Dr Mel Siff Blog

.

For those who may not yet have studied some photographs of the flatfooted and
plantarflexed pulling styles as used by some of the world’s top lifters, go
to the following files in our Supertraining Files section:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/files/Pulls1.jpg

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/files/Pulls2.jpg
It was written:

> Also pulling is not as big a problem as other matters of technique,
> such as the jerk. Although clean and jerk performances have fallen
> since the 1980s, there are two two snatch records that have exceeded
> the old world records and lifters on average seem to have a higher
> snatch: C&J ration than before. As for the C&J, it is rare to see a
> lifter fail to rack the bar so the pull is rarely the limiting factor
> in the C&J.

Mel Siff:

> [The pull is a crucial aspect of lifting, especially in the snatch, since
> it decrees where and when you are able to drop under the bar to
> catch it and stabilise most efficiently. One cannot compare the lifts today Read more…

<< 1. The weight of the shoe is insignificant in Weightlifting, a few
ounces more are inconsequential. This is not a time sustained event, where
cumulative weight is a factor. (a few ounces on the foot versus hundreds
overhead) >>

*** In assessing the influence of shoes on human movement, one has to look at
several factors besides the expenditure of energy over a prolonged period.
The mass of a shoe also can significantly affect the agility of even short
distance athletes like jumpers and weightlifters. If one measures or
computes the torque about the knee and hip joints or the force required to
accelerate the foot during a jerk or snatch, the very small difference that
an extra 100gm seems to make may seem inconsequential, but analysis based solely
on biomechanical grounds ignores the very real effect of perceived change which
added loading to the distal extremities can cause.

If the shoe ‘feels’ heavier (according to the Weber-Fechner Law), then the
movement pattern of the athlete can be altered and lead to reduced agility
and speed. This effect is well known to sprinters and high jumpers, as well
as lifters whose feet ‘feel heavier and slower’ with perceptibly heavier
shoes. Though I have not encountered any studies on foot speed with different
shoes in weightlifting, from my personal experience of several decades of
competing in and coaching weightlifting, I have encountered sufficient
numbers of lifters who have felt that they were more agile with lighter
shoes. That is one reason why some lifters choose not to wear the heavier,
wooden-soled, though, very stable Adidas lifting shoe.

So, in assessing any shoe, it is most relevant to focus not only on objective
mechanical factors such as the resilience and stability of the shoe, but also
the athlete’s subjective assessment of the shoe under actual sporting
conditions.

<<2. What is your definition of natural pronation/supination? If it
includes either hyperpronation or hypersupination or inadequate
posture/positioning during subtalar neutral stance phase than shoes that
address these issues are indicated. >>

*** I used that terms quite loosely, as they often are in the world of
physical therapy and sports medicine, because I did not wish to divert the
discussion away from other factors that I was focusing on at the time. I was
going to use terms which biomechanically are more acceptable in that context,
namely inversion and eversion (since they describe multidimensional joint
action about ankle, knee and hip, unlike the more limited actions of
pronation and supination). I also did not choose to overemphasize these
issues, since I have commented at great length on this topic of nomenclature
on other Internet lists to which quite a few members of this group also
belong.

In using those terms casually, I wanted to point out exactly what you are
suggesting, namely that, if the ankles do not tilt in a direction of
excessive supination or pronation under loading, then no special
modifications to lifting shoes are necessary.

I also did not wish to
complicate matters by contrasting loaded and unloaded neutrality of the
subtalar joint during the different lifts, because that is another topic in
itself. Scientific debate and practical experience on that score eventually
led to most lifters choosing not to use any high-cut boots that ’support the
ankles’, even though lower-cut lifting shoes apparently increased the
likelihood of deviations from a position of ankle ‘neutrality’.

But, while we are on this point, it is essential to note that lifters often
deliberately alter foot position and relative degrees of pronation/supination
and eversion/inversion (including hip and knee rotation) to suit individual
needs and preferences during the different lifts. Thus, you will have some
squatters who intentionally try to roll the foot outwards and force the knees
laterally to ensure a more powerful squat or pull. Others may rotate the knees
noticeably outwards during the clean, snatch or deadlift to allow the bar to
move closer to the body. During the early recovery phase of the snatch and
clean, there can be considerable voluntary or involuntary movement of the
foot and toes to ensure that the bar remains stable in its position either on
the chest or at arms length overhead.

These complexities and idiosyncrasies of foot action during Powerlifting and
Weightlifting make it very difficult to objectively compute the design of a
shoe or orthotic device for these athletes. The bar is never pulled, caught
or thrust in exactly the same way with each attempt and it is only years of
experience that enable one to cope efficiently and safely with all aspects of
body control, including foot movement with all of its subtleties in
preventing failure of a lift.

A huge amount of research is done in gait laboratories around the world on
the biomechanics of the lower extremity, with most of it focused on walking
and running. It would be most interesting to see more projects devoted to
understanding lower extremity and shoe mechanics during Weightlifting and
Powerlifting.

Dr Mel C Siff

Selection of a sports shoe depends on the type of sport, the position or role
that one plays in that sport and individual needs.

One of the worst mistakes that one can make regarding selection of a gym
training shoe is to do so on the basis of information on running shoes or
from the world of general footwear.

For information on selecting a running shoe, consult the following website:

http://www.clark.net/pub/pribut/shoes.html

If you intend using a shoe for lifting heavier purposes, then it is important
to avoid any shoe that offers soft cushioning, alters natural ‘pronation’ or
’supination’ patterns, or constrains the foot or ankle from moving or
stabilising according to the needs of the different lifts.

It is also important to note, as many powerlifters do, that a shoe that is
suitable for squatting is not necessarily suitable for deadlifting. A
higher heel may be necessary for some lifters to enable them to squat
comfortably throughout the required range of movement, but during the
deadlifts, that sort of heel will tilt the body forwards and move the load
further from the body, thereby making the lift more difficult and dangerous.
This is why many powerlifters actually do lift in something that is as close
as possible to barefeet, namely a wrestling type shoe or slipper with a sole
that affords good grip.

In both Weightlifting and Powerlifting, the use of any shoe with a sole that
compresses in any direction or whose ‘uppers’ tilt in any direction, is
definitely inappropriate. For example, during the Olympic Jerk, if the heel
of the shoe compresses during the dip, some of the energy is lost that is
necessary for the subsequent overhead drive or the body will deviate from its
optimal driving position, resulting either in a more difficult or
unsuccessful lift.

In many sports, of course, the weight of the shoe can have a profound effect
on performance, because movement of a limb that is loaded requires far more
energy than one that is unloaded. This is why lightness of shoe is
especially important in running sports. In Powerlifting, this is not really
an important issue, but in Weightlifting, where the feet may move at speed, a
lighter shoe can make a difference to agility.

Finally, it should be remembered that one has to learn how to use every
different shoe. The effectiveness of shoe lies not only in its mechanical
properties or engineering design, but also the motor pattern that one
acquires in using that shoe. This is major reason why so many technically
‘ideal’ or ergonomically correct shoes or orthotic devices may not be of much
value to an athlete – all too often it is not stressed that safety and
efficiency of movement of the lower extremities depend heavily on motor
control processes, including the reflex management of factors such as the
damping ratio and mechanical stiffness of the joints.

In this regard, it has to be emphasised that the incidence of injuries to the
lower limbs tends to be higher among those who run and participate in
aerobics classes with shoes than those who do those activities barefooted.

The following references are provide useful information about foot mechanics
and injuries:

Nigg B, ed (1986) “The Biomechanics of Running Shoes”

Caspersen C, Powell K, Koplan P et al (1984) The incidence of injuries and
hazards in recreational and fitness runners Med Sci Sports Exerc 16: 113

Clarke T, Frederick E & Cooper L (1982) The effects of shoe cushioning upon
selected force and temporal patterns in running Med Sci Sports Exerc 14:
144

Robbins S & Hanna A (1987) Running related injury prevention through
barefoot adaptations Med Sci Sports Exerc 19: 148-156

Robbins S, Hanna A & Gouw G (1988) Overload protection: avoidance response
to heavy plantar surface loading Med Sci Sports Exerc 20(1) : 85-92

Powell K, Kohl H, Caspersen C & Blair S (1986) An epidemiological
perspective on the causes of running injuries Phys Sports Medicine 14:
100-114

Dr Mel C Siff