I can't get enough of the Olympics. The Summer Olympic Games never let me down and in my opinion are the best event in all of sports.....
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I don't know what it is, but everytime I see an American athlete win an individual gold medal, I get teary eyed. Seriously! It's so awesome to see the emotion of a lifetime of work culminating in being crowned the best in the world on the biggest stage ever. So badass. I am such a sap!
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Kendric Ferris, America's best male weightlifter, was the only male American to qualify for the Olympic Games. He finished with a 355kg total. It's crazy that the American weightlifters are still so far behind the top weightlifters in the world. Drugs? Better training methods? I don't know. I do know that Olympic weightlifitng is exploding across the USA thanks to CrossFit. Obviously you can't do CrossFit and be an elite weightlifter, but lots of people start Crossfit and then switch to weightlifting. Nothing wrong with that! Maybe a future gold medal weightlifter is training at a CrossFit gym now.....
Kendric's 2012 results compared to current Olympic and World records:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/weightlifting/event/men-85kg/index.html?v=20120803-185658679
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Why the hell do people watch basketball??? The greatest court game on the planet is elite level team volleyball, especially the men's teams. I watched the USA vs Brasil game on NBC. WOW! Fast and furious. The best thing about it? Every time play starts, SOMEONE scores a point. Looking forward to watching more of it online and hopefully catching the Gold medal matches.
GO USA!!!
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WORKOUT 8/4/2012
Saturday's workout is the 31 Hero's tribute workout. Not a workout I would personally program for anyone, but a lot of people said they had a good time doing the workout last year. The workout starts at 11am. Come in early to warm up and pick teams.
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More Great Moments in One World History......
so so awesome:
http://www.allthingsgym.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Lu-Haojie-iin-Pain-190kg-Clean-Jerk.jpg
Posted by: Jahed | August 05, 2012 at 18:11
you should have seen this in person. Before this lift, Lu Haojie fucked up his arm trying to snatch 175 to break the world record. He was a legit gold medal contender. During the clean and jerk phase, his coaches basically told him the equivalent of "man up" in Mandarin, and he came out, tears streaming down his face from the immense amount of pain he was going through, and clean and jerked 190 (418 lbs) to win the silver for China, while screaming bloody horror cause he was in so much pain. It was awesome and I teared up a little bit. Vid below.
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=23uen83&s=6
Posted by: Jahed | August 05, 2012 at 18:10
Amen to that, Freddy!
Posted by: Maria | August 04, 2012 at 20:39
Danny, Anyone who knows anything about elite sports knows it is all about who has the best drug protocol. =)
Posted by: freddy | August 04, 2012 at 17:42
Viv, you're right in that picture, I do look like coach Chow! Hahahah!!!
Posted by: Benson (coach Chow) | August 04, 2012 at 13:26
Honestly, the reason the US is so behind is drugs. USADA keeps the US weightlifters in line through CRAZY testing protocols. I've been in training on a Friday at 5 pm and seen USADA walk in to complete random testing. The truth is, drugs at about 30 kilos PER LIFT. If you think I'm full of it, that's Donny Shankle's quote...tell him it's a lie and see how that goes over. Finally, while watching the Pan Am games my wife called out the "steriod gap." Places 1-3, then about a 15-20 kilo drop, then the Americans. Why this huge gap? It's not training methods, open your eyes. Ivan Abadjiev came to the US and couldn't produce International success. Is it because he is not a good coach? Is it because Glenn Pendlay is not a good coach? Definitely not the case.
Posted by: Danny | August 04, 2012 at 13:00
Asushi, I didn't notice that until I read your post, LOL! Benson look alike OMG! Hella funny video, Freddy! I haven't been watching the olympics but I've been hearing a lot of good things. Wonderful athletes all over the world! That Kendric guy, what a beast!
Posted by: Joe Nepo | August 04, 2012 at 06:47
That "Fighter" song & video was awesome!!!
Posted by: Anna | August 04, 2012 at 02:58
Haha. Atsushi is right
I swear the god I thought the guy in the first pic was Benson.
Posted by: Jay | August 04, 2012 at 00:12
Touché Freddy! That post cracked me up. A lot of them do. Thanks for your honest style, observations, and reply to my smart-ass comment!
Posted by: Katie | August 03, 2012 at 23:19
I genuinely thought that was Benson in the first picture (for about 5 seconds)
Posted by: Vivian | August 03, 2012 at 21:32
I agree with Chris. If I wasn't doing CrossFit I wouldn't have gotten into strength training and would never have done any Oly lifting. Not only that, I would never have had the slightest interest in watching that part of the Olympics. Now I like to watch hours of it...go figure.
Posted by: Amsterfit | August 03, 2012 at 20:39
Katie, I ripped on the ones that talk shit about crossfit after they leave, but they still act the same way they did when they were crossfit.
Posted by: Freddy | August 03, 2012 at 20:05
In that link they list the all-time weightlifting medals and the USA is third with 43. Seems like we were once good at that but have lost our way. Since starting crossfit 3 years + ago I have a new appreciation for weightlifting. I actually find it the most fun part of crossfit.
Posted by: Chris | August 03, 2012 at 19:07
I DIDN'T KNOW BENSON COACHED THE US WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS TEAM!!!
Posted by: @sushi | August 03, 2012 at 18:49
I'm with you on all counts, Freddy... But didn't you rip on people who have left CrossFit and are "weightlifters" now not too long ago? ;)
Posted by: Katie | August 03, 2012 at 18:46