Week three of Nationals preparation iss finished and I am comfortable with my progress thus far. While squats felt overly hard I think it had more to do with the family being in the grips of croop and a nasty virus.
With deadlifts scheduled for tomorrow night I've been watching footage from last years Nationals to get the juices flowing. Whenever I watch the competition footage I invariably end up focusing on Dan Green and Odel pulling massive deadlifts on the last day of competition. It was a great finish to the GPC Nationals and it got me thinking about sumo versus conventional deadlifting.
Clearly powerlifting is about maximising leverage and in that regard it's obvious that some lifters will switch to Sumo with a wide stance to minimise the bar travel and maximise 1RM. In this regard I have no problem with the style chosen but I have to say I find sumo lifting far less interesting to watch.
Thinking back to the GPC Nationals, as much as Dan Green was a beast to watch,Odell pulling 400kg conventional style looked far more impressive. Similarly I much prefer seeing Ed Coan's conventional lifts compared to his sumo efforts.
Somehow a wide sumo stance looks far less athletic in the same way that a very wide geared squat does. Now I understand this is a heretical view but I like lifting to keep some semblance of athleticism.
A few of my short armed midget mates might disagree with this post but perhaps sometimes the essence of a sport needs to trump expedience.
A few of my short armed midget mates might disagree with this post but perhaps sometimes the essence of a sport needs to trump expedience.
Stay Strong
Thomo
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