1 Doublo i0reo Bend

. tal-

.^ " '" f:

to

The double knoe bend ls a su&:natlon of largely forces from the floor straight the tpp of the pulI. Let us go through some of tho highLights which make lt ao.

The llfter should make ae fest s start as possible uith the leverage at hand. T he inc r eaal n g o f th e s p e e d s h o u l d take pl ece al l al ong the pul l aE opti nura polnt e of lev or age a re re a e h e d a n d s u c c e edl ng spood bui l t on nhat w ent before. Thi s is pulllng dif f er ent fro m d e l i b e ra te L y sl ow off the fl oor. Tho l l fter sh' oul d nake use of every leverage poi.nt. lie should not yank the bar in an effort to get epeed, and he s hould n o t b re a k g o o d b o d y p o a l ti on, In othor w orde, the l i fter shoul d go aE f as t as t he l o v e ra g e a t h a n d w i L l permi t w l th good body poel tl on. The weight of the body is center6d on the front part of the instop when starting t he pul l . T h i s d o o s n o t m e a n he l s on hi s toes as the w hol e foot i s i n cont act wtth the floor. It oeans that when preaeure ls exertsd by the feet, the center seems to bo at the front part of the instep.. Then the weight of the body ls tranef er r ed bac k a s th e b a r i s l i fte d to the knees. A l eor 88 the bar i s l i fted frol o t ho f loor t he h i p s a re k e p t i n . T h e y do not shoot back. be oauge They go up verti cal l y the kneee are atreightentng. As the kneee straighten the bar ie brought slightly bac k about tw o i n c h e s fro m i ts i n l tl al poel ti on w hi ch w as ovor tho netatarsal s. The angle of the back ls constant from the fl.oor to the kneea. A e t he b a r c o n e e p a s t th e k n ees, the w el ght of the body i s at the furthest point bac k . It h a s c o m e fro s th e bal l s of the feet (front part of the i nstep) back t o t he nlddl e o f th e fe o t. fro m t hl s poei ti on the w ei ght muet return to the ballg of t ho f eet a g a i n . get i nto the correct poeiT h l e i g v e ry l mportant. S onael l ftere t ion f or t he e e c o n d p u l l b u t th e i r w el ght l s stl l l centered on the ni ddl e of th e f eet , not ' on th e b a l 1 s o f th e fe e t. S ; then they are off bal anoe and they pul l in a r ot at lon i n s te a d o f s tra l g h t up. if it h th e b a r p a s t th e k n e e s , the bar havi ng beon brought back about tw o l ncheg and t he bod y w e i g h t c o mi n g fo rw a rd , the knees bend (thoy are bendi ng a second ti ne; t hey wer e b e n t to e te rt w i th w h e n the bar w as pul l ed off the fl oor) and the hl p s cotre down and forward, and the back comes up. The benciing of the knees causes the down and f orw a rd a c ti o n . T h e l i fte r i s becoai ng & ore erect ss the back rl sesr nit h t he body r r r e i g h t tra n s fe rri n g to th e bal l s of the feot, the w hol e foot i n contact wit h t he f lo o r. T h i e h a s b e e n d e scri bsd as a scoopi ng acti .on. It i s i n thi s lr &r ner t hat t he l i fte r g e ts h i s b o d y l nto the best poesl bl e pul l l ng posl ti on. If t his ls not done ri g h t, w h a t c o ru n o n l y heppens i e the hl ps come dow n and forw ard but t he body weight s ta y s b a c k . l h i s re s u l ts l ater i n a rotati on. Then w hen the l i fter does his s e c o n d p u l l , th o re i s a conti nuatl on of thi e rotati on and a rotary for ce is added on to th e p re c e d l n g s tra l g h t forcee so that they do not add up to as much f o rc e a s w o u l d th e a d d i t l on of strai ght r es ult ing forces. Thus the l i fter doe e not get t he naxl m u m p u l l , a n d m a n y ti -aes the bar i s l ost behl nd and ho j unpe back. posi ti on, ?lhen t h e b o d y i s i n th e b e s t pul l i ng the eecond pu11 cauees grea t ac c elor at ion o f th e b a r. T h e p re c edi ng seoopl ng acti on i s done faster than the puI I b u t th e n a i n a c c e l e ra ti on (It shoul d be &f ir gt comss fron the second pul l . phas lz ed t ha t th e w h o l e p u l l i n g a c tl on frono the fl oor to overhead i s one smooth pul1 wit h ln c re a s i n g a c c e l e ra ti o n .) thi e sscond pul 1 i s sti rrted by accel erati ng t he s c ooping a c ti o n o f th e l e g s a n d hi ps. A s these bl g uuecl es accel erate the bar , t he ex t ens io n o f th e b a c k th e n b l e nds i n (not before). Thi s resul ts i n a continuat ion of t he u p w a rd ro o ti o n n h i c h i s further conti nued by the l ater bl endi ng l n of

14

the elevatlon of the ehouldors. The end of the pull results in the liftor up on hle toes, body fully clongated (extended), chouldcrs shruggod. l,laxtnrr,u height rtth maxLllumforce haa beon inplenentod ts the bar. The socond pull can be thought sf as a pushing anay fron the platforn or Junplng wlth a welght ln the hqnda. 't{hen done right, it glvoa the i.npreeslon of r suddcn olongatlon or lengthoning of the body. Thls le because the notlon takss off
etrrlght up. ' These are Bon6 of o ut lt ne f or m . the hlghllghts of the

pull.

lpt me brlofly

reviow then ln

1, The llftcr hand.

starte

fron the floor

as fast as poseible rrlth tho leverage at to thE hlese.

2. The angl,o of the back le constant fron the floor ,.

The bodyrelght etarts off on the front part of the instep (Ualls of feet) when the bar is pulled fron thc floor, shifts to the nlddle of the feet when the bar ts at the lcroea, then back to the balls of the feet for the eecond pull, the wholo foot being in contact wlth the floor throughout. the hlpo muet not go back. ln contact uith

4. Durtng the whole pull, ,. The llfter the floor

le on the balLe of hts feet wlth the whole foot for the start of tho second pu1.1.

6. Fron nearly a stralght poeitlon at thc end of the first pull, the hreoe go lnto a bent positlon agaln during tho scoop to the start of the second pull. This scoop ls done by the hips coning down and forrard and tho back flstng uP. 7. The gecond pull ts started by an accsleration of the ocooplng acti.on ae the welght of the body ie transforred to the ballg of the foet, the whole foot being ln contact with the floor. Here the loga and hips accelorate Ln an upward motlon. The extension of the back blsnds ln after the action of, tho lege and hlpe.

1. The bodSnrelght is on the front part of the inotep (balls of the feet ).

'l,t'..-' 1'

2. To g6t the bar to knee height the knees have straightened and the hlps have come up but not beck. Thc ehouldcrs heve gone out front. The back angle fron the floor to here has ronainod constant. The bodyweight haa shlfted backwerd toward the ntddle of the feet.

T he llf t er h a s e c o o p e d l n to th e bar. This 1g done bi' bendlng the knees, " the hips cone forward and down, the bodlm et gh t g h i fts fro n th e n l d d l e of the fcet to the balle of the feot, end the whole foot staye in contact wlt h t he fl o o r. T h e b a c k h a s g one up. T hie l s th e s tro n g e s t p o e i tl on f r om wbic h to p u l l . F ro n h e re al l not lon ig d i re c te d u p , T h e s c oop c ar r les l n to th i s . It i s a l l ft gg.

4. F'ron the position ln picture f], ths llftor hae continued the ecoop by straightening hls legs and hipe and then (not before ) hls baok. The shoulders have elevated. Thls lE a fully olongated poeition; note the etraightened knees and lifter on hiE toes . A srrnnation of stralght forcoE hs.s caueod thte.

16

Doubla l(no. Bend - I llay to loarn

Il,

Whon the ond of iho o]fnnlc lifting ycar arrivoa for llftorar. th6y ero r.Irxlng a b1t anil Looklng forrhrd to the next liftlng ecason. Thla te a good tine to plan a cyellng routlna for the naxt llft, tng aeaaon. A cycllng routlnJ ntlt tako the pra8surc off rhsn thc ]lf,tcr starts llftlng agaln. ?hle would aleo bc a good tlue to learn thoroughly th pull popularry hrcwn as ths doubra lrneo bond. deie qre elx cxcrcleea ln thc propor 6aquence to lcarn tha pult. Exsrclae fl - thrugr Fron tho 6ccond pull poeitlon froq tha boxee or bar at thc crotch, stralghton tho lgs and hlps, thon blond in thc bsok sxtension, and thcn ahrug thc Ehourdsrs strelght up. Hold tho tep shrugged posltioa on thc tocs for ) eecondr. rf you do lt rlght, )rou can keop your baiincc. rf coordtnatlon LB not good, you rlll falr forrard or backnard - usually backlerd. The hoed ghould bo kcpt levol, not throra back, hlghcr clevatlon of ths Bhouldcrr oaa b gottcn thla ray. The hoad golng back nlll thron your bahncc to thc roar, and the-6houldcr. rlll not olcvate hlgh and rlll p!ob&bl" go beck initead of up. Do thrca alnglcs iB four to flve rate. Excroiga f,2 - Clcan or Snatch froE Sccond pull logltion; Hhon you hava lc&rn d the acquencc of loge, hlpa, bec! and ehouldor ehrug, you rill csnelatontly nrlntalu thl.e belancoil ahfuggcd poaition. Naxt you ghould euatch or qlean fron the ecoond pull positlon fron blookg or fron tho bar at tho crotch. Uac about 4O-)0fi of your lFxt projactcd goal to stert Hith. Do thres alnglos, four to fivo s6tr. If thls er(orclse la too dlfflcult, th.n go back to cxsrcj,s. #1 . i{hat le wantod i6 a.pull thet goeo etralght up and not back. check to sec thet thc f,inal slevatlon oi tbc ehouldcrg le etralght up and is ooorplotc. In going through cxercleea lt')r4,) and,6 alwaye uae excrcleas fl and f2 firat. In thc progroseion fron exgrclgc fl through f6 uae 7O-8OFof your next pro;eotca goal as a guldo to whcn to novo on to thc naxt axarclgc. Thig rilr bo a rilatlwry llght wetght glncc 7G.806 of your ncr.t poaktng' goal nill be Light bocauea thtE l thc lcginnlng of your y6ar of cycllng. t{hcn axercl,es f,) is reichcd, do #ra and #5b at the saEs tlEo. t{lth thc coordlnatloa thc llf,tcr rlrr have picbd up by thlo l'lne he lE at a oonfortablc anough atage to lork tho scoop both fron thc floor and fron ths la66. Thle lcads tho llftcr to a nRtura.I ovcrlap of atagos that blend tho coordlnatlon lnto one bautiful pull. Thosc axcrciocs arc done wlth the clcs.n end tha anatch grlp. l{ork oach grlp trlce a reck, elthsr in aeparate sssalons, Eaklng a totar of four v6ry ehort rorkouts per eok, or togGthcr oaklng two rorkouts pcr reok. rf you do thc lattcr, stert one tlne wlth the snFtch grlp, iho ncxt tiue ritrt tuc c loan gr ip. Exsrclse fj - theo Scoop: Frou the blocks 8t knee helght or in a porcr reck, assuEc th poaitlon attalned sfter the 0ly6plc dsad lift. $coop by Letting.the kneos rebcnd, hfps go down and ferward, bodynelght goea forrard onlo tho bilts of thc feet nlth the nhole foot ln contaot rvtth thJ floor, and tho baok conoa up. The po8lti'on roached 16 the second purl posltion l{ith the bodywelght on the ball-E of the foet, whole foot ln contaot ulth the floor, and tho back lr-a, de+tcea frou thg vertical, hcad ig Level and l<:re6garo rebent. rt is very inportant {o etop hero, thie ls hofl tho liftor Loarng uhere the second pulr boglne. Tho hardeat aeplct wilr bc aoordlnatlng the sstlon of the kneos, h!ps, bodyuolght, foet and baok. A scooping actlon best descrtbea it. The ralslng of the back ig eloner tban ihe rebendinp--oi the kneeE and the bodywe ight going onto the balls of the fe6t. The tro oo.ronH-ri takes are the back coning up too goon and the back belng too verticaL go that th9

17

F-

bodyrelght never gete transferred back fron the rolddle of the feet to the balls of Do three eingles, four to flvo eots. the feet, and a rotation bachdarde results. to Knees: l{ith the back angle held constant, .{gerolse S4 - Ol}mpic Dead tift puif *e wetght off the floor elowly to the kneeg. The knees alnost straighten, not back, and the bodyneight goes fron the balls of the the hlpa go up vertically, feet to the niddle of the feot. Concontrato all the tine onr (1 ) keeplng the back angle constant, (a) knses alnoet streightening, (i) rear end gotng up vertlcally, not back, (4) shouldere laylng out in front of the bar and (t) bodyweight going fron balls of feet to niddle of foet. Do threo slnglee, four to five eote. Exorclse fla - Conbined Oltrmpic Dead Llft and Scoopi Thls ia probably the exercise because you must coordlnate the bar comlng paat the kneee. most dtfflqult Again, romember you nuat stop after the Bcoop wlth the weight forward on tho balle of the feet, whole foot in contact with the floor and the back angle at 1y'2) d,egrees from the vortlcal. with knees bent, head level. Do three singlee, four to '' five sets. Exercise flb - ComblnedScoop uith $hrugr From loree helght off boxes or rack assums position already described when bar fs at hnees ln exerciae ;p4. 0o through the positions of scoop and shrug as already described. Do not forget to etay on your toos for three Eeconda. Do three elnglee, four to five gets. Exerc Lee 1t'6 OltrnoplcDeed Llft, Scoop and $hrug (nfgfr PulL uith Straight Arna)r tbe brr If ovory qtage has been Lcarned correctly, This i.s the monent of truth. ghould bo pulled ln a etraight Line ulth stralght forco adding on top of stralght forco for a maxlmumpooslble fsrce. 'thon dolng thia exerclso for the ftret few you are golng through. End up on your toee ti.:aosr go slowly and feel the movenosntg thero for throe secondo. As you feel. confldent ln what you are doingr go and etay faeter, and flnally the Bocolowly off the floor, then the ssoop ghould be a little ond pull should reall.y accolErate wlth the ehoulder elevatlon etraight up. As form ie more c'onsietont, elinlnate staying on the toes for three secondE. Do threc singles, four to five sets. Exerclso f,1 - Shrug

1B

Exerciee #2 - clean or snatch fron second pulr Fositlon

1g

Exerctse f,) - Ihee Scoop

Exercise ll4 - Clynpic Dead Lift

to Kneee

*,r.." -'

tv

Exerciss #7" - Conblnod Olynplc Dead Lift

and Scoop

E x e rc l s c

f)b

- C onbi ned S coop w i th

S hrug

2?_

Exercise #6 - Olpnplc Dead Ltft,

Scoop and Shrug

Pulrlng- uLru"r ff4 ta

techniquo known as the double kneo bend, nhlch wo have been trylng The pulling t o ex plaln a n d te a c h , H a s e l a b o ra ted on by the dl fforent coaches at the E uropes. n as to hou w e nl ght bet Cs ac hes I C o n fe re n c e i n So fl a , B u 1 gari a. I recei ved i nsl ght ter describe and teach it in our eountry r*hen I stayed on Ln extra day after the corrference was over and had a four hour intervlew with the hsad coach of the Bulgarlan t ear n, I v an A b a d j e a v . I t wa s d i s c u s s e d th a t K o l o v , for exampl e, sooms to yank the bar off the floor . R athcrn the l l fter shoul d nake as fast a et ar t T his ig no t e x a c tl y w h a t i s w a n ted. as pos s lble w i th th e l e v e ra g e a t hand. fhe i ncreaei ng of' the apoed ehoul d take plac e all a l o n g th e p u II a s o p ti n r n l everage poi nts are reached and succeedi ng pul .l i ng from del i beratol y o n r.rh a t w e n t b e fo ro. Thi s l e di fferent s peod ls b u i l t H e s hould shoul d uake us6 of every l overago poi nt, T h e l l fte r s low of f t h e fl o o r. to got apeed and he should not broak good body Poslnot yank the bar in an effort shoul d go as faat as thc l everage at hand will t lons . I n o th e r w o rd s , th e L l fte r per nit wlt h g o o d b o d y p o s i ti o n . force rapi dl y w hen contracted faat doee T he f a c t th a t ro u s c l .e l o s e e contractl l e Tho rebendi ng of tho not hav e a n e g a tl v o l n fl u e n c e o n w hat has j ust been eai d. aoti on taksg 1 ) A stretch-rofl ex k nes s r or Bc o o p i rg , a c c o m p l i s h e s throe thi ngsr plac e, eom e th tn g l l k e w h e n a b a s ketbal l pl ayer dl ps qul ckl y to j tup. Thi e ma kes t hc quadr ic e p s mu s c l e s c o n tra c t harder than they coul d normal l y be cal l ed upon t o pi nce to rrestr contractl ng do. 2) T h e re b e n d l n g a l l o w e th o muscl ee prevl ouel y they are no longor contracting to cause thc upwerd rnovoment, but are eccentrlcally shi fte tho c ont r olling th e h tp s a n d th i g h e dow n and forw ard, )) It dramati cal l y f or oe angle of p u l L s o th a t e v e n th o u g h the nuscl o has l ost nuch sf i te contracti l e tho angl e of pul l i s so nuch better because o f t he s inc o it ha e c o n tra c te d ra p l d l y , (Thie is &n i.r,por-' scoop that it nore than makes up for what the nuecle hae lost. a choice nust be made &s to r*hat is troro important for power, tant point. Whenever angl. e of p u l l o r e tre n g th o f m u o cl e, angl e of puIl outw ei ghe the l nfl uonce of Thoee thinge conblned with lnsreasod monentun sf the bar nako strength of Buscle.) pull. s v e ra l l f or a nor e p o w e rfu l l the bar shoul d be pul l od, I n die c u s s i n g th e d l re c ti o n i t w as poi nted out t het t heor et ic ally i t i s d e g i ra b l e fo r the bi r to be pul l ed l n a strai ght l i ne so that t he s t r aigh t fo rc e s a d d u p to a bl gger resul tent force than the total of forco s going in dif f e re n t d l re c ti o n s r H o w ever, thl s i s not possl bLo si nce the bar start a f r on ov er th e n e ta ta rs a l s a n d m u E t be brought,.i n. A devl ati on of fi vo centi net er g or t wo t nc h e s l s th o u g h t to b e a ll ri ght and w 111 not cause sw i ng. It ni ght be &r gued t hat i f th e b a r w e ro p l a c e d ri ght next to the ankl os then i t coul d be pulled s t r aight up. Eu t i f th l e v re re d o ne, the bodyw oi ght w oul d be centered back on t he heels inet e a d o f th e n i d d l e fro n t of the foot. W i th the bodyrei ght thue' center od w oul d csuse f ur t her ba c k , th o n a tu ra l ro ta tl o n of the back, even i f done perfeetl y, back behi nd the heol s; thon the l i fter w oul d junp t he bodpr ei g h t to g o e v e n fu rth e r bac k and p ro b a b l y e w l n g th e b a r. S o the bar has got to be started fron the m et t i n shoul d be, aB mentl oned, par t o f th e fo o t a n d n p u l l ed i nr. Thi e pul l i ng t ar s al It i s ruore dranati c l n the i i ul gari an marurer of f iv e c ent ln e te re o r tw o i n c h e s . pullt ng t ha n i n th e R u e e i .a n m a n l l orr In the B ul gari an styl e i t i e al most hooke d in or c r adled i n , w h e re a s i n th e R u e el an styl e, i t i s pul l ed i n on a gradual pIan e. or tw o i nches, e!- elne n o t b e beyond the fi ve centi noters I n eit her c a Bo , l t e h o u l d thi s unw anted aw i ng h ae e s wing wil l In s o re o f the B ul garl an l i ftere, develop. a machi ne i g nou To hel p correct thl sr dev oloped a n d l s try l n g to b e w o rked out.

24

bolng ueed wtth the Bulgarlan Senlor Natlonal Tean which neasureo the distance tho bar ie pulled in. The machlne alEo measures the directlon of the bar and the height lt reaches. It haa workcd well with the Junlor teamg and lt is hoped it rill now help the genlor tean. In starting off the floor, whon anatomlcally foaelblc (uaually wlth a lifbcr of long uppor thlgh), the llfter should have hia hlps higher than parallel to the floor. Tbls ls for three reasonsr 1) Wittr ttre hlpe hlgher, the wolght of thc bar is mors apt to be dlrected up ingtead of back. 2) tllth the hlpe hlgher, tbo thlgha are ln better leverage posltlon to oxert maxlmun force (it is eagl.or to do a gquat than a half squat), and aince the legs are one of the prine movors ln conlng off the floor, they should be ln the beEt leverage or poaltlon. ,) Wtth the hlpa highcr, the lcver arm (where the bar nould lntpraect nlth the aplne) wtll bc decreaaod, glnce the baak will be lowsr. should naintaln sboulder In getting the hipe hlghcr than paralleL, the llfter polnted out. A wider etanee than thig makea the trldth stance with the feet slightly hlpa drop. Also, a rlde etance mcano that the bar is not pulled aB hlgh aa wlth a gtands lower wlth a rldor etance. shoulder ridth or narrorer etance since the liftar Havlng the foet ellghtly potnted out gets morc of the legs tnto the pull. Every effort ahould be nade to not have the knees spread apart whsn tho pull tg dono because the knoee going out moana that the hlpe drop. This causes backward movemcnt of the bar, allowa the back to cone upright too 8oon, and thus increases the lever arm (prevloualy explained). In diacusslon about the wrlsts, it waa pointed out that in the gnatch and ths clean, the leea arlng at the top, the better; for this reason, lt ls dsslrable to keep the wrlsta flexed. Thls thrors the olbowe forrard and out to the gLdes. Bean uprlght rowlng notion lnetcad of a back rowlng motion, thie sldes facllltatlng flexlon of the wrlstE and resultlng throrlng of the elbows forward and out makes the. trapa stretch moro, thue havlng a etronger effect on the bar. Algo, the trape react moro atrongly gince a muscle on gtretch contrqcts etronger than nhen lt ls not on stretch. Flnally, having the elboua throrn forrard and out makes the trapa puII the welght up and the ecapula ralse full dlatance up the rlbe. If the elbors rore back, then the trapc would not be able to llft up the scapula efflclently and thc rhomboidg would then take the doninant role and pull the scapula back, thus cutting down on the pull. For ths Bano reaEon, the hegd ehould not be throrn back at thc top. Ae thc back conca lnto play, thc head ie toagcd back but then ig tuclced ln at the top of the puII. golng back at thc top mcans not only wtlI thc aaapula To have lt etlll not go up as far as poeelblo, but also a flnal rotation backrard roulC be apt to !og ult. !

2'