Fishin' in a Crawfish Hole

Developing comfort in the bottom of the squat, aka "The Hole," is very important for a weightlifter, as the snatch, clean, and all variations of the squat (back, front, overhead, and even the squat jerk, if performed) require the athlete to spend time down there.  This much is accepted by all members of the weightlifting community – athletes and coaches, alike.  Where these respective parties differ is how to build this comfort.  Some coaches prescribe exercises such as pause squats to build strength and emphasis speed for driving out of the hole, believing such work as a hand in producing heavier lifts.  This may be true, and I have several friends who advocate the use of pause squats.  Others, like Donny Shankle, for one, shun the use of pause squats, arguing they make a weightlifter sticky in the bottom.  And I can understand this line of thinking, too, especially when it comes to the clean. 

In my own training, I try to strike a balance between these two diametrically opposed positions. When performing strength-building exercises like back squats and front squats, I bounce out of the bottom as quickly as possible, for any time spent down there only robs me of kilos on the bar (and the whole point of strength-building exercises is to add weight to the bar).  The same is true for cleans.  I always seek to bounce out of my cleans.  After all, the jerk is my goat (In the event a weightlifter consistently fails to catch the bounce out when recovering on the clean, there may be a fault with their pull line, possibly a coming onto the toes or not finishing through the hips). Conversely, when performing other exercises like snatches, overhead squats, and squat jerks, I try to "stick" my lifts and hold the bottom position for a few second.  This serves two purposes: it affords me the opportunity to regain my balance, and it strengthens my truck and overhead position.   After all, I stopped “doing abs” years ago.

This approach has served me well – and I think it would work for others, too – but everyone is different when it comes to training.  What works for one person might not work for another. Experimenting with cycles of pause squats might help a weightlifter who continues to get pinned at the sticking point by heavy cleans, or sitting in the bottom of an overhead squat might alleviate fears in another.  But the only way to learn is to try it for yourself.  At worst, you will probably succeed in strengthening your spinal erectors and improving your mobility.  That's a pretty reasonable risk, if you ask me.

My words of caution are this: a weightlifter must have the prerequisite mobility before performing movements such as the pause squat.  Holding a valgus knee, i.e. an inward collapse, for a prolonged period of time would most likely, if not certainly, wreak havoc on an athlete's knee structures (ACL, MCL, etc.).  Therefore, it is essential for a weightlifter to continually improve their hip and ankle flexibility, as well as strengthen their glutes, so that a valgus knee can be avoided.  Strive to have the femur track the toe angle.

Eat Organ Meat to Grow Big and Strong

Before reading Bill Starr's seminal work, "The Strongest Shall Survive," I was not a connoisseur of organ meat.  Far from it.  My idea of "adventurous eating" was wolfing down the dark meat after Thanksgiving.  And by that point, the giblets were long gone via the trash. 

Several factors contributed to my "fear" of consuming organ meat: (1) neither my mother nor my grandmother cooked liver, heart, or kidneys for me as a kid, (2) finding high-quality product was more difficult than popping down to the neighborhood grocery store and chatting up the butcher (more on this shortly), and (3) the texture grossed me out a bit.  But I am the type of athlete who will eat just about anything if a respected coach like Bill Starr says it will improve performance. So with that, pass the salt, bro. 



 

Starr discusses liver and its many health benefits in his chapter devoted to "super foods."  "The liver acts as a storehouse for vitamins, it balances hormones, builds amino acids, it secretes bile to govern intestinal activity. The liver controls bleeding, combats dangerous clotting, fights viruses and bacterial poisons, releases energy from food, and performs an amazing variety of functions," he writes.  Starr then goes on to describe an experiment in which liver-fed rats outperformed their vitamin-enhanced peers in a genuine test "life or death" endurance – the rats were placed in a drum of water from which they could not escape, and were required to keep swimming or else drown.  While the vitamin-enhanced rats swam for an average of 13.4 minutes before they gave up, the liver-fed rats swam for 63, 83, and 87 minutes, respectively, while the remainder of the latter population was still swimming vigorously at the end of two hours.

Now was Starr ahead of the proverbial curve in touting the health benefits of liver, or was he merely regurgitating long held beliefs?

Of course it is the latter, but, to his credit, he was smart enough to recognize the success of certain practices.  Prior to the industrial revolution, the cuisine of native populations often included the consumption of organ meats.  In fact, in Steve Ambrose's book, "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West," the author, citing to Lewis' original journal entries, describes in graphic detail the eating of buffalo organs by Native Americans immediately after a hunt.  If memory serves me correctly, the natives supposedly began eating the organ meat before the buffalo was even dead (apologies for not citing to the specific passage, but it seems I have misplaced my copy of "Undaunted Courage"). 

Here in the non-buffalo roaming swamps of Washington, D.C. I have been able to procure high-quality beef liver at Eastern Market, an all-season farmer's market located only a ten-minute walk from my apartment.  For those unfamiliar with cooking beef liver, or for those just curious about someone else's preparation methods, I have provided a recipe below:

Ingredients:

Whole milk – 1 – 1 ½ cup(s)
Large ziplock bag - one gallon with zipper top
Bacon, preferably of a thicker cut – ½ pound or slightly more
White or yellow onion - one, large
Beef liver - 3 pounds, fully thawed
Garlic - fresh, one clove
Cast iron skillet - one
Large bowl - one, just about any size will do
Himalayan salt and pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Place thawed livers in large ziplock bag.  Add whole milk so that milk covers all livers.  Let sit for one hour.  This step is critical and should not be overlooked, as the milk eliminates any funky smell from cooking the liver.  If pressed for time, allow to sit for at least fifteen minutes while oven pre-heats and bacon, onions, and garlic are prepared.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove outer layers of onion and garlic and slice into long, thin strips (I halve, then quarter the onion, at which point I cut on a diagonal line to produce thin slices).  Garlic cloves need only be chopped roughly.

Cut bacon into approximately one inch chunks.

Once oven has reached temperature, warm skillet on moderate-high heat (I use a 7/9 setting at home), then add onion slices, garlic bits, and bacon chunks.  Allow several minutes to cook on each side.  The pieces should be about 75 percent cooked through by this point.  Remove bacon, onions, and garlic while attempting to keep juices in the skillet.  This is good favor.

Turn down burner heat one notch (6/9 for me), then remove livers from bag and place in skillet (avoid “overlapping” livers in skillet).  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Allow to cook for approximately two minutes before flipping (this should be enough time for moderate browning, but if not, allow to sit for another 30 seconds).  Repeat on other side.  Cooking on other side will probably need less time than first due to residual heat in skillet.

Once second side is browned, add bacon, onions, and garlic back in, dispersing evenly across skillet's face, and place whole skillet in oven.  Set timer for four minutes.  Chef beware: overcooked liver is gross, and I have read it tastes like shoe leather.

After removing skillet from oven, let sit for five minutes or so.  When you cut into liver, it should still hold a slightly pinkish color.

Now, personally, I don't like hot beef liver, so I let pieces cool then pack them up for breakfasts. That's right, I prefer my beef liver as leftovers served with three-four fried eggs over easy and sweet potato hash browns for breakfast.  Save your Wheaties, this meal is the breakfast of champions.