brian.degennaro wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 4:11 pm
I think lifters taking maximal hang and classic lifts so close to competition and being overly ambitious was largely the cause for the flurry of failed attempts. It's one thing to hit a maximum in the training hall and go 3/3 in the same lift on the platform, and another to not go 3/3 and lift even less in competition than one did in the training hall.
This.
I think Charniga makes too big a deal of theorycrafting minor details like the negative motor learning of push presses on the jerk, and not enough on "lifter is tired because they lifted 105% in the training hall a few days before".
This is conjecture but I suspect that whilst the hypoxic conditions were overblown for training, they affected inter-session recovery. Hypoxic conditions are a stressor, and increase sympathetic nervous system tone + decrease parasympathetic nervous system tone.
Subjectively, a lot of the lifters just looked
flat. There was no power in their finish (particularly snatch/jerk), poor balance, poorer speed and so on. These are all markers of fatigue before someone really knows they feel like shit.
The notion of "supercompensation" in peaking (as opposed to simply fitness-fatigue) has normalised the notion that a lifter should feel like they have been wrapped in foil and microwaved right before a competition. Just take a day or two off, you'll "supercompensate".
Don't get me wrong, you can feel terrible and perform well (and vice versa) but feeling like shit and underperforming might be leaving a clue.
What are you gaining anyway from going flat out before a competition? There is minimal physiological adaptive benefit, significant risk of excess fatigue. You can make the argument that it's psychologically important, but I would argue that feeling good is also psychologically important. I would also argue that you shouldn't need to lift 95+% 3 days out to feel psychologically prepared.
Hawkpeter wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 7:57 pm
Bud makes an argument for the elbow flickers being a natural phenomenon with regards to the flexibility of the barbell and reactive stability from the upper extremities. The hypothesis sounds very plausible.
I think this is plausible in the recovery phase when a lifter loses balance and unconsciously tries to bring the bar back into the base of support and forgets to continue pushing hard on the bar.
However, most elbow flickers I think were down to poor timing and subsequent barbell crash exceeding the RFD capacity of the upper limb into the bar, especially when it was a tiny bit in front. More broadly, I see this kind of issue occur when people have a lack of stiffness/high RFD isometric strength in their thoracic/cervical spine, uppy scapular muscles and rotator cuff, compared to deltoid, biceps and triceps strength.
South Korea is a good example. Strict press in front/behind, push presses, squat presses, bench press, incline presses, weighted pushups and many other exercises for "overhead strength". But concentric strength at low RFD is different to isometric strength at high RFD.
Hawkpeter wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 7:57 pm
It also seemed like the judging returned to the standard we saw in Tokyo. Very strict. I have zero insight to how and why this seems to happen but the 2021 Worlds by contrast seemed much less strict.
brian.degennaro wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 4:11 pm
I think the jury and the stringent enforcement of a "pressout" rule contributed to the high number of failed lifts as well.
I can't prove it but I suspect this is in part due to some members on the Technical Committee, jury etc. Some of them are old and haven't continued training, maybe they simply forgot what it's like to hold a heavy bar overhead.
There are individuals on the committee who seem to get off on red-lighting elbow flicker (amongst other technical infractions) at both international and local level.
Of course, it's also about ensuring one's non-redundancy. If you don't have a problem to solve, you don't get to travel overseas and live the high life on the federation's dime.