Mike`s Gym Newsletter

Mike’s Gym Newsletter
CASEY BURGENER CLEAN AND JERKS 220 KG, A NEW PERSONAL
RECORD, FOR THE GOLD AT THE PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA.
From the editor:
I cannot believe that this is the 4th issue of the newsletter. Mike Conroy, Joe Dube, and I are having a blast getting you information regarding training, interviews from past stars and just good stuff in general that might interest you and prove helpful in your quest of being a better coach or athlete. In this June issue. I am sure you
will enjoy the interview with one of our great lifters of the past, Mike Karchut of now Dillon, Mt. In addition,
Mike Conroy reports on the Doughtery Brothers from F.I.T in Los Altos, Ca. Jim Moser has added his comments on his extended stay in Columbia and the Columbian weightlifting program. And of course the Iron
Grape-vine information is always a blast to read. I hope you enjoy the newsletter and by all means please send
letters to the editor if there is anything that you might want to comment on.
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The Iron Grape-Vine:
Congratulations to Team USA men and women’s teams who placed 2nd over-all in the Pan American Championships. For individual placement go to: www.usaeightlifting.org website.
June 3-Carissa Gordon and Jason Gump got
married :)
(Chris Polakowski & Leo Totten were Groomsmen and Danica Rue and Inga DeNunzio were
Bridesmaids)
News from Team Ga. Weightlifting Coach, CJ Stockel.
Mike here are the names of coaches who attended the club coaches course this past weekend. . Justin Byers. is
the coach of Union County High school and has about 10 qualified for the school age nationals. He is taking
over for Stan Lutrell who is moving to Chestasee High School. They all will be competing for team ga. We are
growing slowly but by next year I hope to have 8 high schools.
Thanks...Cj
Justin Byers
Kent Campbell
Martels Carter
Kenneth,Cox Jr
Shellie Dodd-Bell
Rusty Grimmett
Harry Heintz
Kristen Kolb
Michele Martin
Jacob Miller
Brandon Millsaps
Ryan Owen
Trace Pate
Steve Patterson
Johnny Reed
David Rhodes
Bill Ripley
Shannon M.Sheesley
Thomas Shipman
Matt Stowers
Rusty Grimmett
Joe Micela writes from Arizona:
Alex Lee, seventeen, of Gilbert High School won the 62 kilogram weight class at this year’s Arizona State
Olympic Weightlifting Championships at Dobson High School in Mesa. Lee has a long list of accomplishments
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in the sport of weightlifting. The two time State Champion is also the state record holder and placed second in
the nation at this years Junior National Championships in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Alex trains under the
coaching of Joe Micela with Performance One Advanced Sports Training.
Lianne Delacruz, twenty-four, originally from Hawaii won the 69 kilogram weight division. She won with a 61
kilo (134.2 lbs) Snatch and 85 kilo (187 lbs) Clean and Jerk. All were personal bests for Lianne on her way to
her first State Championship.
Mikes Gym athletes are training very hard and looking pretty fit. Aimee Anaya has snatched 82 kg and cln
and jerked 100 kg this past week. Connar Ito is preparing for the school age nationals that will be in Detroit,
Mi. Later this month. I think Connar is going to be a great lifter, he is young and will be
entering high school in Sept. Casey Burgener is home visiting and I must say it is fun working with him while
he is here. Ms. B and I are very happy having no. 1 son home. Our last Southern Pacific weightlifting competition was in Newport Harbor, Ca. The following lifters competed and made several personal records:
Gretchen Schumur, 69 kg 55/70
Carla Macdonald, 75 kg 47/50
Evelyn Hernandez, 69 kg 58/75
Mary Timm, 69 kg: 60/73
Aimee Anaya, 63 kg: 80/98
Connar Ito, 62 kg: 59/74
Grady Macdonald, 94 kg: 90/115
Josh Everett, 85 kg: 110/150
Edgar Hernanadez, 105+: 105/146
VERY SAD NEWS!!
Good-bye to all friends!
Ten years in Texas have gone by quickly but now it is time to move on to adventures: our family is moving to
Stockholm, Sweden this July! Many of you have shared some of the best moments in my life and I will always
remember them fondly. The internet keeps us all close to each other so don’t hesitate to send e-mail or skype
me! Thanks to everyone for your support!
Karoliina ‘Kartsi’ Lundahl
TX State Master Champion 2003
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Danny McDermott writes:
For the past two years my son Shaughnessy and I have been developing a training facility in my two car garage
where we live in Placentia, CA. For those of you who do not know where Placentia is, it is in Northern Orange
County East of Fullerton and West of Yorba Linda. As for directions we are off the 57 freeway at the Yorba
Linda Blvd. exit, go east. There, now since we have the geography lesson out of the way let’s talk about what
we have going on. After my son’s first local competition in February 05 we received a phone call informing us
my son’s total qualified him for the Jr. Nationals and would we consider going. After about 20 seconds of deep
thought we decided to go, I’m glad we did. Since that time we never looked back. My son graduates from high
school this year and has decided to become a fulltime weightlifter. This June he is off to the OTC where he will
train there all summer and return home in August. Training in my garage has become intense. We now have two
lifting platforms, two dedicated squat platforms. In addition to our bars and bumpers we also train with kettle
bells and dumbbells. Currently I have two competitive lifters, my son Shaughnessy, 105kg class and his class
mate Victor Davenport, 69kg class. Both train hard five day a week and are making remarkable progress.
Shaughnessy has competed at the Jr. Nationals in 05 and 06. Victor has his goals for the 07 juniors and should
have no problem qualifying. I am very proud of both lifters, their hard work and dedication is paying off big
time, this past week both made new personal records; Shaughnessy snatch 120kg / clean & jerk 150kg, Victor,
snatch 81kg / clean & jerk 104kg. In addition to Shaughnessy and Victor I also have two new lifters who show
great promise should they decide to stick with it.
Danny McDermott
Jim Moser sends us his:
Colombia Experience:
The Colombians train six days per week 9-11 & 4-6, they take off on Fridays. The program is very simple and
everything revolves around the Snatch & C&J. When Snatch is done in the AM, C&J is done in the PM. The
next day the exercises are reversed C&J AM and Snatch PM.
After the lifts they do Assistance Exercises. A important point here is the coach placed very little of his personal
attention on the assistant exercises. He often would leave the room carry on conversations with the lifters or sit
at his desk doing paper work. During the lifts the atmosphere was very serious and the coach was watching the
lifters very attentively. Once they were finished the lifts every one lightened up and they all went through the
assistance exercise very methodically and not applying much concentration. Everything was very methodical
From what I saw 4 to 5 sets at the most, mostly doubles in everything. (Side Note: I showed up unannounced as
I wanted to make sure I was catching them doing there normal routines) On the workouts that they Snatched
they did Front Squats and on the workouts they Clean & Jerked they back squatted. Front and back squat every
day. I asked him if they went heavy all the time and he said it depends on when and sometimes he pushes those
harder then other times. He kept referring to that they had a full system in place which included starting those
young and moving the goods one along. He also stated over and over to do assistance exercises in a push pull
fashion. For example: Squat, Pull, Press, Power Clean. The training session he explained to me was the lifts and
4 or five assistant exercises, but low sets and reps. He kept emphasizing doing exercises in push pull order is
very, very important. Three key areas he really focuses on and kept going over and over the start on both clean
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& jerk and snatch, the catch on the snatch and the jerk. All the athletes I saw had awesome leg strength and I
imagine this is why the clean is a foregone conclusion, every squat workout they did was heavy and very impressive. They were unbelievable relaxed when they squatted no getting psyched up just get under the bar step
back and drop pretty neat to watch. Most the lifters trained in lifting suits which I thought was neat and the
suites all looked pretty new and there shoes looked new also. I liked that. You knew no doubt they were lifters.
I noticed to they all loaded the bar out to the end lots of ten and 15 kilo weights
He told me his meet strategy and how they go up down in weight so the lifter never gets caught. Example if the
Opener was 160 the lifter would be able to take 150 go back to 140 and then go back to 150 and go back and
forth this way. No matter what weight the lifter was at he was ok. If he had to he could go right out at 160 from
140 or 150. This way the lifter never gets caught and it is all about the strategy, not if the lifter is ready or not.
The lifter is always ready. They trained in this fashion also.
Jim Moser
2006 Junior World Championship Team USA Highlights
53 kg
Unofficial Results
Amber Davis
SN
CJ
8th Place
12th Place
68-71-74 (PR & New Unofficial Jr. Record 74 kg)
84-88-90X
Total
10th Place
162 kg
62 kg Aaron Adams
SN
18th
20th Place
Place
245 kg
105-110x-110x CJ
16th Place
140-145x-145x Total
106-110-114x
20th Place
132-137x-137x Total
62 kg Jake Johnson
SN
17th Place
20th Place
242 kg
CJ
85 kg Kendrick Farris
SN
CJ
Total
10th Place
7th Place
8th Place
145-150-152 (PR 152 kg)
188-193x-193x (193 kg =New Jr. Record)
340 kg (PR Total)
75+ kg Jenna Bussard
SN
CJ
Total
9th Place
87, 91, 95 x
8th Place 115, 120, 125x
8th Place
211 kg
That is it for the Iron-Grapevine news!! Send comments and information so that I can
get it in the July issue.
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Enjoy the interview with former champion: Mike Karchut
An Interview with Mike Karchut
Mike Karchut was an 8 time Senior National Champion, 1969 through 1973 and then again in 1975, 1978
and 1980. A two time Olympian in 1972 and 1980 and a member of the 1971 Pan-Am, Mike also was a several time World Team member. He competed for the famed Sayre Park Team of Chicago. By the Way, Mike
did a 310 Kg Master World Record total at 82.5kg at age 40.
Mike was considered to be one the best 'technical' weightlifters of his era. Amazingly durable, as shown
by his 20 year consecutive appearances at the Senior National Championships, (1967 to 1986) and an intense competitor, Mike is one of the finest people you'll ever meet and Mike's Gym Newsletter is honored
and thankful that he has taken time from his current effort of building a home in Montana to give us his
insights on our sport. His comments on the transition from junior level to senior level as well as technique
and longevity are of great value to us all.
1) If you look at USA Weightlifting, today, the attrition rate of lifters 'up through the ranks' is quite high
and sometimes National School Age Record Holders do not even compete at the Junior Level, much less
the Senior Level. There is also the added pressure to maintain the success one had as a Junior at the Senior level. You had successful careers both as a junior, or teenage, lifter and a senior lifter. Could you
share with our readers how the transition was, for you from one level to the next and do you have some
suggestions as to how today's youth may make the move from junior to senior successful?
I began Olympic lifting 2 months before I turned 17 after being shown the lifts (split style) by a lifter
(only one) who was a senior at the high school I attended. Before that time I was almost totally unaware
of the sport. In hindsight, it was a rather late start and I often wish I could have started at age 10. Being
pretty much of a "loner" not participating in any of the sports at school and fascinated by strength, I was
totally absorbed by Olympic lifting. After winning my first novice meet (3 months after starting), I was
hooked for life. Lacking the many distractions that young people face today, along with my "addiction",
I almost never missed a workout. Contest wins and PR'S added to my enthusiasm. A price was paid in
terms of social life (small price for a "loner") and creature comforts as I lived in a studio apartment and
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slept on an air mattress until age 35 when I got married. I believe that the one thing that is most required
to be successful is a passion for the sport that is greater than that for anything else. That passion must
come from within the person and cannot be instilled by others but only encouraged and nurtured- "You
can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink". The sacrifices that are required must be selfimposed. Even so, there are no guarantees.
2) When people talk about the "best technicians" in weightlifting your name always comes up. How did
you acquire you skill in weightlifting?
I was somewhat of a natural with no coaching (I had no coach) on technique. The squat style fascinated
me (I used the split style the 1st year) as I quickly realized that the lower and faster you move the more
weight you can lift. My focus was from that time forward on speed and hitting as low a squat position as
possible. Keeping a tight arched back, not raising the hips to soon, keeping the bar close to the body and
not pulling with the arms were other points of concentration. The vast majority of good lifters have outstanding technique each adapted to his particular body mechanics. Heavy weights for the most part cannot be lifted without great technique. No one has cornered the market on technique.
3) You had an amazingly long career. Your eight Senior National Championships spanned 12 years and
were part of a 20 year long consecutive Senior National Championships appearance streak. While your
career was not injury free you had to enjoy a significant degree of 'good health' in order to compete so
long, so successfully, at such a high level. Would you share with us your insights for health and longevity
in the sport?
For longevity a certain amount of luck helps but I believe a consistent routine of eating, sleeping, and
training each at its' specific times every day is most important. I admit it seems rather boring but I believe in it. As far as injuries go, from my own experience, almost all of the ones I sustained were the result of my own stubbornness' and in some cases downright stupidity. I would advise lifters to preserve the
body first by letting lifts that are out of position and beyond a reasonable chance of saving go. Often this
kind of lift could result in a serious injury such as a dislocated elbow (in my case). You can always take
the attempt again but a dislocated elbow will require many months of recovery before training can resume normally and that elbow may never be the same again. In training, if some sort of pain develops
and increases during the particular movement involved, back off and work around it. I lost 2 national
championships by not backing off in just this kind of situation.
From all of us at Mike’s Gym Newsletter, Thank you Mike Karchut
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Basic Biomechanical Principles Governing Weightlifting Technique
Michael Conroy
Idaho Weightlifting
A tremendous amount of research has been devoted to finding out
just, exactly, what happens to a
barbell when an athlete attempts to move it from the platform. The result of all these studies is that definite movements occur when a lift is successful.
Starting Position
The starting position, for a weightlifter, is of primary importance. An athlete cannot finish “right” if they
start “wrong”.
1. All body levers are ‘tight’. USAW Coach Bob Takano has a great comment. “If you are comfortable,
you’re probably doing it wrong.”
2. Feet should be the athletes ‘vertical jump’ position with toes slightly turned out. The athlete should
be ‘aligned’ in such a manner that their knees and their elbows are in the ‘same plane”.
(The knees should NOT be in front of or behind the elbows)
3. The back should be ‘flat’ and even have a slight, concave, curve to it.
4. Arms straight. Elbows ‘locked’ and rotated outwards.
5. Head is up
6. Hips higher than knees
7. Shoulders in advanced of the bar.
The coach should stand in a position that gives him, or her, a ¾ angle to the athlete. This allows the
coach to watch for proper barbell trajectory.
The first item that the coach should look at is the lateral distance between the athlete’s buttocks and their
nose. This position is now the original Center Of Gravity (COG).
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The Area of Base of the lifter is the position of the feet, for the pull. The line of action is the path the
barbell takes during the pull.
Stability of the lift is based upon keeping the barbell within the COG, the line of action and the base of
the lifter – the feet, during the execution of the pull. If the athlete allows the barbell to move outside of
the COG, during the pull, success is unlikely.
The “Pull”
Pulling the barbell from the floor, in either the snatch or the clean, has become an exact science.
The barbell’s inertia is the first thing the lifter must overcome and to do this, efficiently, the coach must
be conscious of the force sources available and the order in which they should be used.
1. The barbell must move ‘back’ towards the athlete, immediately.
2. Hips and shoulders rise at the same rate.
3. Head stays in a level position.
4. The “2nd Pull” must be faster than the “1st Pull”.
5. The athlete tries to stay ‘flatfooted’ as long as possible
6. The arms only bend to pull the athlete under the barbell.
7. The feet move from the ‘pulling’ position to the ‘receiving’ position.
Special Note: The “1st Pull” is the pull from the floor to a position just above the lifter’s knee. The “2nd
Pull” is from the above the knee position to a position of full extension. (Sometimes referred to as the
“top of the pull”) When the 2nd pull is faster than the 1st pull the barbell has very little time to move laterally and therefore moves vertically. Research has shown that when the “2nd Pull” is faster than the “1st
Pull” chances of a successful lift increase substantially.
Receiving Positions
As the athlete extends the body to “finish the pull” The COG rises. In order to compensate for this the
feet must re-establish a new Area of Base, while keeping the line of action within it. The athlete should
jump their feet into a position that is approximately a shoe width wider than the pulling position. This
position is, hopefully, the same as the bottom position of the athletes back squat.
Studies have shown that a, slight, (about half a shoe length) ‘backwards’ jump establishes a new base
that the COG can fall within more efficiently that a jump forward.
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F.I.T. Barbell Club of Los Altos California
Michael Conroy, Idaho Weightlifting
I first met the Doherty Brothers at the 2002 High Desert Open in Reno. Kevin was coaching Paul and
they had a group of junior lifters from Sacred Heart High School of San Francisco. I was there with my club.
We spoke only briefly but I was impressed with both their intensity and knowledge.
I met Tracey and Thom Downing in November of 2003 when I presented a USAW Club Coaches Course at
their facility, called F.I.T. They had a wonderfully equipped, private, club with two platforms, a knowledgeable
and enthusiastic staff and an interest in promoting Weightlifting.
In 2002, two trainers from F.I.T. attended a USAW Club Coaches Course presented by Mike Burgener. At that
point F.I.T. had zero platforms but began adding them one at a time as more and more trainers started utilizing
the Olympic lifts and their variations with their clients – despite the fact that most of their clients were middleaged executives
Since my initial visit F.I.T. has added 3 platforms, has hosted another USAW club coach course given by Burgener, and has over 20 trainers that are USAW Club Coach Certified who continue to apply weightlifting
movements with over 300 clients a week.
The great thing about all of this was that in less than a years time from my visit The Doherty’s and F.I.T. combined their efforts and began to produce an outstanding up and coming club.
Kevin and Paul started their weightlifting careers under the mentorship of Olympic Coach Jim Schmitz and his
Sports Palace Club of San Francisco They had also been influenced by another of USAW’s outstanding coaches,
Tony Ciarelli. Kevin was acting as Sacred Heart’s Strength Coach, the school he had graduated from, and actually started a registered club. Success came early, not only in football, where the program helped the team to a
9-1 record, but also in weightlifting where 10 athletes competed at both the 2002 Junior National and School
Age National Championships. Shortly after Kevin left Sacred Heart for a public high school, Lincoln, and repeated the same success he had at Sacred Heart.
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PAUL
Paul a national level weightlifter, in his own right, met up with Tracey and Thom in the summer of 2004 when
he took over F.I.T.’s weightlifting program, which was in its infancy. He came to F.I.T. with a desire to develop
a first rate weightlifting team and plan for how to accomplish that goal. He began offering a program for kids,
Jump Camp. Within months, Paul needed additional coaches due to the popularity of the program which is
when Kevin joined the ranks. Soon after, another important addition to the staff came in the person of Rob
Earwicker.
Rob had represented the UK at the international level competing in the Junior Worlds in 1995 and Junior Europeans in 1994 and 1995 as well commonwealth games in 1998. He also went to six straight national championships between 1994-1999.
ROB
“I first meet Paul Doherty in October of 2004; I was traveling up to SF once a month to workout at the Sports
Palace just to be in the environment of other lifters. Jim Schmitz introduced us on the third time I went up there,
FIT was not a registered club at that point so I had no knowledge of their facility. I drove over to Los Altos two
days later to workout with Paul, and was very surprised when I walked into the gym to see so many platforms. I
had never seen this in a private club before. I continued to workout with Paul a couple of days a week for the
next few months and then after the Christmas break Paul asked me if I wanted to help run the Jump Camp program on the days that I was driving over the hill to workout. Naturally I jumped at the chance to get paid to
teach kids how to lift. The rest is history, as they say, and the more time I spent at FIT the more time I wanted to
be here and around Weightlifting. ”
KEVIN
Kevin has this to say about their actual program. “The team is comprised of the women and kids from
FIT as well as the Lincoln High School Football players. We currently have about 20 lifters at the National
level in their perspective weight class and age, spanning from female master to 13 yr old boy. Paul and Rob are
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in charge of running the kids program at FIT and coach all the little kids as well as the high school kids and
adults at our Barbell Club. The kids program incorporates OL as well as a myriad of other conditioning
tools. (They start as early as age 7). My days are spent at Abraham Lincoln High School 5th, 6th and 7th period
volunteering as a weightlifting coach for the football players. I come back to FIT in the evening and help out
when needed. The best training day is Saturday when Paul and Rob are both at FIT in the morning and I bring
the lifters from The CITY (Only a native San Franciscan would say The City, and I know because my family is
from The City) down to F.I.T. to train. Tracey and Thom have invited me to bring the kids down to train during
their spring break. Their support, along with the rest of the staff, is an intrical part of our overall exposure and
success.”
TRACEY
Those of us in the sport know how difficult it can be to find a ‘weightlifter friendly’ gym. Here are
Tracey’s thoughts on why F.I.T. felt a need to offer their facility to our sport.
“The trainers at FIT all strongly believe in the benefits of Olympic Weightlifting for a very broad
population. We utilize weightlifting variations with almost every client with whom we work so it was a natural
progression for F.I.T. to start preparing some of its clients for competition. Paul, Kevin and Rob were the obvious choice to take on that task. When Paul introduced the idea of training kids in order to increase the chance of
creating great lifters as adolescents and young adults, it seemed like a no brainer. FIT had the space to support
such a program and felt it would be a service to the community to provide a physical outlet for kids who have
seen PE cut, recess at school shortened and sedentary options (computers and video games) on the rise
Our trainers all embraced the idea, promoting it to their clients and friends in the community thereby
enabling the development of the club. That this program has led to a successful Weightlifting Club is a testament to the passion of the 3 coaches and the support of the rest of FIT's staff.”
Success has come in a big way. F.I.T. hosted their first competition in January of 2005 with the Pacific
Weightlifting Association School Age and Junior Championships. They held their first Jump Camp competition,
in May of 2005. November of 2005 saw F.I.T. capture their first Team Title with a victory at the 42nd annual
Golden West Championships.
2006 is off to an even better start as they, once again hosted the PWA School Age and Junior Meet, and
then won the team title at the PWA Championships. Tracey adds this final thought as to what F.I.T. Barbell
Club hopes to accomplish in the future. ”We hope to continue to hone the training we prescribe for our athletes
and clients further aiding them in achieving their goals in their life and their sport, hopefully instilling enthusiasm for the Olympic lifts in them along the way.
We joke about Jump Camp Nation around FIT, but in all sincerity, we hope to continue to train athletes in the
Olympic lifts from a very early age so that we can develop their skills as they physically develop and
mature. The earlier the kids get to us, the longer we have to train them before they go off to college. The more
kids we train, the more likely we are to develop a least a few high caliber lifters who may compete on the international stage.
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Congratulations to everyone at F.I.T. What a great story and we, at Mike’s Gym Newsletter, wish them
the best for continued success.
For more information about F.I.T go to their website:
http://www.focusedtrainers.com
There you have it!!! Issue no. 4!! Hope you like the issue. Make comments and send
information to: [email protected]
Until next issue: TRAIN HARD AND HEAVY OR GO HOME TO MOMMY!!!!
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