Chun's Olympic Weightlifting Experience- Part 3- Saying Goodbye

From January to April.
Jae and I followed a pretty strict training schedule. Mondays 3-5pm. Tuesdays 11-1pm. Wednesdays 10-12pm. Thursdays 11- 1pm. Friday 2-4pm.
Occasionally we would miss one session here and there. But we trained together. Socialized with other members of the Weightlifting community. Congratulated those that have competed recently.
Occasionally the whole weightlifting group would have a gathering. They would play pool or have dinner together in China town. However, the conversation always revolved around Clean an Jerks, and Snatches. Nevertheless, it was a supportive environment filled with people that shared a common interest.

I signed up for the Toronto Pro Supershow to compete as a 77kg lifter. Unfortunately, Jae had recevied news that he would be required to return to Korea and serve for the army for the next two years. My heart sank. I wanted coach Jae to be beside me and support me through my nerve wrecking first meet. However, I will continue to follow his program and train as if he were there coaching me. Reminding me to stomp harder! Drop Faster! Make sure you finish your pull!

Last sunday, I drove Jae to the airport. We chuckled and made fun of each other as we both realized that it would be at least two years before we would see each other again. A friendship that goes beyond the weights and the gym. We understood each other's troubles and worked through challenges together on the platform. It was a brotherhood of likeminded people who seek to push their bodies to its max capability to become the strongest they can be. 

The culture of Weightlifting in the SCC

- Are not focused on aesthetics but on technique and power

- often become consumed by the sport and surround themselves with other weightlifter friends to converse on the topic of weightlifting. 

- Spend quality time in the gym (Aka, don't have a social life outside of the gym)

- Develop an elitist mentality towards anyone doing the movements less than perfectly. 

- your clothes become so chalked up, you stop caring. 

Although I am still new to the culture of weightlifting at the SCC, I can confidently say that these are the most competitive yet supportive group of people I will ever meet. 

Why North Americans suck at weightlifting

The national weightlifting power houses are China, Russia, Bulgaria, and Korea.

Every year, the Toronto Pro Super Show attracts tens of thousands of fitness enthusiast to the Metro Convention Center to watch IFBB Bodybuilding, Powerliftting, Strongman competitions, boxing and arm wrestling. 

A small crowd of spectators can be found watching one of the oldest organized sport in the world. A battle between man and women against gravity. However, seeing this competition for the first time, you get an appreciation of how small the weightlifting community is compared to the culture of powerlifting and Bodybuilding. That is why Canada and USA experience such little success in competitive weightlifting.

In many other countries, Weightlifters are seen as the top athletes. Whereas, prior to crossfit, the majority of Canadian fitness enthusiast couldn't even tell you what a clean and jerk was suppose to look like. In Canada, we take pride in our hockey and parents pass on their love for hockey to their children. Like hockey in Canada, weightlifting is the major sport in China and Russia. Children are placed in specialized weightlifting programs and begin squatting heavy at the age of 6. 

There is no weightlifting culture in Canada. No national funding or provincial funding for competitive weightlifting athletes. No support for those fighting an uphill battle becoming a competitive weightlifter. 

In the SCC

In the SCC, all members of the weightlifting community are student athletes. They take pride that they are balancing their academic life with the intense training of the weightlifting programs. However, there are no Canadian or American weightlifting idols to look up to. Therefore, members of the weightlfiting community seek to mimic the training style or techniques of the power house countries of weightlifting. 

Killian Newman- 

Weightlifting at SCC Since 2011

Killian has a Russian training philosophy. He squats heavy every time he trains. He has conditioned his body to take on the 95%-100% attempts every time he trains. Some call him crazy, but he's has qualified for Nationals twice at 105kg body weight. 

His idol- Russian 105kg Olympic Medialist - Dmitry Kloklov

                                                                  Jae Won Yun- 

                                               Weightlifting at the SCC Since 2011

Jae has been training with the UTM weightlifting team since 2009 and began training at the SCC because he came to U of T St.George to study Physics. Jae has trained with the Korean National team for two summers and has a more relax style of weightlifting. The focus is not to go heavy every training session but to hit set weight of the training program. 

                                His Idol- Korean 77kg Gold Medalist - Sae Jae- Hyouk

Brian Jiang

Weightlifting at the SCC since 2012

Brain is a rising super star in the SCC weightlifting community. With his athletic background in track and football, he has climbed up as a competitive 77kg weightlifter that qualified for provincials in just a year of training. While nursing a shoulder and knee injury, he still manages to train 5-6 times a week. Brain identifies himself as a chinese style weightlifter. The way he pull and slides the bar on the clean and jerk mimics the technique that the national chinese team uses. 

His Idol- Chinese 69kg Gold Medalist - Liao Hui

Which training technique is best?

As we can see from Killian, Jae, and Brian, they all identify with a unique training technique. That is not to say one is better than the other. The weightlifting members of the SCC are bound by their love of the sport. It is interesting that lifters do not only buy in to the technique, but they buy in to the whole country's culture. From the idols that they admire, to clothing options and battle cries. 

All for the love of the sport!

Chun's Olympic Weightlifting Experience- Part 2- Setting Goals

After two months of training at the SCC, Jae had agreed to coach me. It worked well because we had a very similar training mentality, relaxed but controlled. Many of the competitive lifters at the SCC had gotten a bad rep for making excessive noise and throwing their plates all over the floor. Because most weightlifters came to train together, there was always a crowd by the platforms. It became common that 2-3 people trained on the same platform. Most lifters spent a good 15-30minutes stretching and warming up with the bar.

Warmup with the bar

After I saw Brian and Issac compete for Winterlift 2013, I told Jae I wanted to compete in 2014. We drafted a mock chart and set dates and weights to hit.

Unfortunately, I developed a shoulder injury and Jae had issues with his back. We both were held back from our expected training timeline.

Goal- (J)	Jae Won Yun	Goal (C)	Chun Siu
Feb.8th, 2014	Actual	Feb.8th, 2014	Actual
Snatch - 102kg		Snatch - 80kg	80kg
C & J- 125kg		C & J- 110kg	105kg
March 15th, 2014		March 15th, 2014
Snatch-105kg		Snatch -83kg	83kg
C & J-130kg		C & J- 115kg	105kg
May 30th, 2014		May 30th, 2014
Snatch -107kg		Snatch - 87kg
C & J-135kg		C & J- 118kg
September 30th		September 30th
Snatch - 110kg		Snatch -90kg
C & J- 140kg		C & J- 120kg
Ontario Open 2014		Ontario Open 2014
Snatch - 107kg		Snatch - 85kg
C & J- 137kg		C & J- 115kg

Jae told me that we both had to be patient. If we looked at the weightlifters at the SCC, no one single person is completely healthy. A true weightlifter is persistent and will continue to train despite injury, or scheduled conflicts. It was true, Jae has had a wrist injury before and he modified his cleans and continued to train every day.  At the SCC, weightlifters with wrist problems did their pulls and squats. Weightlifters with shoulder injuries did technique work. There is an unspoken commitment that weightlifters fight through any challenges an continue to train. If you nagged about an injury, other weightlifters would chirp that you were sandbagging. If you missed a lift, someone would come and lift it to mock you. That's your SCC weightlifting culture!

The Inception of U of T Ironsports

U of T Weightlifting Club became an organized club in August 2013. The two figureheads behind the Weightlifting Club out of U of T St.George were Killian Newman and Hiro Zhou.

Hiro Zhou has been a competitive weightlifter since 2011. He was first introduced to olympic weightlifting through crossfit seminars when he certified for Cross Fit level 1. Since than, Hiro has medalled in many competitive meets including: Winterlift, Scholastics Championships, Variety Village Open etc. Hiro is also an NCCP Certified Olympic weightlifting coach and is now currently coaching two athletes that are qualified for provincials. 

Killian Newman has been a competitive lifter since 2010. He has been to two Provincial meets and competed in nationals in 2013. Killian was first introduced to olympic weightlifting through the varsity volley ball training program. After he fell in love with the sport of weightlifting, he pursued weightlifting over volleyball and began training with the Variety Village weightlifting club. 

The Begining.

Hiro and Killian saw the increase in the popularity in weightlifting. However, at the time, everyone trained alone and there were no intended forms of communication between lifters. In 2012, Killian could no longer commute to Variety Village to train but he enjoyed the concept of having a training team for support. He wanted to bring the intense training atmosphere from Variety Village to the SCC. Hiro had been talking about having a weightlifting club for the past few years. However, without funding from the school and recognition from UTSU it was difficult to get it kickstarted.

It started as just a facebook group, consisted of a handful of lifters posting their goals and training schedules. It quickly gained popularity after the Outdoor demonstration in August 2013 and was brought the attention of Amanda Santos, President of UofT Iron Sports.

U of T Iron Sports was originally a strength club created for Powerlifters. Amanda Santos saw the opportunity to expand IronSports and collaborated with Hiro and Killian to create a weightlifting division to accompany the powerlifting division. The weightlifters at the SCC now had a club recognized by UTSU and annual meets and demonstration sessions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uLPiRvJCaY

Do you really train weightlifting?

 I have been guilty of this before. I have abused the term weightlifting and used it as a general term for any bodybuilding, powerlifting or resistance training movement. However, any member of the weightlifting community will shake their head in disapproval because they only use the term weightlifting for its original and intended meaning. Weightlifting is short for Olympic Weightlifting, which consist of two main lifts: the clean and jerk, and snatch. Anything else outside of these two lifts, can not be classified as weighlifting.

U of T Weightlifting Outdoor Demonstration

This picture pretty much says it all... August of 2013, U of T Weightlifting hosted an outdoor demonstration at Kensington Market. While Killian steadies his Jerk overhead, the crowd cheers and some have their mouths wide open in astonishment!

The Culture of Weightlifting at the SCC

The Community of Weightlifters at U of T are represented by a group of tight knit student athletes that strive to train as competitive weightlifters. They support each other through constant motivation, and chirping as a form of negative reinforcement.  You can identify the SCC weightlifting community by their extensive gear and unique training methodology 

The Gear

Weightlifting shoes are a must because they provide a solid sole for stability and elevation in the heel to allow for increased range of motion in the ankle. Most weightlifters at the SCC possess AdiPowers (seen on the left) or Nike Romaleos 2 (seen on the right)

Knee Sleeves

You can see these signature knee sleeves on most of the weightlifters of the SCC community. These blue knee sleeves design are worn by the National Chinese Team Members. They serve a purpose of warmth, compression, but mostly style.

Straps and Belt

Most of the weightlifters in the SCC will come to train with their knee sleeves around their ankles, Weightlifting shoes tied loosely and a belt in one hand and straps in the other. 

Straps are used to save one's grip strength when there is a high volume of repetitions (eg. 5 hang snatches). The belt is used for heavy squat or clean and jerk set to protect the stress on the lower back. 

The Weightlifting Equipment 

The Weightlifting Bars

Weightlifting Bars differ than standard bar because they are designed for the dynamic nature of the sport. Firstly, they are made of steel that allows whip for an easier catch and spin that reduces stress on the wrist. 

The SCC gym owns 2 Elieko Competition Bar, 2 Pendlay Bearing Bars, and 3 Pendlay Bushing Bars.

The weightlifting community will sit 20minutes to an hour and  wait for other members to be done with their favourite bar. Every lifter has a bar that they prefer to work with. For example, Killian says he can only PR with the Pendlay 2009 Bearing Bar because it spins better, while Jae will wait for others to be done with the competition Elieko Bar. 

Platform and Bumper Plates

Whenever you intend to drop any weight from overhead safety, you must have a platform and bumper plates. The SCC is equipped with 4 platforms and an assortment of Pendlay bumper plates. However, with the growing population of the SCC weightlifting culture, there are not enough platforms and bumpers to meet everyone's needs. The result is that most weightlifters have to share 2-3 per bar and platform and take turns loading the bumper plates on when needed. Jae and Killian have mentioned that the most frustrating part of training in the SCC is waiting for a platform and asking to borrow bumper plates from other members that are deadlifting. 

Training Methodology

Squat Technique and Frequency

Weightlifters in the SCC are mostly easily recognized by their squats. ATG is a common term used by members of the weightlifting culture. It stands for ass to grass, meaning that you squat down to the full range of motion till the thighs meet the calves. Weightlifters squat up to 5-6 times a week. The high volume and frequency of squatting is a training style from the Russian Olympic lifting program. 

(Me backsquatting 150kg, March 13th, 2014)

Counting in Kilos

In the SCC, weightlifters calculate all their lifts and weights in kilograms. A common issue that I first came across when I was talking to the weightlifting culture was the constant need to convert my lifts in lbs to kilos. Eg. Instead of saying that you squatted 230lbs x 3 reps, you would say BS 105kg for triple. 

Chun's Olympic Weightlifting experience- Part 1- Meeting Coach Jae

In mid-September, I was stacking on the mileage in preparation for my first marathon in October. Although, completing the marathon has always been on my bucket list, my training started to become mundane and a dreadful experience as the runs became longer and my hips, knees and shins were feeling the damage. The weekly runs from Markham to Stouville were lonely and I told myself that I will need to take a much needed break from running post marathon. 

On Oct. 20th 2013, I completed the monotonous 42.2Km at the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. I was proud of myself and was ready for a change in my training program. I knew exactly what I wanted to train, but I needed some help. 

Prior to training for my marathon, I had a friendly bet with my co-worker Hiro to see if I could reach a 100kilo Clean and Jerk before he could reach 120kilo. I tried to learn the lift by myself but ended up hurting my wrist as the bar came down awkwardly. I was forced to put my clean and jerk training to a stop. This time around I knew I needed to improve my technique or my wrist was bound to suffer from a similar injury. 

Luckily, I ran into Jae. Jae agreed to train with me to improve my technique. He didn't want to commit to be my coach at the moment, but he was willing to help me get the fundamentals down. 

Jae analyzed my clean and saw that I was travelling forward because my upper body was pulling the bar forward and not allowing the bar to travel along the body. During the Jerk, my knees pushed forward but my hips stayed stationary, causing a momentary lost of balance. 

Overall Comments

- Stretch ankle to get more range of motion in full squat

- Harder 2nd pull to explode of the hip contact

-Stomp louder to be more stable

- Finish your pull and extend the hips before dropping under. 

The U of T Ironsports Meet- Jae Yun

Warning, this is not your typical research project on the quantitative studies of the mechanics of weightlifting. This is a story of the tight knit community of student athletes that are disciplined, well conditioned and extremely dedicated to the sport of Olympic Weightlifting. 

Jae Won Yun, Clean and Jerk 120kg, 3^rd attempt in the first annual U of T Ironsports weightlifting Winterlift. Jae is a 22 year old U of T physics major that is also a pinnacle member of the U of T weightlifting community.

Jae Won is my friend and more importantly, my mentor on this weightlifting journey. 

The Beginning- PHE 402 Phenomenology report on the Olympic Weightlifting Culture at the SCC

This Blog is used to capture my mini- ethnography of the SCC Olympic Weightlifting Culture in the past 6 months. The following posts are my personal views and opinions and do not necessarily reflect the Olympic Weightlifting culture of the SCC.

My name is Chun Siu. I am a 5th year PHE/ CTEP student studying at the University of Toronto. I have always been an active fitness enthusiast looking to challenge my body in different ways. Since 2012, I had been working at the strength and conditioning gym of U of T's Athletic Center. I have seen some impressive powerlifters and bodybuilders that have trained in the gym. However, one sport truly captured my attention, Olympic Weightlifting. 

When I first started working as a personal trainer at the SCC in 2012, there were only a handful of olympic weightlifters that came into train on the platforms. I would be memorized by the explosive speed, coordination and flexibility that these athletes demonstrated. 

Since 2012, the weightlifting community has expanded as one of the largest in the Strength and Conditioning Center. At any point of day, you will see members training their clean and jerk, snatches, high pulls, and ATG Squats.