Weightlifting in Colombia: PT.1 with National Coach Luis Arrieta

So Cap's Cave Strength made a trip to Colombia where in recent years Colombia has produced Weightlifters who have won medals in the Olympics with Diego Salazar and Oscar Figueroa and in last years World Championships where Luis Javier Mosquera won the Bronze medal in the snatch. Prviously, Mosquera won the Junior World championships. So something special is going on in Colombia where both men and women are competing at the highest levels whereas in the USA our program is developing but we're still behind in terms of success what the Colombian's have achieved.

Luis Arrieta Weightlifting School in Barranquilla

250kg squat 20 years old 77kg body weight

I first met Luis on Facebook and he invited me to come down to his Weightlifting school in Barranquilla Colombia. I've never been to South America and have always wanted to so here's a perfect opportunity to visit the exotic continent of South America. First stop, Barranquilla. I met Luis outside the gates of the Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla where his weightlifting school is at.

His Weightlifting school is centered around developing youth lifters from 10 years old till 20 and under. From there on, lifters who are good enough and need more development after 20 years old will be relocated to one of several training bases in Colombia such as Cartagena, Cali or Bogota. His Weightlifting school is one of many in the country.

Colombian Weightlifting schools
The sport of Weightlifting in Colombia is free for anyone that wants to participate. The funding is provided for by the state. The state covers uniforms, shoes and travel expenses when competing nationally or internationally. There are lifting leagues within each lifting department and all competitions develop lifters to rise in the ranks or qualify to bigger competitions such as Pan American's, World Youth Championships, or youth nationals.

At the Luis Arrieta lifting school there are both boys and girls training. The boys there were squatting close to 200kgs or over. A 20 year old lifter was squatting 250kgs at 77kg body weight. This is common in Colombia. After years of technique training they put a lot of focus on developing strength for the lifts.

In PT. 2 I want to share with you a deeper look into the Colombian training system and how they develop that system to develop their lifters and their lifting program.

Performance Based interview video

Check out our latest performance based interview series with Strength and Conditioning coach Bruce Mendoza on how strength focused training has improved athletic performance for one of his clients.

The Undying Spirit to be the best: part 1

Recently, I competed this weekend in Visalia California at the Visalia Fall lift off. I had to post a total in order to qualify for next years Masters National Championship in Monrovia California. In addition, it qualifies me for the IWF World Masters Championships in Finland later that year. I had to compete because the committee contacted me saying that I need to qualify. I have not competed all this year because of a back injury. Let me tell you how that went.

Feeling like I Died

MRI results

I was in the doctors office and when I got to the car and looked at the MRI I felt like a part of me had died. The MRI said I had an L4 and L5 herniated disc, stenosis, and sciatica. It was very serious to say the least. I sat in sadness wondering if I would ever come back to regain my full strengths. Would I ever compete again? Would I ever lift? Thoughts raced through my mind and the temptation to quit was present and I considered it. It was an extremely dark moment for me. Probably the darkest day of my lifting journey.

Considering the options I made a choice to persevere. I made a choice to not fall in despair. I made a choice that I was going to overcome this condition and heal my back and make it strong again. I had my doubts and fears.

Taking steps back
In order to heal I knew that heavy lifting was off the program for awhile. Not sure how long but just enough to allow the proper healing so that my back would be strong again. I researched everyday for examples of people who overcame a herniated disc and came back to be strong again. I came across Louie Simmons and how he had broken his back several times only to make a comeback and be stronger than ever. The point is, I needed to find a survivor or cases of those lifters who made a comeback after injury. The journey was hard, it was painful, I had some doubt but my faith never wavered. My undying devotion to succeed outweighed my doubt.

Undying Spirit
And that is the point. You must have that undying spirit to be the best you can be. It's a drive that never dies! Once I was feeling like my back was healing, I began to challenge my strength but very slowly and lightly. It felt like I was walking on egg shells. It felt as if any lift would set off again another painful episode of back pain. Fortunately, that never happened. It took about 2 months of healing, therapy, research, hope, praying, but moving forward as much as I can. In the process I lost over half my strength I use to have. It was very, very, frustrating and depressing.

In part 2 I want to share with you some strategies  and interventions I applied to training and allowed me to heal. In addition, I want to take you deeper into the mindset to overcome the odds.

Power projected = power perceived. How to project power.

A friend of mine shared a statement with me: power projected is power perceived. I work in a position where people give me a lot of power. It's not because I'm asking for it it's simply because the dynamics of the relationship. I go in as an inspector and what I observe carries tremendous weight upon the score of the institution that I'm inspecting. My decisions are never challenged. I often catch myself fixing my own mistakes. My observations can potentially FIRE someone from their job!!!

How to project power

I'm going to talk about 2 ways to project power: physical and communication.
Physical - physical projection of power comes from how you manifest your body through moving, standing, walking, and even eye contact. Watch this video how Vladimir Putin (President of the Russian Federation) displays power with his walking style:
Another physical form of projecting power is through eye contact. Projecting your eyes and looking directly at other people conveys confidence. It shows that you are confident with yourself. Hold eye contact directly while holding an upright posture that elevates the shoulders and head. Take a look at the video about how Mike Tyson projects power while holding his eyes directly at this opponent. He says that the split second his opponent drops eye contact he knew he had him. He knew he had won the fight. That is impressive power.

Go to 1:23min:

Communication - there is a story about 2 birds. One bird liked to sing a lot and sang really loud. The other bird stayed quiet. One day, a hunter came towards the birds and shot and killed the singing bird. You don't to be a Nuclear Submarine scientist to figure that one out. In order to project power through communication...KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!! What you say can get you in trouble. And, those who talk fast and a lot are perceived as insecure and weak. Learn to keep your message clear and say less. Human attention span is 20secs. That's the amount of time you have to deliver your message...unless you're telling a story. Confident powerful people talk very little. Plus, the more silent you are while projecting power drives people crazy because they don't know what you are thinking!!! And that makes them scared of you!!!! That's power!

Making men out of STRENGTH!!!

Many women complain about the lack of men today. I don't blame them. Just look at the shows on T.V. or commercials and there is no shortage of weak male characters. I mean seriously, what happened to Rambo, Arnold, The Rock...there are what I would call a Man's Man. Instead, we get lame weak ass frail male types such as the douchebag from Spiderman!!! Sorry, but that dude isn't saving me from anything! Take a look at this weakling below.

He looks like I'll take his lunch money!!!! 

You ain't man enough if....
If you're shaving hair off your body (self explanatory).
If you look too long in the mirror adjusting your hair (dude, girls do that...you shouldn't).
If you're 5'11'' and weigh 120lbs (seriously put on some weight man).
If you shop most of your clothes at H&M, Express (....)
If you can't squat double your body weight (you need to try harder).
If you hurt animals, the environment, people (strength is meant to protect...not harm).
If you don't know how to change the oil in your car (need I say more?)

I can go on and on about this for days!

Men through Strength

That's what I love about strength training. It has allowed men to tap into their masculinity and express their dominant masculine qualities. It helps them convert boys to men. How? The increase in testosterone helps but the weights are a resemblance of what masculinity is: the pursuit of freedom and purpose.

The weights stand in the way of mans goals and dreams. Overcoming the weight builds confidence in knowing the weight has been overcome. Just load up a barbell with a weight that scares you. The weight is heavy and you know this!!! It's scary and you are not so sure you can do it but you believe you can. And when you do there is no greater feeling in life such as the feeling of accomplishment from lifting a weight you once thought impossible.

Dmitry Klokov = a Man's Man

Where have all the men gone? Seems as if Russian's are the last masculine stronghold. While men in America have been feminized not the Russians like Dmitry Klokov. This guy is a Man's Man. He's no pretty boy and is strong as hell!!! He's an Olympic Silver Medalist in the sport of Weightlifting and became World Champ in 2005.

So if you're a guy struggling to find your place as a man in this world...go to the gym, and learn to lift. Women, if you're complaining as to where have all the men gone...you'll find them in the strength gyms. NOT the fitness gyms the strength gyms.

How you can get stronger and lift more weight.

The pursuit to lift more weight is THE path of competitors such as Olympic lifters and Powerlifters. It's the ONLY thing that matters!!! With that said, there are several phases to consider in order to reach that elevated state that allows you to push beyond your limit and reach a new level strength one that you never experienced before. And usually it culminates into a new personal record.

It comes down to 2 phases: BUILDING strength and TESTING strength

Building Strength

This phase is about creating volume in your training using less than maximum weight to create a stress and adaptation to handle greater loads over time. This requires tremendous loads over time using a rep range of anywhere from 2 to 4 repetitions with several sets. Using anywhere from 3 to 5 sets depending on the stress the lifter is trying to achieve. 

Testing Strength

This is the phase when the lifter has adapted to the stresses of the Building Strength phase and is ready to test his strength by lifting maximum loads with improved technique. 

Where people go wrong

I train at a Crossfit gym in Westlake Village called Crossfit FAST where inside is a strength center called THE PIT that has nothing but strength equipment: platforms, bumpers, squat racks etc. With that said, I far too often see Crossfitters and other non competitive lifters who are not on structured programs TESTING their strength with loads that exceed their max strength thresholds or the loads are greater than their ability to maintain the most efficient technique. The result is usually less than efficient execution of loads that create force leaks in the body (system) and then some form of injury sets in. 

Injury prevention or injury reduction can only take place when skill and technique are not compromised EVER over time and over loads both maximal and sub-maximal. There is a place to build strength and a place to test strength. Testing strength all the time will cause stagnation, plateaus, and can slow down the speed of the lifter. That's why a building phase is necessary to avoid stagnation. 

Plan your training accordingly to increase further strength gains.