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Re: Press out rule

Posted By: Geoff Fleming (12.1.48.108)
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2008, @ 5:30 a.m.

In Response To: Re: Press out rule (steve zeigman)

Steve:

A good analogy and it is quite true that the older lifters had a different physical development which changed through the successive decades.

I'm not so sure that the old time lifters would not be able to do what today's lifters can, though, all things being equal. They had the mental toughness and innate strength to make great lifts that were the standards of their times so adapting to the newer pulling technique would not be all that much of a challenge to them. Giving up the press would probably be harder for them.

At the Gettysburg Worlds, in '78, I had the chance to meet Dr. Pete George and we spoke about the great lifting being done by guys like Rigert and Vardanian. I asked Pete what he thought he would be doing if he were lifting in the 70s instead of the 50s. His reply was that he would be doing world record lifts just the same, since you adapt to the requirements of what is necessary at the time. This was said with complete confidence and not in a boastful or offhand manner. I had never really thought about it until then.

We have to recall that a guy like Dave Sheppard, who officially racked in 413lbs at a bodyweight of 184lbs in 1954, (when the world record in the 198lb class was 399!), was another who probably would have adapted easily to the more 'user friendly' techniques. It took another nine years before another lifter in the 181 class succeeded with this 413, ( Gyozo Veres). Sheppard had a more visionary outlook than most others and his pull technique was more efficient than almost any of his contemporaries. He was more like modern lifters, in that he didn't rely on pure strength to haul up the barbell and realized that even the heaviest cleans could be acheived with a rather low height in the pull. Pretty far ahead of his time.

Just some thoughts to ponder...

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