We will be doing a multi-part blog series on Carlos Andica. You may find the posts on our sister blog: www.gwenweightlifting.blogspot.com.
We just got back from training with Carlos over the holidays. He is starting his Olympic training cycle in his journey to winning an Olympic medal in London. By the way, he is on track to pull off some stunning upsets. His clean and jerk of 205KG at the 2011 Pan Am Games was a medal at the 2011 World Championships.
Here is a photo gallery depicting the training settings of his gym in Armenia, Colombia. Note, Carlos gives back to neighborhood kids by coaching and helping them with their technique.
This week, our favorite Icelander, Annie Thorisdottir- 2011 CrossFit Games Champion- stopped by Risto Sports to train with Coach Ivan Rojas before heading back to Iceland.
Anyhow, it is always great to see someone you trained with, even after several months. Of course, Annie looked ripped as ever and in great shape. She seemed to put on more muscle mass in her legs since our last meeting, in January, and maintained Ivan’s Technical adjustments such as squatting more upright and pulling with the bar closer.
As it was my off day, I got to hang out and play photographer while Ivan, Annie, and Frederik (Annie’s boyfriend) moved some weights.
Now, if you are a high level athlete or aspiring to be one, you may be wondering what type of work out you would do with Ivan –especially, if you were in town just for the day.
Coach Ivan Rojas smiling while Annie shows technical perfection
…Allright, I’ll tell you:
Ivan started by analyzing Annie and Frederik’s technique. Ivan measured the speed of the bar as well as the path of the bar. Specifically, Ivan first did tests with the full snatch, followed by the clean and jerk. Afterwards, Ivan also measured the speed of the jerk from the high blocks.
In between, we worked on specific technical aspects. For example, we did very nuanced work on Annie’s pull.
Here is a short video showing an example of technical feedback and coaching. Notice the interaction between coach and athlete. It’s all about improving yourself:
httv://youtu.be/9F-3o2LBNQE
For the record, according to Ivan’s tests, Annie has very efficient technique — even for a weightlifter.
What can you learn from Annie?
Frederik doing technical work
Annie has an awesome attitude. Yes, she won the Crossfit Games, and her next logical thought is to improve her weightlifting, which will also improve her CrossFit. Additionally, like all great athletes, Annie listens and takes feedback. She stays focuses, takes Ivan’s direction, then improves her next lift. She doesn’t over analyze things (something I need to work on), nor does she under think.
Finally, notice that Frederik and Annie are doing very light weights in these photos. This is a sign of not letting one’s ego get in the way of improving. To do technical analysis, one must use light weights. ( they actually did go a bit heavier).
Coach Ivan Rojas is currently in Paris at the Weightlifting World Championships…Just to give a heads up Risto Sports is now offering Personal training by Jennifer Hieatt World, State and National record holder for womans Powerlifting and Strength and Strong man training with Eric Sevland. Both are fantastic trainers dedicated full of knowledge as well as being very passionate about their jobs and the people they offer their services to. Jennifer trains a youth power lifting team that also holds world state and national records, as well as Kimberli Smith the Kro$$face killer. Jennifer specializes in training over weight men and woman and has taken more than a hundred lbs of of her clients. She has the ability to drive her clients to meet their personal goals, and helping to create the body that most people would wish for. Jennifer is not only personable and passionate but she is Strong in Character her motto is it’s “YOU against YOU…just do it” . Don’t miss out she is running out of openings.
Last weekend, Risto Sports brought 4 athletes to the Beast of the East weighlifting competition. This was a weekend event which also featured crossfit competitions.
Our lifters brought home Best male lifter, Best Female lifter, and Best Junior Female lifter.
Yoni Andica- Best 77kg, Best Male
Gwendolyn Sisto – Best 63kg, Best Female
Gwen Rojas- Best <48kg, Best Female Junior
Tuba Tony- nice snatches at 105+kg.
Check out our you tube and facebook pages for video.
Want to lift with the best in the world from all over the world? Well, come on down to Risto High Performance Training Center!!
This week, Luz Mercedes Acosta of Mexico, Jonny Andica of Colombia, and Lesbia Cruz of Guatemala graced us with their presence. For our new lifters, this was an awesome opportunity to see a fantastic display of power and technique.
International phenoms Luz Acosta, Jonny Andica, and Lesbia Cruz lift with Risto Sports
Seeing a woman with 12% bodyfat toy with 90kg snatches is incredibly motivating. Seeing a 77kg lifter snatch double bodyweight for reps was also incredibly motivating. It is an eye opening experience, to see that, yes, lifting huge weights is possible!
Risto Sports proudly welcomes the addition of Tony Blanksteen to our staff — AKA “Tuba Tony”. Tony joins our Team in the office and on the platform. Tony will be persuing his weightlifting dreams while working for Risto Sports.
Tony is a classically trained Tuba player and has a Master’s Degree in Music from UMASS Amherst. Tony’s professional experience aslo includes teaching music at public schools. We really look forward to the professionalism that Tony will add to our customer service team.
More importantly, Tony will be training twice a day under the coaching expertise of Ivan Rojas. Ivan fully anticipates Tony to sky rocket in his results. (Risto sports exists for athletes, when lifting is on the same level as work, our products get better as we understand the athlete’s needs better).
We are happy to help an athlete train fulltime while improving the Risto Sports operations.
FYI: Tony welcomes any classically trained Tuba player to challenge him on his claim as World’s Strongest Tuba player
“What is the Risto Trainer? And how is it different from Risto Lifting shoes?” you may ask.
Here are the short simple answers:
What is the Risto Trainer?:
This is a leather shoe with a solid rubber heel and sole. The heel is flat– this is perfect for wide stance deadlifts, running, jumps, double unders, burpees, etc… The toe is also designed to be resistant to doing burpees.
order here: http://www.ristosports.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=117
How is it different from other shoes on the market?:
Quality!!!! I have seen those $100 dollar shoes that wear out after 3 months. Ok, these will wear out too, but I think they will last a bit longer than soft, nylon/plolymer shoes with soft rubber soles.
Stability — we are using a much harder rubber than any of the flat sneakers or low heel deadlift trainers (ie EVA is softer than rubber).
Do I still need weightlifting shoes?:
Yes, if you want to have any chance at maximizing your lifting potential, then you actually need weightlifting shoes. Have you ever seen a pit crew in NASCAR — they have specialized tools for each operation, hence making them incredibly efficient and effective. You need the right shoes for the right job. Wearing a “sort- of- crossfit- Oly -lifting -but -not -really- shoe”, will only give you sort of good results.
Finally- SAFETY and Injury Prevention! Weighlifting shoes are a must to protect yourself when doing maximal lifts. Lifting has the lowest injury rate at the Olympic Games — I think this also has somethign to do with the fact that even lifters from the poorest countries wear lifting shoes with a solid wood heel.
Do the best thing for your Lifts and your body.
What is the Risto Combo:
Right now, you can get 1 pair of trainers and one pair of white thunders for $175. Yes, this is a sale price. Yes, we do not guarantee how long we will be in production with either shoe, so best to buy it now. Yes, the trainers are on a presale, now, so its a 6 week lead time. These shoes take a bit less time to make since the heel is rubber.
