Tommy Kono on Goal Setting

April 11, 2018

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Nathan Waters - Total Health Performance

"It will take great desire, determination, dedication, plus discipline of the mind; and the body must be adapting to these heavier loads. Sacrifices will be required as well as patience for the progress. It means quality effort and time must be spent to achieve the goal. To succeed, you must have faith in your ability to carry your training and training plan to success. Progress will come in increments so you must keep hammering away with your goal always in sight. Your focus on your goal should be so great that you even dream it in your sleep. Only when you come to the point of believing in your ability to accomplish it will this goal be met." - Tommy Kono

I think that covers it. 

For me, "sacrifices will be required as well as patience for progress" is an important highlight. Many of us will say we are willing to do anything to achieve a goal but what we don't say is what we are willing to sacrifice. To achieve anything worthwhile you will have to leave some things behind. That may be people, time, or money for example. Define what you are willing to sacrifice as you are setting your goals. If all your friends are going to party, are you willing to stay home and go to bed early? 

Patience for progress. You won't achieve your goals immediately and you will have to stick it out through tough periods and may even doubt if it is worth it. You see a lot of people set goals only to bail on them after a month because they didn't get close to where they imagined in their mind or at the first sign of a set back they lose focus and change goal. 

Also, "Your focus on your goal should be so great that you even dream it in your sleep". I don't believe in balance. I think it is bullshit. If you are chasing a goal and you are truly, 100% committed to achieving it, it will consume your life. People don't reach greatness being balanced. They are obsessed with what they are doing/trying to achieve. They can't help but think about it and talk about it because they love what they are doing and it is always on their mind.

For those of you who don't know who Tommy Kono is, he was basically the Michael Jordan of weightlifting. Here is a bit on his career from Wikipedia "Kono was a gold medalist at both the 1952 Summer Olympics and 1956 Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics under coach Bob Hoffman. Kono won the World Weightlifting Championships six consecutive times from 1953 to 1959 and was a three-time Pan American Games champion; in 1955, 1959, and 1963.[8] A knee injury prevented him from qualifying for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the following year he retired from the sport.[4] He set a total of 26 world records and 7 Olympic records.[9][10]

Kono was also a successful bodybuilder, winning the Fédération Internationale Haltérophile et Culturiste Mr. Universe titles in 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1961.[11] After his retirement he turned to coaching, taking on the Mexican 1968 Summer Olympics and West German 1972 Summer Olympics weightlifting teams before becoming head coach of the United States' Olympic weightlifting team at the 1976 Summer Olympics.[4][9]

During his weightlifting career in the 1960s, he developed a pair of bands to support knees during training. These eventually extended to the elbows and became standard weightlifting equipment.[9] While he was coaching in Germany during the 1970s, his correspondence with Adidas led to the firm's development of low cut weightlifting shoes.[12][13]"

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Tommy Kono

goal setting

desire

determination

focus

dedication

Discipline

sacrifice

Benefits of Weightlifting Shoes

December 23, 2015

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Nathan Waters

Squatting in weightlifting shoes has many advantages over squatting in joggers or runners. The main advantage is increased stability. Unlike most training shoes weightlifting shoes are very rigid which gives you a solid platform to squat from, they don’t crumble under you like runners when you have a heavy load on your back. You can think of it like this, if you had to squat on concrete or a mini-tramp which one can you lift more on? I’d pick the concrete as you can apply more force into the ground.

The biggest reason why I personally like weightlifting shoes is due to the elevated heel. Having suffered many injuries to my ankles during my sporting career ankle range of motion is pretty limited, although improving. Until I began wearing weightlifting shoes achieving full squat depth with an upright torso was very difficult. Combining my corrective based work that Gemma Smith gave me and wearing weightlifting shoes allowed me to reach full depth in about a month. The elevated heel allows you to reach maximum depth easier while staying more upright by taking ankle range of motion and tight calves out of the equation.

Weightlifting shoes also help align the ankle bones and feet which helps keep the knees in proper alignment when squatting. Reducing injuries is always a good thing. Many people trying to perform Olympic lifts in regular running shoes have rolled an ankle, weightlifting shoes help minimize this risk.

Weightlifting shoes are a great investment in my opinion. You can buy them from between $125-$250 depending on the brand and if you treat them well they will last you for years.

Benefits of Weightlifting Shoes

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

Squatting in weightlifting shoes has many advantages over squatting in joggers or runners. The main advantage is increased stability. Unlike most training shoes weightlifting shoes are very rigid which gives you a solid platform to squat from, they don’t crumble under you like runners when you have a heavy load on your back. You can think of it like this, if you had to squat on concrete or a mini-tramp which one can you lift more on? I’d pick the concrete as you can apply more force into the ground.

The biggest reason why I personally like weightlifting shoes is due to the elevated heel. Having suffered many injuries to my ankles during my sporting career ankle range of motion is pretty limited, although improving. Until I began wearing weightlifting shoes achieving full squat depth with an upright torso was very difficult. Combining my corrective based work that Gemma Smith gave me and wearing weightlifting shoes allowed me to reach full depth in about a month. The elevated heel allows you to reach maximum depth easier while staying more upright by taking ankle range of motion and tight calves out of the equation.

Weightlifting shoes also help align the ankle bones and feet which helps keep the knees in proper alignment when squatting. Reducing injuries is always a good thing. Many people trying to perform Olympic lifts in regular running shoes have rolled an ankle, weightlifting shoes help minimize this risk.

Weightlifting shoes are a great investment in my opinion. You can buy them from between $125-$250 depending on the brand and if you treat them well they will last you for years.

Posterior Chain Builder

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

The snatch grip deadlift on a podium is one of my favourite exercises to use when trying to build strength of the posterior chain. It also activates the VMO which helps stabilize the knee, it challenges the grip, and even hits the lats and traps to some extent. It is a great bang for your buck exercise.

The first time one of my athletes does this exercise it is not unusual to see them shaking all over the place especially when prescribed slow tempo work in the early general preparation phases of training. Once athletes have the technique dialled in we overload the exercise further by adding chains or bands.

It is also a good exercise to use if someone wants to add some muscle mass. I find that because you use so many large muscle groups in this exercise it is one of the quickest ways to put on some size.

The biggest limiting factor I find is poor mobility so we often have to start with different types of progressions before we have the athlete get on the podium. Once they can get into a good start position then these are some of the tips that you should look for:

• Stand on a box (or weight plates if needed) that is about 4-6 inches high
• Drive with your legs first. Your back angle shouldn’t change until the bar is at mid-shin to knee level
• The bar should remain in contact with your shins and thighs at all times
• Elbows are to be locked and elbows pointing in line with the bar. Too often people want to try and bend at the elbow and use the upper body off the floor.
• Keep a slight arch in the lower back throughout the movement. It is easy to round while on the podium in the bottom third of the movement so stay tight throughout and concentrate on perfecting your technique
• On the way down be sure to hinge at the hip and not just bend forward at the waste. You should push your butt back first and load up the hamstrings on the eccentric component, maintain that slight arch in the lower back. The bar should remain in contact with the thighs and shins.
• Keep your chest up

Here is a video of Dmitry Klokov performing the snatch grip deadlift on podium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXJA-7UyfY0

The snatch grip deadlift on podium is a great exercise to increase short term speed, increase your vertical jump, increase your conventional deadlift (if that is your goal), and even to pack on some muscle mass. Program it into your workouts and see how it works for you.

If you need some help with technique and need a strength coach in the Campbelltown, Camden or Macarthur area please feel free to come and do a session with me and I will help you out. If you are super keen like one of my athletes from the central coast drop in as well.