How $27.32 Changed My Life

Throughout my weightlifting “career,” I have always lifted better from the hang than from the floor, and while this may be acceptable in some “strength and conditioning” circles, it is not looked upon fondly in the competitive weightlifting world.  To quote John Broz, “Hang cleans and snatches should be reserved for training for ‘hang’ competitions.  I have never seen a hang competition but if you find one, then those lifts would be [appropriate].”  Recognizing there must be some egregious error in my pulling technique, I videotaped a clean and emailed the recording to a trusted friend requesting technical feedback on the lift.  In his response, he spoke of concept called the “double knee bend,” (herein referred to as the “DNB”) a “very subtle but important” movement in both the snatch and clean.  Now, I had heard of the DNB before, but I didn’t quite understand the purpose behind it.

Subsequent research on Youtube turned up several instructional videos from weightlifting coach Don McCauley.  After practicing the various “readjustment” drills with a pvc pipe in my kitchen one night, I decided to go “all in” on McCauley’s approach and buy his book, The Power Trip.  At the time of purchase, I thought, “Well, at worst I might lose $27.32 [the cost of the book on Amazon.com plus regular shipping].”  Fast forward two weeks and I am hitting much cleaner lifts with far better speed.  Best $27.32 I ever spent.

A quick update on the Nemesis Program, in the two-and-half weeks since my last post I have added 20# to my back squat and 15# to my front squat.  These numbers would have been more impressive had I not taken a week off of training around Christmas (visiting my wife’s family in an unfamiliar state, but no excuses, don’t take prolonged breaks from training!).

“Problems do not go away.  They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to [future] growth and development.”

-- Scott Peck (American psychiatrist and best-selling author; May 23, 1936 – September 25, 2005).