What Weightlifters Can Learn From Powerlifters

Proper balance in the feet, core tightness, and control in the back squat.

Yasha's Article

Music:
Julian Calor - Arrived In Paradise (Free Download)

[CanditoTrainingHQ]

Fancy seeing David Woolson aka the strongest sumo puller on the planet with sub 5k IG followers. 2 worlds colliding unexpectedly. Noice.

[liquidoxygen]

I deeply enjoy everything: weightlifting, powerlifting, strongman, bodybuilding, etc. Hell, even calisthenics

[EstParum]

.."treat the back squat like the accesory it is"...
*Music scratches to a stop*
*Chalk powder swirls like snow*
*Knee wraps become undone*

[Fake--Natty]

Very well said. Back squat for weightlifting is mainly a non-specific exercise geared towards improved strength (mostly of legs and hips) that can be then translated (demonstrated) into power when doing competition lifts.

Ps. It is quite amusing that in powerlifting the actual "power" component is negligible, despite the name rate of force production doesn't matter. A lift can take a couple seconds but as long as you lock it out it counts. However in weightlifting the power is crucial, you cannot successfully perform comp lifts slowly.

[Azazel]

Fun fact: when you watch every attempt of every Polish weightlifter ever, whether that was Dolega, Kolecki, Zielinski, or anyone else, you would often hear "shteevno" (sztywno), which means: "tight". That's one of the most common cues used, ever, at least in our programming/coaching.

You can also see that Kolecki was squatting low bar when he was older. It's not a perfect movement for weightlifting, but it did the job: it kept him strong, while his injuries made it impossible for him to squat high bar.

[intthept]

There's never a reason not to listen to pantera.

[DavidTPerkins]

That brand new Clarence 290 you put up near the end is terrifying. Looks like it could be the first rep of a set of five.

[InnerCrapra]

>tfw you recognise @Clarence0 INSTANTANEOUSLY @1:57

[ThePixelsParadox]

not sure if you’ve done it so far, but you say the bulgarian method is misunderstood. would you be willing to make a video to go in depth on it to clarify how to go about it properly?

[GoHbsGo]

Hey man I don't even do olympic weightlifting, just a regular PPL strength program, but I still enjoy your videos a lot. Good work!

[ryanwann]

New to your channel. Excellent stuff and I’m enjoying the unbiased perspective. You seem to be taking the best from all strength worlds and utilizing them with no personal bias. Thanks.

[BenjaminKuruga]

"Proper pharmacologist" Indeed. This makes a big difference. hehe

[rorydoyle]

This channel should have way more subscribers !

[robertoswald]

Hey Zach, the way you direct your videos is awesome. The music and narration combo make it very hard NOT to listen to everything you have to say. Keep it up.

[chrismoore]

Love it. Your videos are so relevant.

[davidprendergast]

Keep up the good work. Your content is great. You could easily have 50k + subscribers before 2018 is finished. I'd love to see a video on your thoughts around progress relative to time for both lifts. for example what someone with decent snatch technique and a good training regime currently hitting a Max effort of 70kg, could potentially expect to be lifting in 6 or 12 months time. Conscious that no two lifters are the same but some insight around this would be great! 👍

[aronfridrik]

You probably couldn't have found a raw squatter that squats more differently than oly lifters then David! His hip strength is just amazing. His overall strength is of course ridiculous. My femurs would leave the hip socket instantly if I'd squat like that.

[thejeffreyguy]

Love your content, Zack. I was wondering if you could make a video further discussing jumping backwards and possible drills we could do to prevent it?

[jackn]

Great video. But I think you're misunderstanding the concept of specificity (and I'm well aware that I'm punching above my weight here, being an anonymous YouTube commenter with no lifting videos on my channel). We don't need to "take specificity with a grain of salt." When it comes to something like the back squat, depending on the setting you use it in, it's the most specific exercise. If your goal is general hypertrophy or strength of the legs, then back squatting is among the most specific things you can do; it doesn't deviate one inch away from specificity. If your goal is to take that strength and hypertrophy and teach your nervous system to use it to improve weightlifting performance, or to strengthen the positions in the clean, then the back squat is not specific and the front squat would be a better choice. Just like we wouldn't use front squats as a primary tool for the former goal, we wouldn't use back squats for the latter.
Specificity doesn't necessarily mean "always doing that which looks the most like your sport." It means choosing the training modalities that best accomplish one's current goal. So the back squat, for a weightlifter, at different times, can be the most specific exercise or the least specific exercise.

[rajandhillon]

Would contolling the eccentric on the bench press in a similar manner you are explaining in the video for the squat benefit the same way? In terms of general strength training purposes.