Dr Mel Siff Blog

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Here is some discussion from the IWF list between Istvan Javorek and myself
on the weightlifting pull:

Mel Siff wrote:

<I have just completed several hours of normal and slow motion viewing of
video tapes of several recent weightlifting championships, including the
European and World Championships from 1999 onwards in an attempt to assess if
most of the world’s top lifters indeed use the allegedly more efficient
pulling with little or no plantarflexion (heel raise) method vs the style of
pulling with prominent plantarflexion, as has been claimed by some present
day coaches. What I saw was that most lifters still pull with a significant
degree of plantarflexion, so it would be interesting to know why this is so,
assuming that this method should be regarded as archaic and inefficient.

This suggests one of several things:

Alternative # 1 The majority of modern lifters are lifting in an inefficient
manner and would improve their totals if they changed to the more flatfooted
pulling style?>

Istvan Javorek:

It would not help changing a consecrated athlete’s technique, but would be
more detrimental to his/her performance, due to “confusion” in neuromuscular Read more…

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Member 1:

<<Even if you do not consider technique or differences in lifting styles
(flat-footed vs. plantarflexed), you have to agree that the extra 2-3 inches
of bar height you will gain just by extending onto the balls of the feet
could be paramount to a successful max lift.>>

Member 2:

<This is only true if the peak velocity occurs following the plantarflexion
(and before the squat under). If peak velocity occurs prior to
plantarflexion, and the lifter continues to rise onto the toes, they lose
valuable time that could be used to get under the bar because the bar has Read more…

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Several months ago I posted in the Supertraining “Files” a series of
photographs on the different pulling styles used by the world’s top
weightlifters during the snatch and clean:

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

I have just completed several hours of normal and slow motion viewing of
video tapes of several recent weightlifting championships, including the
European and World Championships from 1999 onwards in an attempt to assess if
most of the world’s top lifters indeed use the allegedly more efficient
pulling with little or no plantarflexion (heel raise) method vs the style of
pulling with prominent plantarflexion, as has been claimed by some present
day coaches. What I saw was that most lifters still pull with a significant
degree of plantarflexion, so it would be interesting to know why this is so,
assuming that this method should be regarded as archaic and inefficient. Read more…

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Here is some continued discussion from the IWF list on the weightlifting
pulling questions which I posed recently:

One Supertraining Member contributed the following:

<< After reviewing many videos and digitizing many others it appears that
many of the best technicians in the pull (e.g. Petrov) pull flat footed as
long as possible until they begin the transition pull from the knee to the
high chest position. At that point they seem to shift to the balls of their
feet before they go into the final extension of the pull.>

Mel Siff:

*** But that is exactly what was taught in Weightlifting several decades ago
and is not the much vaunted “flatfooted” style whose merits are so widely
extolled nowadays. Way back then some lifters displayed a high heel raise, Read more…

The following appeared in a newsletter by Ian King, an Australian fitness
professional who often tours the world market
(http://www.kingsports.net/bs18-askthemaster.htm)

Someone asked him in his column which he calls “Ask the Master” :

JUMP WITHOUT PLANTARFLEXION

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<In the seminar you did near Boston you mentioned during jump training, to
jump without plantar flexing the feet. What is the purpose of that? . . .
. . . >

King’s reply was as follows:

<< The technique of actually dorsi flexing in the jump has a number of
purposes, including:

* decreasing ground contact time
* therefore increasing elastic energy utilization
* teaches focus on air time, not toe time
* greater specificity with the sprint technique I teach
* reduces hamstring flex in sprint leg cycle >>

—————————-

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS

Issues such as the following immediately spring to mind:

1. If one really wishes to jump without plantarflexion, one has to begin
from a static start way back on the heels, with no contact whatsoever between
any other part of the foot and the ground. After you have read this, try it
for yourself and experience how one needs to balance on the tip of the heel
before one even attempts this drill. Any ground contact with other parts of
the sole besides the heel will elicit a reflex tendency to plantarflex the
ankle.

2. One needs to stress that there can be dorsiflexion of the toes, as well
as the ankle. The correct phasing of contributions from each is central to
all jumping and running efficiency.

3. In referring to elastic energy utilization, it is essential to identify
in which exact tissues the elastic energy storage and release is occurring.
Regarding increased utilisation of elastic energy processes in the all of the
soft tissues involved in jumping and running, it is essential to understand
the central role played by plantarflexion.

Anyway, no scientists have yet managed to determine how much of rebounding
efficiency is due to contributions from stored elastic energy and how much is
due to facilitation of stretch and related nervous processes. To claim that
any training method will increase elastic energy usage in isolation from
other mechanisms implies that one knows the answer to a problem that science
has not yet managed to resolve.

4. Once you left the ground, air time is unaffected by anything that your
driving leg can do. Long jumpers use specific running techniques in the air
before they land, but the ability to execute them depends on a very powerful
take-off facilitated by processes including ankle and toe plantarflexion.

5. Whatever exact meaning is attributed to the obscure phrase, “reduces
hamstring flex in sprint leg cycle”, it needs to be pointed out that the
hamstrings do not “flex”. Muscles contract and relax, while joints flex or
extend. The deflection of bones under the effect of strong transverse
loading might also be regarded as a form of flexion, but “hamstring flex” is
a new one to me.

Would anyone be interested in commenting further on the validity and accuracy
of these statements, regarding either the biomechanics or the practical
issues involved?

Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA