This was a vastly better interview than Shane Hamman. I don't know whether it's because Tommy is just more talkative than Shane or because you responded to the criticism that you talked too much in the last one. Either way this was really good.
This was a vastly better interview than Shane Hamman. I don't know whether it's because Tommy is just more talkative than Shane or because you responded to the criticism that you talked too much in the last one. Either way this was really good.
You've out done yourself with this one, Ripp. Absolutely fascinating interview.
Ripp,
When you said that U.S. Olympic lifters don't train the deadlift my jaw hit the floor. That seems so counter intuitive that it's hard to believe. What explanation do U.S. Olympic coaches give for our pathetic performance for the past 30 years or so? Aren't they capable of looking at the historic record and investigating how lifters in the 50's and 60's (when we were winning or at least placing in the top 5) trained? How can they continue to use training methods that give such poor results? Someone once say that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Are our coaches nuts or just too arrogant to admit that their training methods need to change?
Awesome interview! Can't wait to see who else you interview. It's one thing to read about the history of weightlifting in the US, its another to feel like you're experiencing it as Tommy tells his stories. I'd love to hear more from him.
Supe will be glad to talk more. We may schedule a follow-up with him later. As for the explanation given for why the OTC program doesn't use the deadlift, it is because the resident coaches they hire don't use them. The analysis seems to be that deadlifts are slow, so deadlifts will carryover to a slow clean. Thus forgetting that deadlifts are slow because they are limit pulls and that lighter weights CAN be pulled faster if the lifter is strong enough to do so, and that he gets that way from getting stronger by pulling heavy. By the way, Kyle Pierce in Shreveport does not believe this, and you may note that Kendrick Farris is his lifter.
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Rip, thank you very much for this. Fantastic job! Keep up the great work and don't let all the old knowledge disappear.
You should make these interviews (and this one in particular) available on DVD for $5 or $10 a pop. I'd buy this one without a second thought.