Winning Weightlifting

According to the International Weightlifting Federation web site www.IWF.net, two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-times world champion, Vasily Alexeev, died in early November. Certainly the one lifter most Americans who came of age during the days of ABC's Wide World of Sports remember, Alexeev, like Mohammed Ali, grew in reputation to be larger than the sport itself.

Leeds Metropolitan visiting research fellow Harvey Newton recently addressed multiple university classes on the role of explosive lifting in strength training. Additionally, Coach Newton delivered two lectures to students and staff. One topic dealt with the strength and conditioning profession and what it takes to secure a solid position in this field. The other talk was entitled, “Should All Athletes Use Explosive Lifting?”

Click here to see the video of Harvey Newton’s lecture on the topic of explosive lifting application to athletes from a various sports. Simon Jenkins, PhD, principal lecturer, editor of the International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, and a former weightlifter introduces Harvey Newton.

On September 24-25 Harvey Newton led a USA Weightlifting Level I coaching course at CrossFit Done Right in Rockville, MD. "Justin Bacon put together a great venue for our 39 participants. Everyone worked hard to master the hands-on portion and 92% of the participants passed the test, including two with perfect scores," said Coach Newton.

"It’s great to see the renewed interest in the sport of weightlifting in the Beltway area, with a lot of enthusiasm coming from Capital Barbell Club, headed by Fred Fialco," Newton continued. "I enjoyed a few hours of clinic work and a great dinner with the club on Friday night. Look for news to come out of this area in the next few years."

To see a couple pictures from the course click here.

Coach Harvey Newton, creator of the Strength Training for Cyclists System, has been invited by USA Cycling to lead a webinar, Strength Training for Track Sprinters, on December 6, 2011.

Mark this date on your calendar and watch this website for more details as the day draws near. The link for more information on USAC series of webinars is: https://usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3158

Harvey Newton led another USA Weightlifting Level I Coaching course in Lake Mary, FL, September 10-11."We had 17 attendees, many from CrossFit," Coach Newton said. "CrossFit Lake Mary, under the guidance of Greg Sheppard, proved to be an excellent facility. We had participants from as far away as Ohio, and everyone had a rewarding experience. And, everyone passed the test, so USAW now has another group of sports performance coaches in the trenches."

To see a couple pictures and their captions from the course click here.

Coach Newton’s next course will be in Rockville, MD, September 24-25.

Harvey Newton led a USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coaching Certification Course at The Athletic Lab in Cary, North Carolina, August 13-14.

"We had 66 participants, the largest group I’ve taught over the past three years. Thanks to Mike Young, PhD and Chris Garrett, both from Athletic Lab, for their great assistance during the hands-on portion," said Coach Newton. "Only a top-notch facility like the Lab could host such a big program. Immediately after the course’s conclusion on Sunday the facility quickly converted to a pole vault training session. Very impressive."

All participants successfully passed the written exam and are newly minted USA Weightlifting Level 1 coaches. To see their picture and read some of the comments these new coaches made about the course, click here.