DUEL RISING BAR MEET - A NEW Competition Format

In over 30 Years of Competitive Weightlifting I have done a few hundred meets on several different continents, and yet I still have probably only accumulated under three hours of time on the Competition Platform. With less than a minute on the platform, and only 6 lifts in a meet, it takes a serious number of competitions in order for an athlete to get any real experience on the Competitive Stage.

 

Now that most of the Covid restriction have been lifted, and athletes can get back into competing, I have been raking my head over how to get athletes back into meets and get some experience on a competition stage.

 

Let’s be honest here, unless you are into Weightlifting, a Lifting Meet can be kind of boring and hard to follow. Without music or any real entertainment, a regular Weightlifting meet is not exactly a draw for spectators.

 

That’s where I came up with the idea for a Duel Rising Bar Meet. 

 

A meet, I feel will be fun for both the competitors, as well as the spectators.

 

The meet will be run as follows;

 

There Will be Music

Spectators are encouraged to interact and encourage athletes while they lift

There will be two platforms running simultaneously, ONE for Ladies, and One for Men.

Athletes DO NOT need to be USAW Registered

Athletes DO NOT need to wear a Singlet on the Platform. Although it is encouraged

 

The format will be the following;

·      Athletes weigh in 2 hours before the Start of the Meet

·      At the Weigh in, athletes will give their JUMP IN WEIGHT (Starting Weight)

·      The Bar Starts at 15kg for the Ladies, and 20kg for the Men

·      The Bar will rise by 1KG increments after every round of lifting

·      After an Athlete JUMPS IN, they must take every subsequent 1 kg Weight increase thereafter

·      After a SUCCESSFUL first attempt, Athletes will have 2 JUMPS, where they can call to Jump to a Higher Weight

·      After Each JUMP, an athlete must continue to follow the rising Bar, and attempt every subsequent weight

·      After the 2^nd, and last JUMP, an athlete must continue to follow the rising bar

·      Athletes are allowed 3 ATTEMPTS PER WEIGHT, NOT just 3 attempts total.

 

So, an Example of a Lifter at the meet would look as follows:

 

JUMP-IN (Starting Weight Declared at Weigh-In 50kg)

RISING BAR from 15/20kg

 

50 kg Good lift

51 kg Good lift

52 kg Good lift

JUMP 1 – Athlete declares 60kg

RISING BAR

60 kg Good lift

61 kg Good lift

JUMP 2 – Athlete declares 70kg

70 kg No lift

70 kg No lift

70 kg Good lift

71 kg Good lift

72 kg No lift

72 kg Good lift

73 kg No lift

73 kg Good lift

74 kg Good lift

75 kg No lift

75 kg No lift

75 kg Good Lift

76 kg No lift (1^st failure per Weight)

76 kg No lift (2^nd failure per Weight)

76 kg No lift (3^rd failure per Weight)

 

ATHLETE IS RETIRED FROM THE COMPETITION

So, based on the above, you can see that a lifter can get over 20 attempts on the competition platform just in the Snatch Alone. Combined with the Clean & Jerk, athletes will get more platform time than having competed in every official Meet for a year. 

 

I think the combination of the Rising Bar, Ladies and Men Competing at the same time, added interactions of the audience along with some Music will lead to a very entertaining and engaging day for both the athletes, and the Audience. Not to mention the Social evening to follow after the meet. (PS- There will be Beer & Pizza)

 

Either or, we are going to be Starting with the Inaugural Duel Rising Bar Meet at Hoboken Barbell come July. Once the meet is complete, we can re-evaluate the format and tweak it for the following years to come.

 

I hope those that are interest will turn out and join us for a fun filled day of Lifting, Socializing and having a Good Old Time.

 

Coach Ryan

HOBOKEN BARBELL OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED

 www.hobokenbarbell.com

It is with great excitement that I can announce that today August 1^st 2018,  I Officially OPENED HOBOKEN BARBELL, Hoboken’s Premier Olympic Lifting and Open Gym Facility.

Hoboken Barbell is a USA WEIGHTLIFTING registered CLUB and Hoboken's Premier Olympic Lifting Facility. Featuring 10 Platforms, ELEIKO, ROGUE and PENDLAY Bumpers and Elite Bearing Barbells. As well as a dedicated "LADIES ONLY" Platform with a full set of PINK plates.

 

The facility will be located in Southwest Hoboken at 38 Jackson Street, on the second floor, adjacent to Crossfit Hoboken. 

We will offer Olympic Lifting, Powerlifting, Private Coaching and Training, as well as an Open Gym training area. Lockers will also be available to members.

For Powerlifting enthusiasts, we will have 3 Power Racks, with Safety Spotters and Straps. 

The Open Gym area will feature all the necessary equipment you will need to do your Workout of the Day. Timer, Wall Balls, Slam Balls, Boxes, Rowers, Jump Ropes…. You name it, we’ll have it. 

Members of Crossfit Hoboken will have access to an exclusive discounted membership giving them access to both Crossfit Hoboken, and Hoboken Barbell.

Private training and Coaching will be available. Customized Olympic lifting and private training Programs will be available through the Train Heroic Software platform.

Satellite Coaching and programing will also be available to those who decide to join Hoboken Barbells Satellite Athletes Program. (For those who live out of state)

Make no mistake, Hoboken Barbell will be unlike any other facility you have seen.

We will be OPEN from 5 am till 10:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and 8am to 8 pm Weekends. Access will be granted through Lockitron wireless technology allowing members to come, and go as the please.

Once you access the facility, simply sign in with Mindbody on the front desk Ipad, and you are all set.

Our philosophy is simple,

“Train when You Want, how you want,"

Water, Kill Cliff, Fit-Aid, Gatorade and other popular Energy Drinks will be available from the Reception Fridge. Either pay cash in the “Honor Jar”, or use the multitude of payment options available for beverages. PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay. Complimentary coffee will be available during the Winter months.

To a somewhat lesser extent, yet equally as exciting, in the fall 2018, I will be launching a branded line of Olympic Lifting and Crossfit Apparel called ERASMUS SPORTS. The apparel will feature all the accessories a lifter needs to get the best out of their training, including;

·             Knee Sleeves

·             Wrist Wraps

·             Belts

·             Lifting Straps

·             and more…

All of the ERASMUS SPORTS Apparel will be available locally on premises for purchase, Via our Website, or on Amazon for our International visitors.

We will be having our Official LAUNCH PARTY, on August 11th from 3-9 pm. From 3-5 pm I will be hosting three International Olympic Weightlifters at the Club. Their lifting will be open to everyone to come along and watch before the festivities begin.

From 5-9 pm there will be Beers and Pizza available, as well as a raffle of 3 Months FREE Memberships to one Male, and One Female in attendance.

Which reminds me, you can find us at;

·             Instagram:            #hobokenbarbellclub

·             Facebook:             @hobokenbarbell

·             Twitter:                 #hobokenbarbell

·             Web:                       www.hobokenbarbell.com

·             Email:                     ryan@hobokenbarbell.com

·             Cell:                        201-744-6807

Fell free to SHARE The clubs details far and wide, and don't forget to give us a LIKE, and a Follow.

I look forward to welcoming you all to Hoboken Barbell, and sharing with you my love, passion, and commitment to the sport I have done for over 30 years.

And with that, I will leave you with Hoboken Barbell’s Official Slogan….

“When in Doubt ….  SQUAT !!!!!”

Yours in Sport

Coach Ryan

MAJOR CHANGES coming to the World of Weightlifting in 2018 !!!

The Sport of Olympic Weightlifting is on the verge of making monumental and sweeping changes in the coming Months. Changes the likes have not been seen since the introduction of woman into the Olympics in 2000. Bellow I delve deeper into what has lead to this, and give my insight into what likely changes I see taking place.

While most of the Weightlifting world wait in anticipation of the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships set to begin next week in Anaheim, a handful of delegates have been behind closed doors deciding the fate of our sport.

Those handful of delegates are part of the Weightlifting Working Group of Olympic Results and Information services, or ORIS for short. They have been tasked with deciding on the new Olympic Qualification systems, Competition format including event field size as well as the introduction of new body-weight categories, which is a major change.

I digress. Let’s investigate why these changes are going to take place and what led up to this.

Chief reasons are that the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C) is effectively reprimanding the International Weightlifting Federation (I.W.F) for the number of positive doping cases from previous Olympic Games (2008 and 2012) and are in search of alternate solutions to avoid such incidents reoccurring in the future.

 

Sadly, at those Games there were no less than 56 Positive results for performance enhancing Drugs. This was a huge concern for the IOC and decision to enforce new regulations was a must. As a result, they threatened the IWF with expulsion from the Olympics all together unless they could clean up their act. To further reiterate their stance, the IOC decided to reduce the overall number of competitors from 260, down to 196, as well as eliminating one male body-weight category. They used the ruse that by reducing the number of men’s body-weight divisions from 8 down to 7: it would bring about further gender equality as both Men and Women would now have 7 Body-weight divisions. But everyone knows that this was effectively a slap on the wrist from the IOC to the IWF to make sure they realize the full extent of their predicament. Which is simple: Clean up your sport, or you are out of the Olympic Games.

So what are these changes going to be? First and foremost, they have to decide on which men’s body-weight category to cut. I have spoke with someone who is a member of this committee, and all they could tell me, was that there will be all new body-weight categories, and only one athlete per Nation will be allowed per medal event. Basically meaning that China can’t double up the lighter divisions with two medal contenders. They have also reduced the number of athletes per flight to 14, effectively eliminating the "B" session from the Olympics. However, what I found most surprising, was that they are seriously considering adding a new lift into the competition format. YES, a completely NEW LIFT in competition for Weightlifting.

Bellow are my thought on what I feel the new body-weight categories could be. This is by no means a certainty, and I am merely speculating here. But I can see the new categories looking similar to below;

	Men's Current: (2017)	Men's Olympic (2020)
1	56 kg (123 lbs)	58 kg (127 lbs)
2	62 kg (137 lbs)	66 kg (145 lbs)
3	69 kg (152 lbs)	75 kg (170)
4	77 kg ( 170 lbs)	86 kg (189 lbs)
5	85 kg (187 lbs)	98 kg (215 lbs)
6	94 kg (207 lbs)	111 kg (244 lbs)
7	105 kg (231 lbs)	111 kg + (244 lbs+)
8	105 + kg (231 lbs +)
	Woman's Current: (2017)	Woman's Olympic (2020)
1	48 kg (106 lbs)	50 kg (110 lbs)
2	53 kg (117 lbs)	56 kg (123 lbs)
3	58 kg (128 lbs)	62 kg (137 lbs)
4	63 kg ( 139 lbs)	69 kg (152 lbs)
5	69 kg (152 lbs)	78 kg (171 lbs)
6	75 kg (165 lbs)	90 kg (198 lbs)
7	90 kg (198 lbs)	90 kg + (198 lbs +)
8	90 + (198 lbs +)

Now on to the real game changer. A possible third lift in competition. What do I think they could/would/should include?

Up until the late 80’s the sport already had three lifts. The Snatch, the Clean and Jerk, and the Press. Below is an example of the Press in competition. 

The Press was eventually eliminated in favor of the two lifts we currently have today, the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. I think the general consensus was that the Press was no longer a Power Movement, but a strength movement more akin to the Sport of Powerlifting.

With that said, I do not see them bringing in a discipline that mimics or encroaches on the sport of Powerlifting. We are not going to see a deadlift or squat anytime soon in Olympic Weightlifting. Weightlifting is about power and generating explosive force, not a strength movement. They need to find a movement that is technical, and explosive, but neither the snatch or Clean and Jerk.

Now I know I will take some flack for this from certain circles, but has anyone ever consider a “thruster”? Yes, I said it, THRUSTER!!!

Or more precisely, a Clean directly into a Push Press (Thruster). We have already had a PRESS in competition before, so why not add the more athletic Thruster into the mix. I also think it would be a great nod to Crossfit’s influence and impact on the Sport of Olympic Weightlifting over the last 15 years.

The competition format would be first the Snatch, followed by the Clean into Push Press, and finally the Clean and Jerk, with the combination of all three lifts equaling your Total lifted. The Winner would be the athlete whom lifted the combined most weight for all three lifts.

Now that’s something to ponder over. The committee meets on the 25-26^th of November to make their final recommendations to the IWF. With the World Championships taking place in Anaheim USA the following week, I do not see them making any announcements until the new year.

You can however be certain that in the new year there will be major, and monumental announcements in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting.

And now, we wait with bated breath… What do you think the third lift will be?