EWF Scientific Magazine EWF No2

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation - N 2 / August-December 2015
SUMMARY
Weightlifting has a long tradition
in the development of scientifically
based, sophisticated training
methodology and exercise
techniques. This development has
created the conditions for female
weightlifters to raise weights
once reserved for only the worlds
strongest men.
18
2
EDITORIAL
by Antonio Urso
FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

by Alberto Andorlini
18 HOW THE FEMALE WEIGHTLIFTER OUTGREW

THE LADY BAR

by Andrew Charniga
30 BIOMECHANICAL MODEL OF THE BASIC

SNATCH TECHNIQUES
by Donato Formicola
42 DEFINING SPORTS TRAINING.

30
In general, the technical analysis of

a sports movement is realised by a
systematic observation of the entire
movement, breaking down the overall
aim of the action into different motor
tasks, each of which is to be carried
out through a characteristic motor
pattern whose efficacy influences the
efficiency of the action
VAIN AMBITION OR NECESSITY?

by Pasquale Bellotti
50 THREE-DIMENSIONAL KINEMATIC ANALYSIS

OF THE SNATCH TECHNIQUE FOR LIFTING DIFFERENT

BARBELL WEIGHTS
by Hadi Gkhan; Akkus Hasan; Harbili Erbil
62 IMPORTANCE OF APPLIED SCIENCE IN TRAINING

PROGRAM DESIGN
by Jay R. Hoffman
70 COACHING WEIGHTLIFTING IN THE AGE
OF SPORT TECHNOLOGY
by Anna Swisher
The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation
EDITORIAL
emale Strength
The first thirty years
of womens weightlifting
1984. Each story carries and conveys a wealth of human feelings, science and conscience, reason and
emotion. This story then, like many others, is rich, intense and above all, experienced through emotions,
sweat, joy and pain, encompassing the full range of
human resources. It all began in 1984, when the IWF
Congress approved the practice of womens weightlifting, including it in its statute and in the technical
regulations of the 1984-1988 Olympic Cycle. Furthermore, the term for men only was abolished at
the IWF Congress in Los Angeles, thus opening the
doors definitively for women in weightlifting. Details
such as weight categories, weigh-in procedures, referees and equipment all had to be resolved before
the official competitions took place.
1986 - The first international tournament
The first IWF international female tournament was
organised in conjunction with the Pannonia Cup in
Budapest, on 21-23 March 1986. A couple of years
prior to this event, women lifters were already very
active at national level. Championships were organised in the USA, China, India, Australia and in various
European countries. The first official competition
organised by the IWF in Budapest, saw the participation of 23 women, representing China, Hungary,
Great Britain, Canada and the USA. Americas Arlys
Kovac, achieved the best technical result, with a 75
kg performance in the snatch and 90 kg in the clean

and jerk 67.5 kg category.
1987 - The first Womens World Championship
The following year, Budapest organised the first Womens World Championship. It was only natural that
the American Weightlifting Federation should host
this first World Championship at Daytona Beach, Florida, because female weightlifting in that country
had already developed to a very high level, both in
terms of organisation and in sporting success. 100
participants from 23 countries took part, 38 from
European nations, representing Great Britain, Spain,
Norway, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, (here we are!), France, Finland and Iceland. Eight Nine of the winners
came from China, and one from the United States of
America, Karyn Tarter (nee Marshall).
1988 - The first European Championship
The first European Senior Championship was organised in 1988 in San Marino by the EWF; the driving
force of the organising committee was Marino Ercolani Casadei. 67 women from 13 nations competed. Present in San Marino for this first continental
championship organised by the EWF were: Italy, Greece, Great Britain, Finland, Hungary, Spain, Portugal,
Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, San Marino and
Norway. Among the winners were Maria Christofo-
2000 - Womens Weightlifting at

the Olympic Games
The IOC admitted womens weightlifting into the Olympic Games for
the first time in Sydney in 2000.
This first edition marked the dawn
of equality with mens weightlifting. In Sydney, no less than 85
female lifters from 47 countries

competed for a place on the po
dium. 26 of these hailed from 14
European nations. No European
athlete took home a gold medal,
however, Popova (Russia), Markus
(Hungary) and Polands Wrobel, all
won silver, whereas Greek lifter,
Chatziioannou clinched a bronze.
The statistics of the 2004 Athens
Games were exactly the same of
the 2000 edition: 85 female lifters
from all over the world: 28 from 11
European nations. This time the
Europeans had better luck: 2 gold,
Taylan, from Turkey, in the 48 kg
category, and Skakun, from Ukraine won gold in the 63 kg category.
1998 - European Junior Womens

Championships
The first Junior Womens Championships was organised in Sofia,
Bulgaria, in conjunction with the
European Junior Mens Championships in 1998.
1994 - The first European
Womens Under 16 and Youth
Championships
Once again the EWF made another
successful step with regard to female weightlifting. The first European Under 16 Championships was
held in 1991 in Kosice, Slovakia,
open only to male athletes 14- 16
years old. In 1994, in Ljubljana, the
girls joined their peers and it was a
resounding success: 39 girls from
12 countries took part. Since then
the number of girls has been on a
constant increase. Dortmund, Germany 2003, registered the highest
number of female competitors,
94, to be precise. In 2013 the EWF
introduced the U15 category in
Klaipeda, at these Championships
we had 95 women competitors.
In 2003, the title of the event was

changed to European Under 17
Championships.
You have no doubt got the message: these are not just dates, they
are stories of dates and data: before and after stories, stories of
women who changed the way of
interpreting sport and indeed, life.
They paved new roads: in lifting
weights, they also raised awareness of who they were and what
they were doing. They made it clear that muscular strength was not
taboo for women, it was a gateway
to growth and fulfilment. In sport,
as in life, strength was everything
and it was becoming more and
more evident. They explored new
and undiscovered paths: it was
a beautiful understanding and
enlightenment. Training led to
knowledge and experience. Sport
improved everything, because
there was the basis for growth and
for studying the growth of performance: athletes that wanted
to succeed and that could, simple
and straightforward means of
training, truly significant. It was
a pioneering age, a Once Upon a
Time in the West moment. But it
also stood for progress, breaking
down barriers. Obstacles and difficulties. It was a moral and ethical
journey that is the soul of sport
today. It started from far away,
taking little steps that soon became bigger and more confident.
Tomorrow it will run, of that we
can be certain. It will run and lift
weights, thats how training makes progress. But under those weights, theres a good head on the
shoulders.
Antonio Urso
EWF President
N 2 / August-December 2015
ridi, Greece and Milena Trendafilova, Bulgaria. These two women

went on to become two of the most
successful female lifters in the history of European weightlifting,
along with Hungarys Maria Takacs. Italy won its first gold in the
48 kg category with Genoan, Roberta Sforza. The 1989 and 1990
editions were organised following
the same formula, in other words,
a separate championships from
the mens. Then in 1991 in Varna,
a womens competition was held
along with the European Junior
Championships for male athletes.
Only from 1998, in Riesa, Germany,
did female athletes compete at
the same time and in the same
place as their male counterparts
in the Senior Championships. The
biggest turnout of women recorded at a continental championships was the 2004 edition in Kiev,
Ukraine, when 110 athletes took
part, mainly because of the fact
that the Championships was an
Olympic qualifying event. Strong
weightlifting nations such as Russia and Poland brought female
teams to the Europeans in 1993
and 1996. Valentina Popova is one
the most famous Russian female
lifters, whereas Agata Wrobel is to
date the most well-known female Polish weightlifter. Today, the
EWF has no less than 45 affiliated
federations, each representing a
country and all with a female weightlifting section.
Functional
Training
and
Movement
Training
From the very beginning. Our body is made up
of 100,000 billion tiny elements, cells, that form
its entire structure. The cells that make up the
human body are not all the same. Groups of cells
that present the same characteristics form what
is called tissue. Groups of similar tissues are
known as systems. The main systems of the body
are the muscular system and the nervous system.
The communication systems that connect all the
body parts are called networks.
BY ALBERTO ANDORLINI
The main networks of the human

body are: the neural network, the
circulatory network and the fibrous (myofascial) network.
When, on the other hand, different
tissues join together to carry out
the same function, they form an
apparatus. The main apparatus of
the human body are: integumentary, skeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, uro-genital,
articular, glandular and sense organs system.
The apparatus and systems that
materially control the movement
are: the skeletal system, the articular system and the muscular system, often defined collectively as
the locomotor system.
The action of the locomotor system is regulated by the nervous
system, whereas the raw material
for its operation is supplied by the
respiratory, cardiovascular and
digestive systems. It is possible to
train the cellular function: by the
resynthesis mechanisms of energy substrates both aerobically
and anaerobically. The major vital
functions - cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous and muscular - can
also be trained.
It is possible to train the functions
of the systems: driving muscular
contraction (concentric, eccentric and isometric), acquiring and
improving kinesthetic and proprioceptive sensitivity, the dynamic stability of complex joints,
pre-programmed (feed forward)
and reactive (feedback) control
of motor responses, the integration of the responses into finalised motor patterns and the sense-perception processing of the
visual, auditory and vestibular
nerves. Training works and ma-
kes things work but very often it

cannot be targeted, directed and
focused on what we believe to be
the temporarily preeminent human function, because training is
a victim of a vision limited to a partial context (aesthetic standards,
available time, social orientation).
This qualifies training as functional because it can induce
detectable changes, but also
non-functional if it does not
meet the requirements, the needs and not least, the limits of the
individuals the training is geared
towards.
There is an objection, a hypothesis, an alternative. You can train
the Function of the communication networks - neural, circulatory and fibrous - by maintaining
a close relationship of adjacency
and proximity between all the elements not of a system, but of the
system. Training such a Function
- between the three communication networks - means training
what exactly? In-depth perceptive
communication and external relational communication.
The Body is the agent. Movement
is the catalyst. Theres nothing
new there. Nothing that the first
humans on earth had not already
unconsciously experimented with.
Something that has been passed
down like a precious inheritance.
For the past 2,500 years, we have
been toing and froing between
the preparation of a real and realistically finalised movement (daily
movement), the quest for a movement that interprets emotional
tension (artistic movement) and
the perfection of a movement with
a competitive edge (sports movement). Along the way we have
often lost our bearings, forgetting

that if it is true that movement is
the product of various functions, it
is equally true that in a finalistically orientated synthesis, movement
has one, single function: Social Relations. Social Relations is made
up of economy (daily movement),
aesthetics (artistic movement),
strength (sports movement). Movement itself is not one thing or
another, it is a syncretic combination of basic elements. Training is
a process aimed at consolidating
such elements - so-called Fundamental Movements -, based on a
motor continuum that combines
ability and skill, expression and
condition, adaptability and adaptation. As human beings, we progressively acquire one scope of
motility, based on a pattern that
adapts our vital functions to our
surroundings. In this way we learn
how to roll, get up, stand up, walk,
run, jump, lift, push, pull, bend,
turn around and climb. All these
activities take place on three cardinal planes, sagittal, frontal and
transverse. All three respond to
specific components - coordination, type of muscular contraction,
energy source, speed and range
of movement - which characterise and distinguish the action
based on the instant requests,
the variability of the situation and
surrounding disturbances. Each
individual component of the training movement must be viewed
not as a single element in itself,
but as piece of the bigger picture.
If each component is addressed
individually, it may appear inconsistent, weak and even superfluous.
Training draws strength and clarity from the united force of various
efficient movement is the aim of

our daily activity, the aesthetics of
expressive gestures, the efficiency
of sports language. Naturally, movement cannot be compartmentalised, labelled, categorised. It can,
however, be interpreted, gracefully adaptable to situations, concatenations, and improvisations.
The perfect gym does not exist.
There are, however, places that
elicit motor responses (the town
square and urban fabric); a theatre of efficiency (nature); a mobile
gym (objects and people).
Over the last hundred years or so,

training has neglected an aspect
- the functionality of movement
- and has exalted the function of
not the Body, but of the parts that
make up the Body as a system; it
has forgottenen that the main skill
of the body in movement is Social
Relations, and it has insisted on
the ability of the systems to make
the body stronger, more resistant,
faster; it has adapted the body
more, yet made it less adaptable.
In the last fifty years (an infinitesimal amount of time in relation to
elements. Rediscovering the ingredients that make up Movement

does not necessarily lead us to the
invention of new equipment or the
identification of new techniques,
it brings us closer to the movement of the actual training, following a highly personalised and
code. Movement Training implies a
conscious acquisition process: the
Body is the instrument (with which...), Movement is the means (by
which...), the Body in Movement
is the purpose (of which...); commanding the body, producing an
the history of Movement), we have

shifted attention towards Functioning, and left Functionality out in
the cold.
On one side of the scales, the one
occupied by wall bars, climbing
stages, horses, bars and parallel
bars, we have put heavy iron machines, treadmills, exercise bikes
and vibrating platforms; on the
other side we have left sticks, ropes, sacks and balls. And the scales, as was clearly inevitable, gave
us an answer that was both obvious and useless.
Now, in the last years, our interest
has turned to Functional Training,
not that it did not previously exist,
but simply because training is an
ever-recurring cycle.
Today, being the hopeless enthusiasts of comparison and testing
that we are, we have once again
put on one side of the scale (having
jilted iron and steel), techniques
and disciplines (Tai Chi, Pilates,
Yoga, Feldenkrais, Calisthenics);
and on the other (having removed
the small equipment) we are placing evidence extrapolated from
scientific studies and research
(Kinetic Chain, Sensory Motor Program, Motor Learning, Neuromuscular Training, Proprioception,
Stabilization, Balance).
On one hand we have placed the
weight of global intervention (defragmentation), and on the other
local intervention (fragmentation).
The next beneficial step will be to
weigh up Body and Movement, in
an attempt to understand what
is the right balance between Fun-
ctioning and Functionality, and

what is the relationship between
training in vitro and real situations.
As previously mentioned, by making the body an instrument, movement the purpose and the body
in movement the result, Training is
not Functional Training, it is MOVEMENT TRAINING;
it does not discover original elements, it rather rediscovers
original structures, in a a sort of
back to basics as simple as it is
essential.
There are THREE basics of Movement Training. Three connected
and concurrent domino blocks:
1) The body functions like a kinetic chain (J. Noth 1992) and
as such, the bodys behaviour
as a whole (integrated analysis) cannot corrispond to the
behaviour of the sum of its
parts (mechanistic analysis).
In reality, we are as strong as
the weakest link in the chain
(Gambetta & Gray, 1995); and
from the moment the links in
the cahin are connected by
functional links, the simplest
regional movement is the result of a far off activation
that has widespread effects
on all the areas.
2) The brain thinks in terms of
movement, not of muscles
(K. Bobath). The activation of
a kinetic sequence depends
on the motor programme.
The motor programme is considered a pre-structured set
of commands that contains
the patterns of muscular contractions and decontractions
that define movement (Adams

1987), determining which
muscles to contract, in what
order, with what force and for
how long (Schmidt 1976).
3) Isolating a motor component
interrupts the kinetic chain;
integrating more components
improves the transfer of the
load and the transmission of
the information inside the
system (J. Noth, 1992). The
fact that a muscle in a given
situation can exert a certain
force, is no guarantee that the
body will be able to use this
force in all situations (Perfetti, 1988). Integration is the
key to Training. Teaching all
the muscles to work together
as opposed to individually
(Roskopf, 2005).
Today. Recently, correlated terms,
directed both at designing specific
intervention areas and at defining
work proposals based on the peculiarity of the means used and of
the contents proposed (Core Training, Gravity Training, Resistance
Training, Body Weight Training,
Balance Training, Suspension Training) have become part of everyday language. In fact, by the same
nature of the terms used and for
the vast scope of activity they refer to, the methodologies and techniques are subject to various
interpretations.
Undoubtedly, the meaning and the
comprehension of the word training has become more and more
vast and now includes unexplored
frontiers (brain training, mind rooms, etc.) and live and vital spaces, in constant transformation
road is taken, traditional training

forgets about the Body, as an indivisible part, and Movement, as an
unrepeatable expression, and reaches its destination by availing of
two means alone, which are always
the same: Exercise and Equipment.
Nowadays, living Movement, understanding Movement and interpreting Movement means travelling on the edge of change; a
fast-moving change, sudden and
unpredictable as is the rhythm of
evolution and word of mouth.
We can change the effect of the

exercise and the use of the equipment by varying sequences (sets,
reps, kilos, minutes, etc.). Reevaluating and re-interpreting the
two elements, Exercise and Equipment, the core elements of traditional training (which I identify as
Resistence, Insistence and Reiteration), and transfering them onto
an original map, represents the
first step towards an interpretation of other terms, Form and Function, that no longer refer to Exercise and Equipment, but to Body
and Movement (a prickly, yet at the
same time delicate topic that will
be the conceptual cornerstone of
the next article).
Lets take a look at how Exercise
works:
A first step: re-interpreting Exercise and Equipment and reintroducing the Body to Movement. Our
reflections lead us along a conceptual line that goes from being able
to move to knowing how to move,
from movement being activated
by a muscular contraction and produced by two articular heads coming together, to the coordinated
sequence of movement designed
to achieve a desired goal. Up until now, the journey that has incited this desire to train has placed
many roads before us, each with
several turning points. Each crossroad can indicate different destinations (energetic, mechanical,
coordiantive). Each road can lead
to a particular type of technique or
method. Techniques and methods
can vary in terms of form (changing
the shape of the body) or function
(improving the functions). There
are few techniques and methods
that change the Shape of the Body,
optimizing its relationship with
the world; there are few technqiues and methods that adapt the
Form of Movement to the Form of
the Function. Still today, whatever
it involves the whole body

(Body Work),
it exploits the body weight
(Body Weight Training),
it uses the instability determined by proprioception enriched environments (Balance
Training),
it exploits the counteraction
of small equipment (Functional Tools),
it uses the overload of free
weights (Free Weight),
and it controls the situational
variability dictated by neuromuscular stimuli (Neuromuscular Training).
Based on the relationship between Exercise and real movement, in

other words, movement that occurs daily, Exercise can be divided
into 5 levels:
1. the level of selective muscular
sensitivity (e.g. the use of the
diaphragm and the pelvic floor muscles);
2. the level of activation in a horizontal position of the myofascial chains (e.g. the plank in
Horizontal Holding Postures);
3. the bi/monopodalic stance in
a vertical position (e.g. squat,
lunge, one-legged exercise);
4. the level of the closed/
open-ended chain (open-ended chain; e.g squat and lift or
lunge and reach);
5. the level of locomotion (running, climbing, jumping,
walking, crawling, etc.).
From level 1 to 5, the Form of the
Exercises gradually adapts to the
Function that life asks of it, moving
from isolation to integration, from
activation to finalisation, from a horizontal to a vertical position, from
stationary to locomation, from position to acition (fig. 1). By gradually losing points of contact with the
ground, the Form/Body explores
simple patterns of movement, it
discovers a stabile/mobile structural alignment and it prepares for
the gravitational impact that the
execution of the relational function
requires. There are, on the other
hand, three levels that involve the
world of Equipment: the monoarticular distancing of the isotonic
machines that isolate the muscle
and interrupt the kinetic chain (e.g.
leg extension); the multi-articular
(parkour, skate, free running, natural movement, wild fitness). For

some, the extent of vision represents a limit, for others the consistency of such transformation is
associated with a new idea of movement.
10
Figure no. 1
standardization of the Exercise in 5
levels imitates the natural progression
that guides from
a lying down position to an erect position.
The position is initially stationary and
then locomotory.
approximation of the machine that cooperates (e.g. leg press); the

credibility of a machine that integrates various movements, facilitating a comprehensive action (Pilates, Gyrotonic, Kinesis, Free Motion
Cable Column, Gravity, etc.) (fig. 2).
Form and function of the body and movement

The principle form follows function1 means that the shape of
a building or object should be
primarily based on its intended
function or purpose.. The body is
a designed system; it preserves the features and properties
of a structure that is plastically
adaptable to the demands made
on it. It may be designed, it is
not unchangeable. Movement is
an expression which can be designed; and as such, it is subject
to modifications and changes determined by the plasticity of the
Body and the variability of situa-
tions. It can be designed, using

diverse stylistic techniques and
with a variety of chromatic solutions. Applying the two terms
form and function, not to separate elements but to macro
structures (Body, Movement),
consents us to obtain alternative
information. We will travel along
the thin line of a terminological discussion. The saying form
follows function, coined in the
twentieth century, in relation to
the world of architecture and design, will become the unconventional compass which will guide
us; it will basically be the first aid

to a reflection on the sense and
meaning of the process that we
call training (diagram 1).
THE BODY. The first object of study, or rather, of comparison, is the
BODY.
The form of the Body. The fact that
the BODY has a FORM is not, so to
speak, an original observation.
However, by studying and interpreting its form and the relationships that connect the volumes
that make it the actual form, we
can acquire a vision that is qui-
1. This saying was originally attributed to the American sculptor, Horatio Greenough; the architect, Louis Sullivan cited it
and thus made it famous in relation to architectural, functional and aesthetical implications in the article The Tall Oce
Building Artistically Considered (Lippincotts Magazine, March 1896).
Figure no. 2
The categorisation of
Equipment. Machines
that simulate Real
Movement
11
The ocial journal of the European Weightlifting Federation
12
Diagram no. 1
THE BODY. The first
object of study, or
rather, of comparison,
is the BODY.
te different to what is commonly

perceived. Samuel Butler (18351902), a nineteenth century British writer, remarked that The body
is but a pair of pincers set over a
bellows and stewpan and the whole fixed upon stilts.
Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist and illustrator (1911-1996)
and author of Dynamic Anatomy,
stated that The torso mass is the
central double form to which all
other forms attach. Any movement
in the upper lower torso will immediately throw the secondary forms
(legs, arms and head) out of their
previous positions and into a new
relationship. The merest movement of the rib barrel produces an
immediate displacement of arms
and head, while a pelvic shift compels total deployment of all the
body forms.
According to aesthetic (non-anatomic) standards, the Body has a

Form, the result of the fusion of
various parts (the torso, abdomen
and pelvis make up the proximal
segments; the upper and lower
limbs make up the distal segment;
the hands, feet and head are the
terminal parts of the body). Each
segment, in connecting with the
adjacent segment, generates a kinetic chain.
From another mainly anatomically point of view, we have a
conventional vision of the Form/
Body in its entirety - as a building
made of bricks, in which each
floor corresponds to a different
segment (feet, legs, pelvis, abdomen, torso, arms and heads). It is
a well-structured building, from
the conventional perspective, the
floors are aligned along the axis
of gravity, held together by increasing compression. The only defect

of this interpretation of the Human
Form is that, albeit stable and aligned, the building is made of bricks
and therefore does not move.
If we want a bio-architectural model that is more similar to the plasticity and fluid nature of the Body,
then we must look to the Geodesic
Dome designed by Buckminster
Fuller; the lightest, strongest
and most efficient structure ever
made. In Buckminster Fullers model, it is tension, not compression
that supports the framework. If we
applied the same model to the Human Form, we would have bones
that work as internal spacers as
opposed to bars that support the
compression.2
In our design, the BODY therefore
becomes a self-supporting tensile
The Function of the Body. Investigating the Function of the Body
may seem a banal subject to address. In truth, on closer examination, the research becomes extremely problematic and open to
various interpretations.
We can say that the primary FUNCTION of the human body (in terms
of Form) is the social life, or rather,
social survival. Relating to people
or things, projecting movement internally or externally; activating
motor sequences aimed at a precise goal, keeping control of ones
comfort zone; this is Function.
Social, daily, occupational or sport
functions are nothing more that
the product of the Kinetic Chain,
in other words, the coordinated,
consecutive and sequential activation of the interconnected and
interdependant segments3, that
contribute to placing the farthest
segment (hand, foot and head) in
the required position, at the necessary speed, with the timing suitable to the set goal.4
The synchronous, simultaneous
and synergic motor wave of acceleration/stabilisation/deceleration
that travels through the links of
the kinetic chain in the segments,
generates a coordinated flow that
transmits force and generates purposeful movement. In this sense
and with such a formal and functional characteristic of the body, Movement can become the enabling
agent and optimise performance,
or else lose the properties of the
element that enables the Function
of the Body, to drive only the di-
sabling interferences. The body deforms, it ceases to function and/or

it becomes dysfunctional.
MOVEMENT. MOVEMENT is the second element on which we must
verify the application of the FORM/
FUNCTION principle.
The Form of Movement. MOVEMENT is an incredible, complex
concert of coordinated actions by
a network of sensory-motor impulses. As such, it has two Forms
and eight expressions of form. On
a par with a verbal form, it may be:
1. intransitive, to move oneself, or
2. transitive, to move.
Movement can come to a halt
on the bodys system, travelling
through the infinite spectrum of
kinetic chains, or it can transit
along the same system, finalising
the action of the CHAIN itself, grasping an object, carrying out a social assignment, reaching a goal.
In order for a finalised movement to be optimal, it must be designed to transmit the movement,
throughout the entire system. To
operate effectively as a KINETIC
CHAIN, the joints must be stabilised in the precise moment that
the force is transmitted and transits through the system.
Every movement produced by the
kinetic chain and expressed in an
intransitive form (I move myself)
or in a transitive form (I move something), has its motor origins in
the Basic Movements.
2. Thomas W Myers, Anatomy Trains, Churchill Livingstone, Edimburgo, 2001, 23-29.

3. Kibler WB, Press J, Sciascia A; The Role of Core stability in Athletic Function, Sports Med 2006.
4. Putnam CA, Sequential motions of body segments in striking and throwing skills: descriptions and explanations.
J Biomech. 1993; 26:125-135.
structure that moves by virtue of a

Chain Reaction. It stands, without
any foundation, thanks to the tension applied on the rigid elements
by chords and wires. The bones
float in the muscular matrix; they
are spacers, not bricks; they act
as levers in the complex traction
process carried out by the muscles
and tendons. The Chain reaction is
the kinetic expression of the activation of a muscular or myofascial
chain. This chain can be defined as
open-ended or closed depending
on the type of resistance applied
to the extremities of the chain itself. We use an open-ended chain
to move, whereas to move ourselves we use a closed chain.
There is no such thing as a pure
chain, only open-ended or closed,
they are kinetic combinations that
guide the body in an open space
and define balance and dynamic
posture.
The Chain Reaction allows us to
overcome, or at least, neutralise
the effects of gravity. Overcoming
gravitational restraints comes
about by virtue of diagonal activation patterns that: create a resultant kinetic effect (serape
effect), from the ankle to the opposite shoulder; they act locally on
one or more joints; they activate
cocontractions that control the articular disturbances; they stabilise, generate and transmit force
in the three planes of movement
or in the three dimensions.
13
14
There are eight Basic Movements:

1. Rolling, 2. Squatting, 3. Pulling,
4. Pushing, 5. Lunging, 6. Bending,
7. Twisting, 8. Gait: walking, run5
ning, crawling .
Each movement is core-dependant and therefore is strongly
connected to the correct functioning of the central core stabiliser
and the peripheral stability platforms (coxofemoral joints and
the humeral scapular complex).
they act as anchors for the upper

and lower limbs.6
The three stabilising fulcrums create a mechanical model similar to
that of a four-wheel drive vehicle,
as each of them, inserted in a different mechanical segment (front
axle, wheelbase and rear axle),
control the rotational speed of
each single part, ensuring the dynamic stability of the entire vehicle. (fig. 3).
for the final gesture (catch, pull,

push, move something and move)
and expand the comfort zone.
To describe the fourfold function
of movement, we can use invisible
structures: the gravitational axis,
the line that measures distance,
the cone of action and the shadow
zone. These invisible structures are basically visualisations of
portions of space, within which
we control and direct movement.
The Function of Movement. Movement has a Function, or rather,

it has four complementary Functions (fig. 4): it must balance
against gravity the segments that
make up the body system, consent a relationship with external
forms (objects, people), prepare
We will use them as a sort of geometric map where we can find the
paths of Balance, Relationship,
Purpose and Expansion.
The control of each invisible
structure is entrusted to the mechanisms of an in-depth perception (see Proprioception).
Figure no. 3
The Body is a 4-wheel drive
vehicle. Images from: Alberto
Andorlini, From Prehab
to Rehab: Rehabilitation
and Training National
AIPAC Congress, Florence,
25.05.2009.
The pelvic region, alongside the

coxofemoral joint and the humeral scapular complex, like the core,
are simultaneously motor links
and stabilising joints; they increase the energy and force generated; they consent the passage of
movement and at the same time,
5. Check P, Movement That matters, Publisher: C.H.E.K. Institute, May 15, 2001.
6. Kibler WB, Role of the scapula in the overhead throwing motion. Contemp Ortho. 1991;22:525-532.
15
Figure no. 4
The four functions of Movement.
Images from: Alberto Andorlini
From Prehab To Rehab: Form
Ever Follows The Function, XIX
International Congress on Sports
Rehabilitation and Traumatology,
Bologna 10 April 2010.
The gravitational axis is a line that

passes through the body, through the spine and falls within the
circle of gravity. The perception of
the gravitational axis in relation
to the surrounding elements consents greater dynamics in movement.
By learning to perceive imbalance
along the gravitational axis, you
can become aware of your circle
of gravity, in other words, the cir-
cle described by the projection of

the barycentre to the ground in a
position of maximum imbalance
before having to take a step to
compensate.
The line is the distance that separates man from people or objects.
The distance can be perceived dynamically, as a line that connects
the gravitational axis with that of
the surrounding forms, thus crea-
ting an infinite number of central

lines according to the position of
the volumes we relate to.
Around the central line we can
imagine a cone, whose vertex
coincides with the objective of
our action. The central line passes
through the vertex of the cone,
whereas the base is represented
by our body. Perceiving the central line, controlling the cone of
action, acting within the cone with
16
a reactive action of the distal segments and effectors (hands, feet)

allows us to find the shortest path
to execute the movement.
The shadow zone is a proprioceptive and kinesthetic dimension
in which we lose the ability to
correctly handle the event and
to interact with the surrounding
environment. The comfort zone,
therefore, is defined as the complementary dimension of the shadow zone, that is, the zone where
we are aware of the event and consequently find the most functional
solution.
The second step: re-interpreting

the Body and Movement to bring
Form and Function together. In
the theoretical review addressed
in the previous article, we had put
forward the possibility to enable
the Function of the Body by means of various Forms of Movement
and, through these Forms of Movement we could induce changes
in the Forms of the Body.
Form and Function are appropriate, albeit, unsual terms; deriving
from architectural terminology,
in this context they adapt to the
description of the kinematic relationships between biostructures.
Body and Movement are primary
Diagram no. 2A/2B

2a) The Form/Body follows the Functions exerted by
Movement; the Forms of Movement follow the Functions
of the Body. 2b) The closer the Function of the Body gets
to the Form of the Body, the more the Forms of Movement
must adapt, until they coincide with the Function of
Movement itself.
elements that are changeable, deterministically speaking, yet unalterable in the teleological sense.
Lets try to decipher this concept.
The body seeks balance, a relationship, a purpose, to expand its
comfort zone; during this quest
it alters its alignment and interaction between the various segments that make it up. Movements
are the essential aids to carry out
the function of the body, its social
relationship. If it can guide the
forms of movement towards acquiring Balance, relationship, Purpose and Expansion of its Comfort
Zone, then the Body will better
Diagram no. 2C
2c) The more the Form of the Body adapts
to the Forms of Movement, the more the
Function of the Body and the Function of
the Movement become aligned.
ALBERTO ANDORLINI
After extensive experience as a Physical Education Teacher, today he is a Sports Trainer
and Rehabilitator. His activity has long been connected to his interest in the evolution of
movement and the development of performance.
He has worked for Fiorentina F.C., Siena F.C., Al Arabi Sports Club, Chelsea F.C., he was
the Physical Therapist and Sports Trainer for the Italian Womens Football Team. He is currently the
Rehabilitator at Palermo Sports Club. He collaborates with the Florence Training Lab and lectures in
Sports Science and Techniques and Preventative and Adaptive Motor Sciences at the University of Florence.
adapt to its functional destination (diagram

2b). The more the bio-tensile plasticity of the
Body is adapted to the Basic Movements, or
vice versa, the more the Basic Movements
act on the Forms of the Body. The more the
Function of the Body and the Function of
Movement align, they generate a survival
package based on an optimal harmony of Balance, Relationship, Purpose and Expansion.
(diagram 2c) .
17
18
Courtesy of
How the
Female
Weightlifter
Outgrew the
Lady Bar
It has been said that man is fearfully and
wonderfully made.
Wilton M. Krogman, 1951
BY Andrew Bud Charniga
19
20
HOW THE FEMALE WEIGHTLIFTER OUTGREW THE LADY BAR
Whoever said man is fearfully and

wonderfully made in all probability could not even imagine a member of the weaker sex raising 193
kg over her head.
The first official womens world
weightlifting championships took
place in 1987. By 1989 the world
record in the clean and jerk of the
female +82.5 kg (unlimited bodyweight) class was 137.5 kg, the
same weight as the 82.5 kg record.
At the end of 1993, the year the
new weight classes were introduced, the world record had already
grown to 155 kg. This 155 kg constituted approximately 124% of
the bodyweight of the 125 kg female lifter who raised it.
At the present time the world record in the +75 kg (unlimited weight class) is 193 kg which was set
by 106.21 kg Tatiana Kashirina
(RUS). This weight is 182% of her
bodyweight, i.e., 38 kg more weight
lifted by an athlete with 21 kg less
body mass than the record of 1993!
In 1997 the International Weightlifting Federation decided to introduce the lady bar. The new 15 kg
bar with a smaller diameter grip
became the official bar for female
competitions. By this time the female world record in the clean and
jerk had flat- lined by remaining
the same 155 kg level established
in 1993.
Up until 1997 when the lady bar
debuted on the international
scene, both sexes used the same
equipment. A bar with a smaller
diameter for the smaller hands of
the females, especially the little
girls in the 46 59 kg classes, seemed appropriate. All of the other
specifications of weight and di-
mension of the official equipment

remained unchanged.
When a number of factors are taken into account, practical experience clearly indicates the weaker
sex has outgrown the shorter and
smaller in diameter 15 kg bar.
The realization in weightlifting
sport that alterations in the competition equipment designed for
the female lifter are needed is not
a problem, but a reason for envy.
Weightlifting has a long tradition
in the development of scientifically based, sophisticated training methodology and exercise
techniques. This development has
created the conditions for fema-
Figure no. 1
The relatively huge bend in the bar for this 190 kg lift is caused by a
number of factors: the proportionally larger working length of the
bar; the smaller diameter of 25 mm grip; the strength of the athlete;
the limited space on the sleeve to load the discs according to the
protocols.
Problems with the

specifications of
the 15 kg bar
Renowned Israeli weightlifting
sport scientist Genadi Hiskiya had
been given the task to determine
appropriate dimensions of the
lady bar which was based on the
size of the athlete and the anticipated stresses imposed on the
equipment of a weaker sex.
ter of each sleeve is same for both

bars at 50 mm; the same discs are
used for both bars.
Consequently, it is logical for one
to assume a 25 mm diameter grip
and a sleeve length of 320 mm
would be enough space to load
discs for a female weightlifter; an
athlete with serum testosterone
levels of just 10% of a male weightlifter.
The 320 mm loading area of each
of the lady bar sleeves constitutes 15.9% of its 2,010 mm length.
So, approximately 31.8% of the

lady bar constitutes the area for
loading the discs. On the other
hand, each sleeve of the mens bar
is 18.9%, or the combined area for
loading discs of 37.8% of its total
length, i.e., not just a larger area,
but disproportionally larger for
the athlete with ten times the serum testosterone of a female weightlifter.
le weightlifters to raise weights

once reserved for only the worlds
strongest men.
Consequently, the present circumstances are a tribute to the more
than 100 year history of the technical expertise of weightlifting
sport science.
21
Furthermore, the distance between the center and end of the lady
bar is 1,005 mm, which, like the
1,100 mm dimension of the male
Hiskiya did the math and decided a

15 kg bar should have a diameter
of 26 mm. The 2,010 mm length
of the bar would be shorter than
the 2,200 mm male bar. However,
Hiskiyas calculations were cast
aside when it was decided the bar
would have a 25 mm grip. In all
probability, since a 25 mm diameter steel is a common dimension,
consequently, it would be cost effective to produce one. Besides
the most any female could lift was
155 kg and many would have logically thought that this, if not the
ceiling, was close to it.
However, even though the grasping portion of the lady bar (space between the collars) is the same
distance: 1,310 mm; the space
on the loading portion of the bar
known as the sleeve is 415 mm for
the male bar, whereas it is only 320
mm for the female bar. The diame-
Figure no. 2-3

A 15 kg lady bar loaded to 193 kg with the 1.5 loaded not according to the
protocols; less than 2 cm space left at the end of the bar. Compare this to the
195 kg on the male bar with collars expanded by the opening the threaded end.
22
bar, constitutes 50% of its total

length. The specified width of each
inside collar on both bars is 30 mm.
Therefore, that means the distance between the outer surface of
the inside collars, i.e., the closest
point the first discs on the bar
approach its center, is the same
for both bars. That is because the
width of the inside collars is the
same 30 mm and the distance
between the grasping portion of
both bars is the same 1,310 mm.
The working
length of the bar
However, the distance between

the exact center of the bar and
this point on the outer surface of
the sleeve is 1,035 mm for the lady
bar or 51.2% of its length. The distance of 1,035 mm is identical for
mens bar, but it constitutes only
47.01% of its total length.
Zhekov recognized when a weightlifter produces a rapid bend in the

barbell, timing this bend so that
the recoil will assist the upward lifting of the barbell in the jerk from
the chest, was a complex skill crucial for the high class weightlifter
to master. The problem connected
with mastering this skill is the
amount of weight required in order to bend and utilize the recoil in
the jerk. A weightlifter needs to lift
weights in the jerk from the chest
heavy enough to practice the precise conditions of bar bend.
Because of the differences in relative distance between the center of the bar and outer surface
of the sleeve, the diameter of the
male and female shaft, one would
expect the case hardened steel
constructed lady bar to flex disproportionally more for a given
weight than would be anticipated
of the male bar. The reason is because the first discs loaded on the
sleeve segment are disproportionally further from the center of
the lady bar.
In effect, this would be similar to
loading the first disc on the mens
bar not flush up against the inside
area of the collar but several centimeters further out from its center.
Soviet sport scientist Ilya Zhekov,

author of Biomechanics of the
Weightlifting Exercises, which
some aptly have called Gods book
of weightlifting, referred to the
distance from the precise center
of the bar to the point where the
discs are loaded up against the inside collar as the working length
of the bar (Zhekov, 1976).
It was Zhekovs idea to reproduce the bending/recoil conditions

of lifting a heavy weight from the
chest in training by increasing the
working length of the bar. This is
accomplished by moving the discs
further out on the collars from the
nearest point to the center of the
bar.
For instance, by making the appropriate calculations, a lifter, who
had difficulty timing the bend with
(for him) a maximum weight of 200
kg could practice these conditions
with say 120 kg simply by moving
innermost discs on the sleeves
further out away from the center

of the bar.
In this manner a lifter could practice the springy conditions inherent
to lifting a maximum weight in
the jerk from the chest with a sub
-maximum weight, i.e., get in more
practice with more lifts of a lighter
weight.
When this concept is applied to
the design of the lady barbell, it is
obvious the working length of the
lady bar is proportionally greater
than that of the male bar, i.e., the
discs are placed further out from
the center of the bar. This means
it is possible that the lady bar can
flex more in both relative and absolute terms, because the working
length is greater than the male
bar, which, of course, is only exacerbated by its smaller (25 mm)
diameter (see photos).
Men lift bigger weights than women. Bigger weights can cause
the bar to bend more. In absence
of precise calculations, it would
appear the ladies have a slight advantage in the jerk from the chest
with a proportionally greater working distance on a 15 kg bar. This
perceived advantage would be
the potential to create and utilize
the elastic energy from a springier
barbell.
The oscillation of a given barbell
increases along with its increasing weight. I. P. Zhekov, 1976
However, other factors need to be
taken into account.
Besides a larger working length,
as already noted, there is less
space to place the discs on the 15
The lever of the collar is designed

to lock down the discs and collars
to prevent shifting during the
act of lifting. In and of itself, this
should suffice. However, the two
piece threaded design most manufacturers employ allows the
length of the collar to be expanded
by unscrewing the portion abutting the discs.
If, for instance, the unexpanded
length of a collar of a category A
barbell is 68.22 mm, it can be elongated to 93.78 mm. Unexpanded,
each collar takes up 68.22/320
mm equaling 21.3% of the length
of the 15 kg bar sleeve. This compares to 68.22/415 mm equaling
16.4% of the 20 kg bar sleeve. Consequently, not only is the loading
area of the lady bar smaller in absolute terms, but using the same
collars for both bars means the
collars take a disproportionate
amount of space on the 15 kg bar,
and effectively disproportionately
increases its working length.
kg bar. The smaller space is often

exacerbated by: first, the loading
protocols stipulating the 0.5 kg
2.0 kg discs be outside the collars
and second, the manner in which
the collars are fixed to the barbell.
The rules require the discs be fixed
to the bar by means of collars. The
rules specify the collars weigh 2.5
kg each and the diameter of the
hole be 5.0 cm. The same collars

are used for both 15 kg and 20 kg
bars.
The problem associated with the
requirement of collars is not their
weight, but their design. Collars
are designed with a lever to secure the discs from sliding and at the
same time fix the position of the
collar on the barbell.
Furthermore, if one of the 0.5 2.0

discs is loaded on the outside of the
collars, as the loading protocols stipulate, this disc can be shifted further from the center by elongating
the collar, i.e., artificially increasing
the working length of the bar. This
effect, in turn, is slightly pronounced because the lighter segment
of the collar is shifted towards the
discs pushing the heavier segment
further out, along with the disc loaded on the outside.
Figure no. 4-5

Obvious differences in bend
of both bars loaded near the
maximum available space.
23
24
Figure no. 6
Regardless of differences in a manufacturers discs or collars; there is not enough room left on a lady
bar to prevent excessive oscillation. Here the lady barbell loaded to 193 does not follow the protocol
because the 1.5 kg disc is loaded on the inside. Furthermore, the collar has been expanded, i.e., unscrewed
pushing it further out on the sleeve.
So, a situation where fixing the
collar on the barbell with the least effect on the working length
of the bar would be unexpanded
(a length of 68.22 mm) with a 0.5
kg disc on the outside. Conversely,
circumstances are created with
the largest effect on the working
length would be a fully elongated
collar (93.78 mm) with a 2.0 kg disc
loaded on the outside.
However, if a record attempt, of
say 194 kg, is loaded on a lady barbell, not only is there no room to
expand the collar, but placing the
2.0 kg on the outside will definitely
affect the oscillation of the barbell
and with it, the athletes ability to
control it.
Some of the factors

affecting oscillation of the barbell
not connected with
the design of the
equipment
phase of the clean and, of course,

bar bend and recoil in the jerk.
Whereas, in the opposite case, the
closer the hands are spaced to the
shoulders, the more oscillation
one can expect.
Apart from the amount of weight,

other factors which affect oscillation of the bar, independent of the
design of the equipment, are the
hand spacing, stance, width of the
shoulder girdle, width of the pelvic
girdle and the suppleness of the
athlete.
When the barbell is resting on

the chest prior to the jerk, a wide
shoulder girdle provides more
support with slightly less oscillation while a narrower shoulder girdle provides slightly less support
creating slightly more oscillation.
The relative width of a lifters pelvis probably has little effect on
bar oscillation but a stance significantly wider than hip width would.
Generally, the further the lifters

hands are fixed to the bar from the
edge of the shoulder joints, the
more the grasp supports the bar
further from its center. This tends
to reduce oscillation in the pull
What does all of this have to do

with the problem with the lady
bar? Women generally have pro-
Some of the top female lifters gasp

the barbell with a narrow hand
spacing combined with an atypical
stance where the feet are inside
the width of the pelvis. A female
(or male for that matter) lifter who
employs a narrow hand spacing,
along with a foot spacing (feet inside the width of the pelvis), shifts
the lifting force acting on the barbell closer to the center of the bar,
i.e., increasing the working length
of the bar from the inside out.
In order to counterbalance the
weight in the jerk from the chest,
many female lifters place their
feet in the starting position such
that the foot of the leg which is shifted forward in the split is slightly
in front of the other, i.e., artificially
increasing the length of the base
of support. The female body is
more complex than a mans body.
Consequently, this technique is instinctive, a natural predisposition
of a complex organism to accommodate to complex conditions.
So, a proportionally narrower
shoulder girdle and a close hand
spacing along with feet inside
pelvis width stance will facilitate
barbell oscillation and recoil in the
jerk, especially when this technique is employed with a bar that
has a 25 mm grip and an already
proportionally longer working length.
portionally wider pelvic girdles,

narrower shoulder girdles and
smaller feet. Although most select
a hand spacing for the clean and
jerk in between what is considered
wide and narrow (hands almost
touching deltoid muscles) and a
stance of approximately hip width,
some of the elite females do not.
25
There is not much research in

weightlifting about oscillation of
the barbell from lift off to fixation
overhead. Generally, most people
recognize the bar bends before lift
off from the floor or on the chest in
the jerk, but few recognize the bar
can hyper bend, especially if the lifters movements are fast.
The accompanying pictures illustrate two forms of oscillation in
the jerk from the chest. The 151 kg
barbell has straightened out after
recoil; in part because the lifter
has a wide hand spacing. The other
157 kg barbell is bending in a slight hyper recoil with this athletes
narrow hand spacing. This hyper
recoil of the barbell means the
center of the bar is bowing down,
while the discs are bowing up (see
figure no. 8 next page).
Ultimately, the extra, hyper recoil
is added to the force of the weight
Figure no. 7
Example of female lifter
increasing the working
length of the bar with narrow
starting position of feet and
normal hand spacing close to
shoulder width.
on the athletes body when she
locks her arms to fix it overhead.
Furthermore, this additional recoil
is magnified with the heavier the
weight, the longer working length
of the 15 kg bar, the narrower the
hand spacing and the narrower
stance. An excessively springy
barbell becomes more and more
difficult to control at the chest, at
full extension of the arms, as well
if the weightlifter struggles out of
the squat with a maximum weight.
An example of an unexpected problem of a too springy bar was the
clean and jerk competition in the
58 kg class at the 2012 Olympics
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7AulgVE86A).
26
Figure no. 8
A wider hand spacing will tend to support the bar so that there is less bend. On the other hand a closer
to shoulder width hand spacing will promote more flex in the barbell including the hyper-flexion of the
bar opposite its direction of inertia, i.e., the center is bowed downward with the ends bowing upwards.
Two of the BLR 58 kg girls lifts
were turned down for oscillating
the barbell in the jerk.
The rules stipulate a lifter cannot
purposely move in such a manner
prior to jerking the barbell from
the chest as to make the bar oscillate for additional assistance in
the upward lifting.
In this instance, this lifters hand
spacing for the jerk was very close
to the shoulders. She raised the
barbell off her chest after recovery from the squat to switch to a
thumb-less grip, which the rules
permit. However, in the process
switching to this grip she expanded her grasp such that the base
of her thumbs were brushing up
against her shoulders. Consequently, the 127 and 133 kg barbells she was lifting oscillated a little
more than would be expected had
she retained the original grasp.
This action increased the working

length of the bar, as noted before,
from the inside out.
Even though she paused briefly
before beginning to jerk the barbell, it continued to oscillate after
the clean. Two of the three referees apparently noticed the barbell
oscillating; assuming the lifter
was in violation of the rules, they
turned the lift down. The rules do
not stipulate a length of pause
from recovery to jerk only that the
athlete become motionless. A prolonged pause to wait for a 133 kg
female barbell to stop oscillating
is unrealistic. The athlete was penalized for the moving bar even
though there was no deliberate
attempt on her part to flex the barbell in order to gain an advantage.
The fact here is not to point a finger but to make a point: the strength of todays women lifters is
beyond the equipment which was

originally designed for a weaker
sex, whatever that is.
Another factor, not easily quantified, is the fact that females generally have greater flexibility, greater overall suppleness and larger
range of motion in joints which is
sometimes referred to as lax articulations. Suppleness and lax articulations are desirable qualities
for raising heavy barbells.
A very supple, flexible athlete can
perform complex movements while experiencing less of what the
Russian sport scientists call internal resistance. A large range
of motion in joints coupled with
less internal resistance means
movements of the modern female
weightlifter can be mechanically
more efficient in lifting maximum
weights.
Concerning the
pressing need for
alterations to the
female barbell
The obvious problem associated
with an excessive bend (see picture of 190 kg clean) in the lady bar
created by the heavier weights
being raised is an important issue,
but perhaps not the most significant from a safety standpoint.
A hyper bend in the barbell just
before the lifter locks the elbows
in the jerk or multiple, imperceptible to the naked eye, oscillations in
the barbell when a lifter is struggling out of the squat or trying
to become still with a maximum
weight overhead in the jerk pose
bigger threats to safety and performance.
A number of factors have coalesced to create the conundrum of
excessive oscillation with the lady
bar. The following are the most significant factors affecting excessive oscillation of the 15 kg bar:
1) the strength of the female weightlifter;
2) the 1,310 mm dimension of the
grasping area between the inside surface of the collars;
3) the 25 mm diameter of the grip;
4) the specified 30 mm width of

the inside collars of the sleeves;
5) the expandable collar;
6) the loading protocols to fix the
0.5 2.0 kg.
Of the factors affecting excessive oscillation of the 15 kg bar, the
unanticipated, astonishing strength of the female weightlifter is
not the fault of engineering. The
fault lies in the modern methods
of preparing weightlifters, especially the modern concepts of
weightlifting technique which is a
positive development for weightlifting, to say the least.
Of all the alterations to the lady
bar to consider for the safety of
the female lifter, asking them to
become weaker so they will not
bend the bar too much is not a
viable option.
The 1,310 mm dimension of the
grasping area between the inside
surface of the collars stands out
as the most irrational dimension
of the 15 kg bar. The idea to make a
smaller diameter grip, even though the 25 mm is now too small,
is understandable. This is to accommodate smaller hands, so the
small girls will not have to strain
just to hold on.
However, at least part of the rationale behind the 1,310 mm grasping area between the collars is
to accommodate the lifter whose
arms are so long the lifter needs to
grip the bar with hands up against
the inside collars. It is illogical to
assume someone with arms that
long to require 1,310 mm of space
will have hands so small as to need
a 25 mm grip.
Consequently, the first dimension

of the lady bar that should be altered is the 1,310 mm dimension
between the inside portion of the
collars. This dimension disproportionally increases the working
length of the lady bar. It is highly
unlikely anyone will need that
much area to grasp the bar. Along
with reduction in the 1,310 mm,
the 30 mm required width of the
inside collars should be reduced
as well. These two alterations
would reduce the working length
of the bar and free up space on the
sleeve for the strongest female lifters.
If those reduced dimensions were
applied to a bar with a 26 mm
diameter, the barbell will still be
springy, but not excessive.
As far as the collars are concerned,
the simplest, logical solution is to
direct the loaders not to expand
the collar. It is unlikely unscrewing
the collars after the lever is tightened will contribute anything
substantial to holding the weights
on the bar. Of course, in the long
term an expandable collar is unnecessary. Furthermore, eliminating
the threaded two piece design will
save unnecessary retooling.
There are a number of factors which affect oscillation of the modern
weightlifting barbell such as the
amount of weight, the working
length of the bar and the width of
the hand spacing. However, the
unanticipated current and still
growing strength of the modern
female weightlifter has antiquated the bar designed specifically
for this athlete. This has created
safety and performance issues
which can only be addressed with
design changes in the lady bar.
Elite female lifters can raise big

weights while performing less
work against gravity by means of
less resistance to the bodys movement while raising the barbell
to a lower height. The high class
elite females instinctively achieve a resonance, i.e., a rhythm of
stretching tendons and ligaments
(biological springs) with the oscillation of the barbell.
27
28
Afterward
It is a quirk of fate that the stagnation of the male world records
which necessitated the change in
weight classes combined with an
unexpected strength of the female lifter is that the strongest lifters
Figure no. 9
Curiously the stormy growth
of the female records and
the stagnation of the male
record has created the
same circumstance with not
enough room at the end of
the bar to safely fit the discs
on according to the current
rule protocols. In all three
pictures the collars are
expanded unnecessarily taking
up the too little space left on
both barbells.
of both genders face the same

problem of oscillation.
From the pictures of the ends of
the barbells of both sexes, you can
see there is not enough room to
safely load the weights required
of the strongest lifters. For the

men it would be appropriate to introduce the already approved 30
kg 450 mm discs, and, as already
mentioned, to eliminate the threaded collar.
ANDREW B. CHARNIGA
Weightlifting sports scientist
and trainer with a degree in
Exercise Science from Eastern
Michigan University (USA) and
a Masters in Kinesiotherapy
from Toledo University (Spain).
The founder of Sportivny Press
in 1980, Mr. Charniga has also
edited 15 books translated into
Russian and dozens of articles
on weightlifting training,
biomechanics, recovery, etc. He
regularly publishes specialised
articles and translations on the
website: www.sportivnypress.
1. Charniga, A., A De-m

asculinization of Strength
,
Sportivnypress, Livonia,
Michigan, 2102
2. 2/ Zhekov, I.P., Biom
echanics of the weightlift
ing
exercises, English translat
ion: Sportivnypress,
Livonia, Michigan, Origi
nal publication in Russian
:
Fizkultura I Sport, Mosco
w, 1976
References
29
30
Biomechanical model
of the basic
Snatch
techniques
The Snatch is the lift of modern Olympic
Weightlifting which involves lifting the barbell
from the ground to an overhead position a single,
continuous movement, showing perfect postural
control with all the central joints of the anatomic
segments in full extension [1].
BY DONATO FORMICOLA
31
32
BIOMECHANICAL MODEL OF THE BASIC SNATCH TECHNIQUES
INTRODUCTION
The upward trajectory that the
barbell completes during the execution of the Snatch generates
great interest from the scientific
literature that deals with sports
biomechanics, as it is a demonstration of how it is possible to
develop specific motor strategies
that can lift a load, which, in the
specific case of this movement,
can reach almost two and a half
times the body weight (Liu Xiaojun, 2013 world record holder,
who lifted 176 kg in the Snatch,
about 2.3 times his body weight
of 76.4 kg). The trend of the barbell trajectory is represented by a
characteristic S shape [2] and is
delineated by the mechanical contribution of the joint levers that, in
altering their spatial disposition
during the entire evolution of the
movement, mainly generate three
propulsive periods [3]:
1) the pull, characterised by the
action of the lower limbs and
the rearward displacement of
the barbell; 2) the thrust, which
involves raising the pelvis and
a forward displacement of the
barbell; 3) the push, when the
shoulders are fully raised with
the simultaneous extension of
the lower limbs to allow the barbell to reach maximum height [4].
In the modern evolution of the technique, aimed at improving the
mechanical efficiency of lifting
increasingly heavier loads producing increasingly faster actions,
the trajectory of the barbell tends
to assume a less curved trends.
Two examples of technical variations of this type are (1) the changes that are occurring in the dou-
ble knee bend phase (plyometric

action leg) that, to reduce the horizontal displacement in the first
pull, loses the countermovement,
becoming therefore, a single
knee bend [5], and (2) the exasperation of the explosive component
of the thrust through the accentuation of the jump action at the
end of the triple joint extension
of the lower limbs, in order to limit
the rotation of the arms at the maximum height of the barbell in the
push [6].
However, in the Snatch, the barbell goes beyond the athletes
centre of gravity with a change
in the vertical direction of the extension of the upper limbs and a
relative variation of the dynamic
vertical thrust: when the arms are
stretched downwards, the legs develop a vertical acceleration of the
barbell through a linear inertial
force that exploits the reaction
force generated by the support
surface; whereas, when the arms
rotate upwards, the upward force
of the barbell is ensured by the
moment of inertia produced by the
interaction between the athletes
centre of gravity and that of the
barbell. Based on the morphological and athletic characteristics,
some lifters prefer to coordinate
the rotation of their weight mass
as opposed to that of the barbell,
while others fail to control the rotations of the barbell while maintaining constant the positions of
the inertial mass of their body [7].
The elevation of the upper limbs
during the third push therefore
requires the management of a
roto-translation strategy of the
centres of gravity of the athlete
mass-barbell mass couple, whose
effect inevitably has an impact on

the curve of the barbell trajectory.
Much research is underway in the
field of sports biomechanics regarding the weight contribution
of the athlete and the barbell, in
order to define a standardised
efficient execution of the modern
technique of the Snatch and to
minimize the dispersion of muscle
forces engaged in the development of the performance of Olympic Weightlifting [8].
In general, the technical analysis
of a sports movement is realised
by a systematic observation of
the entire movement, breaking
down the overall aim of the action
into different motor tasks, each of
which is to be carried out through a characteristic motor pattern
whose efficacy influences the efficiency of the action [9]. This type of
procedure is known in literature as
qualitative biomechanical analysis
and involves the evaluation of the
motor actions, in order of effectiveness, through the outcome of
the pre-set task and, in order of
efficiency, comparing its implementation with a reference model
[10]. Therefore, if for the technical
analysis of the effectiveness of a
phase, it is sufficient to check the
execution of a motor task, for the
evaluation of the efficiency, it is
crucial to have a reference model
obtained through a process of digitizing the movement composed
mainly of five consequential stages:
1) designing a system capable
of capturing motion which can
collect the information on the
position in space of the different
parts of the body involved in mo-
or a few subjects, conducted in a

controlled environment.
In this study, we present a description of the Snatch movement,
using a standardised, anthropomorphic, biomechanical model, dividing the execution of the action
into different positions characterising the overall technical movement and which can be achieved
by a series of key, basic motor strategies. This simulation aims at offering a new method of qualitative
analysis of the movement in favour
of the study of technical efficiency,
which meets the biomechanical
and ergonomic properties of the
human body. The new biomechanical approach adopted would allow
us to calculate the only postural
attitudes that the athlete, according to his/her anatomy, can assume to effectively satisfy the fundamental phases of the Snatch.
MATERIALS AND
METHODS
The anthropomorphic biomechanical model used for the study
was carried out by integrating the
data collected from the literature
regarding the biomechanical [17]
and anthropometric [18] components. The shapes and the masses
of the body of a virtual athlete have
been simplified in the association
of six anatomical regions (foot,
leg, thigh, torso, arms, head) represented by the same number of
coplanar linear segments that originate from their centre of mass
and end in their distal and proximal joints. The use of a two-dimensional anthropomorphic model
of this type is supported by the
total contralateral symmetry that
the Snatch requires in order to be

performed in a condition devoid
of motor skills and of subjective
compensations associated with
morphological causes. The length
and position of the centre of mass
of the anatomic segment of the
upper limbs were calculated from
the maximum possible distance
that can be obtained between the
articular centre of the shoulder
and the longitudinal axis of the
barbell, assuming that the athlete
grips the bar with taut wrists and
elbows and at a width that allows
the head to pass under the barbell during all phases of the lift. In
representing the pelvic volumes,
the two-dimensional model of
the torso was characterised by a
quadrangular area, defined by the
iliac spines above and below by the
sagittal protrusions of the stomach, gluteus and pyramidalis muscles, and by a line representing
the longitudinal axis of the spine,
which combines the hip joint to
that of the shoulder without considering the metameric joints of
the spine, the latter presumed in
a static conformation capable of
integrally preserving its physiological curves. The volumes of the
lower limb were illustrated with
the longitudinal axes of the different anatomical segments joining
the hip (aligned to the landmark of
the greater trochanter) with the
knee and the ankle. Finally, in the
anthropomorphic model, the foot
is defined by a triangular shape
which joins the ankle to the rear
bony protrusion of the calcaneus
and to the distal end of the last
phalanx of the big toe. A fourth
anatomical point of biomechanical
interest was also identified on the
tor action to be analysed (usually

these systems are composed of
sensors, such as accelerometers
placed on the body segments in
motion [11], or computer vision
applications which use multiple
cameras to record the position
of the anatomical points of interest from different angles and
then reconstruct the position
in a virtual environment [12]);
2) recording a series of executions of the same motor action
performed by one or more individuals, according to the degree
of intra-subjectivity [13] and/
or inter-subjectivity analysis; 3)
normalizing the motor action by
means of statistical procedures,
with the aim of obtaining a single
motor action from the average
of all tests recorded, thus emphasising the recursive motor
strategies and reducing the effects of the complementary ones
[14]; 4) integrating experimental
data with anthropometric data
collected from literature [15] to
allow biomechanical assessments which require the weight contribution of the individual body
segments (the anatomical positioning of the centres of gravity
of the body masses is determined only by direct methods of
dissection investigation); 5) simulation of the action with different mathematical optimization
methods of the motor performance model [16]. Specifically,
in scientific studies on Weightlifting, it is interesting to note
that the biomechanical analysis
that presented a model of the
Snatch execution technique,
took into consideration the best
performance of individual cases
33
34
of the Snatch has been studied

and classified with a series of six
key motor actions:
1) First Pull 2) Transition 3) Power
Position, 4) Triple Extension of
Lower Limbs, 5) Turnover and 6)
Recovery of Erect Position.
All six key motor actions comply
with two fundamental principles
of postural stability: the first is
based on the shortest distance
possible between the centres of
mass of the anatomical segments and the centre of gravity of the
barbell (to reduce the inertial efFigure no. 1
fects of their mutual movement),
Graphical representation of the multi-segment anthropomorphic
the second requires that the verbiomechanical model. The model comprises six segments:
tical projection of the centres of
foot (in red), leg (in purple), thigh (in dark blue), torso (in light blue),
gravity of the barbell and of all the
arm (in orange), head (in green). The centres of mass of the individual
body masses, including the total
body segments have been identified (the asterisks bear the same colours
as the body segments) and the mass of the entire body (cross circled in mass, must fall within the area of
the supporting surface corresponblack). The ordinate values are expressed in model units (fractions of
ding to the plantar section of the
height of the anthropomorphic model).
midfoot, at half the total length of
the foot [20]. The qualitative bioarticulation metatarsophalangeal joint) and forefoot (the phalanges
mechanical analysis of the Snatch
joint to split the main axis of the of the toes). Figure 1 shows the
has been illustrated in Figure 2,
foot into hindfoot (from the ankle anthropomorphic model.
where we can observe the ten stato the protrusion of the posterior
ges in which the athlete assumes
calcaneus), midfoot (from the an- Following the guidelines defined
some characteristic postures of
kle to the metatarsophalangeal by literature [19], the movement
the six key motor actions.
35
Figure no. 2
Basic phases of the Snatch Technique.The multi-segment biomechanical
model represents the distinct solutions of ten postural positions
that characterise the Snatch technique. The univocity of the spatial
layout of the model was reached by respecting the articular ranges of
the different body segments and the two basic principles of postural
stability: maximum proximity of the centres of gravity in relation to
the vertical line of the movement and the projection of the centre of
mass of the athletes body which falls in the centre of the midfoot. The
ordinate values are expressed in model units (fractions of height of
the anthropomorphic model).
First Pull. In this first motor action
the centres of mass of the foot, the
barbell and the tibia are aligned in
a straight line and perpendicular
to the support plane that intersects the shoulder joint in order
to make the direction of the barbell ascent vertical (Figure 2, Phase 1). Therefore, by knowing the
position of the knee and the horizontal component of the shoulder,
the hip can be placed in the plane
of the anthropomorphic model
(also called the homographic plane) at the point of intersection articular radii of the torso and thigh.
The two coordinates of the hip and
the shoulder height (three unknown) therefore constitute the
only solution of a system of three
equations (the straight line of the

arms, the torso circumference
with radius on the shoulder, thigh
circumference with centre on the
knee).
The Phase described by this biomechanical simulation shows
how the upper edge of the iliac
crests, defined by the point of intersection between the main axis
of the torso and the upper side of
the pelvic quadrangle, is parallel
to the knee and hip, and placed
below the knee line, places the
vertical projection of the centre of
gravity of the body masses slightly
ahead of the ankle, making it fall
even so, within the support surface of the midfoot, to guarantee
total postural stability.
Transition. From the position

adopted in the motor action of
the First Pull, the barbell is raised,
continuously touching the legs
that extend by the concurrent effect of a retraction of the knee and
a hip lift, which are indispensable
in order to ensure the verticality
of the barbell trajectory. The final
moment of this phase, where for
purely explanatory purposes, we
consider null the anatomical volumes of the joints and the cross
sections of the barbell, is described by a superposition of the
central knee joint with the longitudinal axis of the barbell (Figure
2, Phase 2). The segments of the
thigh, torso and arms thus define
a scalene triangle, whose centre
of gravity represents the horizontal component that falls on the
perpendicular of the ankle, on the
posterior margin of the midfoot
but still within the limit of postural
stability.
Power Position. After the transition to the knee, the barbell
continues its upward movement,
36
sliding along the longitudinal axis

of the thigh until the plane of the
arms intersects the line of the iliac
spines on the upper margin of the
pelvic quadrangle of the basin,
in the geometric arrangement
where, in the average anthropomorphic model, the barbell is at
approximately the same height
of the hip (the greater trochanter). This postural configuration
is achieved with a forward displacement of the knees that realigns
the vertical line of the centres of
mass of the torso, thigh and legs
with that of the foot (Figure 2,
Phase 3) and corresponds to an
interesting biomechanical configuration (said athletic posture or
power position), in which the articular segments of the thigh and
torso in relation to the arms and
the front section of the iliac crest,
behave like a mechanical pantograph (the shoulder, iliac spine,
knee and hip are the vertices), capable of multiplying the upward
force and simultaneously cause a
forward displacement of the barbell.
Triple Extension of Lower Limbs.
The motor action subsequent to
the power position is when the
joints of the ankle and knee are
fully extended, while the athlete
attempts to hyperextend the torso in order to lift the barbell as
high as possible (Figure 2, Phases
4 and 5) which, as seen in the previous strategy, is resting on the
torso with the arms fully extended. This strategy is characterised
by a rapid increase of the thrust
of the foot on the support plane,
for a displacement of the centre
of pressure from the midfoot to
the forefoot, with a reduction of

the foot contact surface (Figure
2, Phase 4) and for a total involvement of extensor musculature of
the lower limbs which produces a
strong increase in the thrust, so
as to ensure the constant application of an upward force on the barbell, even when the foot support
is reduced only to the balls of the
feet (Figure 2, Phase 5), or is even
non-existent during a jump. In this
geometric configuration, the vertical line that aligns the foot in full
plantar flexion, the leg and thigh,
intersects the line joining the centres of mass of the upper limbs.
This point is the hub of two mechanical levers where the barbell acts
as resistance: one of the first type,
the power of which is represented
by direct muscle strength on the
shoulders, extending to the torso, and a third type, whose power
is the muscular strength that extends the lower limbs and pushes
the hip upwards. The first type of
lever generates a rotational force that simultaneously moves the
barbell forward and upward, while
the second type of lever produces
an additional upward thrust that
enhances the effects of the first
lever.
Turnover. The fifth motor action
of the Snatch begins when the
barbell reaches its maximum height against the annulment of the
constraining forces of the support surface. From this moment
onwards, both the athlete and the
barbell continue their rise until
the gravitational pull counteracts
their inertia and reverses the direction of their vertical motion.
While the bar is raised under the
propulsive effects accumulated in

the previous motor actions, this
is the only moment in which the
athlete is free of the load, and can
extend the arms upward (Figure 2,
Phase 6), preparing to halt the fall
of the barbell with arms stretched
overhead (Figure 2, Phase 7). The
final position that the athlete assumes at this stage is accomplished by restoring full foot support
in a characteristic squat, where
the lower margin of the pelvic quadrangle is in its lowest position (in
this regard, please note that the
international regulation of Olympic Lifts forbids athletes to bring
the gluteus, or other parts of the
body other than the soles of the
feet, in contact with the competition platform). The centres of mass
of the tibial segment and the foot
will produce the vertical axis of the
movement, to indicate the point
of ground pressure for maximum
postural stability and to align the
longitudinal axis of the arms with
respect to the shoulder and the
centre of gravity of the barbell.
Recovery of Erect Position. The
Snatch is successful when the athlete resumes an upright position,
maintaining the barbell overhead
with extended arms. This latter
position is achieved with a distension of the lower limbs, while the
arms are vertically aligned to the
centres of mass of the foot and
leg, ensuring the projection on
the ground of the weight of the
barbell on the tying point of maximum postural stability. During
the extension of the lower limbs,
the pelvis initially rises, droppings backwards (Figure 2, Phase 8)
and then tilting forwards (Figure
2, Phase 9) until maximum leg extension is reached. The torso leans

forward, its centre of mass being
vertically aligned with the centre
of mass of the foot (Figure 2, Phase 10). In this position, the vertical axis divides the masses of the
body segments and the barbell in
two distinct mechanical sections,
which are in a state of static equilibrium by reciprocity of their counterweights, which relieve the extended joints of excessive muscle
tension. Once the ten phases that
describe the characteristic actions
of the Snatch had been defined, it
was possible to calculate the angular and linear kinematics from
the virtual model of the athlete.
Figure 3 illustrates the articular
ranges of the foot, ankle, knee, hip
and shoulder, whereas Figure 4
shows the vertical components of
the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and
barbell and Figure 5 shows the
trajectories of the centres of mass
of the athlete and the barbell.
Figure no. 3
Angular Ranges. The articular ranges (in degrees) are illustrated for
each of the ten phases of the Snatch: sole of the foot in relation to the
support surface with vertex on the metatarsophalangeal joint (in red);
ankle (in purple); knees (in dark blue); hips (in light blue); shoulder (in
orange).
RESULTS
The ten phases defined in the qualitative biomechanical analysis of
the Snatch in Figure 2, show two
particular motor strategies that
make up the overall movement.
The first is achieved by a rotatory
movement of the torso, which first
tilts the pelvis backwards (Phase 1
and 2) and then moves it forward
until it comes into contact with the
barbell (Phases 3, 4 and 5), with
the aim of transferring to the latter a sufficient quantity of motion
to continue its ascent even when
there is no longer any contact
(Phases 6 and 7). The second motor strategy, which is performed
at the same time as the first, is the
37
Figure no. 4
Vertical Displacement of the Joints. The ten phases of the Snatch have
been characterised by the vertical component of five joints: ankle (in
red), knee (in purple), hips (in dark blue), shoulder (in light blue), hand
(in orange). The hands centre of mass intersects the main axis of the
barbell. The ordinate values are expressed in model units (fractions of
height of the anthropomorphic model).
38
extension of the lower limbs that

takes the barbell to such a height
that it exploits the thrust from the
pelvis and remains suspended in
the air long enough for the athlete
to squat with arms outstretched
before regaining control. Note
how the height reached by the
barbell in Phase 5 matches that
reached in Phase 7, and therefore
the lift of the barbell during Phase
6 is related to the time required for
the athlete to completely bend the
knees, and the lifting force applied
on the barbell, obtained from the
jump and the pelvic thrust, is much
greater than the reduced speed of
the athletes squat. Taking into account the first five phases of the
Snatch, we observe how the athlete moves his/her centre of mass
back to compensate the anterior
displacement of the barbell and to
facilitate the drop of the body during Phase 6.
The interaction between the rotation motor strategy of the torso
and the extension of the lower limbs is visible in Figure 3. It is to be
noted that this figure, as Figure
4, is realised by using an irregular graphic representation so as
to guarantee readability of data.
As the x-axis is set out in phases
and not in a timeframe, instead
of a linear trend, it was necessary
to opt for a histogram graph. The
broken lines that join the different
articular ranges, obtained during the ten phases of the Snatch,
show a continuous trend without,
however, giving information on
the time path of the complete
movement. An analysis of the techniques time path of gesture is
outside the object of this study,
because it is subject to individual
morphological parameters, such

as the joint length - in technical
terms, such as the ability to manage the interaction between the
inertial masses and the load of the
barbell and performance-wise,
such as the concatenation of the
different contributions of strength developed by the muscles
activated during the lift. In the description of the articular ranges,
Figure 3 illustrates the opening of
the hips (the torso rotation strategy) and the knees (extension of
the lower limbs strategy) that are
formed in a linear and continuous
trend (from Phase 1 to Phase 5).
A first opening of the ankle angle,
keeping the feet on the ground,
allows the athlete to pass the barbell over the knees without losing
stability (Phase 2) and then (Phases 3, 4 and 5) to start opening the
knees and ankles with a simultaneous plantar flexion of the foot
up to the moment in which the
barbell, connected to the athletes
body, reaches its maximum height
(Phase 5). After the barbell breaks away from the athletes torso,
there is a reduction of all the joint
angles of the lower body, in correspondence with an increase of
the shoulder joint angle (Phases 6
and 7). The barbell is held by fully
extended arms with the athlete in
a full squat position, and is then
lifted with a thrust of the lower
limbs, mainly originating from the
hips and knees (Phases 8, 9 and
10). Figure 4 shows how the first
five phases of the Snatch are characterised by an increase in the
vertical positions of all the joints
which are not grounded. Phases 6
and 7 show a complete closure of
the hip and knee joints without a
drop in the height reached by the

barbell in Phase 5.
In this way, the athlete can re-use the thrust of the legs that had
been exhausted during the maximum articular extension in Phase
5, to continue the upward path of
the barbell until the motor task
has been completed. The effects of
the pelvic rotation strategy can be
seen in the interaction between
the centre of mass of the athlete
and the barbell described in Figure 5. If in Phases 1 2 and the centre
of mass of the athlete withdraws
to ensure a vertical movement of
the barbell, during Phases 3, 4 and
5 these becomes the centre of rotation of the torso and, due to the
thrust of the vertical lower limbs,
rises without being moved horizontal. If the athlete manages to
get off favouring the gravitational
pull, Phase 6 is also characterised
by a straight portion of the centre
of mass that reverses only in Phase 7, when the feet come back into
contact with the ground and bending of the legs must stabilize to
create a solid base support able to
arrest the fall vertical barbell. The
progress of the barbell of Phases
3 and 4 the effect forward displacement of the pelvis, while the lifting height of the barbell Phase
5 highlights the contribution the
full extension of the limbs lower.
The bell-shaped trajectory that
the barbell tends to form in Phases 5, 6 and 7 is due to the circling
of the limbs higher realized under the effect of the acceleration
vertical etched to barbell in the
phases in which the athlete has
generated lifting force remaining
in support Plantar. In a simulated
situation like the one described in
39
Figure no. 5
Barbell trajectories. The graph
shows the trajectories of the
athletes centre of mass (black)
and that of the barbell (orange) in
model units (fractions of height
of the anthropomorphic model), in
the seven phases (points 1-7 on the
trajectories) that make up the five
key motor actions of the technical
movement of the Snatch.
this repre-sentation of graphical Snatch is possible

to observe that the lack of translatory movements
fixing the horizontal axis vertical movement on a single point of the supporting surface for all seven of the
Phases described.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The search for a technique Lifting Weights high level
Efficiency is the key objective of all the biomechanical analysis studying the gestures Raise the Olympic
sports. Currently the specific literature presents bio-
mechanical models the technique of lifting weights

constructed on the basis
of direct observations on athletes, introducing errors
intersubjectivity movement correct. Many of these
models were made with performance ceilings that do
not respect the canons of the current elite athletes. A
biomechanical model Virtual respecting the morphological characteristics an average athlete can serve
to identify strategies motor that realize uniquely the
technical act of Alzate Olympic. The uniqueness of
the realization an exercise as the strain, for example,
40
is based on a series of postures key, each of which is

capable of achieve one and only one of individual phases that constitute the gesture. This study presented
a biomechanical model anthropomorphic designed
for the realization the lift of the Olympic Snatch in ten
attitudes postural, each of which obtained calculating
the only solution mathematics can satisfies the position in the plane Euclidean constraints articular constitute the model. The representation graphical model
anthropomorphic allowed to observe the trajectories
the centres of mass of the segments anatomical which constitute the body of an athlete, the trends of the
amplitudes articular and the vertical displacements
of individual body segments. From these parameters
it was possible distinguish two motor strategies particular, one dedicated to rotational movement of the
torso and one that involves the extension of the lower
limbs. Efficient synergy between these two strategies
demonstrates how the athlete preserves its vertical
axis without moving horizontally and controls, in the
two phases of full extension of the legs, the change of
direction of the barbell using the weight of his body as
a counterweight. Furthermore, the heights of the barbell can reach in the phases of Total extension of the
torso and Full squat arms outstretched are dependent
on the capabilities athlete to generate force. Finally,
the linear trend and continuous amplitude knee joint
shows as the technique of double bending of the legs
can be limited to the flexion-extension tibial tract ensuring so the realization of power position with a continuous extension of the leg, turning to stretch tibial
the task of calling up properties plyometric muscle
extensors of the thigh. Although a technical analysis
of this type is based on a biomechanical model of the
body of an athlete the limits of which are joint anatomical and not neuromeccanci, without considering the
muscle forces
the individual parts of the body and calculating the
sequence of unique postures through the solutions of
static problems, its realization allows detect those basic positions that must be present in the technical act
Snatch falls outside of all the subjective factors that
affect performance.
PRACTICAL
APPLICATIONS
The biomechanical model presented anthropomorphic in this study was developed through average values of anthropometric parameters and ergometric
of male subjects, but its total integration makes it
scalable for any condition subjective. The mathematical approach used can therefore be applied to anthropometry and ergonometry of individual athletes or a
group specific athletes, and can help identify postural
structures that characterize the phases of the Snatch
technique, referring exclusively to anatomical limitations. Eluding conditions athletic of individuals, as
imbalances district muscle strength and elongation of
the muscle-tendon, is it possible to quantify the criticality of different postures that must be overcome for
improve the overall efficiency of technical movements.
Collect anthropometric data of an athlete, beginner or
expert, and then create a model mathematician of his
biomechanics, can help technicians to quantify individual goals of a training program, such as amplitudes
reach particular joint and postural certain structures,
with the aim of improving the technical efficiency of
the Olympic Alzate.
DONATO FORMICOLA
Masters Degree
in Sports Science,
Techniques and Training.
Dr. Formicola
specialises in biomechanical models to
assess motor and sports skills based
on motion capture systems.
He is currently a lecturer in Motor
Sciences at the Turin Graduate School.
He is a IV Level CONI European Coach,
FIPE Master of Weightlifting and
member of the National FIPE Scientific
Committee.
References
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cviu.2006.08.002
13. Ho KWL, Williams MD, Wilson CJ, Meehan
DL (2011) Using three-dimensional kinematics to identify feedback for the Snatch: a case
study. Journal of Strength & Conditioning
Research 25 (10):2773-2780
14. Schwameder H (2007) Issues and challenges of applied sport biomechanics research.
Journal of Biomechanics 40, Supplement 2
(0):S14. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S00219290(07)70013-1
15. Cai Q, Aggarwal JK (1999) Tracking human
motion in structured environments using a
distributed-camera system. Pattern Analysis
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Aggarwal JK, Cai Q (1999) Human Motion
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16. Bai X, Wang H, Zhang Xa, Wenting J, Wang C
(2008) Three-dimension kinematics simulation
and biomechanics analysis of snatch technique. Proceedings of 1st Joint International
Pre-Olympic Conference of Sports Science &
Sports Engineering 1 - Computer Science in
Sports:291-296
17. Winter DA (2009) Biomechanics and Motor
Control of Human Movement. Wiley
18. Tilley AR, Associates HD (2002) The Measure
of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design.
vol 1, Wiley
19. Ho LK, Lorenzen C, Wilson CJ, Saunders JE,
Williams MD (2014) Reviewing current knowledge in snatch performance and technique:
the need for future directions in applied research. J Strength Cond Res 28 (2):574-586. doi:
510.1519/JSC.1510b1013e31829c31820bf31828.
20. Liu Y, Chen W (2001) Foot Pressure Study
During Pulling Phase of Snatch Lifting. Paper
presented at the 19 International Symposium on
Biomechanics in Sports, San Francisco, June 26,
2001
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1. Derwin BP (1990) SPORTS PERFORMANCE

SERIES: The snatch: technical description and
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2. Vorobyev AN (1978) A Textbook on Weightlifting (trans: Brice WJ). International Weightlifting Federation, Budapest, Hungary
3. Medvedev A (1988) Three periods of the snatch
and clean jerk. Strength & Conditioning Journal
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4. Whitehead PN, Schilling BK, Stone MH,
Kilgore JL, Chiu LZF (2014) Snatch technique
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28 (3):587-591
5. Bai X-l, Wang H-s, Zhang X-a, Ji W-t, Wei G-f,
Wang C-t (2009) Three-dimensional kinematics simulation of snatch in male weight lifter
and knee joint movement analysis. Journal
of Clinical Rehabilitative Tissue Engineering
Research 13 (35):6879-6882
6. Stone MH, OBryant HS, Williams FE, Johnson RL, Pierce KC (1998) Analysis of Bar
Paths During the Snatch in Elite Male Weightlifters. Strength & Conditioning August 20
(4):30-38
7. Campos J, Poletaev P, Cuesta A, Pablos C,
Carratala V (2006) Kinematical analysis of
the snatch in elite male junior weightlifters of
different weight categories. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 20 (4):843-850
8. Szab AS (2009) Some special biomechanical
questions of olympic weightlifting. International Quarterly of Sport Science 2 (57-60)
9. Duane Knudson, Morrison C (2002) Qualitative Analysis of Human Movement. 2nd
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10. Lees A (2002) Technique analysis in sports: a critical review. Journal of sports sciences 20 (10):813-828.
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41
42
Defining
sports
training.
Vain
ambition or
necessity?
BY Pasquale Bellotti
43
44
DEFINING SPORTS TRAINING. VAIN AMBITION OR NECESSITY?
I have always thought from a very

young age, when I knew nothing
that it was essential, for a trainer
or anyone involved in the world of
sporting activity, to be able to provide a complete and thorough definition of sports training. I thought
that being unable to do was a
serious affair, because it would
be similar to a worker, who for 40
years carries out a task or a profession, reaches retirement and does
not know exactly what he has been
doing all those years. Therefore,
defining (placing borders and
clarifying what goes within them)
is fundamental, it is the first skill
a trainer must possess. What does
training mean? What exactly is this
phenomenon we call training?
In my experience as an instructor I
have spent hours on end, days on
end and many many words trying
to convey the importance of this
aspect to students, that first and
foremost training in a clear and
unequivocal manner. By estab-
lishing, declaring, describing the

phenomenon through its distinguishing and essential elements,
we provide - in my opinion - a clear,
distinct idea of all its aspects
which, in addition to characterising, contain the entity of sports
training on a conceptual level.
Precisely for these reasons, I have
always been in search of a definition of sports training that fully
explores the factor complexity and
expresses the basic and inevitable
features, indicating at the same
time, how vital it is to broaden
our knowledge. I think that such a
definition would constitute an authentic guide for daily practise: in
other words, a definition is a good
starting point for serious training!
Whilst mulling over these things, I
did as much research as I possibly
could, reading and asking around:
I dont think that anything escaped
me. However I was by no means
happy, because the scene that unfolded before me in Italy was far
than comforting, as if the trainers
(many of whom considered themselves authors: I have gathered a

varied selection of embarrassing
documentation by these wouldbe Italian experts in the field of
training, full of mistakes both in
terms of language and content.
They should be ashamed and poor
Dante would turn in his grave),
as I was saying, as if the trainers
thought about and dealt with a
completely different subject.
There was not much input from the
international scene either. It was
my belief that without this basic
explanation (a definition) to put all
misinterpretations to rest, it was
impossible to really understand
anything. Toni Netts definition in
Der Lauf, in 1960 made me laugh,
quoting from a certain Dr. Hueppe
(my research on this character
has been fruitless), who affirmed
that training is the organisation
of victory through self-discipline.
A wonderful way of starting a debate on training without any foundation whatsoever.
In the 1980s, Carlo Vittori made an
interesting definition, in my opinion the first destined to go a long
way. This was his second merit, his
first having been setting up an
Italian school for sports training
(which unfortunately closed down
due to our inability to keep good
things up and running, especially
when it is someone elses brainchild), which made a great effort
in defining sports training. Vittori
laid the foundation and then three
of us came together on the project: Alessandro Donati and myself,
joining Vittori. Very often Donati
and I worked on this project by
This was the definition. I have

called it Definition 1 (and it is a cornerstone in both my professional
life and my humane approach),
because in this essay there are
others that will follow with a progressive number that takes us up
to the present day. I have another
number ready for tomorrow, but I
have not yet the definition. I think
that, if I can manage to elaborate
another definition, it will be even
closer to the truth, that is unattainable for all of us. As unattainable for the ignoramuses who talk
their heads off at conventions as
it is for the handful of real experts
whose voices often go unheard.
1
Definition 1: Sports training is a
complex pedagogical-educational process put into effect by the
systematic organisation of physical exercise, repeated in such
quantities and with such intensity so as to produce progressively
increasing loads that stimulate
the bodys overcompensating
physiological processes and favour the increase of physical,
psychical, technical and tactical
processes of the athletes, in order to consolidate and enhance
performance in competition.
On the night that this very definition was presented to a group of

high level Italian trainers, I had
a brainwave that made me not
so much refuse this definition,
as treat it with some diffidence. I
had gone from elation to doubt in
a short time. I, however, kept my
doubts to myself and took some
notes, which I still have. I was not
so sure and I didnt want to be a
spoilsport, I had great respect
for the work in which I had been a
big part of. Those few notes complicated my life, for reasons I will
soon reveal. I told myself that, if
I changed even one word in that
definition, the meaning would be
understood better, the phenomenon of training would be better
identified, broadening the confines, the function, the prerequisites and the destiny. To define
training is indeed an ethic fact,
a bioethical operation. It is not
merely a description of what it
contains, of what it is made of, of
how it unravels over a brief season or over the entire career of a
champion who beats everyone or
a non-champion who always beats
himself. And, I told myself, it would
have indubitably emphasised the
various and serious responsibilities of those who should monitor
the movement, intended as a resource and a principle of people,
from birth to death.
What did I do? I removed put into
effect and replaced it with completed. It was like turning on a
powerful spotlight. I immediately
understood so much more and I
was ready to take further steps
in defining. And in fact, that is
precisely what I did. But thats an-
other story. Definition 2 (lets call

it the brainwave definition) was as
follows:
2
Definition 2: Sports training is
a complex pedagogical-educational process completed by
the systematic organisation of
physical exercise, repeated in
such quantities and with such
intensity so as to produce progressively increasing loads that
stimulate the bodys overcompensating physiological processes and favour the increase
of physical, psychical, technical
and tactical processes of the
athletes, in order to consolidate
and enhance performance in
competition.
The new verb did not simplify
the understanding of the others
(actually, when I started to talk
about it, years later, I found many
people critical, uncertain and irritated precisely for the fact that
it required a series of new lines
of reasoning): the passage was as
follows: in order to be clear and unambiguous, a definition of training must recover (and include) all
the motor skills of man and plant
its roots in practicing movement
from an early age. Training does
not begin a process, it follows it
through. It lays the foundations of
the entire motor activity from an
early age with the aim being - note
carefully - not sport, but life per se.
Only if the basic motor skills are
formed (I have often written and
spoken about, so Ill be brief here)
can training begin. Training is the
completion, the crowning, the in-
night and during any free time between meetings on the very subject of training. Dozens of hours
spent over single words, a verb or
an adverb. At the time it seemed
of vital importance. And today I am
still of the same opinion. It means
laying the foundation stone on
which all else is built.
45
46
depth analysis of a process which

has been underway for years. Always. Otherwise it would be better
not to start at all.
It was easy to be more precise, in a
third definition (which we will call
Definition 3 here), it came easy to
me, it seemed taken for granted,
however it made me understand
new aspects of the process and invited me to delve deeper into the
subject of the motor skills development that is compulsory for life
and the sports training that can
come about, or not come about,
in a persons life. Now I had clearly
distinguished between an obligation of society (motor skills development) and a possible choice
made by an individual (sport and
specialisation).
3
a complex pedagogical-educational process, which develops
over long periods of time, possibly starting from childhood, and
is completed by the systematic
organisation of physical exercise, repeated in such quantities and with such intensity so
as to produce progressively
the bodys biological processes
of adjustment, adaptation and
overcompensation and favour
the increase of physical, psychical, technical and tactical processes of the athletes, in order
to reasonably increase, consolidate and enhance performance
in competition.
A careful reader will notice the

journey made and the recovery of
the motor activity that originated
in childhood. Training starts in
youth and comes to completion
when the body is capable of doing
so. It therefore begins at quite an
early age and over time becomes
complete. But isnt this a contradiction? Isnt is absurd to start
sports training so young? No, we
are off track and it is clear that
the problem must be addressed
in a different manner because we
are speaking of two different phenomena, with different laws, different goals, different purposes
and different paths.
So I came up with Definition 4 - a
new, more precise and richer definition. In fact, I consider this to be
rather more complete.
4
Definition 4: : Sports training
is a complex pedagogical-educational process, bioethically
grounded and developed over
long periods of time, possibly
starting from childhood, which
is completed by the systematic
organisation of physical exercise, repeated in such quantities and with such intensity so
as to produce progressively
overcompensation and favour
the increase of physical, psychical, technical and tactical processes of the athletes, in order
to reasonably increase, consolidate and enhance performance
in competition.
I must underline at least the two

aspects - the bioethically grounded concept (given the times, its
better to base training on bioethics) and reasonably at the end of
the definition, because it implies
the acceptance of a calculated
risk, never a gamble, and because
it takes us to a limit without exceeding it. What is beyond the
limit? What do scientists tell us? I
remember that in the 80s and 90s
they said that man had reached
his limits and that there was no
margin for improvement. What do
they say today, the scientists of
years gone by, now that those insurmountable limits have actually been trashed many times in a
stunning, unbelievable, unimaginable and indignant way?
With definition 5 (we are in 2003
more or less), I wanted to clarify
the necessary reference to an ini-
5
Definition 5: Sports training is a complex pedagogical-educational process, bioethically grounded
and developed over long periods of time, possibly
starting from childhood, and which - after an initial
and essential phase of development and physical
and psychical initiation - is completed by the systematic organisation of physical exercise, repeated in such quantities and with such intensity so
as to produce progressively increasing loads that
stimulate the bodys biological processes of adjustment, adaptation and overcompensation and
favour the increase of physical, psychical, technical and tactical processes of the athletes, in order
to reasonably increase, consolidate and enhance
performance in competition.
Definition came along while I was telling the whole

story to students, encouraging them to keep going,
to question themselves, to ask, to search, to reflect,
to go over concepts again and again. What do you
do when you are training? How do you approach the
task? Dont you feel like the makers of a creative phenomenon that requires immense skill, that not everyone possesses? Do you understand the importance of
your work and your endeavour?
In definition 6, new concepts are added, to try to include what had escaped me in the definition of sports
training. A completely different problem (that did not
appear in any definition, excluding an entire world)
was the relative one, I mention but I do not discuss
collective training, team work. Here, the question
is: is it possible to train a group? The work done on a
single athlete can be done with a group? I will not go
into it here, it would take time and space. Perhaps the
reader will reflect and will find my vision ridiculous. I
would be happy to change my mind about this, but
here is definition 6.
6
Definition 6: Sports training is a complex pedagogical-educational process, bioethically grounded
and developed over long periods of time, possibly
starting from childhood, and which - after an initial
and essential phase of development and physical and psychical initiation - is completed by the
systematic organisation of physical exercise, repeated in such quantities and with such intensity
and density, based on forms and levels of difficulty
and with degrees of efficacy so as to produce progressively increasing internal loads that stimulate
the bodys biological processes of adjustment, adaptation and overcompensation and favour the increase of physical, psychical, technical and tactical
processes of the athletes, in order to reasonably
increase, consolidate and enhance performance in
competition.
One student who had been listening to me became infatuated and took me literally. He did this to make me
realise that I had often spoken during lectures about
tial and essential phase of development and physical

and psychical initiation. The definitions were getting
longer, but they remained clear, actually - it seemed
to me - that they were progressively simpler.
47
48
the necessity to personalise the

whole training process and that I
had not placed (as was necessary:
he told me; and I refer to it here, to
pay tribute to young people, from
whom I have learnt so much over
the years) emphasis on this aspect
(that I declared as being vital) in
the definition. Therefore, this aspect was then included and today
stands out in two points (at the
beginning and at the end) of definition 7.
7
a complex pedagogical-educational process, personalised
and bioethically grounded,
which develops over long periods of time, possibly starting from childhood, and which
- after an initial and essential
phase of development and physical and psychical initiation - is
completed by the systematic organisation of physical exercise,
repeated in such quantities and
with such intensity and density,
based on forms and levels of
difficulty and with degrees of
efficacy so as to produce progressively increasing internal
loads that stimulate the bodys
biological processes of adjustment, adaptation and overcompensation and favour the
increase of physical, psychical,
technical and tactical processes
of each athlete, in order to reasonably increase, consolidate.
Sometimes I count the words,

to tell students that by increasing the number of words, you
increase the geometric progression of the possibility to
capture the essence of training.
Today, I define training with a
number of words which is approximately 4 times more than
when I started out. And naturally, I have made many other
considerations, that bring me
to definition 8, where - instead
- I place the emphasis on the
necessity to revise the concepts
of adaptation and supercompensation (I strongly fear that
these phenomena do not exist
and Im sorry for all those who
feel orphans of adaptation and
of Matveev) and start to underline what really happens when
you train. The muscles respond
with an authentic transformation. I will discuss it at length
elsewhere. Here is definition 8
with its small, yet at the same
time enormous, modifications!
8
a complex pedagogical-educational process, personalised and
bioethically grounded, which
develops over long periods of
time, possibly starting from
childhood, and which - after an
initial and essential phase of development and physical and psychical initiation - is completed
by the systematic organisation
of physical exercise, repeated
in such quantities and with such
intensity and density, based on
forms and levels of difficulty
and with degrees of efficacy so
as to produce progressively increasing internal loads, always
diversified but progressively
incremented, that stimulate
real structural transformation
and favour the increase of physical, psychical, technical and
tactical skills of each athlete,
in order to reasonably increase,
consolidate and enhance performance in competition.
A trainer must ensure that in his

definition of training there is:
a wide-ranging and well-structured process;
a phenomenon that comes about
in its own time (which cannot be
influenced);
an educational approach (with
its various aspects);
complexity (constitutive and interpretive). The same complexity as indicated in the science of
complexity;
a connection to the motor skills
history of the individual, which
means understanding the legacy, the personality, the vital
action of the environment, the
individual responses of each
athlete, the consequent
indulging the aptitudes and individualisation of the approach;
a practical approach that uses
physical exercise to perfect the
movement;
trial and error to measure the
physical exercise and its effects;
the practical aspect (even if of
uncertain interpretation) of
the so-called parameters of the
workload;
the professional code of conduct
of the phenomenon in question;
connecting the limits and training ability of the individual.
I conclude by reminding that

saying more does not necessarily mean complicating things, very
often the result is a progressive
simplification. All journeys have a
starting point, a path to follow and
a destination.
The same applies to training, and
to its definition, you try to define
it, you pursue it, you reach it, but
you are never entirely satisfied
with it.
PASQUALE BELLOTTI
([email protected];
[email protected]),
medical physician and expert in
movement and training, he
currently lectures in Sports
Ethics and Bioethics at the Turin
Graduate School.
He is the author of many
books and articles.
He is also President of Amca
Onlus, an association concerned
with numerous aid and support
projects in Africa (and in Italy):
www.amacaonlus.org.
I read over my old and new definitions and I remember the journey,
the path that over decades has taken me here, the thousands of students who I have met over the years.
I realise that in the final definition I
have taken into account the 10 crucial aspects that a trainer must be
aware of. I will try to list them, to
conclude this short, fragmented
history of an Italian definition of
sports training. I say short, but I do
not wish to make light of it, because
in reality it contains the power of
thoughts that reaches for the light,
that wants to understand and move
forward. This is a trainers life.
49
50
Courtesy of
ThreeDimensional
Kinematic
Analysis of
the Snatch
Technique
for Lifting
Different
Barbell
Weights
BY Hadi Gkhan; Akku Hasan;
Harbili Erbil
51
52
THREE-DIMENSIONAL KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE SNATCH TECHNIQUE
Introduction
The aim of Olympic weightlifting
competitions is always to lift higher
weights successfully. Lifting higher
weights in snatch lifts requires a
multifactor performance including
technique, power, explosive strength, and flexibility (2,5,9,10,1518,22). When
the snatch technique is analyzed as a
whole, it can be seen that the synchronization and perfection of the system
consisting of the body and barbell
is the key to a successful lift (2,5). The
performance pattern of the snatch
technique requires the barbell to be
lifted from the floor to a straight-arm
overhead position in one continuous
movement (2,5,1518). The first 5 phases (first pull, transition, second pull,
turnover under the barbell, and catch
phase) are considered to be the most
important phases of the snatch lifts,
and increasing the barbell weight
has an important effect on all biomechanical factors during these phases
(1518). Determining the exact effects
of the increased barbell weight on the
barbell and body kinematics might
help to understand the effective technical factors and the biomechanics of
successful lifts of higher weights.
A great majority of the published studies on the biomechanics of weightlifting have usually focused on the
kinematics of the barbell and body
segments of elite weightlifters who
participated in national (1,7,8,10,17,19,24,25)
and international competitions (3,4,6,9)
and world championships (12). The
common aim of those studies was to
determine the biomechanical differences between the different phases
and to evaluate the technical components of snatch lifts. These studies reported that the mechanical work during the first pull was higher than that
of the second pull and that the vertical

velocity of the barbell reached maximum levels during the second pull
(17). On the other hand, it was expressed in a large number of studies that
mechanical power was higher in the
second pull compared with that in the
first pull (2,5,9,12). The mechanical work
and power outputs showed that the
first pull was characterized by force,
whereas the second pull was largely
of power nature (18). Therefore, the
higher power output seen during the
second pull was reported to be a result of the combination of a greater
velocity of the barbell and a shorter
duration during the second pull (13).
Isaka et al. (21) stated that optimizing
the barbell height after the second
pull and minimizing the decrease
after the maximum height of the barbell were effective factors for a successful lift.
Similar results were reported in a study by Burdett (3) showing that lifting
the barbell to the lowest possible height by talented weightlifters created
a certain advantage, and minimizing
the decrease of the barbell height
during the turnover under the barbell resulted in savings at total work.
The horizontal displacement pattern
of the barbell during the lift is also
important (25) in that the horizontal
movement during the first pull and
transition phase allows the storage of
elastic energy into the extensor muscles of the knees during the flexion
of the knees and its use during the following concentric contraction of the
knees, resulting in an explosive power
output during the second pull (16). The
horizontal displacement of the barbell is a toward-away-toward pattern:
The barbell is pulled toward the body
during the first pull and the transition
phase, and, during the second pull, it
moves away from the lifters body, and

finally, it drops toward the body from
the maximum height (16,20). Stone et
al. (25) reported that the barbell was
displaced horizontally by 1020 cm
during the snatch lifts by elite weightlifters. However, these anterior-posterior displacements of the barbell
should be small to avoid unnecessary
energy consumption (16).
There were relatively a limited number of studies available in literature
examining the effects of the increased
barbell weight on the biomechanics of
the barbell and body (12). In their study, Garhammer (12) found that a small
decrease in weight, about 5%, could
often increase power output substantially because of a considerably greater movement speed and shorter time
interval for the completion of the lift.
In the light of these findings, the kinematic analysis of the body and barbell
during the snatch technique may provide important information to increase performance by determining the
mechanical factors that are effective
in lifting higher weights. Increasing
the barbell weight results in a decrease in power output, vertical velocity,
and maximum height of the barbell. A
detailed analysis of the kinematics of
the increased barbell weight may provide useful information for coaches
and weightlifters, who always aim to
lift higher weights.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of increased
barbell weights on the barbell and
body kinematics of elite weightlifters
at different percentages (60, 80,
and 100%) of 1 repetition maximum
(1RM) in the snatch lifts and to evaluate the biomechanics of the snatch
technique.
FOR LIFTING DIFFERENT BARBELL WEIGHTS
Experimental Approach
to the Problem
To determine the changes that the increased barbell weight caused on the
body and barbell kinematics, the kinematic data obtained from the subjects
were studied by 3-dimensional biomechanical analysis. The reason for
the preference for the 3-dimensional
analysis was that other studies reported that 2-dimensional analysis
adversely affected the reliability of
angular kinematics (2).
Subjects
This study was performed on 7 elite
male weightlifters (Table 1) at different categories of the Turkish weightlifting national team during their preparation camp for the 2007 European
Championship. The subjects were medal-winning weightlifters in previous
international competitions. All the
subjects provided written informed
consent approved by the local ethics
committee of the Selcuk University.
Procedures
To determine the 3-dimensional kinematic data of the barbell and body
segments during the snatch tech-
Methods
53
Figure no. 1
Placement points of reflective markers on the body and barbell.
nique and to digitize the data provided with higher precision, a set of
14 reflective markers were stamped
on tiptoe, ankle, knee, hip, shoulder,
elbow, and wrist on both sides of the
body and 2 markers on the chin and
forehead. The other 2 markers were
placed at the right and left ends of the
barbell. The reflective markers on the
body and the barbell were digitized by
using an Ariel Performance Analysis
System (San Diego, CA, USA). To obtain
a clearer vision of the markers, an illumination source of 500 W of power
was placed on each camera (Figure 1).
Four digital cameras (Sony DCR-TR-
V18E, Tokyo, Japan) capturing 50

fields per second with approximately
3 minutes of rest between lifts were
positioned on the diagonal level of
the platform at a distance of 7 m away
from the platform forming an angle
of about 45 with the sagittal plane
of the weightlifter. Cameras 1 and 2
were placed to view the right side of
the barbell and the body, and cameras
3 and 4 recorded the left side. There
was an angle of about 90 between
the optical axes (Figure 2).
The cameras were synchronized using
the lift-off of the barbell, and 3-dimensional coordinates were constructed
Barbell mass (kg)

Subjects Age (y) Body mass (kg) Height (cm) Category (kg) 60%1RM 80%1RM
100%1RM
WR*
WR (%)
GA
27
58
150
56
66
88
110
143
78
SA
31
60
162
56
72
96
120
138
87
EB
20
64
156
62
72
96
120
153
78
YA
29
70
163
69
84
112
140
165
85
TS
22
81
171
77
78
104
130
174
75
HY
25
100
175
94
96
128
160
188
85
BS
32
107
176
105
96
128
160
200
80
*World record. the ratio between 100%1RM and WR.
Table no. 1
Characteristics of the subjects and the barbell.
54
using the direct linear transformation method. To calibrate the viewing

area in 3 dimensions, a rectangular
cube with 12 control points of 250-cm
length, 100-cm breadth, and 200-cm
height was used. The video recordings
were taken at the fourth week of the
4-month preparation camp before the
2007 European Championship. Only
successful lifts of each weightlifter at
60% (60%1RM), 80% (80%1RM), and
100% of 1RM (100%1RM) were recorded. A low-pass digital filter with a
cutoff frequency of 4 Hz was used for
the smoothing of the raw data (15,16,18).
Figure no. 3
Phases of the snatch technique based on the angular
displacement at knee angle. (a) the first pull, (b) the
transition, (c) the second pull, (d) the turnover under the
barbell, and (e) the catch.
Figure no. 2
Top view of the positions of the
cameras recording snatch lifts.
The snatch technique was divided into
5 phases according to the changes in
the knee angle and the vertical position of the barbell as the first pull, the
transition, the second pull, the turnover under the barbell, and the catch
phase (Figure 3).
The linear kinematics of the body and
barbell and the angular displacements of the knee joint were calculated.
The vertical work done on the barbell
during the first pull and the second
pull was calculated from

the change in mechanical
energy, which is defined
as the sum of kinetic and
potential energy (11). The
work done in elevating the
center of gravity (CG) of
the body was calculated
from potential energy, and
the horizontal work done
on the barbell was calculated by multiplying the horizontal
displacement of the barbell by the
horizontal force, obtained from the
multiplication of horizontal acceleration of the barbell by its mass. The
power output of weightlifters during
the first and second pulls was calculated by dividing the work of each phase
by its duration. Technical efficiency
was calculated by dividing the vertical
work by the total work on the barbell.
All of the work, power values, and technical efficiency were calculated
according to the methodology described by Garhammer (11).
Statistical Analyses
Multivariate test Wilks lambda ()
and post hoc test with Bonferroni correction were used for the statistical
analysis of the linear kinematics and
energetics of the barbell. Normality
of data was verified by the Kolmogorov-Simirnov test. The level of statistical significance was set at p 0.05.
Results
No significant differences were found
between the durations of the phases,
except for the first pull (Table 2).
It was indicated that there were significant differences between the
maximum height of the barbell during
60%1RM, 80%1RM, and 100%1RM
snatch lifts (Figure 4) and between the
maximum vertical velocity of the barbell (Figure 5). The maximum height
and vertical velocity of the barbell decreased significantly during 60%1RM,
80%1RM, and 100%1RM snatch lifts,
respectively. Significant differences
were also found in the maximum ver-
60%1RM
80%1RM
100%1RM
Wilks lambda
First pull (s)
0.42 0.06
0.40 0.03
0.46 0.04
0.149k
Transition (s)
0.10 0.01
0.11 0.01
0.13 0.03
0.591
Second pull (s)
0.14 0.03
0.13 0.01
0.12 0.01
0.524
Turnover under the barbell (s)
0.24 0.03
0.24 0.03
0.23 0.02
0.880
*1RM = 1 repetition maximum.

Significant difference at the p<0.05 level in 80%1RM.
kp<0.05.
tical displacement and vertical velocity of CG during

the turnover under the barbell. Another significant
difference was observed in the drop distance of the
barbell from maximum height (Table 3).
It was found that there were significant differences between the percentages of 1RM in vertical
work done during the first pull and in the total vertical work. The vertical work in the first pull and the
total vertical work were significantly greater at
100%1RM, 80%1RM, and 60%1RM snatch lifts, respectively. Another significant difference was found
between 80%1RM and 100%1RM in the total vertical
work done in elevating CG during the lifts. There was
also a significant difference between the vertical
work values of CG in the second pull. In addition, the
technical efficiency value was found to be significantly greater at 100%1RM than at 60%1RM. However, no significant differences were found between
the percentages of 1RM in the total horizontal work
or the vertical or horizontal work in the second pull
(Table 4).
It was found that there were significant differences between the percentages of 1RM in the vertical
power of both the first and the second pulls. The total vertical power and the total horizontal power values of 60%1RM, 80%1RM, and 100%1RM were also
significantly different. Although the multivariate
test showed no significant differences between the
values of the horizontal power in the second pull (
= 0.304; p = 0.051), the Bonferroni test showed that
the horizontal power in the second pull for 80%1RM
was significantly higher than that of 100%1RM (p <
0.05). Another significant difference was observed
in the total vertical power values of CG. On the other
Table no. 2
Duration (seconds) of the
phases in snatch lifts.*
Figure no. 4
Trajectories of the barbell in the snatch lifts of TS:
from lift-off to the catch phase.
Figure no. 5
The linear vertical velocity of the barbell in the
snatch lifts of TS: from lift-off to the catch phase.
Mean SD
55
56
Mean SD
60%1RM
80%1RM
100%1RM
Wilks lambda
Maximum height of the barbell (m)
1.38 0.09
1.29 0.08
1.18 0.09
0.027k
Maximum vertical displacement of CG (m)
0.45 0.04
0.44 0.03
0.43 0.03
0.118k
Maximum vertical velocity of the barbell (ms-1)
2.30 0.18
2.02 0.18
1.79 0.17
0.030k
Vertical velocity of CG during the turnover

under the barbell (ms-1)
21.49 0.16
21.73 0.14
21.97 0.13
0.077k
Drop distance of the barbell (m)
0.24 0.07
0.16 0.04
0.13 0.03
0.107k

kp<0.05.
hand, there was no significant difference between the vertical power
values of CG during the second pull
( = 0.326; p = 0.061); nevertheless,
as far as the results obtained by Bonferroni test are concerned, the vertical power of CG in the second pull
of 100%1RM was significantly lower
than that of 60%1RM (p < 0.05). It was
also found that there were no significant differences between the absolute total power values ( = 0.345; p =
0.070), but the Bonferroni test results
showed that the absolute total power
of 60%1RM was significantly higher
Table no. 3
Kinematics of the barbell
and CG during snatch lifts.*
than that of 80%1RM (p < 0.05). As

for the relative total power values,
however, no significant difference
was observed. On the other hand, in
the second pull, significant differences were found between the absolute
total power values and between the
relative total power values of the different percentages of 1RM (Table 5).
The analysis of linear vertical acceleration during snatch lifts, an indicator of the magnitude of the force
applied on the barbell, revealed 2
peak acceleration values during the
first pull of 60%1RM, whereas only 1
peak was seen during the first pull of

the other 2 lifts. When the transition
phases of the 3 lifts were investigated, it was found that the acceleration
of the barbell decreased sharply in
60%1RM snatch lift, whereas in the
other 2 lifts, it decreased relatively
mildly as the weight of the barbell
was increased. It was also observed
that the barbell was accelerated positively again in vertical direction during the second pull, 100%1RM being
the highest and 80%1RM the lowest.
Another finding was that the barbell
was accelerated negatively during the
Mean SD
60%1RM
80%1RM
100%1RM
Wilks lambda
389.00 127.98
503.00 154.34
630.85 180.72
0.049k
446.42 78.02
467.00 84.26
511.14 97.72
0.529
835.42 151.13
1,014.28 182.93
1,142.14 217.33
0.054k
Total horizontal work (J)
50.71 26.71
55.28 40.47
39.28 32.04
0.354
Horizontal work in the second pull (J)
38.14 21.65
44.00 33.11
22.85 18.25
0.344
Total vertical work of CG (J)
338.85 119.73
337.85 109.13
326.14 104.44
0.256||
Vertical work of CG in the second pull (J)
140.42 36.60
132.00 41.88
108.85 25.39
0.209||
94.57 1.98
95.28 2.81
97.00 2.00
0.161k
Vertical work in the first pull (J)

Vertical work in the second pull (J)
Total vertical work (J)
Efficiency (%)
*CG = center of gravity; efficiency = vertical work/total work on barbell; 1RM = 1 repetition maximum.
kp<0.05.
Table no. 4
Work done by CG, horizontal and vertical work done on the barbell during snatch lifts.*
60%1RM
80%1RM
100%1RM
Wilks lambda
Vertical power in the first pull (W)
817.71 239.49
1,008.42 231.76
1,081.28 199.27
0.115k
Vertical power in the second pull (W)
2,026.71 443.31
2,309.00 462.55
2,595.28 569.45
0.229k
Total vertical power (W)
1,174.28 231.36
1,413.85 239.20
1,467.28 241.09
0.131k
Total horizontal power (W)
71.14 35.88
76.42 54.79
48.71 40.40
0.204k
Horizontal power in the second pull (W)
170.42 89.89
200.57 155.84
126.28 118.70
0.304{
Total vertical power of CG (W)
477.14 182.15
469.14 141.89
417.28 119.90
0.175k
Vertical power of CG in the second pull (W)
647.57 239.29
598.71 213.94
558.28 172.81
0.326#
1,722.57 441.44
1,959.28 422.40
1,933.42 392.29
0.345**
22.28 2.13
25.85 3.07
25.28 2.98
0.446
2,844.57 727.61
3,108.28 804.50
3,279.85 849.77
0.262k
37.28 4.34
40.28 4.88
42.71 3.03
0.287k
Absolute total power (W)

Relative total power (Wkg-1)
Absolute total power in the second pull (W)
Relative total power in the second pull (Wkg )
-1

Significant difference at the p< 0.05 level in 80%1RM.
Significant difference at the p < 0.05 level in 60%1RM.
Significant difference at the p < 0.05 level in 100%1RM.
kp , 0.05; {p = 0.051; #p = 0.061; **p = 0.070.
Table no. 5
Power output during snatch
lifts.*
catch phase and the magnitude of acceleration of the barbell that started
to fall from the maximum height was
higher at 60%1RM when compared
with 80%1RM or 100%1RM (Figure 6).
Discussion
The most distinctive effect of the increased barbell weight in snatch lifts
in this study was the decrease in the
velocity of the barbell and the vertical
displacement of the barbell and CG
and the increase in the vertical velocity of CG during the turnover under
the barbell. It was reported in the studies of Garhammer (9,11,14) that when
the barbell weight was increased during competition, maximum vertical
displacement values of the barbell
were decreased. In addition, it was
found in one study (17) that maximum
vertical displacement of the barbell
during snatch lifts of elite weightlifters was 1.25 m, although this value
was 1.15 m in another study carried
out by the same authors (15). In this
study, the maximum vertical displace-
Figure no. 6
The linear vertical acceleration of the barbell in the
snatch lifts of TS: from lift-off to the catch phase.
ment of the barbell at 100%1RM was
found to be 1.18 m. The main reason
for the inconsistent results found by
different researchers about the maximum height of the barbell could be
the physical differences of the weightlifters, including the differences
in their height.
The velocity-time relationship of the

barbell during the snatch liftespecially the maximum vertical velocity
of the barbellis an important point
for both coaches and athletes (21).
Baumann et al. (2) reported 2 types
of velocity curves for the snatch lift of
elite weightlifters: The first was with
Mean SD
57
58
2 maximum peaks in the vertical velocity during the pull, and the second
was with 1 maximum peak. In this study, a slight decrease was observed in
vertical velocity during the transition
phase in successful lifts, suggesting
a curve with almost 2 peaks. Although
1 maximum peak in the vertical linear
velocity of the barbell during the pull
was reported to be characteristic of
better weightlifters, successful lifts
by elite weightlifters with 2 maximum
peaks were also reported (2). The deceleration of the barbell during the
transition phase were characterized
by fatigue or higher percentages of
their maximum velocities at the end
of the first pull and might not cause
any notable decrement in performance as long as the loss of the barbells
linear vertical velocity is a small percentage of maximum linear vertical
velocity (18).
Although the maximum vertical velocity of the barbell increased in parallel
to the increase of body weight in categories (2), it was observed to decrease in 1RM in general (9,10). Therefore,
it might be said that increasing the
barbell weight is a factor affecting the
vertical velocity of the barbell directly.
Isaka et al. (21) reported similar resul-
ts to those of this study regarding the

horizontal and vertical displacement
of the barbell. Small differences were
seen among the values resulted from
the physical and technical characteristics of the athletes. The study conducted by Hoover et al. (20) on women
weightlifters, and others, support
the finding of this study that the maximum vertical velocity of the barbell
decreased as the weight of the barbell was increased.
When the body and the barbell are
evaluated together as a system, the
height and vertical velocity of the
barbell decrease as the barbell weight increases, during which the kinematics of the body that constitute
the system also change. The most
significant indication of this change
is the vertical velocity of CG during
the turnover under the barbell. When
the kinematic characteristics of the
system were investigated, it was observed that the full extension of the
body was realized at the end of the
second pull. At this moment, the CG
reached the maximum height and the
barbell reached its maximum velocity
(5). After this moment, the turnover
under the barbell started as the se-
cond pull phase ended. Although the

barbell continued its upward motion
during the turnover under the barbell, the turnover under the barbell
was realized in the direction of CG.
The decrease observed at the height
of the barbell and at its maximum vertical linear velocity during snatch lifts
increased the velocity of the turnover
under the barbell of the body and decreased the duration of the turnover
under the barbell (Table 3). The most
important advantage of the increase in the vertical linear velocity of CG
during the turnover under the barbell
was the decrease in the drop distance of the barbell; technically, moving
faster during the turnover under the
barbell resulted in an easier control of
the barbell weight, namely, catching
the barbell.
The most notable effect of the increase in the barbell weight was that,
although it resulted in an increase in
the vertical work done during the first
pull, it did not produce a similar result
in the second pull (Table 4). The increase in the barbell weight also led to an
increase in total work values, similarly
to those of the first pull. The reason
for the increase in the vertical work
It was emphasized that in addition to

the vertical movement of the barbell,
the horizontal movement was also an
important factor in performing the
snatch technique (23) because the horizontal displacement of the barbell
during snatch lift caused an additional acceleration and work during
the lift (2). In this study, it was observed that the horizontal work values
between the different percentages
of the lifts were similar to each other
because there was no statistically
significant difference between the
total horizontal work values. However, technical efficiency is a parameter that supports the importance of
the decrease in the horizontal work.
Therefore, it was seen that technical
efficiency, which showed the effect
of increased barbell weight on the

barbell kinematics for snatch lifts,
was higher at 100%1RM when compared with 60%1RM and 80%1RM.
The values found demonstrated that
to make a more efficient lift, athletes
presumably increased the vertical
work done on the barbell and decreased the horizontal displacement of
the barbell.
Garhammer (11) used the change of
mechanical energy, which expressed the total of potential and kinetic
energy, to calculate the work done
and expressed that at the end of the
second pull, CG reached the maximum
point in the vertical direction and that
at this moment, the kinetic energy of
CG was negligible because its velocity
was close to zero. Therefore, he proposed the use of potential energy to
calculate only the work done by CG in
the vertical axis. It was found in this
study that as the weight of the barbell increased, there were decreases
in the vertical work of CG in the second pull and in the total vertical work
(Table 4). The decrease in the vertical
work done by CG was directly related
to the drop observed in the height of
CG, similarly to the decrease observed in the vertical kinematics of the
barbell. However, the increase in the
work done on the barbell and the decrease in the work done by CG was in
accord. The analysis of the decreasing
vertical displacement of the barbell
and the change in mechanical energy
because of velocity indicated that the
only factor that supported the increase in the work done on the barbell
was the mass of the barbell. The most
important variable here was the contribution of the kinetic energy of the
barbell to the vertical work done on
the barbell. These findings suggested
that weightlifters applied more force
to the barbell in the vertical direction

for a successful lift, and the decrease
in the horizontal work done on the
barbell supported this conclusion.
The pull refers to the initial part of the
lift during which the barbell is displaced from the floor to approximately
waist height (5). In a previous study,
biomechanical analyses were performed by dividing the pull stage into 3
phases (2,5,7): The first pull, the transition, and the second pull. The pull,
with respect to angular displacement
at the knee joint, consists of 2 stages
of extension, separated by a period
of flexion, known as the double knee
bend (5). This knee flexion is used to
realign the lifter, relative to the barbell, and is referred to as the second
knee bend (5). These angular changes
in the movement structure of the
knee joints made considerable contributions to defining this second pull as
the power phase in that these changes transfer the elastic energy stored
in knee extensor muscles into the second pull after the knee flexion during
transition phase, which was indicative
of the biomechanical importance of
the double knee bend (2,17). In addition, during the first pull, the changes
in the barbells kinetic and potential
energy were greater, and the lifters
had to produce considerable work
over a long period to overcome the
inertia of the barbell (18). In this study,
it was found that as the barbell weight
increased, the duration of the first
pull extended. This finding supported
the result reported by Gourgoulis et
al. (17) that the first pull was forceful in
nature, whereas the second pull was
characterized by power.
According to Garhammer (12), even
a small decrease of about 5% in the
barbell weight led to an increase in
the movement velocity, which might
and total work values in parallel to the

increase in the barbell weight during
the first pull might be the longer time
period needed to overcome the inertia of the barbell and the relatively
decreased vertical velocity (18).
Gourgoulis et al. (15,18) reported that
the work values of the second pull
had an average 409 J value, whereas
Gourgoulis et al. (17) found that this
value was 388 J. The value obtained in
our study was 511 J for 80%1RM and
100%1RM. The biggest reason for the
difference between the result obtained in our study and those reported
in previous studies might be that
Gourgoulis et al. (15,17) did not include
the work done by CG in the work calculations, which, therefore, led to lower
values in the total work. The second
pull work values found in the study of
Harbili and Aritan (19) and those of this
study, both of which included weightlifters with similar physical characteristics who lifted similar weights,
were similar to each other.
59
60
increase the power output substantially as a result. It was found in the

same study that as the barbell weight increased, power outputs during
the first and second pulls decreased.
Therefore, the findings of Garhammer
(12) seemed to be inconsistent with
the significant increase observed in
the first and second pull power values
of the different percentages of 1RM
in this study. This difference between the 2 studies might have resulted
from the fact that unlike the greater
difference between the percentages
of 1RM in this study, the percentages
of 1RM in the study of Garhammer (12)
were performed with barbell weights
close to 1RM (92.7, 97.6, and 100%).
This closeness in the percentages of
1RM probably forced the limits of the
weightlifters performance.
The mean power output value during
the second pull was reported as 2,506
W in a study performed by Gourgoulis
et al. (17). The average value found in
our study, however, was 3,279 W. The
reason for this difference was probably because Gourgoulis et al. (17)
calculated only the vertical power during the second pull. It was reported in
another study that as the body weight
increased, so did their second pull
power values; as the bar weight was
increased, the duration of the lifts extended, and the average vertical velocity, maximum bar weight, and power
outputs decreased (9).
As the barbell weight was increased,
the vertical and horizontal kinematics of the body and barbell decreased
during the first and second pulls in
this study. The decrease in the maximum height and vertical velocity of
the barbell observed during the total
pull was found to be characterized by
the barbells decreased and the bodys increased kinematics during the
turnover under the barbell. With the
effect of the increased barbell weight, the values of the work done and
power output increased during the
first pull, but during the second pull,
power output increased, whereas the
work done remained unchanged.
Practical
Applications
The rationale for this study was that
analyzing the effects of increased
barbell weights on the barbell and
body kinematics of elite weightlifters
at different percentages of 1RM (60,
80, and 100%) would facilitate the understanding of the biomechanical demands at each phase in the snatch lift.
The results of this study are consistent with those of previous research studies reporting that the
strength-oriented first pull and the
power-oriented second pull are the
most important phases in the snatch technique and that the explosive
strength during the second pull is
especially important for a successful
turnover under the barbell. The decrease in horizontal power despite the
increases in vertical power observed
in our study indicates that coaches
and practitioners should primarily
focus on designing training programs
for the improvement of the explosive
strength for a better pull. Based on
the result that the power output in
80 and 100% of 1RM were similar, it
is recommended that loads between
submaximal and maximal barbell weights (80 and 100% of 1RM) should be
chosen in training programs designed
for improving strength, preferably loads of 100% of 1RM.
DR. HASAN AKKUS

is Associate Professor at Faculty
of Sport Sciences , University of
Selcuk, Konya, Turkey since 1988.
He has doctorate degree from
Health Sciences Institute of
Marmara University Istanbul
with thesis of The relationships
between anthropometric
characteristics, biomotor
abilities, physiological
characteristics and success in
elite weightlifters in 1994.
He has more than 40 scientific
study published in international
scientific journal and presented
in international scientific
congresses. He is EWF General
Secretary and Anti-Doping Hearing
Panel Member of IWF.
DR. ERBIL HARBILI

is Associate Professor at
Faculty of Sport Sciences ,
University of Selcuk, Konya,
Turkey.
He is associate professor
at Selcuk University, Konya,
Turkey. He has been working
on the topics of biomechanics
of weightlifting and training
science since 1999.
He has doctorate degree from
Health Sciences Institute
of Hacettepe University
Ankara with thesis of The
biomechanical analysis and
modelling of snatch technique
in weightlifting in 2006.
ng
DR. GOKHAN HADI

He was born in 14.03.1983.
He has been working as research
assistant at Faculty of Sport
Sciences, University of Selcuk,
Konya, Turkey since 2006. He
graduated master degree with
the thesis of Three Dimensional
Kinematic Analysis of Snatch
in Weightlifting . He has been
studying for doctorate degree
in Health Sciences Institute of
Marmara University Istanbul.
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20. Hoover, DL, Carlson, KM,
Christensen, BK, and Zebas,
CJ. Biomechanical analysis of
women weightlifters during
the snatch. J Strength Cond
Res 20: 627633, 2006.
21. Isaka, T, Okada, T, and Funato, K. Kinematic analysis of
the barbell during the snatch
movement in elite Asian weightlifters. J Appl Biomech 12:
508516, 1996.
22. Reiser, FR, Smith, SL, and
Rattan, R. Science and technology to enhance weightlifting
performance: The Olympic
program. Strength Cond J 18:
4351, 1996.
23. Schilling, BK, Stone, MH,
OBraynt, HS, Fry, AC, Coglianese, RH, and Pierce, KC.
Snatch technique of collegiate
national level weightlifters. J
Strength Cond Res 16: 551
555, 2002.
24. Souza, AL, Shimada, SD, and
Koontz, A. Ground reaction
forces during the power clean. J Strength Cond Res 16:
423427, 2002.
25. Stone, MH, OBraynt, HS,
Williams, FE, and Johnson,
RL. Analysis of bar paths
during the snatch in elite male
weightlifters. Strength Cond J
20: 3038, 1998.
61
62
IMPORTANCE
OF APPLIED
SCIENCE IN
TRAINING
PROGRAM
DESIGN
BY Jay R. Hoffman
63
64
IMPORTANCE OF APPLIED SCIENCE IN TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN
The understanding of training

program design is based upon
a strong knowledge of scientific
principle. It is the product of the
basic sciences; biology, physics and
chemistry, which are combined to
an applied field of study such as
exercise science that has additional specific emphasis in the study
of physiology, biomechanics and
biochemistry. The understanding
of basic physiological response to
exercise is an important aspect in
the training of athletes and in providing the background to develop
realistic training goals that can be
achieved through effort and good
coaching. An understanding of
science provides us the ability to
effectively evaluate the efficacy of
various training paradigms and critically examine the broad spectrum
of available ergogenic aids and
nutritional supplements that are
continuously being provided or
suggested to athletes. In addition,
understanding the applied sciences will allow the sport scientist
and coach to better comprehend
the physiological, psychological
and biomechanical requirements
necessary for success in sports
and help develop selection criteria
that maximizes the chance of athlete and team success.
The Dangers of a
Lack of Understanding of the
Scientific Principles
of Training
The lack of an appropriate appreciation of the importance of applied science has at times resulted
in catastrophic incidents during
the training of competitive athletes. In the 10 years spanning
2000 2010, 21 deaths occurred

during National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) Division I American football workouts (1). These
incidents occurred at different
Universities, but each one of these
deaths occurred during an off-season conditioning workout. In
addition, to these fatalities there
have been a host of serious events occurring during other training
sessions. For instance in 2011, 13
members of the University of Iowa
football team were admitted to the
hospital following their first workout after their winter break (2).
The athletes were diagnosed with
rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle tissue is damaged to the
point where there is large leakage
of skeletal tissue enzymes into the
blood stream. Although elevations
in muscle enzymes are relatively
normal following a training session, the magnitude of the elevation seen during rhabdomyolysis in
these enzymes may reach 5 times
their normal limit, but often are
much greater, with reports suggesting that it can reach more than
50-fold greater (100,000 U/l) than
that seen at rest (9). Increases in
myoglobin, uric acid and potassium ions are also released from
the damaged tissue. The increases
in inflammatory markers invade
the damaged area of the muscle
causing it to swell in size. The increase in the swelling of the muscle, due to the inflammation, can
cause compartment syndrome (9),
while elevation in the enzymes or
electrolytes in the circulation may
cause renal impairment leading
to kidney failure. Potential changes to the electrocardiography
(ECG), indicating impairment of
the hearts conductive system, due

to the elevation in potassium ion
concentrations in the circulation.
These latter changes are potentially lethal. Fortunately, none of
these athletes sustained permanent injury, but highlight the potential danger associated with poorly designed workouts. The major
issue with all of these incidents is
that they are not associated with
the normal risk of sport participation. Each incident was preventable, and could have been avoided
with the coaches understanding
appropriate training progression.
Often, its not the workout itself,
but when that specific workout
was given in context to the athletes conditioning level at specific
period of time.
Relationship of
Science and Sport
The beauty of applied research is
that it provides an applied application for the basic knowledge of
science and explains how it can be
used to understand and enhance
athletic performance. It allows
the coach to maximize athletes
performance, or perhaps as important, understand limitations
of performance. Such information
can assist coaches and athletes in
setting realistic training goals and
performance expectations. It may
also provide assistance in setting
more objective criteria used for
team selection. Applied research
provides tools for the coach to use
to minimize risk for injury, to reduce the risk of fatigue and overtraining and achieve peak performance at the appropriate time.
Most scientists are comfortable
working in laboratories and using
65
set in the squat and bench press

exercises. If the required number
of repetitions were completed
the athletes were encouraged to
increase the resistance used in
the next training session. One-repetition maximal (1-RM) strength
measures of the upper and lower
body were measured (bench press
and squat, respectively) at the beginning and end (15 weeks) of the
competitive season. All player logs
were collected and analyzed. Those players who were able to maintain a training intensity of 80%
or move for the entire in-season
laboratory measures to assess

human performance. This type of
science and data collection has an
important role in increasing our
scientific understanding of human
performance. However, applied
scientists are also equally adept
at working in a laboratory environment, but also are adept at using
the playing fields and courts as
their laboratory. The examination
of athletes within their competitive environment provides a more
specific understanding of the
needs and stresses of the sport,
and also provides data that coaches may readily comprehend. In
addition, the ability and desire to
delineate information collected in
both field and laboratory based research is a responsibility that applied scientists have in performing
research with competitive athletes. Timely communication to the
coach and athlete will allow the
information learned to enhance
their understanding of the needs
of their sport and when applicable
to develop appropriate training
paradigms. An example of this
type of research was published in
2003 by Hoffman and Kang on the
influence of intensity and volume
of training in the in-season training program of American College
football players (5). In this study, the investigators provided an
in-season training program consisting of the following exercises;
squats, bench press, push press,
and power cleans. Players were
required to train twice per week
using 4 sets per exercise at 80% of
their 1-repetition maximum. This
was equivalent to 4 6 repetitions
in the power clean and push press
exercises, and 6 8 repetitions per
Figure no. 9
Effect of Intensity of Training
on Strength Improvement. * =
significant difference between
groups. Data from Hoffman
and Kang, 2003.
training program increased their

strength significantly more than
those athletes whose training intensity per exercise was less than
80% (see Figure 1).
A follow-up study by the same investigators compared linear to
non-linear training (6). They reported that linear training that

required the athletes to train at
80% of their 1-RM twice per week
was significantly better in eliciting strength improvements in
first-year players than non-linear
training (athletes training twice
per week, but one workout performed at 90% of their 1-RM, but 70%
during the second workout of the
week). When examining the data
from the linear training group an
average of more than 80% per
workout was observed throughout
the in-season training program.
In contrast, the non-linear group

trained slightly more than 75% on
the lower intensity days, but less
than 90% on the heavy days. The
non-linear group trained at 80%
or more only one day a week, while
the athletes in the linear training
group trained at an average greater than 80% twice week. Thus, the
stimulus for the linear group was
greater and this group experienced significantly greater strength
improvements than the non-linear group. The results of these
studies were used to set the most
66
appropriate in-season training

program for subsequent seasons.
The bridge that spans science and
sport travels in two directions. It
is not only the curiosity of sport
scientists that develop the research question, but its often coaches
and athletes that become curious
on the effectiveness of various
training methods or on specific
nutritional supplements. Their
curiosity often raises important
questions that generate specific
research ideas for scientists. This
two-way communication is integral
in spawning the impetus for new
research projects. An example of
this type of research is reflected by
a recent paper that examined the
effect of playing time on physical
performance changes in professional basketball players (3). This
paper revealed some interesting
information that indicated that
players that were starters or part
of the regular playing rotation increased their power performance
during the course of the season,
while players not part of the regular rotation did not improve power;
they were more apt to increase
their slow-velocity strength. It
was concluded that the stimulus
of playing games enhanced power
performance, while non-starters
may need to perform additional
exercises to maintain their power
performance during the in-season
training sessions. Interestingly,
these results supported a previous
study on NCAA Division I female college basketball players (4), while a
recent study in NCAA Division I female soccer players reported that
starters tend to get faster during a
season than non-starters (8).
Examples of how applied research
is used in improving athletic performance can be seen in the studies that have emanated from the
Human Performance Laboratory
in the Department of Health and
Exercise Science at The College
of New Jersey. Different training
paradigms for both in-season and
offseason conditioning programs
have been examined over the past
few years. Examples of such studies include the investigation of
linear and nonlinear periodization
techniques in both in-season and
offseason conditioning programs
for football players, comparison
of Olympic and traditional power
lifting training programs in the
off-season conditioning program
of football players, and the effect
of ballistic exercises (i.e. jump
squats and bench press throws)

on power development in strength/power athletes. In addition,
examination of new training modalities such as thick bars and resistive running on treadmills has
also been used to provide important information on exercise performance.
Results of these studies have been
used to format training programs
in subsequent seasons. In addition, various nutritional supplements such as protein drinks, creatine and -alanine combinations,
and pre-exercise high energy drinks have been examined in experienced strength trained athletes
to determine the efficacy of these
supplements in this population.
The critical component attributing
Figure no. 2
Comparisons of number of repetitions performed. * =
significant difference between groups. Sup = Protein group;
PL = Placebo group. Data from Hoffman et al, 2010.
67
to the success of the research performed by the Human Performance Laboratory has been in the ability to rapidly delineate the results
of these studies to the coaching
staff and athletes. These lines of
communication provide positive
reinforcement for continued research and generate additional
ideas for subsequent study. It also
provides support for continued
cooperation between coaches and
applied scientists.
Sport nutrition is another area
of study that is often examined
by sport scientists that have immediate relevancy to coaches
and athletes. One of the largest
struggles seen in sport today is
the understanding of the efficacy
of various sport supplements that
athletes are confronted with. There are many individuals that simply
want to minimize the use of dietary
supplements, ignoring the potential benefits that they may provide.
While others understand the potential benefits, but want the

scientific evidence to make the appropriate decision regarding which supplements are efficacious
and safe, and which supplements
are not effective. An example of
such research is the benefits of
protein immediately following the
workout that appears to enhance the recovery from the workout
(see Figure 2) (7).
In this study a protein supplement
provided pre and post a high intensity workout including the 4 sets of
the 10 repetitions per set of the
squat exercise was compared to a
group of participants consuming a
placebo.
The groups consuming the protein recovered faster from the
exercise session, as reflected by a
significant greater number of repetitions performed in the squat
exercise 24- and 48-h following
the initial workout. In addition,
creatine kinase concentrations,

an enzymatic marker of muscle
damage, began to decline in the
protein group but continued to
elevate in the placebo group at
48-h post-exercise. The message
for coaches was the importance
that protein intake surrounding
the workout may have in enhancing recovery.
Interesting, the investigation surrounding the rhabdomyolysis incident at Iowa University discussed
above revealed that none of the
athletes that were hospitalized
consumed any protein pre or post
workout. However, no athlete
that consumed a protein supplement surrounding the workout
was hospitalized. This presents
interesting anecdotal evidence,
that sport science has provided
scientific evidence to support the
potential benefit of protein intake
and recovery from exercise.
68
References
1. Casa DJ, Anderson SA, Baker L, Bennett S, Bergeron MF, Connolly D, Courson R, Drezner J, Eichner R, Epley B, Fleck S, Franks R, Guxkiewicz KM, KG
Harmon, Hoffman JR, Holschen JC, Jost J, Kinniburgh A, Klossner D, Lopez
RM, Martin G, McDermott BP, Mihalik JP, Myslinski T, Pagnotta K, Poddar
S, Rodgers G, Russell A, Sales L, Sandler D, Stearns RL, Stiggins C, Thompson
C. The inter-association task force for preventing sudden death in collegiate
conditioning sessions: Best Practices Recommendations. Journal of Athletic
Training. 47:477-480, 2012.
2. Drake DR, Herwaldt L, Hines NW, Kregel KC, Thoman D. Report of the special presidential committee to investigate the January 2011 hospitalization of
university of Iowa football players. March 2011.
3. Gonzalez AM, Hoffman JR, Rogowski JP, Burgos W, Manalo E, Weise K, Fragala MS, and Stout JR. Effect of playing time on performance changes in NBA
basketball players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 27:611615, 2013.
4. Gonzalez A.M., Hoffman J.R., Scallin-Perez, J., Stout J.S., and Fragala M.S.
Performance changes in NCAA Division I women basketball players during a
competitive season: Starters vs. non-starters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 26: 3197-3203, 2012.
5. Hoffman JR and Kang J. Strength changes during an inseason resistance
training program for football. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
17:109-114, 2003.
6. Hoffman J.R., M. Wendell, J. Cooper, and J. Kang. Comparison between linear
and nonlinear inseason training programs in freshman football players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 17:561-565, 2003.
7. Hoffman JR, NA Ratamess, CP Tranchina, SL Rashti, J. Kang, and AD Faigenbaum. Effect of Protein Ingestion on Recovery Indices Following a Resistance Training Protocol in Strength/Power Athletes. Amino Acids. 38:771
778, 2010.
8. Jajtner AR, Hoffman JR, Scanlon TC, Wells AJ, Townsend JR, Beyer KS, Mangine GT, McCormack WP, Bohner JD, Fragala MS, Stout JR. Performance
and Muscle Architecture Comparisons between Starters and Non-Starters in
NCAA Division I Womens Soccer. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 27:2355-2366, 2013.
9. Vanholder R, Sever MS, Erek E, Lameire N. Rhabdomyolysis. J Am Soc Nephrol. 11:1553-1561, 2000.
69
DR. JAY HOFFMAN

holds the rank of full professor in the Sport and Exercise Science program at the University
of Central Florida. He is presently the Department Chair of Education and Human Sciences and
Director of the Institute of Exercise Physiology and Wellness.
Dr. Hoffman is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and
Conditioning Association (NSCA).
He served as President of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Board of Directors
from 2009-2012. Dr. Hoffman also served on the Board of Directors of the USA Bobsled and
Skeleton Federation. Dr. Hoffman holds a unique perspective in his sport science background.
Prior to his academic career he signed free agent contracts with the NY Jets and Philadelphia
Eagles of the NFL and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL. A dual national of the USA and Israel,
Dr. Hoffman commanded the Physiological Unit of the Israel Air Force and served as a Research
Officer in the Combat Fitness Unit of the IDF during his military service. Dr. Hoffman has been
honored or awarded the 2007 Outstanding Sport Scientist of the Year from the NSCA, 2005
Outstanding Kinesiology Professional Award from the Neag School of Education Alumni Society
of the University of Connecticut, 2003 Educator of the Year NSCA, and 2003 Neag School of
Education Outstanding Alumni Research Award (University of Connecticut).
Dr. Hoffmans primary area of study focuses on physiological adaptations resulting from
nutritional and exercise intervention. Dr. Hoffman has published more than 200 articles and
chapters in peer-reviewed journals. His books Physiological Aspects of Sport Training and
Performance, Norms for Fitness, Performance, and Health, and Program Design were published
by Human Kinetics. A Practical Guide to Designing Resistance Training Programs and Total Fitness
for Baseball were published by Coaches Choice. Further sharing his research and findings, Dr.
Hoffman has lectured at more than 380 national and international conferences and meetings.
70
Coaching
Weightlifting in
the Age of
Sport
Technology
What can technology do
for a weightlifter and coach?
BY ANNA SWISHER
71
72
COACHING WEIGHTLIFTING IN THE AGE OF SPORT TECHNOLOGY
The level of sophistication in training athletes, including weightlifters, has increased exponentially over the last few decades. An
explosion of tech products, such
as wireless accelerometers, fitness trackers, motion-capture systems, barbell trackers, and apps
for seemingly everything, has given coaches and athletes the ability to measure and track virtually
anything. Now that technology has
opened up what is possible, the
focus must shift towards learning
what is worth tracking and how
it can be integrated into decision
making. Weightlifting coaches are
well versed in weightlifting technique, training, and tactics, but
are often less familiar with sport
technology. As technology in sport
becomes ubiquitous, coaches can
benefit from learning more about
what to consider when selecting
and adopting devices.
What can technology do for a weightlifter and coach?

Though it can be a powerful tool,
technology cannot accurately predict sport performance, replace
common sense, or give definitive
answers about how to optimally
train lifters.
Information from technology does
not hand answers to a coach about
training and performance, but rather allows a coach to ask better
questions.
Technology expands what a coach
can see and measure, effectively
augmenting the coachs subjective observations and intuitions.
The well-trained eye of a veteran
coach is a wonderful tool, but at

the elite level, where razor-thin
margins separate the top performers, using sport technology to
aid in athlete monitoring can be
a big advantage. Here are three
questions to guide you as you consider adopting new technology.
Is the technology
reliable and valid?
Reliability can be thought of as
repeatability, meaning that if you
weigh someone on a scale once
every ten seconds for two minutes,
the scale should show the same
mass at each reading.1 If the scale fluctuates by nine pounds over
the twelve readings, the data is
not reliable and therefore is worthless to a coach. Both intra- and
inter-session reliability are critical
when using fitness trackers, force
plates, calipers, accelerometers,
or anything else that tracks data
longitudinally over time to inform
coaches and athletes about the
training state of the athlete.1,2
Coaches can work to enhance reliability by using the average of
multiple trials rather than a single
effort, always testing under the
same conditions (e.g., same time
of day, same level of hydration,
same tester), and using calibrated, quality equipment.1,2
Validity means that the test or
measurement is truly representative of the ability or trait being
measured. For example, a one-rep
max bench press may be a reliable
test, but is not a valid measure of
aerobic endurance. The validity of
new technology is often assessed
by looking at the degree of agre-
ement between gold-standard

equipment and the device in question. Assessing validity is nearly
impossible when companies create proprietary variables such as
remaining energy and total effort as these are unknown amalgamations of multiple sources of
input.
These metrics purport to help
make the coachs analysis easier
by collating information into coach friendly categories, but may
lead the coach to erroneous conclusions.
Coaches should use directly measurable metrics such as peak barbell velocity or jump height rather
than reactive ability or remaining energy to ensure that the
data is valid. Coaches should also
avoid comparing values between
devices as the variance between
devices can be very large.3 This can
be due to methodological differences in how a variable is calculated and how the data is filtered
and smoothed.3,4 Even if the device
you select has some variance from
the gold-standard measurement
73
technique, as long as the measurements have high reliability, it

can be a helpful tool to use to track
changes over time.
What variables/
metrics should be
tracked?
As big data comes to sport, coaches must grapple with how to
mine meaningful information out
of the mountains of data collected
from new devices. Collecting a lot
of data is relatively easy, but analyzing data and turning it into actionable outputs for a group of lifters
after each training session can be
complex and incredibly time consuming. The human and financial
resources required to run an athlete monitoring program are considerable and perhaps only
widely feasible at the highest levels of sport.2
Specific variables to consider
when monitoring weightlifters include peak barbell velocity, peak
power output, peak rate of force
development, barbell trajectory,
testosterone to cortisol ratio, anthropometrical measurements,

and vertical jump; these may provide valuable information about
an athletes trained state and training progress.2,3,5-9 This list is not
exhaustive, and there are promising new findings each year, such
as examining force asymmetry in
the lower body, that might further
assist coaches in training lifters.10
How does the data

influence training
decisions and fit
into the athlete
monitoring plan?
Some of the challenges with new
devices are that we dont yet know
what information is valuable and
how the detailed streams of information should inform training
choices. When peak power drops
unexpectedly but the lifter can still
make the lifts/reps in a workout
without problem, should the coach
act to change training on account
of the new info about power?
It is a good idea, when possible, to
collect several weeks or months of

baseline data to get a sense of how
a particular variable fluctuates in
a lifter prior to using the data to
inform training decisions. There
are highly individual responses
in many variables, such as heart
rate and power output, so setting
an arbitrary threshold for action
is not recommended.11,12 Coaches
should understand the trends and
implications of the baseline data
and continue to monitor the same
lifter longitudinally rather than
analyze group data for guidance.
Once baseline data has been collected, a coach should consider selecting a few key variables to augment the other existing athlete
monitoring practices that influence athlete programming. A coach
might collect weekly vertical jump
data in weightlifters including
jump height, peak force, impulse,
peak power, and rate of force development to see if changes in any
of these variables are reflective of
fatigue levels. If jump height remains stable over several months
of training with both high and low
74
training volumes, the coach learns

that jump height lacks the sensitivity to reflect fatigue levels. However, if the coach sees that impulse
and peak power data from the jumps is more sensitive to changes
in training volume, that data may
be valuable as part of a larger pool
of information used to monitor a
lifters training.
Conclusion
An accelerometer would be hard
pressed to identify when an athlete is burned out by training,
coming down with a cold, or nervous about an upcoming contest.
However, carefully chosen and
implemented sport technology
does have the potential to be a
valuable supplemental source of
information. Just as coaches must
know tactical and biomechanical

aspects of weightlifting, the profession is evolving such that coaches must be competent in using
sport technology.
To be most effective, coaches must
first understand sport technologys strengths and limitations and
how to incorporate it into decision
making.
Anna Swisher, MA, CSCS

A doctoral fellow in Sport
Physiology and Performance at
East Tennessee State University,
Anna teaches undergraduate
courses and conducts research on weightlifting,
athlete monitoring, and coach education under
Dr. Mike Stone, veteran weightlifting coach and
sport scientist. She is a former weightlifter, a
sport science consultant, and the co-creator
of Eleikos Olympic Weightlifting and Program
Design for Strength Coaches course.
1. Vincent W.; Weir J. Statistics in Kinesiology. 4th ed. Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics; 2012.
2. Stone MH, Stone ME, Sands WA. Principles and Practice of Resistance Training.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2007.
3. McMaster DT, Gill N, Cronin J, McGuigan M. A brief review of strength and
ballistic assessment methodologies in
sport. Sports medicine (Auckland, NZ)
2014;44:603-23.
4. Cormie P, McCaulley GO, Triplett NT, McBride JM. Optimal loading for maximal
power output during lower-body resistance exercises. Medicine and science in
sports and exercise 2007;39:340-9.
5. Carlock JM, Smith SL, Hartman MJ, et al.
The relationship between vertical jump
power estimates and weightlifting ability:
a field-test approach. Journal of strength
and conditioning research / National
Strength & Conditioning Association
2004;18:534-9.
6. Stone MH, Sands WA, Pierce KC, Carlock
J, Cardinale M, Newton RU. Relationship
of maximum strength to weightlifting
performance. Medicine and science in
sports and exercise 2005;37:1037-43.
7. Crewther B, Cronin J, Keogh J, Cook C.
The salivary testosterone and cortisol response to three loading schemes. Journal
of strength and conditioning research /
National Strength & Conditioning Association 2008;22:250-5.
8. Garhammer J. Power production by Olympic weightlifters. Medicine and science

in sports and exercise 1980;12:54-60.
9. Musser LJ, Garhammer J, Rozenek R,
Crussemeyer JA, Vargas EM. Anthropometry and barbell trajectory in the
snatch lift for elite women weightlifters.
Journal of strength and conditioning
research / National Strength & Conditioning Association 2014;28:1636-48.
10. Sato K, Heise GD. Influence of weight
distribution asymmetry on the biomechanics of a barbell back squat. Journal
of strength and conditioning research /
National Strength & Conditioning Association 2012;26:342-9.
11. Argus CK, Gill ND, Keogh JW, Hopkins
WG. Assessing the variation in the load
that produces maximal upper-body
power. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength &
Conditioning Association 2014;28:240-4.
12. Racinais S, Buchheit M, Bilsborough J,
Bourdon PC, Cordy J, Coutts AJ. Physiological and performance responses to a
training camp in the heat in professional
Australian football players. International
journal of sports physiology and performance 2014;9:598-603.
References
75
Suggested Reading
1. McMaster DT, Gill N, Cronin J, McGuigan
M. A brief review of strength and ballistic
assessment methodologies in sport. Sports
medicine (Auckland, NZ) 2014;44:603-23.
2. Stone MH, Stone ME, Sands WA. Principles
and Practice of Resistance Training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2007.
3. Giroux C, Rabita G, Chollet D, Guilhem G.
What is the Best Method for Assessing
Lower Limb Force-Velocity Relationship?
International journal of sports medicine
2015;36:143- 9.
4. Turner, A, Brazier, J, Bishop, C, Chavda, S,
Cree, J, Read, P. Data Analysis for Strength
and Conditioning Coaches: Using Excel to
Analyze Reliability, Differences, and Relationships. Strength Cond. J. 37(1):76-83,
February 2015.
76
ditorial guidelines
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES FOR

AUTHORS OF ORIGINAL RESEARCH
WORK TO BE PUBLISHED STRENGTH
& CONDITIONING. THE SCIENCE OF
HUMAN MOVEMENT (S&C).
EWF Scientific Magazine (hereafter SM ) is a
scientific journal published by the European
Weightlifting Federation (EWF). SM publishes surveys and research reports, systematic reviews, reviews, collections of studies, research
notes and technical and methodological reports - both original and those drawn from
the most Authorized international scientific
literature available (with particular but not
exclusive reference to the three magazines of
the Strength and Conditioning Association of
the United States of America: the Journal of
Strength and Conditioning Research, Strength
and Conditioning Journal and NSCAs performance training journal), which contribute to
promoting knowledge on physical training as
a whole and on strength training in sport and
physical activity in particular. All original typescripts, accepted for publication, must present
either concrete and practical applications for
the professional who works in the strength
training sector, or provide the basis for further applied research in the specific field. The
original typescripts are subjected to double
blind peer-reviews by at least two reviewers
who are experts in that particular field. Editorial decisions are taken based on the quality of
the work presented, the clarity, the style and
the importance of the presentation regarding
the aims and objectives of SM. Suggestions
for the drafting of a paper to be published on
SM can be found at http://www.nsca-lift.org/
publications/JSCRtips.shtml. Authors are invited
to carefully read this interesting document,
which is very useful for the preparation of any
manuscript to be published.
EDITORIAL MISSION STATEMENT
The editorial mission of EWF Scientific Magazine (SM ) is to work to advance knowledge
of the movement and training of mankind, on
the assumption that the first is always, and in
any case, the expression of muscle strength and
that the second constitutes a lifestyle and ethics
entrusted to skilfully and thoroughly trained
professionals with vast knowledge of the facts,
as well as specific competence. Since its first
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77
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human skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol 267 (6 Pt
1): C1723-1728, 1994).
PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS
78
ABSTRACTS
panish resumenes
MS ALL DEL ENTRENAMIENTO

(PRIMERA PARTE) 1. ENTRENAR
LA FUNCIN ES ENTRENAR EL
MOVIMIENTO
Alberto Andorlini
SM (ing), n. 2, ao I, mayo-agosto 2015, pp.4-17
Entrenar la funcin es entrenar el movimiento es la primera de una serie de intervenciones multitemticas. El primer paso, con pies de
plomo, para definir una nueva metodologa de
intervencin que tenga como objeto el Entrenamiento del movimiento. Nuestra disertacin
nace con el presente artculo, que debe considerarse como una especie de incubadora de hiptesis conceptualizadas, o de conceptos hipotticos, y como una interpretacin libre del axioma
La forma sigue a la funcin; pasar por un eje
de referencia desde el cuerpo, pasando por
el movimiento, hasta el cuerpo en movimiento que constituir, en cambio, la brjula que
orientar las consideraciones y alimentar la
reflexin (segundo artculo); abordar una gramtica elemental que tratar de proporcionar
los instrumentos necesarios para descodificar
cualquier composicin motora (tercer artculo);
hasta llegar a la definicin de un modelo metodolgico y operativo que permita el buen rendimiento del ejercicio (cuarto artculo). Dicho
rendimiento (ordinario y extraordinario) no
puede limitarse a un nico instante, una nica
sesin de entrenamiento, un nico momento o
una nica ejecucin, sino que ha de extenderse
a todos los movimientos y a todos los elementos
que estos tienen en comn.
de la barra, a fin de aumentar la eficiencia de

la accin mecnica. El objetivo de este tipo de
estudios es presentar un modelo biomecnico
antropomrfico que respete las propiedades
antropomtricas y ergonmicas del cuerpo de
un deportista de sexo masculino. El modelo,
compuesto por seis segmentos anatmicos, se
sita en un plano geomtrico para ejecutar de
forma unvoca 10 posiciones clave de la tcnica
de arrancada y recabar informacin til sobre la
realizacin de las fases fundamentales de dicha
accin deportiva. El anlisis biomecnico realizado permiti destacar dos estrategias motoras
esenciales: el movimiento giratorio de la pelvis
y la extensin vertical de las extremidades inferiores, cuya sinergia y forma de realizacin
aumentan la eficiencia de todo el levantamiento.
LAS ESPECIALISTAS DEL LEVANTAMIENTO DE PESAS SE HAN LIBERADO

DEL USO DE LA BARRA FEMENINA
Andrew Bud Charniga
Son varios los factores que pueden influir en la
oscilacin de la moderna barra utilizada en la
halterofilia, aumentndola, especialmente en la
actividad femenina, que contempla la utilizacin de una barra especial. Entre dichos factores
cabe mencionar, como muy importantes, la cantidad del peso cargado, la longitud de trabajo de
la barra y la longitud del espacio entre las manos. No obstante, el actual (y en realidad imprevisto) aumento de fuerza de las levantadoras de
pesas modernas ha conllevado, de hecho, que la
barra concebida especficamente para las mujeres quedara obsoleta. Ello ha creado problemas
importantes de seguridad y ejecucin, que solo
pueden subsanarse introduciendo cambios en el
diseo de la barra para mujeres.
ANLISIS CINEMTICO EN TRES

DIMENSIONES DE LA TCNICA DE
ARRANCADA PARA EL LEVANTAMIENTO DE DISTINTOS PESAS
Hadi, G, Akkusx, H, y Harbili, E.
El objetivo de este estudio era analizar los efectos de aumentar las cargas de la barra en el
movimiento del cuerpo y de la propia barra en
los levantamientos con la tcnica de arrancada
al 60, 80 y 100 % de una repeticin mxima, y
examinar la biomecnica de dicha tcnica. El
estudio se realiz en siete levantadores de pesas
de lite de sexo masculino del equipo nacional
de Turqua. Para grabar los levantamientos, se
utilizaron cuatro cmaras que funcionaban a 50
campos por segundo. Para el anlisis cinemtico
en 3D del centro de gravedad (CG) y el movimiento de la barra, se digitalizaron los puntos
del cuerpo y de la barra con el programa informtico Ariel Performance Analysis System. Se
observaron diferencias significativas entre los
valores de trabajo vertical (p < 0,05). Los valores de la potencia de los tres levantamientos
con la tcnica de arrancada tambin resultaron
ser significativamente diferentes (p < 0,05). Se
observ otra diferencia significativa (p < 0,05)
entre el desplazamiento vertical mximo de la
barra, la velocidad vertical mxima de la barra,
el desplazamiento vertical mximo del CG y
la velocidad vertical del CG durante la fase de
encaje bajo la barra. Los resultados pusieron de
MODELO BIOMECNICO DE LAS BASES

TCNICAS DE ARRANCADA
Donato Formicola
Con los actuales estudios cientficos sobre la
tcnica de arrancada, realizados con modelos
biomecnicos antropomorfos, se trata de comprobar si la moderna tcnica de levantamiento
tiende a verticalizar cada vez ms la trayectoria
DEFINIR EL ENTRENAMIENTO DEPORTIVO VELEIDAD O NECESIDAD?

Pasquale Bellotti
Tras haber destacado la importancia de definir
un fenmeno con el fin de poder comprenderlo
mejor (delimitndolo) y conocerlo a fondo (una
definicin ha de contener todos los elementos
fundamentales de la accin concreta), el autor
reconstruye la historia de la evolucin en los
aos en que se acu la propia definicin del
entrenamiento, que es fruto de la experiencia
y de la comprensin progresiva del verdadero
significado y de la principal funcin de dicho
proceso (el entrenamiento).
manifiesto que los movimientos vertical y horizontal de la barra y del cuerpo en la fase del
tirn de la tcnica de arrancada disminuan a
medida que aumentaba la carga de la barra. La
potencia durante el segundo tirn aument a
pesar de que el trabajo no vari, mientras que
el trabajo y la potencia aumentaron durante la
fase del primer tirn a medida que aumentaba el
peso de la barra. Los resultados de este estudio
indican que los levantadores de pesas deban
realizar ms rpidamente el encaje bajo la barra
y la fase de fijacin, ya que cuando se aumentaba el peso de la barra en el levantamiento mediante arrancada, el movimiento vertical de la
misma disminua.
LA IMPORTANCIA DE LAS CIENCIAS
APLICADAS EN EL DISEO DE LOS PROGRAMAS DE ENTRENAMIENTO
Jay R. Hoffman
La colaboracin entre el cientfico y el entrenador es una importante relacin simbitica que
tiene la capacidad de aumentar al mximo el
rendimiento deportivo. El uso apropiado de la
ciencia del deporte brinda numerosas posibilidades, entre ellas, elaborar criterios de seleccin
que ayuden a los entrenadores en la construccin del equipo, realizar evaluaciones fisiolgicas encaminadas a supervisar el rendimiento
deportivo y evitar el sobreentrenamiento, diferenciar entre varios paradigmas del entrenamiento y formular recomendaciones basadas
en el estudio cientfico de los complementos
alimenticios. Estos elementos pueden aportar
beneficios importantes, que quizs no garanticen un campeonato, pero que pueden aumentar
al mximo las posibilidades de lograr el potencial pleno.
EL ENTRENAMIENTO DE LA HALTEROFILIA EN LA ERA DE LA TECNOLOGA
APLICADA AL DEPORTE
Anna Swisher
El grado de complejidad alcanzado por el entrenamiento de los deportistas, comprendidos los
levantadores de pesas, ha aumentado exponencialmente en los ltimos decenios. La explosin
de productos tecnolgicos ha concedido a los
entrenadores y los deportistas la capacidad de
medir y registrar prcticamente todo. Teniendo
en cuenta que hoy en da la tecnologa se aplica a
todos los mbitos, ha de prestarse ms atencin
a tratar de aprender qu vale la pena registrar
y cmo puede incorporarse al proceso de toma
de decisiones. Los entrenadores de halterofilia
estn formados en la tcnica, el entrenamiento y la tctica de esta disciplina; sin embargo,
a menudo tienen un menor conocimiento de la
tecnologa deportiva. A medida que la tecnologa aplicada al deporte se torna omnipresente,
los entrenadores pueden beneficiarse de tener
una mayor cantidad de informacin relativa a
los aspectos a tener en cuenta cuando se eligen
y se adoptan determinados dispositivos.
80
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Alberto Andorlini

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Pasquale Bellotti
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The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation - N 2 / August-December 2015

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

18 HOW THE FEMALE WEIGHTLIFTER OUTGREW

THE LADY BAR

30 BIOMECHANICAL MODEL OF THE BASIC

42 DEFINING SPORTS TRAINING.

In general, the technical analysis of

VAIN AMBITION OR NECESSITY?

50 THREE-DIMENSIONAL KINEMATIC ANALYSIS

OF THE SNATCH TECHNIQUE FOR LIFTING DIFFERENT

62 IMPORTANCE OF APPLIED SCIENCE IN TRAINING

70 COACHING WEIGHTLIFTING IN THE AGE

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

kg performance in the snatch and 90 kg in the clean

2000 - Womens Weightlifting at

female lifters from 47 countries

1998 - European Junior Womens

In 2003, the title of the event was

ridi, Greece and Milena Trendafilova, Bulgaria. These two women

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

The main networks of the human

kes things work but very often it

often lost our bearings, forgetting

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

efficient movement is the aim of

Over the last hundred years or so,

elements. Rediscovering the ingredients that make up Movement

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

the history of Movement), we have

ctioning and Functionality, and

that define movement (Adams

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

road is taken, traditional training

We can change the effect of the

it involves the whole body

Based on the relationship between Exercise and real movement, in

(parkour, skate, free running, natural movement, wild fitness). For

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

approximation of the machine that cooperates (e.g. leg press); the

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

Form and function of the body and movement

tions. It can be designed, using

us; it will basically be the first aid

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

The ocial journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

te different to what is commonly

According to aesthetic (non-anatomic) standards, the Body has a

of gravity, held together by increasing compression. The only defect

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

The Function of the Body. Investigating the Function of the Body

sabling interferences. The body deforms, it ceases to function and/or

2. Thomas W Myers, Anatomy Trains, Churchill Livingstone, Edimburgo, 2001, 23-29.

structure that moves by virtue of a

The official journal of the European Weightlifting Federation

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING AND MOVEMENT TRAINING

There are eight Basic Movements: