Voodoo Weightlifting

In 2024, we asked legendary 🇮🇹 Italian Weightlifting coach, Dino Marcuz:
If there’s one message he could give to every aspiring Weightlifting coach, what would it be?

Dino’s Answer:
“Be passionate about what you do, keep at it with love and passion.
There is having a profession, and being a professional.

Having a profession is about getting paid.

A professional does it because they love it.

Loving what you do is key.”

🟣🟣🟣

This footage is from October 2022 in Pordenone, Italy.

is a Weightlifting powerhouse that started in the 1960s, and produced multiple Olympians (Most recently Olympic bronze medallist Mirko Zanni).

Coach Dino Marcuz, nicknamed ‘the Soul of Pordenone Weightlifting’, is 77 years old and still coming to the gym every day to work with athletes. He’s been involved in the sport longer than most of us have been alive.

🟣🟣🟣

Realize there’s so much footage that hasn’t seen the light of day, coming up with a plan on how and when to release it all.
Repost if you think people should hear this advice!

57.5 kg (126 lb) Sn**ch from Sibby Flowers (44 kg) 🇺🇸 at the 1989 Women’s World Championships in Manchester

Sibby holds the American Records in the 44 kg Class with a 67.5 kg Sn**ch and 85 kg Clean and Jerk.

Sibby was a lifter (the lineage we come from). She is one of the pioneers of Women’s Weightlifting one of Coffee’s first internationally competitive lifter.

It is often thought that to hit heavy lifts in a meet, you HAVE to hit those same heavy lifts over and over in training. If training and the body permits, this makes complete sense. However, there may be times where a different approach is necessary.

There were instances John Coffee never had his lifters hit their openers in a training cycle until the actual competition. (John mentioned at least one instance this occurred with Sibby).

This wasn’t typical, but when his lifters were recovering from an injury, pregnancy, or layoff it made more sense to only hit the lifts when needed.

With the right amount of self confidence in a lifter, the best lifting will be performed the day of the meet.

There are certainly many ways to approach a meet (which are just as successful) but it’s not set in stone that you HAVE to hit your contest numbers in training, particularly when coming back from an injury or some other life circumstances.

What is an ‘Assistance Exercise’?

It’s in the name; it is an exercise intended to ‘assist’ in improving the classic lifts.
In Weightlifting, it typically is limited to variations of the classic lifts that mimic the position and timing of the lifts. 

They can improve the technique of the lift, overall strength & power to translate to improving the lifts, or to prevent injury when performing the lifts.

A specific weakness or error in one phase of the lift can be corrected by practicing the segment of the lift that it’s present.

Assistance exercises can also be used to provide variety in a training program, or to break monotony.

Some examples are: Power, Hang, and partial versions of the lifts and lifts done with a different grip.
The classic lifts themselves performed in a slightly different manner can also be an assistance exercise, such as lifts with a pause or different tempo.

Note that they are a means to an end and not an end in themselves.

Repost this if you found it helpful!

Looking for a custom program?

Our Competitor’s Program is for competitive athletes, whether you are looking to compete in Weightlifting, CrossFit, or another sport.

Standalone training programs are available for Weightlifting, and Supplemental training programs are available for CrossFitters who just need some extra practice on the Olympic lifts.

For rates and more info go to the link in our bio and click ‘Competitor’s Program’ to fill out the form! We will reach out to you and will give you details. Looking forward to working with you!

🏋️‍♀️: 🇦🇹

**ch

Mária Takács (HUN, 67.5 kg) 🇭🇺 Split Sn**ching 87.5 kg (192 lb) en route to taking 2nd at the 1989 Women’s World Championships in Manchester.

Don’t really see Split Sn**ches at the World Championships anymore (though didn’t one Swedish lifter split sn**ch at worlds 6-7 years ago?). History has shown that Squat Sn**ching is the most viable style (and no, CrossFitters didn’t invent the term!)

Mária competed in the 1st Women’s Worlds in 1989, medalling in every worlds from 1989 to 1998. If our data is correct, she has earned more medals at the World Championships than any other woman.

How many athletes have you seen Split Sn**ch or Clean in person? And where is our Hungarian following at??

Here’s where these lifters stand!

Cat 🐈 or Dog? 🐕

What’s your choice?
Let us know in the comments

Paul Anderson 🇺🇸 presses 182.5 kg (402.5 lb) at the USA vs. USSR Weightlifting competition in Moscow, Russia (1955)

The US Team traveled to Russia for the first time during the Cold War to compete. The Clean & Press world record at the time was 172.5 kg (380 lb).

To quote narrator Bud Palmer:
“The Russians snickered as Anderson gripped the bar, which was set at 402.5 pounds, an unheard-of lift.

But their snickers quickly changed to awe and all-out cheers as up went the bar and Anderson lifted the heaviest weight overhead of any human in history.”

Footage from: PAUL ANDERSON - THE STRONGEST MAN IN RECORDED HISTORY

Repost this if you were imPRESSed by this lift!
(Get it? Press)