Dr Mel Siff Blog

Someone asked me to post information about Alexeyev’s training approach.
Well, here is an article by Ivanov, which was sent to me by someone whom I
cannot remember, otherwise I would gladly reference it corrrectly.
If anyone knows the original source of this information, please let me have
it, so that I can give credit where it is due.

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ALEXEYEV’S LIFTING TRAINING

When I asked Vasili the reasons for his constant victories, he thought a bit
and answered: “If I want something. I will definitely achieve it. No matter
what I have to sacrifice … The more complex the situation, the more
threatening my rivals, the more I spread my wings in defiance of everything.
You want to know the principles of my training? That, forgive me, is a secret
. . . I’m joking, of course. I don’t like to speak about this subject because
some people won’t understand what I’m talking about while others will say I’m
bragging, as if to say’, ‘He’s become a champion and he’s making it up’…

“But then I see that many on the team are already working in my way. Theirs,
however, is a copy – not the original. Even though the copy may be a good one
it will always be a step away from the original. You see, the question is not
one of strength, not one of talent. It’s a matter of what’s in the head. In
the physical sense you should, you need to work very hard, but with the
nerves– less . . .”

At different stages Alexeyev was helped by trainers and he listened to their
opinions . . . but only up to a point, to a limit. There was his first
teacher Simon Mileiko, and then Alexander Chuzhin. Rudolf Plyukfelder, it’s
felt, also played a definite part. And Vasili also took something from the
trainers of the Soviet team. Especially from Arkady Vorobyev. However, he was
not a blind follower of orders given from the sidelines.

All these last years, Alexeyev has been training on his own using his own
method which can’t be found in any textbook. All the books say that to
achieve great results you have to train vigorously, often lifting maximum
weights. But Alexeyev considers this a harmful mistake. More than one book
could be written about Alexeyev’s method of winning and I imagine he will
write them. Here I will quote some snatches from his words on this subject
taken from our many chats over the years:

“There is much talk about the art of training. But there is nothing concrete.
I myself keep searching for a rational method. Constantly. But generally I
train differently from anyone else …

“Here they’ve put up a lot of mirrors in the gyms. They’re good for furniture
but not for training. When an athlete looks into the mirror he gets away from
himself; instead he should be totally focused. In the mirror you’ll see
nothing but your image. This means that you won’t understand and won’t pick
up the technique of exercise, you won’t make sense out of the method. My
advice during training is to think, think, think! …

“What upsets me is that the method of training used by an overwhelming number
of weightlifters, in spite of the amazing growth in records, is still at the
same point it was in the fifties. For example, you want to improve your
technique on the snatch-you practice the snatch; the jerk–you practice the
jerk. I tell them to correct their mistakes differently–to strengthen
separate groups of muscles. A simple example: an athlete is having trouble
with the snatch. They advise him to start differently, to change his grip on
the barbell–wider or narrower. But it turns out that it’s enough to build up
a group of muscles which ‘do the trick’ with the maximum effort and he gets
better results …

“We often see the effect but not the cause of what’s lacking. If an athlete
doesn’t know how to jerk, he’s not going to learn this only by jerking. But
if he were to do some necessary exercises in order to strengthen a group of
muscles (those necessary for the jerk) then he will get results. No one seems
to understand that even though an exercise does not ‘lie’ right next to the
jerk, it influences, it gives you the jerk . . .

“Everyone supposes that my method is good for heavyweights. It’s good for
anyone who wants to build up the strength of their muscles . .
.
“My method is aimed at increasing the double sum total. We have many
outstanding weightlifters in the gyms … but very few at the competitions.
Why? Well, because one must know how to ‘deliver’ one’s strength on the
competing platform. The object of today’s trainers is not to teach an athlete
the correct way to lift a barbell. Most important, he must teach him to
reason and make important decisions independently. Without thought there’s no
creation. And without creation, progress in our difficult work is impossible
…

“It seems to me that some of the talented athletes lack one thing–they
haven’t had an injury. That’s right. An injury that will put them out of
commission for a year during which time they’ll have a chance to weigh every-
thing. I, too, would not be where I am if I had not injured my back. I
suffered for a year and a half thinking everything over … After a
misfortune, people pull through and become, if possible, great people–and
sportsmen. in particular. Those who are stronger find their way out and to the
top …

“Do I worry? Well, of course. If you don’t worry, you’ll never succeed at
anything. In sports, without the excitement of daring you don’t get either
victory or records. When I’m too calm before a competition, I rouse myself
with hot coffee. The pulse must be beating–no less than 18 times in ten
seconds …

” Excitement before competition is very dangerous. I, of course, have felt
it. Sometimes I calm myself–everything happens as it must, and so what
happens will happen. I must win, because I have a solid supply of strength
…

“Waiting causes the most anxiety. The heavyweights wait the longest, they put
the final touch on the championships. Usually, I do this. And while the
others are competing, I can barely stand the noise of the barbells, the
monotonous voice of the judge. Everything irritates me and annoys me. In
addition to this, I worry about the team. This puts a lot of strain on my
will . . .

‘They say that the strongest wins. But the strongest in what way? I remember,
at the time of the championships in Lima, that Reding in training lifted
record weights. He had acquired a terrific strength and huge muscles, but he
lost to me even though he was physically stronger. Why? Serge and I had
different ways of training. Others thought for him. He carried out the
suggestions of his coach, Dupont. Roughly speaking, Reding took in ‘the
science of winning’ though his ears. And this showed when he was on his own
with the barbell. But, as for me, I thought for myself. Serge also lost
because he wanted to beat me. That’s all he thought about. He worried
constantly and burned himself out before he even got to the platform . . .

For me the most important thing is to beat myself, to lift the barbell that
up to this point I have not yet lifted. My rivals don’t worry me very much.
It’s good when your competitors are strong and bad when they are weak. The
same Reding, now dead, when he appeared without me, beat the records every
time. And I treated him respectfully because he always kept me in shape. Now
Enaldiev, Rachmanov, Plachkov, and Bonk do the same …

“There was a time when I was overcome with anxiety, when I rarely competed so
that I was losing a sense of the platform. But when I started appearing often
and with a lot of gusto, my self-confidence returned, and with that records
and victories. Now, with a solid backlog of experience, I appear on the
platform less frequently. But for the time being I’ve not lost my fighting
qualities. Any competition is a holiday for me. During my training sessions,
I get up an enormous appetite to lift the heaviest barbell and to set a
record. Other times, honest, I think to mvself: train with weights of 150 to
200 kilograms, how will I push 250? But I firmly believe in success and know
exactly how much I am going to pick up in my second turn–the first I do for
the team …

“At the championship, I am in a proper fighting mood. When I put on my outfit
and my shoes, this very process transforms me. I become more energetic, more
excited. It’s here that it’s important not to lose your head, you should
compete as much as possible with sense …

“What advice can I give to the young ones who come out onto the platform with
their teeth chattering from nerves? First, you must enter a competition well
prepared. And for this you must train sensibly; you must work on yourself
physically but save your nerves. It doesn’t pay to get excited over nothing
while training, to show off your courage, to swagger. Save this charge for
the contest. And then be alert when you go up to the barbell . . . And, to be
frank, even I with all my experience, am sometimes very nervous–you cant
imagine …

“I have observed that many train without sense. They do a great deal of work
for nothing. For example, Falev, an athlete on the Soviet team weighing 110
kilograms, does squats with a barbell weighing 320 kilograms. I don’t use one
weighing more than 270. There is a difference of 50 kilograms in his favor.
But he jerks 220, while I jerk 256. Thus, it turns out that the result in the
classical exercise is not determined by the strength of the legs …

“In order to avoid noise, I used to train alone. Now, I go out among the
people. I show the youngsters the whys and wherefores. I tell them how to
polish up their technique. Naturally, this is more tiring since I also train
myself.”

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Dr Mel C Siff

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