methods in these countries are entirely positive in their approach to training. They now train five to six days a week, some of them even twice a day, whereas not a long time ago, such a system was regarded as suicidal not only by ambitious lifters but also by even the most aggressive coaches. Their idea is that if a lifter can train six days a week and recuperate from the effects of the hard training, he will improve faster than when he is training less frequently. They try to build endurance and to “rest positively” by participating in other sports. I believe this positive approach has been responsible for the tremendous improvement the Poles, Hungarians, and Russians have made during the past few years. It makes sense, too, because it is evident that if w had unlimited recuperating power, we would no doubt improve faster by training harder. In fact, the main reason why we try to control the among of training is because we know we would simply burn out if we trained too much. Therefore, what matters most is how to build recuperating power through scientific methods.

But it makes me feel glad and a little proud to know that they are using this positive method of training, for it is just what most of the Japanese lifters, more specifically university and high school students, have been using for quite a long time. No doubt the reader will recall the steady rise the Japanese have made during the past few years, the highlight of which being the 1964 Olympic Games. As of February 1968, they hold five world records as well as many junior world records, and I am sure they will set many more in the future. What is responsible for this remarkable rise of the little fellows from the land of the Rising Sun? (I say remarkable because the Japanese have no state support such as the one we find in some countries.) Is there any secret, one of those mysterious things said to be found in the Orient? No, there is no secret. They have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. Perhaps the only secret behind their methods is the rigorous program under which they have been training for many years. This program is backed with a burning, self-motivated desire to improve. Let me remind the reader here, however, that a lifter must have trained systematically for at least one year before he can condition himself for this kind of hard training, and it may hinder, rather than promote, his progress if he takes up a training system of this sort without proper preparation. With this kind of training, planning becomes very important. Each workout is carefully controlled so that the lifter can get the maximum results and yet not overtrain. Well, the Japanese were using this system at a time when everybody took it for granted that a lifter should not train more than three times a week.

I think I’d better point out here that almost all of the registered lifters in Japan are students or young graduates. In fact, it is not an overstatement to say that the university students support amateur sports in Japan. At any rate, the students are in a particularly favorable position to work out under the program I have described above. Even so, they are distinguished in that they do not waste time. The students know they must improve really fast in order to become an international-caliber lifter within the limited number of years they are at school. As a matter of fact, this was one of the motives that prompted the adoption of the hard training program. Incidentally, I am of the opinion that the United States, with all her tremendous wealth and advanced social conditions, is the only country capable of producing lifters who can compete against those state-subsidized athletes without yielding an inch. The U.S.’s reserve of robust young men is colossal. I have seen so many well-built men in the U.S. of whom I was envious from the lifter’s point of view. There are so many men apparently capable of becoming future world champions. So far as the physique is concerned, the U.S. is the most gifted nation. But let me put it frankly by way of constructive advice. I do not feel this reserve is fully exploited. I do not feel most of the American lifters are training hard enough, or perhaps I should say often enough. As a result, they do not accomplish the maximum they are capable of. Needless to say, “training” does not necessarily mean lifting weights alone. It also includes exercises for flexibility, speed, endurance and so on. The standard of lifting is so high today that it is no longer possible to become a world champion with a take-it-easy training program.

Hiroshi Fukuda at 1964 Olympics

Now then, I will try to give the reader a brief account of how the Japanese lifters train and what the basic ideas of their system are, so that the reader will get some hints on training which may benefit him.

When Bob Hoffman came to Japan back in 1961, he spent one day at our Intercollegiate Meet that was being held in Tokyo. As usual, he sat there for ten hours and enjoyed watching the lifting. What impressed him most was the vast number of lifters competing on the particular day. More than sixty lifters were competing in each of the two classes being held on that day. As a matter of fact, one of the classes, the lightweight, had a little more than eighty entries. He was very much impressed and said to me with a sigh, “Kenji, I wish we had as many lifters in a class back in the States!” The reason why I quote this episode here is to impress the reader just how severe the competition to become a champion in Japan. Let me remind you that this was seven years ago. Now we have more member institutions and naturally more lifters, especially after the 1964 Olympic Games.  The Collegiate Weightlifting Federation has had, therefore, to adopt qualifying totals in order to limit the number of lifters competing in a class. For those who fail to make qualifying totals, we have novice meets which permit any registered lifter to compete in. Anyway, I think competition is one of the most important factors in our system.

Anybody who visits a typical weight-room of a Japanese university will be amazed at the pace training is going on there. The bars have literally no time to gather dust. The lifters form a queue on the platform and wait their turns to lift the bar. As soon as a man returns the bar on the platform, the next man steps out while two other men adjust the weights on the bar. And the waiting men shout to encourage the lifter while the lift is made. There is always a strong sense of common cause. On the floor, others wait in front of the incline-bench or squat racks. They do not waste time. Many college weightlifting clubs have a membership of a hundred or more, and under such circumstance, one cannot afford to fool around or indulge in lengthy conversation between lifts, because one may be skipped over easily and it is quite a long time before the next turn comes around. I hope the reader will not assume we have good gyms over here in Japan. Some of the schools do not have a weight room, and the lifters have to train outdoors summer and winter, rain or shine.

Another thing worthy of special mention is that there is no offseason in Japan so far as weightlifting is concerned. Under the present situation, a young, ambitious lifter is not to lay off completely for, say, a couple of months and then start all over again. He simply cannot afford to do so. Instead, he will train all the year round with continued enthusiasm, although he avoids falling into monotony and staleness. Generally speaking, he prefers taking “positive rest” to laying off completely. Needless, to say, the emphasis at a particular time of the year may be somewhat different from that at another. The intensity of training is controlled according to a year-long schedule. For example, the students train more or less shorter but with heavier weights during the weeks they have annual exams. Also, it so happens that national and collegiate competitions are scattered throughout the year and keep the lifters, particularly the students, busy all the time. Therefore, the students are always prepared for intensive training or competition even though they may take a couple of weeks rest after a big meet. They have to. We in Japan encourage young lifters to enter sufficient number of competitions every year for maximum development and improvement. Under normal conditions, the college lifters, for instance, enter an average of ten competitions in a year, with perhaps three important “peak” competitions. A typical annual schedule will be as follows:

February or March – Record tryout*

May or June – Intercollegiate Meet*

June or July – National Championships

August – World Championships tryout. National Industrial Championships (for working men, exclusive of students)

September – World Championships

October – National Athletic Meet

November – Collegiate Championships*

December – Collegiate Novice Meet*

(* Denotes events sponsored by the National Collegiate Federation.)

Besides all such competitions, a few schools have inter-school tournaments with others. Most of the students will also lift in local competitions, often to qualify for nationals or national athletic meet. Moreover, they must train even harder during the pre-Olympic and Olympic years for, like in other countries, they must not only lift well in most of the major competitions during these years (in order to remain on the list of favorites), but also qualify at the final tryout.

I feel I must point out one more thing in connection with college lifters. Most universities provide the athletes, particularly those in team sports, with special dorms where they can stay so long as they hold membership in the varsity athletic clubs. Lifters are no exception. Some of such dorms are exclusively for lifters and even have a weight room within the building. Moreover, the dorms in most cases provide food at low prices. To say the least, the dorms are a privilege and advantage because, besides many other things, they provide the lifters with an ideal opportunity to live weightlifting. According to Bob Hoffman, to live weightlifting is indispensable if you want to lift really well. Outside of the communist bloc, the Japanese college lifters are, it seems to me, the only group of lifters who want and can afford to live weightlifting. Especially the younger men benefit greatly from living with more experiences international lifters. To live with topflight lifters enables the younger ones to absorb training ideas, to learn about the psychological aspect of competition or about preparations for a big competition. It would be much harder, if not impossible to learn these things if they did not live under the same roof.

By now the reader may have come to the conclusion that we in Japan have access to every desirable thing. On the contrary, we do have shortcomings and disadvantages. For example, none of the universities has a paid, full-time coach. Traditionally, a graduate who in most cases is or was a lifter looks after the students as coach on a voluntary basis. And this of course means a large sacrifice on the part of the graduate who has a job to support his family. It is therefore quire natural that he cannot come to the weight-room frequently during the normal training hours, usually from two through six p.m. Even so, one must take advantage of a disadvantage. With the advice of coaches and fellow lifters, the college lifters learn the techniques that befit them best and the proper quantity of training faster than when they are under constant supervision of their coaches. In other words, they are independent lifters when they succeed in making national team and can take care of themselves to a large extent, if not perfectly. Another example is the lack of well equipped gyms such as those we can find all over the United States. As I said before, some schools do not even have a weight room and the lifters have to train in the open air. Others have old, bent bars and worn out platforms. Some have to share the floor with other sports clubs which are not necessarily quiet. This reminds me of a scene at the basement weight room of Meiji University where Tony Garcy and Isaac Berger had a workout during their stay in Tokyo for the 1963 little Olympics. When we arrived there, the gym was being shared by the lifters and Kendo-ka’s or fencers in martial fencing. Fencers raised such a tremendous chorus of kiai (shouts) as they practiced that we could not hear each other. Tony and Isaac were amazed and even Bob shook his head, but the Meiji lifters kept on training undisturbed because they had been accustomed to the environment. Men like Ichinoseki, Myake and Ouchi, three of our current or former world record holders, trained in the open air during their college days, and Meiji has produced many international lifters from its noisy basement weight room. Let me give the reader an idea of how hard the Japanese college lifters train despite such handicaps. At Hosei University’s Weightlifting Club – whose proud products include the Myake brothers, Ichinoseke, and Ouchi – the lifters train outdoors simply because there is no indoor weight room. There they tackle the barbells one after another until the onlooker gets sick of the flying mass of steel. I have seen them practice cleans one day. When one of them failed to clean a weight, others encouraged him to try again and again. After a few futile tries, the senior students had him perform ten deadlifts with the weight. They called, ten, but he ended with 25 reps of grueling deadlifts. I do not mean to say that I accept this method as ideal or scientific. On the contrary, I feel such a method may prove dangerous to some people. What I want to stress here is the burning desire and energy which the Japanese college lifters train.

At Meiji, Bob Hoffman was deeply impressed by the way the fencers and karate men trained down in the basement gym. In both instances, I noticed the coaches and the seniors handled the pupils strictly and in some cases even roughly. But, when they train, they feel this is the most effective way in martial arts for they would learn faster and deeper so to speak because of this serious atmosphere. After all they feel sports is no play, and if someone cannot stand such hardships, he might not be able to stand hard training of any sort, to say nothing of life’s hardships. Similar philosophy underlies the coaching and training methods of some varsity weightlifting clubs. This is another factor I feel I must point out when I give the reader an account of the training methods and approach to lifting of the Japanese lifters. Evan kiai is not mere desperate cries. It is an occasional outburst of the athlete’s controlled mental energy which prepares him for the task he is determined to achieve. More often than not a lifter can reach the stage where he can control his mind almost as an enlightened Zen priest. This is a strong support of Japanese sports, and it is especially characteristic  of weightlifting. Because of this serious approach to training, nobody can afford to fool around while training if he wants to be anybody. Nobody talks while training, but concentrates on his lifting. Often the lifters walk around between lifts so that they can keep moving. Walking not only keeps them warm but also helps deepen the concentration. Of course most of the lifters are ordinary young men even though they are dedicated lifters, and it is quite natural that they joke or fool around in other phases of life. But not while training.

Speaking of young lifters, I want to explain further about the regular training camps organized for them every year. In Japan there are two major vacations at the end of spring and winter terms, each lasting for about two months. During each vacation, every school or university weightlifting club organizes a training camp for its lifters. Such a training camp usually runs for anywhere from ten days to two weeks, during which the lifters literally live weightlifting. Sometimes it may be moved out of the campus for a suitable campsite. This is especially true of summer camp, for most cities are just terrible because of heat and humidity. Regardless of whether they train in the city or in the suburbs, the lifters usually return to the campus in great shape. Besides these vacation camps, the varsity clubs may organize a couple more before important competitions such as intercollegiate meet. Then they usually train after attending class but live together. The only disadvantage of this seemingly wonderful system is that the students have to pay camp expenses, while a part is borne by the varsity clubs. Often the club members work part-time in order to save up enough camp funds.

When the lifters are invited to training camp – normally two weeks long – sponsored by the Japanese Weightlifting Association in preparation for the Olympic Games or world championships, or just to give incentive to younger lifters, they do not have to pay because the expenses are borne by the association. This is another incentive to young lifters. They feel it is not only a pleasure but also an honor and a privilege to be selected among those who are invited to the camp. I believe the Japanese lifters benefit greatly from the various kinds of training camps that are thus made available to them frequently. Training camp provides the young lifters with excellent opportunities to watch top-flight lifters in action and to get firsthand experience on their training methods. In this sense, I want to congratulate the AAU Weightlifting Committee for having insight to launch the Olympic Weightlifting training camp program recently. Although it may take some time, I am sure this effort will bear fruit in plenty in not too distant future.

The last but not the lease important factor in the Japanese system is international experience. Whenever possible, we try to provide our young lifters with opportunities to get international experience by sending them to World Championships and other international competitions. Needless to say, we send our best lifters to world competitions, but we don’t forget to give incentive to younger, rising lifters either. Taking advantage of every opportunity available, we try to have two teams participate in two or more different international competitions. In such a case, one team comprises our best lifters and another is usually made up of young promising lifters. Sometimes we include a couple of young hopefuls in our national team along with top lifters. I can say without hesitation that the high standard of lifting in Japan today is an important direct outcome of our participation in international competitions during the past decade. As the reader will recall, Japan sent only one lifter to the Helsinki Olympics for the first time. Then a team of five lifters was sent to Melbourne in 1956. But it had taken four years before Japan next participated in world competition. However, those who participated in the 1956 Olympic Games made such improvement during these four years as to justify the value of international experience. It was realized that they had not only benefited from their experience at the Games but also given a favorable incentive to other ambitious lifters. Ever since 1960, therefore, we have been sending a 7-man team to world competitions every year, and this effort has paid off well. Without reliable heavier lifters, we can now place among top three or four nations in team standing at world competitions. And the Japanese hold five world records. The rise of the Japanese in  international standing, in the final analysis, is thus attributable at the very least to a great degree to the hard training of the Japanese, the training camp program, and the international competition program Japan has adopted.

Masashi Ouchi at 1964 Olympics

Squatting for the Olympic Lifter - Tommy Suggs (1970)

 Strength & Health October 1970

The gym was a beehive of activity as quite a few members of the local high school football team were doing a bomb-blitz-type program in order to be ready for the upcoming pre-season practice. I noticed Charlie over on the lifting platform offering advice to the young trainees.

“Coaching now, huh?”

“Oh, not really. A few fellows were asking me about full squats for football.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Not much, since I don’t know that much. I told them that I do squats and haven’t had any problems with my knees. That seems to be their greatest concern. What should I tell them?”

“Well Charlie, since it’s obvious that many of the younger fellows coming in here will be turning to you for some sound advice, perhaps I’d better give you some information on which to base your suggestions.”

“Good idea, I hate to be left without an answer.”

“I bet you do.” He sat down on the incline bench and gave me his full attention. “The full squat has been under attack ever since Dr. K.K. Klein wrote his piece of research in the early ‘60’s. Doctor Klein said, simply, that full squats stretched the ligaments and tendons around the knee joint and made that joint more susceptible to injury, especially in contact sports.”

“Wow, and I’ve been having these guys do them.”

“Hold your horses, I’m not finished. Later research has contradicted this study. It has been found that full squats, when performed correctly, actually prevent knee injuries.”

“How can two pieces of research prove opposite points?”

“There is a lot more to research than merely reporting facts. There is always a certain amount of bias influencing any study, plus there are weak points in any study that other researchers can pick up and refute.”

“Which piece of evidence do you go by?”

“I base my ideas on the full squats more on what experienced coaches tell me. They have shown, as have weightlifters, that full squats are safe if they are done correctly. In fact, they can be helpful in preventing knee injuries.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but I guess I must. Am I doing my squats correctly?”

“As I haven’t watched you squat for a week or two, I’ll wait till I see you do them today before I answer that. Today is a squat day, isn’t it?”

“As a matter of fact, I have two more sets of hi-pulls  and then I’ll be ready.”

“Fine. I have a phone call to make and then I’ll skip right back and watch you.”

As I got back to the platform Charlie had set the bar on the power rack at shoulder height and had loaded it to 125.

“Ready to observe?”

“Ready”

He took the bar off the rack, puffed a few times and dipped to parallel. He came up quickly, puffed, and did four more similar movements. He looked over at me hopefully. “Okay?”

“Nope.”

With a disgusted expression, he took off his belt and sat down beside me.

“Who taught you to squat like that?” I asked.

“Joe Dobbs.”

Joe Dobbs is a linebacker on a pro football team. He trains with us just before summer camp. He weighs 265 and could hunt bear with a switch. Most of the fellows follow him around like puppy dogs listening to his grid-iron war stories.

“No reflection on Joe, but Joe is a football player an you are training to be an Olympic lifter.”

“So, we both need leg strength, right?” Charlie had a point and knew it so continued to push it across. “If he is getting his legs stronger with this style, then I should be able to do the same. Tell me that’s not true.” He sat back, crossed his arms and looked extremely content.

“Charlie, you will get your legs stronger doing squats like Joe Dobbs, but Joe does not need strength in exactly the same areas as you do.”

He unfolded his arms. “Explain.”

“In order for you, or any Olympic lifter to recover from a deep squat clean or squat snatch you have to have thigh and gluteus strength to bring you out of a rock bottom position. You never touch that position with your half squats that you are doing now. Also, you have your feet very wide. This throws the stress more on the lower back than on the legs. This is an area that the Olympic lifter works with other exercises. The reason he does squats is to strengthen the legs, not the back.”

Charlie looked a bit puzzled. “Then why does Joe do them that way?”

“Because he was taught that way when full squats were taboo. Besides, he is getting sufficient leg work for his sport. Joe Dobbs never, or almost never, comes out of a full squat position with a barbell loaded to twice his bodyweight on his chest – like lifters do. I might add that Joe would be far better off doing full squats, but he has been quite successful with his program so isn’t too keen on changing.”

“Go over what I should do again.”
“Step-by-step. First, set the bar high on the back, above the traps so that the legs will be doing the bulk of the work. Second, set the feet in a stance that you assume when you squat clean a weight. If your feet hit fairly wide at the bottom of the clean do your squats from that stance. You want them to relate as closely as possible to the lift itself. Third, go down slowly and do not rebound at the bottom, then come up as rapidly as possible. This is the key to protecting the knees. Rebounding is the culprit when it comes to injuring the knees.”

“Then I shouldn’t bounce? I can do more that way.”

“Perhaps you can’t now, but I can assure you that if you begin stopping at the bottom you will be able to do much more in no time. And you will never have to worry about hurting the knees.”

“How long should I pause at the bottom?”

“Just a dead stop is sufficient. Also, you should stay solid and tight at the bottom, don’t relax.”

“What else did you see?”
“You don’t need to huff and puff so much for each rep. If you were knocking out 10-20 reps it would be different, but you are only doing fives. Take a breath at the start of the squat, hold it while you go down and up, then exhale and inhale again.”

“I’m going to start over. Stay and watch!”

“Certainly”

This time he set the bar high on his back, set his feet slightly wider than shoulder width with his toes pointed slightly outward, took a breath, went to the bottom, stopped and came back erect. He shot a quick glance over and asked, “That better?”

“Much better. Try and look up a little more next rep. it helps to keep the back flat.”

He knocked out four more reps, loaded the bar to 150 and sat down on the incline bench.

“Well Charlie,” I asked. “how did those feel?”

“Fine. I just hope that I don’t drop the weight back too much.”

“I don’t think that you will. Anyway it’s more important to work the Olympic lifting muscles than just to handle big weights. I would rather have you doing five deep squats with 225 for 5 than 275 for 5 in the manner you were just doing them. This way we know how strong you legs really are. This is not the case in the half squats as the back does most of the work. How are your front squats coming along?”

“Not too good I’m afraid.”

“I’m not surprised. The half squats were not getting to the gluteus and that’s an important area in front squatting. The front squats will pick up once you get the back squats going in this style. You should have an almost identical body position for the front and the back squats. The only difference being the bar sets on the chest for one and on the back for the other.”

“Why do we bother with fronts?”

“Basically for positioning for the squat clean. Also they work the legs and glutes in a little different angle. The best way to check pure leg strength is with a front squat. The foreign lifters never ask ‘what can you squat’, but rather ‘what can you front squat.’ I once saw a lifter, who held the American record in the squat with well over 500 pounds get pinned with a 325 squat clean. That’s why we do front squats once a week.”

Charlie was attentively shaking his head and I saw that he had heard enough for one day. He jumped up, “Well I better finish these up. I have a date.”

“Sure, didn’t mean to hold you up. See how your legs feel tomorrow. I would venture to guess that they would be a little sore, indicating that you worked some new muscles today.”

“Oh, great. Nothing like some new sore spots.”

“All part of our happy sport, Charlie. You’ll learn to love soreness as time goes on.”

“Don’t count on that.”