Garage Blog

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Often times weightlifting coaches and throws coaches alike have asked why I use close grip snatch as a variation.  They want to know where the transfer can be found from the strength side and if there is even a transfer from the technical side of the movement.  Then the never ending question arises….who did I learn the movement from?

As we saw with Hayley, nerves and the mental aspect were the weakest point of her competition in Santo Domingo. Even with this weakness, she was still able to post a fourth place finish in clean and jerk and an 8th place finish overall, contributing to the point system system for next year’s Pan Am Games. So...where can we go with her training?

It is very difficult to approach this meet with high expectations and impressive results. Basically, every athlete involved with the competition should not be focused on this meet as their priority for the yearly block of training. Just about everyone should be focused long term preparation for Junior Worlds or Senior Worlds. On top of those factors, it is very well known that Pan Am competitions are poorly managed, hot, not the greatest living conditions, and generally a poorly executed competition which makes it very difficult to set up for a strong peak.

First, I just want to address what some people have probably already decided based on the title: no, I don’t hate deadlifts. Deadlifts can be an extremely effective tool for increasing strength. I really like deadlifts for a sport like wrestling, where more brute strength is required, and the sport itself is more of a grind. But for now, let’s dig deeper into why I don’t have my athletes deadlift in general.

This is a continuation of my article on lifting from the blocks vs. the hang, but this will focus on how I apply these two variations to my throwers. Since I covered the basics of each position in the previous article in this series, I’ll just dive right in.

One very common question I receive about my programming is, “Is it percentage based?”. The answer is no, I primarily use a technique called autoregulation for planning weights in my programs. In this article, I’ll start to dig into autoregulation a bit and how I implement it with my athletes.

One question we get a lot is “what are the differences between lifts from the blocks (or boxes) and from the hang?”. Although they may look similar, there are some key differences when considering which movement to program. Before we get started, I just want to make it clear that this article is specific to weightlifters, performing a variation of either the snatch or clean! I do program partial lifts for my throwers, but the reasons behind those choices are for another article. So, let’s get into the details here.

Improvement of different training qualities is the most intriguing part behind coaching (in my opinion).  I enjoy studying psychology behind training and motivation and technique and learning new movements but I truly enjoy analyzing the best way to improve various qualities at one time.  Such qualities might be: speed, strength, conditioning and skill.  It is important to analyze each quality, place a value upon each quality and the importance each modality has on the athlete’s success in their given sport.  

Shoulder Strength and Mobility for Injury Prevention I train a lot of Olympic weightlifters, shot putters/discus throwers, wrestlers and swimmers. ...

Recently, I have been dealing with issues around elbow placement in the snatch. I wanted to investigate this issue myself and see what I found. Does the way the elbow faces matter? Is it important in technique