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Lessons from Louie Part 2
Today I read the next 10 pages, and once again I was able to find two awesome nuggets. One quick note before delivering my thoughts, if you read just 10 pages per day, then you would be reading 3650 pages per year. That would be approximately 10 books per year with just a few minutes of reading per day. This is what happens when I drive 6-hours each way to a seminar and overdose on podcasts. Dan Sullivan is the man.
Two areas that most weightlifters neglect are:
• Eccentric work
• Isometric work
Most weightlifters rely on “catching the bounce” whether it is the clean or even performing a back squat. They do little to no tempo work, and that can lead to some major imbalances and weaknesses. Louie mentions that most weightlifters have a tough time lowering themselves down to a low box while performing a back squat. The last few inches are the toughest for most weightlifters, so they just fall to the box. This lack of control can be detrimental for longevity in the sport, and this can cause lifters to lack stability in the catch portions of the snatch or clean.
I am not 100% on box squats, but this does give me a wake up call to program more tempo and/or pause squats. I am not saying that I don’t like box squats. I am just saying that I am not sure. I am calling Louie today to set up a time to visit, go over mutual ideas, and use one of my lifters for some new approaches to training. I will keep all of you up to date with more articles and a podcast when this goes down. I am very excited to work with Louie, and I hope that it leads to some new ideas.
Nugget number two was the lack of isometric training with weightlifters. Heck you could probably say that this is about 90% of all strength athletes. I know that I did very little with this kind of work. However, I definitely program isometric work for my athletes now.
The research definitely shows that isometric strength training will lead to significant increases in strength at the angles being worked and a few degrees above and below the angle. There are two options that appeal to me when it comes to isometric work:
1. If you are weak at a certain angle during the pull or recovery of a lift, then target that angle. I like to use pins to pull or press against to strengthen weaknesses. Bob Hoffman used this method with his weightlifting team several years ago. This became know as the Hoffman Technique.
2. Pauses or pulls against pins at multiple joint angles. Studies show that isometric strength gains occur mainly at the angle being worked. However, this can be overcome by simply pausing at multiple angles. Heck don’t listen to me. Read this article by my friend Bret Contreras to get all the details on isometric training:
http://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/2012/08/21/isometric/
I hope this article sparks some new ideas. I will continue to lay down the nuggets that I discover on the daily from Louie’s book. I will let all of you know when our meeting is to take place. I think that it will be fun and exciting at the least.
Maybe some of you weightlifting coaches are already doing these two methods. If you are, then you are ahead of the curve. However, remember that not all coaches are using these methods. Maybe Louie has nothing to teach you, but there are other coaches that might need his insight. This is just another reason to not bash other people’s work. Let’s all just have fun, learn from each other, and expand the barbell’s reach.
A lot of people in America have talked about the lack of success in weightlifting. Not many people want to put their money and/or time where their mouth is. I won’t stop until I have helped change the sport of weightlifting forever. We’ve already partnered with another company that I can’t mention for various reasons. We are also working with a supplement company and a barbell company for sponsorship. It will happen.
We are still looking for partners in the following ways:
• Become a Mash Affiliate (email affiliates@mashelite.com for more informations)
• Financial Partner
• Identifying foundations and individuals that might be a good fit
• Help with grant writing
• Administrative assistants
Together we will help change American Weightlifting. My passion for change is the very reason that I read books like Louie’s with an open-mind. There has to be a better way. I am not going to use the drug issue as an excuse to continue failing. This is America. Our other sports are succeeding drug free, and so can we.
If you are interested in partnering, email me at: Travis.Mash@mashelite.com
Let’s team up! We need to quit fighting with each other. Instead we need to put our heads together, and get this thing done. I am going to continue reading Louie’s book, and hopefully I will give you different insights than other coaches. Guys and gals always look for the nuggets in things. If you look closely, they are always there.