BOOK SAMPLE
TRIALS OF A PROFESSIONAL WEIGHTLIFTER
HOW I MASTERED THE ART OF TRAINING
by Mirek Korkowski
Master’s Degree in Physical Education Professional Coaching Diploma University of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland
Master Coach Developer National Coaching Certification Program, Canada
Hercules Publishing
TRIALS OF A PROFESSIONAL WEIGHTLIFTER HOW I MASTERED THE ART OF TRAINING
Author: Mirek Korkowski Editor: Rafal Korkowski
Copyright © 2019 Mirek Korkowski
All rights reserved.
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.
Edited by: Rafal Korkowski Published by: Hercules Publishing Printed and Bound in Canada by: First Choice Books and Victoria Bindery Cover Image by: Mirek Korkowski, Theresa Brick, Jeane Lassen Cover Design: CF Design, Winnipeg, MB
ISBN: 978-1-77136-821-6
Special thank you to Rafal Korkowski, Tanna Payne, Jeane Lassen, Theresa Brick, Eric Mazur, Dariusz Slowik, Josee Morneau and Quinn Nguyen, for allowing us to feature them on the cover and pages of our book.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...... 5
Chapter 1 – The Weightlifting Journey
The Early Years (1974-1978) ...... 8
Elite Training (1978-1981) ...... 29
Professional Weightlifting (1982-1986) ...... 77
The Final Years (1986-1988) ...... 125
Chapter 2 – The Successful Training Program
Weightlifting Facilities ...... 129
Recruitment ...... 135
The Age to Begin Strength Training and Olympic Weightlifting ...... 138
Understanding Strength Training Principles ...... 141
Strength Training Methods ...... 146
Execution of the Snatch ...... 152
Execution of the Clean & Jerk ...... 163
Proper Breathing ...... 179
Concentration ...... 180
Sport Nutrition, Muscle Recovery, Regeneration ...... 182
Chapter 3 – Training Programs
Beginner Developmental ...... 189
Intermediate Developmental ...... 213
Advanced Competitive ...... 240
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mirek Korkowski has more than 40 years’ experience practicing and coaching the sport of weightlifting.
He started training at the age of 15 and participated in 83 sanctioned weightlifting competitions, progressing from club to provincial, national and international level events.
He achieved his best performance in 1985 with a snatch of 170 kg and Clean & Jerk of 205 kg, for a combined total of 375 kg in the under 100 kg bodyweight category.
He lifted for the Polish National team in the early to mid-80’s and began his international coaching career in 1988. It was then that he received an assignment to coach the Manitoba Provincial Team and start a Regional Weightlifting Training Center for the Canadian Women’s National Team at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Since then, Mirek has coached numerous national champions and international medalists in Canada. In addition to weightlifting, Mirek has provided strength training programs to elite athletes and high performance teams across a wide range of sports with tremendous success. To this day he acts as a mentor and resource to multiple national team programs and continues to provide athletes and coaches alike with the opportunity to succeed.
He holds the highest attainable national (NCCP) Olympic Weightlifting coaching certification and is one of Canadian Weightlifting Federations Master Coach Developers. Over the years he has been a major contributor and content provider for the current coaching certification program used to develop weightlifting coaches in Canada.
Mirek received his Master’s Degree in Physical Education and Professional Coaching Diploma in 1983 from the University of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
He maintains his active involvement in weightlifting as the master coach of the Hercules Weightlifting Clubs in Winnipeg, MB and Nanaimo, BC with his son Rafal Korkowski.
INTRODUCTION
The market is saturated with information regarding “efficient training” and “optimal programs”. Most books, articles and blogs discuss basic psychology and physiology, or describe a wide range of exercises, training methods, safety protocols and workout variations. In the world of instant gratification, long term planning is rarely discussed. As an Olympic weightlifting sport practitioner of over 40 years, I frequently meet coaches who continuously struggle with two problems:
1. Technical movement corrections 2. Result plateaus
The first problem can be avoided if the athlete is properly prepared in the initial stages of development. Fully understanding the movements using in-depth analysis becomes critical in order to a) influence correct patterns and b) identify the root causes of deviations.
The second problem can be prevented by understanding long term program design. Strength training is more than simply lifting as much weight as possible every session, without considering specific goals of an athlete’s current developmental stage. Program design has to be sophisticated and scientific - taking into consideration the abilities or barriers of each individual. As a training program developer, one must constantly manipulate the training load to encourage continuous result progression.
So why is this book different?
It is designed to benefit weightlifting or multi-sport coaches, personal trainers and athletes by increasing their knowledge of training periodization and its foundational concepts.
The book begins with my personal journey, which shows the trials and tribulations endured in order to become a professional weightlifter. The information comes from a meticulous journal of nearly every session performed during my weightlifting career - full of training logs, event experiences, and reflection notes. Shared for the very first time, you will see how this practical experience has influenced the training methodology which I bestow upon my athletes.
It continues with a more in depth description of the various elements necessary to organize a successful training program. The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is also very relevant to sport. A strong club, training environment, and support systems not only provide the opportunity to perform workouts, but multiple additional benefits as well.
Finally, it presents three complete and comprehensive training program examples. These programs are structured based on specific goals and objectives relating to the developmental stage of an athlete. Training seasons are planned according to a predetermined competition schedule. Ultimately, the entire system aims to achieve peak performance for designated major competitions.
When developing and evaluating programs I chose to describe them as separate units. This will allow you to choose the program suitable for your particular situation. The intention is to show you that as performance levels grow - the details of the analysis and evaluations must also grow.
In the end, it is my objective to help you learn, understand and apply the key concepts, so you too can quickly and efficiently organize your training programs. There are no shortcuts to coaching or athletic excellence – peak performance occurs because you plan for it!
In this chapter, you will be presented with the growth of my career, supported by samples of actual lifting sessions which I have never before published. From the beginning, I was encouraged to maintain a training diary. I took this task very seriously. The diary included every set and repetition performed in training plus personal reflection notes. Initially, I only calculated the number of repetitions performed and total kilograms lifted. As my career progressed and knowledge increased, I started to use more elaborate calculations. The purpose was to better control the training process. Similarly, my initial notes were mostly motivational quotes or analysis of the general training system. Later it progressed towards more technical, tactical, and sport specific points of my training.
My weightlifting timeline is shown across three progressions:
THE EARLY YEARS INTRODUCTION TO WEIGHTLIFTING AND THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
ELITE TRAINING HOW TO BECOME YOUR BEST
PROFESSIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING LIFTING WEIGHTS FOR A LIVING
Reflection on the JouRney…
Knowledge is power – true, but only if you have enough inner strength to apply that knowledge. It is very easy to deny and discard what you already know. If you follow hope instead of reason, you will end up in the middle ranks.
Sky is the limit – not true. You set your own limits and must be prepared to persevere through many trials in their pursuit.
Polish National rankings (100 kg Category) 1978-1988
Name YOB Club S C&J Total Date 1 KOMAR Andrzej 56 LKS Zjednoczeni Olsztyn 180,0 227,5 407,5 83 2 KRUKOWSKI Piotr 64 Odra Opole 180,0 220,0 400,0 86 3 PIOTROWSKI Andrzej 58 Odra Opole 177,5 215,0 392,5 88 4 DANIELAK Pyszard 55 MRKS Elbląg 180,0 210,0 390,0 81 5 SUCHOCKI Krzysztof 54 Legia Warsaw 170,0 215,0 385,0 83 6 KUŻEL Jan 57 Śląsk Tarnowskie Góry 172,5 212,5 385,0 85 7 OSTROWSKI Sylwester 58 Śląsk Wrocław 177,5 207,5 385,0 87 8 MILIK Marek 60 MZKS Narew Ostrołęka 175,0 207,5 382,5 85 9 SMOLAK Marek 63 Legia Warsaw 167,5 212,5 380,0 87 10 KORKOWSKI Mirosław 59 RKS Ursus Warsaw 170,0 205,0 375,0 85 11 BĄK Jerzy 60 Górnik Czerwionka 165,0 210,0 375,0 87 12 KORUSIEWICZ Paweł 52 Górnik Siemianowice 162,5 210,0 372,5 84 13 DYSZKIEWICZ Henryk 64 Legia Warsaw 165,0 207,5 372,5 88 14 BAŁTOWSKI Tadeusz 63 LKS Zjednoczeni Olsztyn 165,0 207,5 372,5 88 15 DREWNIAK Jan 53 Śląsk Wrocław 160,0 210,0 370,0 82 16 KALITYŃSKI Bogdan 62 Sanoczanka Sanok 160,0 210,0 370,0 84 16 KUŹMICKI Adam 58 Zawisza Bydgoszcz 165,0 205,0 370,0 85 17 GÓRNY Mieczysław 67 Sparta Zabrze 165,0 205,0 370,0 88 18 BRUNKA Marian 63 Stoczniowiec Gdańsk 162,5 205,0 367,5 88 19 MALIŃSKI Henryk 51 Legia Warsaw 165,0 200,0 365,0 79 20 WALO Witold 54 Okęcie Warsaw 160,0 205,0 365,0 80 21 GUGAŁA Waldemar 54 Flota Gdynia 155,0 210,0 365,0 82 22 NOWACKI Leszek 57 Pogoń Łapy 165,0 200,0 365,0 85 23 MAJDAN Jacek 63 Lubilinianka 165,0 200,0 365,0 85 24 NOWACKI Marek 64 AZS-AWF Warsaw 170,0 195,0 365,0 87 25 BANASZAK Piotr 64 Zawisza Bydgoszcz 167,5 195,0 362,5 84 26 ITTRICH Jan 59 Flota Gdynia 165,0 195,0 360,0 83 27 KOSIŃSKI Marian 65 WLKS Siedlce 160,0 200,0 360,0 88 28 SZYMIK Krystian 59 Górnik Polkowice 160,0 200,0 360,0 88 29 MAŁYSA Stanisław 60 Legia Warsaw 160,0 197,5 357,5 82 30 DUCZMAN Roman 56 Legia Warsaw 157,5 200,0 357,5 85
I am frequently asked this question: “What should I do to improve my lifts?”
There may be a time when you need to implement a specific exercise or a training method as the corrective measure. Discovering and working on weaknesses should always be part of your developmental plan. My best recommendation? Lift every repetition, of every set, during each exercise, with a clearly defined purpose. Always ask yourself - “What’s the objective? Why am I performing this specific movement or action?”
Sport is not so much about glory, as it is about hard work and perseverance. A true athlete is constantly taking steps to better themselves. To me, the memories from the experience, greatly outweigh any regrets I might have over missing out on a particular medal or accolade.
Do you have the courage to confront your own dream? Even when you know what you want, you may not be able to commit your life to it. You will face many obstacles and frequently have to deal with fears to overcome them. The path won’t be easy. You must be
prepared to have patience in difficult times and never lose faith in your ability. Only then, will you succeed.
Are defeats necessary? Perhaps not necessary, but they will happen. The secret is to get up more often than you fall. Why then, is it so important to commit to your dream? Once you learn how to overcome the defeats, you will free yourself from the concept of “impossible” - and this will stay with you for the rest of your life.
When I look back at my weightlifting career, I was surrounded by many who failed to get what they wanted. Some did not want to commit, while others always had an excuse. However, there were an equal number of role models who held strong to their purpose, no matter what it took. Both groups left lasting impressions that shaped my development. Through it all, I was fortunate to have the support of family members, who were happy, proud and genuinely wished me well.
My weightlifting journey was tough, but because of it I am resilient. Looking back, I can’t imagine pursuing my life in any other way - I would not change a thing. Whether it was the moments of joy, or the hard earned lessons…those were the best 12 years of my life.
Where ever this book ends up in your collection, accept it as my invitation to you - to whole heartedly pursue your passion and live the life you desire.
In the first chapter we examined how a young person from a small town became successful enough to make a living from the sport of weightlifting.
In this chapter, I want to zoom in on the vital training supports an athlete needs in order to have the best chance reaching their true potential. The topics touched upon were composed in response to the frequently asked questions within my weightlifting networks.
Your individual realities will be composed of many unique situations. These tools are meant to stimulate thought, and should assist any coach or athlete in organizing their training environment. Evaluate your circumstances and apply as necessary.
My agenda is to turn experience into advice, and help you level the playing field. If my analysis can empower enthusiastic lifters and encourage them to make positive changes to their programs, I have done my job.
Support topics covered:
Facilities, Recruitment, Age to Begin Strength Training and Olympic Weightlifting, Strength Training Principles, Strength Training Methods, Proper Breathing, Concentration, Sport Nutrition, Muscle Recovery, Regeneration
The chapter goes on to break down and analyze technique. Each of the lifts is broken down into phases and supported by visuals:
Example: Snatch - Phase 1 – Starting position
Snatch is most efficiently performed using a wider grip. As a starting point, it can be measured as per the diagram, but adjustments should be applied as needed based on the individual arm length of the athlete and their joint flexibility.
Figure 4: Grip distance
Figure 5a: Starting position Figure 5b: Starting position
Passive (Relaxed) Starting Position – the lifter interacts with the barbell, but does not engage muscle flexion/extension. The trunk will have an inclination of about 30 degrees in relation to the ground, shins are inclined forward, and the shoulders are over the barbell (or at a minimum forward distance from it). The head is facing forward with eyes directly ahead. This will promote a linear and extended back position throughout the pull. Starting position will have variance based on lifters height, body proportions and grip width.
Active Starting Position - preliminary position adjustments to prepare for barbell separation from the platform. The athlete lowers their pelvis and moves the knees forward, the angle of hips, knees and ankle joints decreases. The reason for doing this is to eccentrically stretch the gluteus maximus and quadriceps muscles. Eccentric stretching results in the activation of the receptors in the muscle which initiates the stretch reflex. The response to the stimulus (stretch) is a concentric muscle contraction whose forces can be added to the concentric contractile forces generated during the pulling phase.
Additional Phases Covered by the book:
Phase 2 – The pull Phase 3 – Drop under the barbell Phase 4 – Standing up from receiving position
Here is a sample of one graph, which I use in the book to show various velocities and changes in joint angles to demonstrate the biomechanical impacts during stages of the lifts.
Vertical velocity - defined as the vertical speed at which the barbell is moving upward. Phase 1 ends at 0.5 seconds and amortization (bar passing knees) causes a reduction in velocity. Top velocity is achieved in phase 2 & 3, during the explosive hip extension. Bar slows down to a stop just before the 1.0 second mark as the pull reaches the top of the pull.
Figure 14: Vertical velocity of the barbell during the Snatch
Similarly, the book breaks down the Clean & Jerk into the following phases for analysis:
The Clean
Phase 1 – The Starting Position Phase 2 – The Pull Phase 3 – The Drop under the Barbell Phase 4 – Recovering from the Squat
The Jerk
Phase 1 – The Initial Position Phase 2 – The Dip Phase 3 – The Drive Phase 4 – The Drop under the Barbell Phase 5 – The Split Recovery
My big coaching breakthrough came in November of 1987. I accompanied the Polish team to the Senior World Championships in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia as an assistant coach. That is where I met the Canadian delegation and learned about the coaching position being offered in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. In the ensuing months, I applied for the position and successfully passed the selection process.
On April 1, 1988 I landed in Montreal and after spending a brief time there, went on to Winnipeg, Manitoba where I started my North American coaching adventure.
The Manitoba Weightlifting Association took a very proactive step and decided to hire a professional coach. They were already running a provincial training centre at the University of Manitoba and looked to enhance the program. With the additional resources, the goal was to create a centralized regional training centre for the Canadian National Teams. The gym had a large open space accommodating 9 solid lifting platforms. Athletes in attendance were of mixed performance level from novice to intermediate.
Right from the beginning, I offered the intermediate athletes a 5 sessions per week training routine. Most male athletes could not commit to more then 3-4 session and despite overall efforts, their results progress was very modest. Those who did choose to attend all sessions quickly started to show very promising growth. A unique situation was presented to me by three female athletes: Theresa Brick, Brice Singbeil and Cathy Tascona. They not only attended every session but were asking for more.
All three lifters were working to prepare for the 2nd Women’s World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia - to be held later that year (November 1988). In short time, I was organizing in house training camps to enhance their training to 6-7-8 sessions per week. Not too soon after, several leading male athletes also decided to join this enhanced schedule.
Such approach proved to be very successful - in a span of one year we were achieving national and world level results.
Mirek with the Women’s Canadian National Team – Manchester, England, 1989
Some highlights included Quinn Nguyen, Theresa Brick and Bryce Singbeil winning gold at the Canadian Championships in 1989, while Cathie Tascona placed 2nd.
By 1990 Quinn and Theresa earned best lifter recognition at the Canadian Championships, while new addition Rock Gameiro, won silver medal.
Theresa and Bryce participated at the 1991 Women’s World Championships and each placed at a very respectable 5th place!
Initially, I relied heavily on my personal training programs, which you can imagine were predominantly based on the Polish and Eastern Europe training systems. As I started to know my athletes more, I was able to modify the workouts to meet their needs.
With the athletes success, came my personal recognition. In 1989, I was appointed as the Head Coach for the newly formed Canadian Women’s National Team. I also started to actively assist with the junior and senior men’s teams.
I was fully committed to offer a solid program based on the developmental stage of each athlete. My approached paid special attention to individual differences and allowed people to achieve full potential. Because of this, I was constantly forced to adapt the programs and this exercise was a true passion. Effectiveness of my work was clearly manifested in the continued rate of improving results. Quinn, Theresa and Bryce firmly established themselves at the international level:
Quinn won a bronze medal at the 1993 Commonwealth Championships and participated at the 1991 and 1995 Pan American Games.
Quin Nguyen
Theresa claimed 4th spot at the 1992 Women’s World Championships and in 1996 in Warsaw won the bronze medal. At the North & Central American Championships in 1994, Theresa attempted a World Record in the clean & jerk. She was able to clean the weight and missed only on the jerk. By that time she was holding all Canadian and Commonwealth records.
Theresa Brick
Bryce Singbeil continued to lift at the consecutive Women’s World Championships regularly achieving a top 10 ranking.
Mirek with the Canadian Women’s National Team – Training Camp, Winnipeg, 1993
To maintain continuity of the team program, I was heavily involved in recruiting new members. Those who completed my Developmental and then Intermediate Programs, started to achieve promising results. At the 1993 Canadian Senior Championships, our 11-member provincial team won 5 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals. This included younger generation lifters Manny San Diego and Noreena Bodaglo, who each won gold.
In the late 90’s, Charlotte MacEachern and Rafal Korkowski started to break junior national records, both initiating long and productive lifting careers. Numerous medals at the Senior Nationals followed.
Rafal at the Titan Games
My son Rafal, lifted at the Pan American Championships in Shreveport, USA and Cali, Columbia, the US Titan Games in Atlanta, and finally at the 2003 World Championships in Vancouver, BC. In 2004, he made a strong push to qualify for the Athens, Greece Olympic Games.
Not far behind was Eric Mazur, who in 2013 placed 10th at the Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru.
Eric Mazur
The lifting programs I was offering were not only creating Olympic Weightlifting champions, but contributed greatly to the success of athletes across other sport disciplines. Some athletes used weightlifting solely as to cross train strength/power while others became dual sport participants. To highlight just a few:
Garfield Crooks – high jump, Olympian
Darius Slowik – discuss, Junior World Championships silver medalist
Colleen Miller – rowing, World Championships bronze medalist
Josee Morneau –World’s Strongwoman multi-winner, World Arm Wrestling Champion
Geoff Gray – football offensive lineman, NFL: Green Packers, NY Jets, Cleveland Browns & CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Josee Morneau Darius Slowik
In the following pages of this chapter I will present to you a summary of the actual training programs which lead me to the above successes.
The book comes loaded with 70 weeks of ready to implement programming.
BEGINNER DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM – 24 WEEKS The young body is an extremely dynamic system with an impressive capacity to adapt anatomically, physiologically, and psychologically to a wide range of functional demands. It’s well known that the strength training promotes these changes and that the magnitude of these effects is influenced by the type, intensity, frequency and duration of training. The most noticeable and targeted effect of strength training in athletes is an increase in muscle size and a result an increase in strength itself. However, strength performance is determined not only by the size of the involved muscles, but also by the quality of the muscle, by the ability of the nervous system to appropriately activate the muscles, cardiovascular system role in oxygen transport, skeletal system as a basic structure of the body, and a wide variety of physiological and bio-mechanical mechanisms involved with the activation of muscle. By combining the scientific studies together with practical experience, I’d like to offer you a system of optimizing the training process.
INTERMEDIATE DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM – 26 WEEKS When preparing an intermediate level athlete in weightlifting, the yearly plan, or what is commonly referred to as Annual Periodization, essentially becomes the most important document from which all decisions are made. Results obtained from past performances are used to determine the main effort parameters, which are used to determine the duration, frequency and intensity of the training loads applied to the athlete over the duration of a one year period. By following the basic principles of strength training, a program can be created that provides the maximum amount of fitness with the least amount of fatigue, which ultimately generates the greatest performance possible.
Double Periodization
The duration of the program presented below is 6 months and it should be repeated once to cover a full year. This is called double periodization. I further divided the 6 months program into three training periods, Preparatory Period (PP), Competition Period (CP) and Transition Period (TP). The total volume of training increases throughout the program. Initially it’s done by an overall increase in the number of sets and repetitions in all the exercises used. In the second part of the program in order to maintain the principle of overload, I reduce the volume of some auxiliary exercises and increase the volume of the main preparatory exercises. In addition to volume, I increase intensity by increasing the average amount of weight on the bar (expected progression) and the number of full lifts, namely the snatch and the clean & jerk.
Program Objectives
The Intermediate Developmental Program is designed to achieve perfection in classical exercises that is the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. Achievement of peak performance is not the priority and constant improvement of the result should be noted.
Frequent participation in competition would be very beneficial to accomplish the above objective. In the program, I didn’t schedule any competition, save the one at the end of the Competition Period. At this stage participation at the competition will greatly depend on the local Events Calendar and thus the availability of the competition. At the end of the program I included Pre-competition Week to be used in order to taper down the training and prepare to compete. Such week can be used at any time during the Intermediate Developmental Program.
ADVANCED COMPETITIVE PROGRAM – 20 WEEKS