Meanwhile in Belgium …

Dmitry Klokov gets a 245kg Jerk.

I think the last time we saw this weight from him was during his London Olympics preparation when he did the “Klokov Complex”.

Remember those days, when training footage from him was so rare?

Update: Here is Dmitry’s longer video.

Dmitry Klokov 245kg Jerk (2015) is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

While in Egypt Dmitry Klokov did answered some questions of his viewers.

Translation below thanks to Sergiy Turchyn.

More: All Dmitry Klokov Interviews ATG.

Translation

Why no seminars in Russia?

I need money. If I do seminars in Russia, I will not have enough. Russian weightlifters are not rich people and are not used to pay money for such activities. People abroad are more willing to pay. However, I will not forget about Russia and will still do seminars sometimes, just not as often.

What’s the secret of a long and loving relationship?

Be honest. The most difficult is to be betrayed. We learned to tell the truth all the time, so we have very few quarrels.

Do I have to sacrifice something to achieve success?

When I was a weightlifter, I was always in camps and sacrificed family time. Now I am abroad and still sacrifice family. That’s the hard life of weightlifter’s wives. One can say that you sacrifice friends, etc., but it is not that important. Family is the main sacrifice you make.

Why don’t you produce weightlifting shoes?

We are working on that. It is not profitable to manufacture them in Russia. Were almost got to do it abroad, but it appeared to be expensive. It costs $60-70 to make a pair of very good quality shoes. However, I also wanted them to look good. With the price I want to sell them for, I need to look for better options.

Some asked if you can send me your T-shirt designs.

Yes. We have a problem with designers. If you have a designer talent, write me on email, WhatsApp, phone and we will discuss everything including payment.

You tried weightlifting [of course, 20 years…], crossfit [not really], and bodybuilding. Do you want to try powerlifting?

I have somehow never wanted to compete in powerlifting. I will not do it for sure.

You signed a contract with Baltimore GRID team. What will happen out of it?

Most people probably don’t even know what GRID is. It is like a team Crossfit. I don’t know yet what I will do there. We will have a team of 6 (3 guys, 3 girls). My team has Igor Zaripov, Matt Frazer, and 3 girls.

Each of us will compete in their respective activity. The GRID competition should start in June and will be about 5-6 rounds, or 8, if we win. I will film this and show what athletic show business is like in the USA. This is something we lack in Russia where most competitions look quite boring.

Why do you prepare for Dmitry Yashankin’s bodybuilding competition?

Firstly, it is like Thai holidays. You are used to one person showing one thing in some fitness YouTube channel. However, I believe that everything has already been shown and the whole movement will halt if no one creates something new. So, the idea of Thai holidays was to unite athletes from different sports. It is the same idea here. I believe that we need to unite, so I decided to participate.

Secondly, it is interesting for me too. People always said that I look good and should compete in bodybuilding. Now I have about 2 months to finally do that.

Does it impact my weightlifting? Of course, after benching the bar is a bit too forward overhead. But I can afford that now. Just need to stretch and go to sauna. If you don’t max out in the snatch, clean, and jerk, it is perfectly safe to combine both styles of training. This is only my opinion and I will tell you for sure in the end of April, after the Yashankin’s Cup.

Why did you start removing your VK friends?

I didn’t start removing them. I make then followers instead. I also want to follow my friends in social networks and it is pretty hard to do when you have 8000-9000 friends. Thus, I manually delete everyone and will add my true friends later.

Why are all videos with bad quality after Thai Holidays?

I changed the camera. I used to upload right from the camera. Later I met Misha Prygunov and decided to learn how to edit the videos. I bought a very good camera. However, when I started using iMovie, the quality dropped. I don’t know why this happens. Tell me what’s the reason.

How often did you have to cut weight?

I compete in 105 since 2003. Of course, I had to cut often. If you look at my old videos, I was always in clothes. I was rarely just in T-shirts. I wore 3-5 layers and sweated about 3 kg of water out. If you sweat, some useful elements also leave your body and make it weaker.

Thus, I wore warm clothes only around chest, abs, and butt. My shoulders are injured, so it would be bad to make them warm too. I also never trained in pants (wore shorts instead) because I didn’t want to cut weight from my already small calves. And there is this belt on me all the time (my wife also wears it) [18:05].

My bodyweight PR was 122 kg in the morning. Normal weight is 115-117 kg for me. Cutting 8 kg was easy. After that it is very hard, especially psychologically.

So, I used to wear as much as I can in a car in summer, and we turned on the heat. We drove from Taganrog to Rostov and back. The whole road took about 3 hours and I lost a lot of water, about 3 kg.

This idea is that it is easier psychologically. The road took my attention rather than weight loss. So, pick a woman who can handle this, put the clothes on, and go for a car trip.

For some especially talkative people: I have never competed in nationals overweight. Never. I was even offered that opportunity, but I have never done it.

Have you encountered Osgood-Schlatter disease? How to train with it?

Yes. I encountered it around 13 years, after 0.5 years of weightlifting. During this disease, there is a thing in your knee that starts soft, and gets harder with time. It hurt a lot for 1-1.5 years while it was soft, it was nearly impossible to squat and pull. After that it turned into bone and has not bothered me for the next 18 years. This is a disease in children who play sports too much, usually soccer and other game sports. You can read more about it online.

What weightlifting exercises are the most useful for beginners?

I am not a coach. From my experience, I would recommend the basic exercises: Squats, Pulls, and Presses with correct technique. When you see how people train, they have incorrect technique that doesn’t translate into Snatch, Clean, and Jerk. Weightlifting beginners (crossfitters in particular) should not start the classic lifts straight away because their muscles and joints are not ready.

Do you want to relate your life to weightlifting like becoming a coach?

Those who coach in other countries get paid pretty well. Since Russia does everything late, I believe that in 2 years weightlifting will get popular here. I will do my best to make weightlifting cool. I think that it has never been as popular like today ever (talking about the whole world). Weightlifters are poor people. Crossfitters are all kinds of people. Crossfit created many different businesses. If you start training for a coach now, you will be useful several years from now.

What plans do you have for your channel?

My goal is to make it the basement for the all weightlifting television that will produce videos every day: old school videos, interviews, training, etc. I hope one day I will get into better relationship with the Russian Weightlifting Federation (it is not very good at the moment) and this will happen. [Correction: earlier this post said IWF, but Dmitry meant RWF]

[29:00] One guy trains the whole life, becomes Mr. Olympia many times, and then his image is used illegally to promote a pharmacy that sells steroids. I think Ronnie Coleman would not approve.

Will there be Thai Holidays, part 2?

We are working towards that. We have already rented a house. [Shows pictures at 30:30]

Many questions have answers in old videos. I recommend watching them again if you missed something.

How is it possible to meet you?

On Tue, Wed, Fri, I am in my Winner office [office 3/6, Olympic Sports Complex]. Better to inform me beforehand, and then you may come. My wife will make you some tea and cookies.

Dmitry Klokov Q&A February 2015 is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in the US …

After missing 189kg behind yesterday, Dmitry Klokov sets a lifetime PR with a 193.5kg Snatch with pause at knees.

More: Watch his 200kg Snatch here.

Update: Dmitry’s Video of the attempts

Hookgrip’s video with many more attempts and slow motion of the 193kg.

Dmitry Klokov 193.5kg Snatch with Pause at Knees PR is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

It’s finally here: Lift the World by the International Weightlifting Federation.

It’s meant to introduce weightlifting to a general audience, which means that you won’t see the craziest training lifts or the latest discussions about training programs.

No, it’s about the people and the passion behind the world’s best sport.

I think you’ll agree that it’s very well made. Visuals and audio are top notch and it all works great towards the main goal: presenting weightlifting to a wider audience.

They visit athletes and coaches around the world. Among them China (Lu Xiaojun, Lu Haojie), Russia (Dmitry Klokov), György Szalai (Hungarian/Iranian coach). But it’s not only the superstars that get coverage. By visiting poorer countries they also show They also show accessible the sport is.

Share it. Show it to your friends, family, who always wondered what kind of sport you were obsessing about.

IWF Lift the World Documentary is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Dmitry Klokov is currently on a visit in the Taganrog training facility and he recorded a new “On Par/On Equal Terms” interview.

This time it’s with David Rigert.

On youtube Dmitry commented that he will have engish subtitles available soon! In the mean time here are Dmitry’s past interviews.

Update 11.04.2015: English Subtitles are now available.

Quick note from Sergiy:

The Rigert interview is amazing. They talked about Rigert’s current life, 2012 Olympics, Rigert’s 2 failed Olympics, his children in weightlifting, Misha Koklyaev and national team, drugs in 70s.

Btw, Rigert said he could do 200+260 at 100 kg if he trained some more.

During the rest of the video they talk a lot about his academy, how it was built, his coaching career, and patriotism.

Transcript:

0:33 Our guest today is the man who achieved big results in sport

0:39 In my opinion he has everything a man can dream about

0:44 He could live wherever he wanted to and do whatever he wanted to

0:49 But he lives here near Taganrog, taking care of his own farm

0:56 He is 6 time champion of the world, nine time European champion, 1976 Olympic champion and he set 63 world records

1:04 I’m talking about the man who was named the best weightlifter of the century by IWF

1:12 I did not see him for 2,5 years and I am interested to see how his life has changed

1:16 And this episode is dedicated to him

1:25 Rigert David Adamovich

1:42 “It’s OK!”

1:47 “She’s jealous!”

1:53 “Go for a walk!”

2:00 “She was raised surrounded by cows, so when she smells them she runs to them”

2:08 When i called you today all i heard is voices of chickens and goats

2:25 By the way, my dad’s thinking about the farm too

2:31 We’re puzzled, because we’re not used to it

2:38 “It’s difficult to find a place, though.I was lucky to find this one”

2:52 What about your license on the land?

2:55 “Everything’s alright! It’s my private property”

2:59 “Everything’s mine until 5 metres deep”

3:05 Maybe you have some oil deep in the ground?

3:14 I see that you repaired the tractor

3:18 “Yes, we did it with Denis”

3:23 “We installed a brand new engine”

3:28 How did you get the food here, the road was probably covered with lots of snow

3:34 “The food is here running around”

3:45 What’s about that gym equipment?

3:47 “They’re broken down”

3:54 “Alright, i’ll go”

3:56 See you!

4:10 “These cats have work to do, because we’ve a lot of mice here”

4:14 Are they at house, too? “No, because cats checking everywhere”

4:26 How did you come up with that idea of ​​living here? When i was here the last time you had only concerete foundation

4:34 “I was born a peasant”

4:43 “I was always dreaming about this type of land with everything it has”

4:50 As i remember you did not have water here

4:54 we found resource back there and opened it

5:02 “Denis has a small excavator it can fit into the door”

5:12 “But it’s powerful and rentable”

5:16 what you need this woods for?

5:18 “I need them for guesthouse”

5:24 “I prepared space for the house back there”

5:40 “You see we have transmission lines really close”

5:48 “We have generators, solar panels and wind turbine”

5:53 you have everything you can for electricity

6:00 “This four panels I have were made in Russia”

6:08 “All our space stations are using our own panels”

6:16 well, it’s good

6:23 where the water goes?

6:27 “It’s going down deep”

6:30 how did you family reacted when you told them that you’re moving to farm?

6:34 “They had no choice”

6:38 we have the same situation, but we are trying to avoid it

6:45 “Well, you need to work here to get food”

6:50 you know German Sterligov, right? When did you hear about him for the first time?

6:55 because he moved to the farm too

7:02 “I heard about him right when he became popular”

7:07 “Right when his children were small, but now they’re grown”

7:13 so your goals were the same?

7:20 but you’re not planning to sell this place like he did?

7:25 “No, I am not”

7:31 “I have a pond cleaner there to clean the lake”

7:37 do you have fish there? “Yes, I do. Some are very huge!”

7:48 what was the main motivation to move here?

7:52 “My soul wanted to”

8:00 “You see i raised the dam and cleaned the reed”

8:23 beautiful!

8:25 that’s it, Lena! If dad would see this he will not be able to resist

8:35 you probably were standing there when I called you today

8:40 David Adamovich you need more than just a desire to watch the farm

8:50 “Well, I was watching farm and animals when I was younger”

8:55 when do you usually wake up?

8:58 “At 5 AM”

9:01 do you have a special regimen? “I wake up like that all the time”

9:05 and when do you need to take care of the farm? “At about sunrise”

9:10 “Animals would wake you up”

9:14 David Adamovich do not you think that it is scary to live alone in the forest and?

9:21 “I’m used to it”

9:24 and what about your family? “They’re not saying anything they are scared”

9:30 “It’s all good.Denis is chilling here with his friends very often”

9:34 “You see, they were preparing fresh soup and left the caldron there”

9:40 “And they ate fresh soup by themselves”

9:50 “I have a water pump there”

9:57 “I have a lot of work to do” it will be enough for your children and grandchildren too

10:04 did you try to give up smoking? “I did try when I was head coach in USSR team”

10:13 you were elected as a head coach three times, right?

10:22 so you tried to give up?

10:26 “After two weeks without smoking I noticed that I was very aggressive”

10:35 “I became a coach right after my weightlifting career with Zackarevich and others”

10:45 “And one day I smelled cigarette smoke”

10:53 “Zackarevich and others went upstairs so they would not bother me”

11:03 “I quickly ran upstairs and attacked them”

11:12 you attacked them, because they were smoking?

11:16 “Well, they did not just smoke” so they had a party

11:22 “It was a weekend, so they were relaxing”

11:28 so you started to smoke again?

11:31 “I was living in one room with Maslyaev, so he said relax and take a cigarette”

11:40 and he said that I act crazy and I told him “fuck you” and he said “i told you”

11:57 so you did not try to give up since then? “I could not”

12:03 “But it’s easy for me not to smoke in public places and transport”

12:11 “Because I’m used to live by the rules”

12:17 it’s written in the web that David Rigert after finishing his incredible career as an athlete and a coach owns his farm

12:31 and it’s written as you will never come back to coaching. Do you have a desire to return?

12:44 “Well, I have dreams, but I consider myself to be a realist”

12:57 you have an award of the greatest weightlifter of the century, so you missing an award of the greatest head coach of the century

13:06 so do you have thoughts of coming back?

13:19 you are not interested no more, right?

13:24 it’s very difficult to forget about it after dedicating so many years to the craft

13:31 “I was a weightlifter since childhood years”

13:50 “Sometimes it’s very upsetting when you did something, but someone changed the route and came back to same place again”

14:02 I remember when I missed Olympics in London, Apti Aukhadov told me not to worry, because God does everything for better

14:20 and right now I’m not really worried about it, because I do not know what would have happened if I would go there

14:32 and some things might not even happened. So I missed Olympics, but it gave me another route

14:43 so did Olympics in London gave you a better route?

14:52 “I felt the same as you just said in 1972”

14:58 when you missed your lifts, right? “Yes”

15:10 “I’m happy that it happened to me”

15:20 “That situation humbled me, because when you are on a high-level you might miss some details”

15:31 “Also I was disqualified in 1977 because we had some shenanigans at airport”

15:45 “At first, I was disqualified for life”

15:51 “But after 10 months I was asked to return, because we were losing”

16:01 “So, after 1972 I am not afraid of anything”

16:06 “I was more upset for you, because we put so much work and were so close, but did not reach the goal”

16:18 I’ll see khadzhimurat on Thursday or Friday and talk to him

16:25 “And we could not do anything in your situation”

16:40 so you think it was for better, maybe you would have stayed as a head coach?

16:50 “No, I would not”

16:58 “Because you can not take the same place for a long time”

17:16 so were you upset with the situation that happened right after the Olympics in the Federation?

17:22 “Well, it was unexpected” my dad told me that I should not worry about that, because he dedicated himself, but was sold out

17:35 “Well, you should hope for the best, but do not forget about what might happen”

17:43 so you werevexpecting that? “Yes, if there is a tongue there is teeth, you can be bitten”

18:03 there were a lot of rumors about 1972 Olympics. It was rumored that the platform was bad or you did not prepare well and even some magnets

18:18 “The front part of the platform was 4 cm higher than usual”

18:25 “That’s why we had four people who failed their lifts”

18:45 so a lot of factors affected you?

18:49 “My pull was very explosive, but I did not understand why I could not hold it in the bottom”

18:55 yes, you could see in the video that the pull was very explosive

19:05 and what’s happened at 1980 Olympics in Moscow?

19:17 “Well, back then Shariy and Bessonov were competing hard in training and everyone was applauding”

19:24 “I reminded them how they lost to Aleksandrov in European championship. And if I would be asked I would defeat both of them and Alexandrov”

19:33 “I said it so they would not relax”

19:38 “And the same day they snitched on me”

19:48 “So after that coaches offered me to compete at the Olympics”

19:53 “I have never cut 10 kg before”

20:01 “The next day I weighted-in at 101 kg”

20:10 “Then I had a call from Moscow and they thought that I was ready”

20:30 so you promised and then you had to do it?

21:02 “So three days left until Olympics and I said I am not ready”

21:13 “I felt like breaking down”

21:39 I can only imagine how good you can sleep here

21:43 It’s very beautiful!

21:47 “The furnace is on woods”

22:13 young generation claims that you need to have good genetics, money and a good coach to achieve results

22:25 you had genetics, opportunity and experience.So why Slava, Denis and Vitya did not achieve results

22:42 “They did not have what you had. Ability to work no matter what”

22:52 “And also they were expected to achieve big results. It distracted them”

23:18 Slava when I started weightlifting, you and your brother were already training

23:30 how does it feel when everybody around expect you to achieve the same results as your father did?

23:48 “Well, it was very difficult at first”

24:01 “I do not really remember my worries, but my results were not significant”

24:11 and why do you think it’s happened?

24:17 you had genetics, opportunities and money. What was not enough?

24:32 “Well, Denis did not achieve results, because he had a knee injury”

24:55 “I was trying to start weightlifting couple times. I did it for the first time when I was 14 years old, but then I needed to go to college and study”

25:10 “But when I looked at myself in the mirror I was not pleased with my physique. I was 190 cm and was weighting 63 kg”

25:22 “So a started weightlifting for the second time in 2002”

25:30 “At that time my father became head coach of the national team”

25:36 “And I was trying to lift weights when he was there”

25:44 it’s a big advantage when you training with the national team. And I know that, because it helped me a lot

25:56 “You know, I think I’m more a coach than an athlete. Because I was taking notes at how coaches work”

26:14 “I was interested in watching different methods of training and comparing them”

26:26 “Because the national team is a huge source of knowledge”

26:36 can you say that you just did not gave everything you had?

26:42 “Yes, you can say that I did not gave it all”

26:50 “Because when I was ready to work I had children to teach weightlifting”

27:10 “My best snatch was 190 kg in training and best C & J was 220kg in competition”

27:19 “I was in 105. My best results in competition were 175 and 220”

27:34 “So when I had those results, I had a choice between being an athlete or coach”

27:55 “So I chose to be a coach, but I trained as I could”

28:07 “I did not get Master of sport award, because I lacked 5 kg”

28:20 “I’m a little bit upset, but it does not matter when I see my students performing on a platform”

28:33 “I’m sure that I made the right decision when I see the development of my students from children to warriors”

28:52 “So, I am more useful this way”

29:05 “Vanya was doing well, but Zakharevich was lifting crazy weights at 18 years old”

29:20 “Denis injured both of his meniscus and slava got injured, too, because they were rushing”

29:34 “They should have started to train from very early age”

29:49 I remember that your wife was always telling me that she did not want her children’s to be athletes

29:55 “I did not want too, otherwise I would invest in them”

30:05 I do not have a son yet, but already want him to be a weightlifter

30:13 “Well, I wanted them to train. You should not necessarily have to be a champion, but you should train”

30:28 “Sport builds character”

30:38 I like sport because it really builds character and it will help you in your life

30:46 “It gives you a habit to work and trust yourself”

30:54 “You made a mistake, analyze it and try to correct it. You might not find it, but it’s okay!” 00: 31: 03.00: 31: 10 “Because if you put in work, you’ll make a mistake.It’s impossible not to make it”

31:15 “I liked one TV program where young businessman was sharing his success story”

31:31 “And he said that his father always told him ‘just do it!’

31:45 “If you learn theory with no practice then you’ll be upset when you’ll start something”

32:03 When you were working with Plukfelder did you trust him?

32:09 “We were consulting every little detail everyday”

32:14 so you did not do everything he said? “No we discussed everything”

32:19 “That’s why some people were upset with him, because they were waiting for commands”

32:25 “He is theoritician and practician to himself, but he was a theoritician to us”

32:34 “If you have doubts just tell him and he would consult with you”

32:40 because Anikanov Genadiy Viktorovich barely did listen to us

32:50 “Sometimes he could laugh at something, but then he would give a chance to try it”

33:02 “He’d have told you mistakes he made and advise you what can happen”

33:20 what was his talent? Maybe, because he was contacting with athletes

33:27 “Because he was always working”

33:31 “I saw his work out notebook and I even tried to do it myself, but I could not”

33:42 “He was planning different options and watching the old workout notebooks”

33:50 you mean you tried to do it as a coach? “Yes, as a coach”

33:58 “He hated criticism, but he always put up with it”

34:18 “Because you can find good points in criticism”

34:30 you have a fighter’s knuckles you was always remembered as a hotheaded

34:40 so are you quick-tempered now too? “Yes, I’m still quick-tempered”

34:50 “But I learnt to control myself when I was a coach” you were tossing around tables in the dining room

35:01 “Well, the next day I went to apologize”

35:11 you did not like some of the food, right? “Yes”

35:24 “I did not understand why did I do it, but then I went to chef Larisa to apologize”

35:33 “I told waitress to call Larisa”

35:42 “She asked me what do I need? But I found a hair in there”

35:52 “So I told to Larisa to tell the other cookers to wear underwear when they jumping over the pot”

36:06 “I told her to look what i found, my hair are straight, but this one is curly”

36:20 did you do everything you could as an athlete? “No”

36:24 so how much would you be able to lift then? “Probably about 200 and 260 in 100 kg category”

36:31 “I lifted those weights at training”

36:40 what your max bodyweight was? “103”

36:50 “I was 103 when I jerked 265 kg”

36:58 “I jerked it after half squat”

37:05 how did you manage to set 63 world records?

37:11 “Well, I had to set them almost on every competition”

37:20 “They made a new rule back then, so they took care of salary”

37:33 “So if you take the first place and set WR you’d get only full payment for place and half payment for record”

37:43 “So instead of having for example 3000 and 3000 for place and WR, you’d get only 4500 toatl”

37:50 “So we started to chase commercial comps, where you were payed 100% and also you could sell some WL shoes”

38:05 What do you think why we do not go to commercial comps nowadays?

38:13 “Because of fear of getting punished”

38:21 “Some coaches say that their lifters are the best, but they have no chance of winning in those comps”

38:35 “If you’ll be making excuses all the time, then you’ll stay on the same place”

38:50 You was talking about the situation prior to 1980 Olympics and I know that a lot of people were trying to snitch to you on somebody else

39:09 “As I said before if there’s tounge, then there’s teeth”

39:13 They’d lick, but then would bite

39:22 “I remember how Pisarevskiy were telling me those kind of things”

39:45 “I told him that i am head coach, but i could not take his son to competition”

40:03 So where ‘that thin line, how did you manage to do it?

40:09 “I was not even thinking about it, it’s just an experience”

40:18 You could take to comps an athletes who won their categories, but would they perform good on world stage?

40:37 “This kind of questions were discussed at meetings”

40:50 “So I was telling them, let’s imagine that you will be on my place”

41:01 “It’s easy for you to say that I did not take someone on competitions”

41:14 “But I could easily send a message to the authorities with the reasons I did not take an athlete”

41:30 “And one time I sent a message to a governor of Chelyabinsk”

41:46 “It was prior to 2004 Olympics”

41:55 “Their authorities were complaining”

42:05 “But you just need to follow certain registration rules”

42:17 “It’s good when you win National cups, but an athlete did not appear when i called him”

42:35 Reccently i was noticing that a lot of questions were asked about what happened between you and Misha Koklyaev

42:49 “Well, I treated him well all the time. And I helped him to train”

43:00 “But he always thought that he was robbed”

43:19 “I met him when he was 18 after he won national cup”

43:28 “Him and Chigishev were similar to each other”

43:33 “I saw him on competitions and he said that he was using PED’s”

43:38 “I told him that he has good genetics and he should not use a lot of them”

43:46 “But he told me that he was using everything”

43:56 people from countrysides are willing to succeed by any means necessary, so you can explain that

44:10 “He said that he was dreaming about getting on world stage”

44:21 “I told him that he could achieve his dream, because European championship was coming”

44:35 “I remember their team had one athlete named Gunyashev, but he was workaholic”

44:49 Misha was working a lot too

44:55 “He was, but he was changing his mind very quick”

45:03 “I remember when a called him on training camp”

45:12 when was that?

45:19 “It was before 2012 Olympics”

45:29 It’s probably when he won cup in Penza? “Yeah”

45:38 “I told him to apply for training camp earlier, because we could run out of free places”

46:04 “He came one week earlier and said that he will eat only lunch. I understood him, because he was not rich, even though he was making money in strongman comps”

46:28 “After two days there was a scandal between heavyweights”

46:42 “And I was absent for two days”

46:55 “I gathered them together, so they could talk, but Misha was absent”

47:23 “So when I called him he said that he thinks he probably will not do it”

47:43 “After a long time Chingiz told me his story”

47:51 “But both sides might be wrong”

48:01 what do think why Misha could not do it?

48:12 he told me that he was lacking support “no, no!”

48:22 “He had a support and I supported him too”

49:00 when you was a head coach in Russian team you were battling with PEDs, but in the USSR team it was different, why’s that?

49:15 “Well, back then it was not considered to be doping”

49:25 “We even had official recommendations on anabolic substances”

49:37 and how did that information flew in?

49:47 “Well, people did not believe at first”

49:55 “But some people even got getting addicted to it, because it’s completely different from when you are a teen”

50:17 “A lot of things happens: you become moody and careless, so you easily can get injured”

50:30 so all this were happening right in front of your eyes. People started to take PED and got crazy

50:43 so no one understood why it was happening, because you did not have information

50:51 “I tried PED’s in 1973 for the first time time, but I did not feel any difference”

50:59 did you have a choice back then? “Yes, we did”

51:06 “But everything consists of just two formulas”

51:10 was it in drugstore? “Yes, it was in drugstores”

51:16 “They even wrote special doses for athletes”

51:30 What was your first sensations?

51:36 “Craziness. That’s where we got that word from”

51:48 “It should not have started working yet, but i already could fell something strange”

51:58 “People had a lot of sore throats, because it raised temperature and so they were walking with open throat”

52:12 did you have negative feelings?

52:17 “I was feeling aggressive”

52:23 “It’s like when you’re drunk, it’s difficult to control yourself”

52:33 “You need to have will power to control yourself”

52:40 “But when you are young, you have no experience”

52:51 did laboratory worked for team? “No, it’s rumors”

52:58 “It was completely different, the laboratory was warning us about possible bad consequences”

53:07 “The lab was working for astronauts and we were just volunteers to try it”

53:25 you can see a lot of big guys right now on the streets, but back then it was different. How did you feel?

53:38 nowadays is difficult to surprise somebody, even if you weight 120 kg or look like Misha Koklyaev

53:48 “People looked at me differently, because I was living in the same city with Alekseev and they thought that if I am weight lifter then I should be big as him”

54:05 “I was keep telling that is difficult to measure the size of an athlete on TV”

54:17 did your appearance helped you in life? “I was not very big”

54:33 were you shy, though? Because I never wanted to show that i’m big. And some people want to show their physique

54:41 “But then they get punished. Good physique is provocative”

54:53 “Some people were provoking me to the point that I got into fights”

55:05 “Sometimes you just hit someone and it would be enough for that man for some time”

55:15 “But I tried not to hit hard, because it could be dangerous”

55:21 did you hit with fist or you slapped? “I slapped”

55:29 “I hit with fist when I fought more than two people”

55:34 “I was doing boxing, so I know how to hit to knock someone out, but not kill him”

55:43 how is your health now?

55:46 “Only he knows up there”

55:54 so what do you really want to do besides farm? You have a lot of experience

56:06 you want to be in a team to work, but not to fight?

56:14 “You’re right, because you might win some battles, but you’ll never’d win a war”

56:36 “It’s like four year cycle between Olympic when everything goes right in the beginning, but then it aggravates”

56:59 “By the way we were the first who felt the impact of sanctions on ourselves, remember that?”

57:05 “They were always playing some dirty tricks when russian athlete would come on the platform”

57:13 Well it’s not really the sanctions, it’s the way they feel about Russia

57:22 but it makes us stronger “yes, it does”

57:32 “Well, I’m not going to refuse an offer if there would be something to work on”

57:37 we’ll have an elections in two years. Do you think something should change?

57:51 “Yes, it should”

57:57 I think they’re lacking a step forward for development

58:04 “They are lacking desire”

58:12 well, they did not make big changes, so you’d have to work with almost same people

58:18 “I think it would be the best to work with people who have students in the national team”

58:35 “Because it’s easier to work with them”

58:46 “The same happened with Pisarevskiy who was complaining, but then he cooled down”

59:04 a lot of people did not like the fact that you were always setting camps in Taganrog

59:15 “Well, offer us another place, because we tried to change places, but it did not work out”

59:25 “The last camp should be in Moscow district, because it’s more comfortable”

59:46 will you visit national base this week? “Of course!” Then I’ll see you there

61:15 David Adamovich are you on a diet? “Yes, I am”

61:24 “It will be wrong to say ‘no'”

61:39 “Do you need anything more than food in life?”

61:47 David Adamovich, whose idea was that to put a bar sculpture there?

61:52 “It’s difficult to say now, but your father was one of the instigators”

62:57 “We wanted to be creative”

62:03 it’s cool! I do not even remember how the idea was born

62:09 “I do not remember details too, but we were discussing the idea for two weeks”

62:17 “So that was the decision”

62:23 do you remember how it’s all started? I do not, because I was a child

62:34 “The team was looking for a place to train”

62:42 “Training bases were vanishing. Those were difficult times for weightlifting”

62:53 “The idea was already born for a long time”

63:11 “I met with Slava on weightlifting meeting and we started to discuss the idea”

63:25 “He said that he was making money and he wanted to give back to weightlifting”

63:36 “I think he still loves weightlifting” yes, he does

63:42 “I told him that I thought that I was the only one who was crazy about weightlifting. He told me ‘you are not'”

63:52 “We wanted to use Olympic center in Rostov, but it was taken”

64:10 “So we rented this facility”

64:25 “And we started to discuss details”

64:38 so what does the ‘Academy’ really means? Why did you decide to name it like this?

64:48 “‘Academy’ means that we raise athletes from children to grown men”

65:13 “And this Academy teaches to classic weightlifting”

65:30 “We wanted to combine everything here, including dormitory”

65:50 “This facility was built by coppersmith worker”

66:00 you spend 3 months for paperwork? “No, about 1,5 years”

66:10 so how much time did it take to open the Academy?

66:17 “10 months”

66:20 why did not you build a new facility?

66:24 “There was no place to do it, otherwise we would build a new facility”

66:33 “We had an old USSR building system, so it was very difficult to do it”

66:58 what did you do in a period when you finished your career as an athlete and before you became a coach?

67:10 “Sometimes I was living and sometimes surviving”

67:15 it’s very interesting for me too

67:22 because I’m finished as an athlete, but did not find any activity yet. What did you do in this period?

67:33 “Well, when I finished as a head coach of USSR team in 1987”

67:45 “I retired myself”

67:57 “And I was the first one to retire, because everyone else was fired”

68:14 “I had two kids back then, so I needed money to live”

68:21 how old were your kids back then?

68:25 “Denis was 7 and Slava was 3”

68:35 “I was working as a taxi driver”

68:45 “But I was not working in the city, I was working when the public transport was stuck in the winter”

68:55 “I had Niva, it was off-road vehicle”

69:03 how old were you? “I was 40”

69:09 how did you go through it psychologically?

69:12 “I had no time to worry about psychological things. I needed to take care of my family”

69:28 “But I was used to working, because I was raised in countryside”

69:35 “I could do anything”

69:42 “I came to Rostov to regional sports department”

69:54 “I told them that i am young and familiar to weightlifting”

70:01 “They told me to find students”

70:06 So that’s how they treated an Olympic champion?

70:10 “I did not know how to teach kids, because I started weightlifting as an adult”

70:40 “After some time they invited me to work in a school which was named after me”

70:51 was it their’s idea? “Yes”

70:58 “I asked them if that was a monument while i’m alive?”

71:11 “Then they told me that it’s going to be an independent and autonomic school”

71:20 “So i started to think about the idea”

71:39 “So i told Slava that i have a school of Olympic reserve”

71:53 “I had branches all over the district”

72:05 “They seperated then, but in the beginning they were broke, so i helped them to make some money”

72:16 What year was that? “It was in 1986 when we officially opened this school of olympic reserve”

72:25 I remember when i first came here in 1999, Rostov distrcit was very strong in weightlifting

72:35 “We won russian championship!”

72:39 That’s what i’m trying to say, you had very strong athletes

72:47 So why Rostov district became weaker?

72:51 “I do not know.It was the impact of government”

73:03 “But in the end, i did my job, because good athletes were taken care of”

73:35 “So it was just impossible to work there no more”

73:43 You were holding a lot of positions, but which job did you enjoy most of all?

74:00 “I enjoyed the most my first year as a head coach of USSR team, because the team was deep in butthole”

74:11 “But when everything got better, i had a lot of assistants”

74:18 “But that kind of assistance was destructive”

74:30 “I felt comfortable when we started this Academy too”

74:38 “I was getting exhausted, but i never had feeling of giving up”

74:49 “I was falling asleep right here and had dreams about academy”

75:01 So you were enjoying?

75:05 “Well, it’s like in weightlifting when you see results you’re pleased”

75:17 “I even was breaking walls with sledgehammer when i saw some defects”

75:30 After that i want to ask you how the phrase “if you want, it you got it” was born?

75:38 “Isaac Dunaevskiy has a song which goes like this:”

75:41 “If you’re happy, you smile, if you want it, you got it if you seek for it, you’ll find it”

75:47 “I heared this song when i was a child and i liked it since”

75:53 “It was played in an old Soviet movie”

76:04 “I had reasons to like this song back then”

76:08 Those are powerful words “They are”

76:22 You were a Soviet athlete and what does word “patriot” means to you?

76:33 I think that a lot of teams abroad were trying to buy you with luxurious life, money etc.

76:46 “I had those kind of offers almost everytime i competed”

76:51 When you was an athlete or a coach? “Both”

77:00 “I took offer one time when i did not have any job”

77:09 “But for some reason the offer was cancelled”

77:11 Where were you invited?

77:15 “I was invited to Thailand, but i did not want to go there”

77:18 You were invited as a coach? “Yes”

77:23 “The offer was good”

77:30 “But another coach went there”

77:36 So what does word “patriot” means to you?

77:42 Because a lot of people talking trash, for example if i wear foreign shirt.

77:53 “Well, if you’re patriot it does not mean that you should wear respective clothes and sing national songs”

78:00 “It depends on how you act when things go wrong”

78:08 “You should not worry about it when everything’s fine”

78:18 What was the most difficult competitions for you as an athlete and a coach?

78:25 Two most difficult comps when you were an athlete and when you were a coach?

78:32 “My first World championship was most disgraceful to me, even though i made my lifts”

78:45 “I was not afraid, i was just burning out”

78:56 “That’s why i always carefully treat first-timers in championships”

79:17 “And in 1985 World championship was the most difficult to me as a coach”

79:43 “It was very difficult, because i was an amateur coach and i coached athletes who i was training with as athlete”

79:50 Did they obey you? “They did”

80:01 “And after sometime i understood that i demanded more than i should”

80:11 “I demanded from them as they were Master of sports”

80:22 “I was almost on the verge of getting upset, because i knew that they were strong”

80:34 “There was Leonid Taranenko and Yuri Zackarevich”

80:38 “Well, yuri came when i finished. Vardanyan started under my watch”

80:50 “So that competiton was difficult to me being a coach”

80:59 “I never was exhausted like this before”

81:05 can you say that this difficult situation seasoned you? “Yes”

81:20 “As an athlete i loved every competition”

81:27 And when did you enjoy most as a coach?

81:35 “Do you remember when we won comp as a team somwhere in South-East Asia?”

81:51 “What year was that?” It was in 2007 in Thailand

82:03 “That team was matured. They went through blood, sweat and tears as a team from 2004 to 2007”

82:23 What would you change in your life if you’d had an opportunity?

82:33 “Nothing”

82:42 “I’m not pleased that i helped my parents to move nearby mines, because they got sick”

82:54 “I recently visited cemetery”

83:00 Where are they buried? “At Kuban”

83:12 “My dad died at 79 and mother at 89, but they’re buried right to each other”

83:21 “I want to do the best, but it turned out very bad”

83:15 “They did not tell me anything about it” Why?

83:32 “Well, they loved me so much that they could not refuse”

83:41 Do you enjoy your life now?

83:47 “You need to work first to enjoy something”

83:50 Well, i think you worked enough already

83:39 “How long is enjoyment lasts when you’re standing on pedestal?”

84:05 That moment worth working

84:11 “I enjoy everything i look at”

84:15 “So i woke up early today and heard chirping of birds and etc. And then fell asleep again”

84:32 “For example if the wheather is bad, you still enjoy it, becasue you’re not going to work”

84:41 Thank you very much! “You’re welcome!”

84:43 Good luck! “You too!”

85:49 If you want it, you got it

Dmitry Klokov Interviews David Rigert is a post by Phil from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Dmitry Klokov has really set a pace with his “On Par/On Equal Terms” interview series. This time we get to see him interview his rival and team mate Khadzhimurat Akkaev. Dmitry already has the video with English subtitles for everyone to watch!

Make sure to check out the past interviews of his series.

Transcript

0:13 Today’s hero is the man who i consider to be the most talented weightlifter in Russia presesntly

0:27 He is the reason i lifted my max results in world competitions

0:39 He is a world champion

0:47 He is a europe champion

0:59 He is two time Olympic medalist

1:13 And he is the best weightlifter of the year 2011

1:24 Khadzhimurat Akkaev

1:27 Here is that handsome man on your screen

1:32 As i promised you it’s Khadzhimurat Akkaev

1:35 When was the last time you were sitting before camera? “It was probably on your show”

1:41 The show with Khadzhimurat Akkaev was 1 year and 9 months ago

1:49 It looks like he’s in shape, i did not ask him yet

1:53 He eats some honey cake and i eat some salad

2:00 Which car did you roll up on to “Astor Plaza” today? “Mercedes”

2:10 I remember you having a lot of different cars

2:17 I’ve seen you on LADA Priora before Gelandewagen.Which car did you remember most?

2:30 “Well, i akways kept in mind Mercedes, so i chose this car”

2:40 We’re often saying that God does everything for better

2:46 When i met with David Rigert, we both agreed that our failure before Olympics in London opened new ways for us

3:08 I do not regret what’s happened to me, david Rigert neither

3:16 And what about you? Which ways has opened to you?

3:26 “I’d disagree with you, because it was my life goal and where you’re so close and could not achieve it”

3:40 “You see, when you fail to achieve something it will chase you your entire life”

3:55 “So if you’ll imagine i could achieve my goals in sports and make profit out of it”

4:08 “Personally for me, as you said before, it’s a tragedy”

4:13 “Because we were so close, but failed”

4:18 “It’s still difficult to take it”

4:23 Are you still upset? “Of course i am”

4:25 What do you think why it’s happened?

4:30 It’s whether you were punished or you were helped to achieve something new?

4:41 “Well, since i’m religious i think it was written and it helps me to relax”

4:50 “It’s still bothers me even after so many years”

4:56 “But i take it as a my destiny, not punishment”

5:01 “As i think it was destiny for you too, because we’re similar”

5:08 “And now we’re going different directions”

5:16 “But i did not benefit from that loss”

5:22 When was the last time you thought about Olympics?

5:25 “I think about it everyday, i even have dreams about it”

5:30 “The last time i touched a bar was when we saw two years ago” You mean you have not done snatch and C & J “Yes”

5:42 “So i have dreams about Olympics, competition and battle”

5:50 “I wake up in cold sweat and realize that it’s a dream”

5:56 “Sometimes i have thoughts about coming back, but i understand that i lost lots of things already”

6:04 What did you lose? “Time”

6:11 “I remember you once said that sport might end in one day”

6:21 “You might start, but you can give it up the same day”

6:28 “I started once, but i think it was for awhile”

6:37 “It’s not enough time to prepare for Olympics, but who knows”

6:48 So there is a chance, right? “Yes, but i have no desire and that’s the main problem”

7:00 But it looks like the president of Russian Weightlifting Federation is full of desire

7:08 “I deleted my social networks accounts after that article”

7:16 I’ll tell why we laughed

7:25 About 15 days ago the president of the RWF announced that Klokov and Akkaev are preparing for Russian championship

7:36 And now we’re receiving a lot of questions

7:43 I’m not announcing anything for now, because i’m deciding yet, but Khadzimurat

7:52 “I’m not competing in Russian championship for sure”

7:55 “I might be there as spectator”

8:00 “Where the championship will be held” In Kaspiysk

8:05 You see i know, my subscribers told me

8:10 So it’s not true “It’s not”

8:17 “Maybe he believes that we’ll return”

8:29 Well, he could believe in me since you can see on my videos that i lift weights

8:34 “Well, maybe i’m lifting weights behind the scenes”

8:45 When you was a competetive weightlifter what was motivating you to work?

9:02 “Well, I was not a workaholic”

9:06 “But Olympic games was my motivation and as i said i was dreaming about it”

9:18 “And when you see that you’re doing well it makes you wake up every morning and workout no matter what”

9:33 Well, when we were starting WL we wanted medals and then more significant medals and then making money, right?

9:52 So can you wish something to those who are in the beginning, those who want to win their first medals?

10:01 “Be patient, because you need some time to achieve results”

10:13 “I was not thinking about medals at first, i just wanted to look good”

10:20 “But with the time i got the taste of victory and understood what i can get from it”

10:31 “In the beginning money was the last thing i was worried about”

10:39 What can you wish to those who are preparing for Russian championship? “Believe in yourself”

10:47 “You just need to work and wait and you’ll achieve your goals”

10:54 “While you was talking i was thinking about the fact that i never concerned sport to business”

11:00 Never? “Never”

11:04 When we was doing this show 2 years ago you said that even if you’ll get finished with sport you’ll never give up weightlifting.What can you say about it now?

11:19 “Well, i confirm my words, because i dedicated my life to WL”

11:30 “It’s very difficult to get through psychological injury me and you had”

11:40 “So after some time i’ll do some activity related to weightlifting”

11:51 “It will not be my main occupation, but i’ll play my role in WL”

12:01 can you say that this recovery is forming your independence platform?

12:10 “Well, now i’m developing my business that i invested in”

12:18 You have 2 degrees, right? “Yes, i’m lawyer and economist”

12:22 Are they helping you? “Not really, because my work is not related to them”

12:35 “But i do not want to work in civil service”

12:41 “Because i’m used to free lifestyle”

12:55 “I do not see myself waking up at 6 am to go for a job”

13:01 Is not it difficult to star business as an amateur after being a professional in sport?

13:15 “Well, to be the best in WL i worked a lot, the same should be in business”

13:25 “If i want to be the best in business i need to work”

13:32 You said that you’re doing other sport, which one?

13:37 “I’m wrestling, sometimes i liked wrestling more than WL, because it was my job”

13:50 “I’m doing boxing, too, but for myself, not to compete as rumors say”

14:02 “It affects adrenaline and emotioanl release, which i did not get in WL”

14:11 “So i’m doing it for myself”

14:16 Do you have enough of emotions? “Not really”

14:22 I think you’re very emotional? “I am”

14:28 “Because as a competetive athlete i always had emotions, but now there is no reason for them to come out”

14:39 I told you that i’m preparing for BB comp

14:44 So why do not you set a goal to prepare for boxing comp

14:52 “I started doing wrestling”

14:57 “So i set a goal to compete in Russian wrestling championship”

15:08 So will you do it? “Of course”

15:14 “I want to try to compete the next year”

15:22 Who’s your coach? “My coaches are Rafik Samurgashev who trains Olympic champions and my older brother”

15:29 You really have not done any snatch or C & J the last 1,5 years at all? “I have not”

15:38 “By the way, recently i tried to do back squat”

15:45 I saw your 200 kg push press in jeans “It was a long time ago”

15:51 I can not push press 200 kg even now

15:56 “I though that it’d be great to squat 200 kg at 100 kg BW after missing two years of training”

16:08 “So i squatted 100 kg right away, then 150,180,200 and i made 210 with help”

16:23 I can see that you can feel the weight, because you did not put 230 after 200

16:31 “Professionalism sets us apart from amateurs”

16:42 Do your significant medals help you in life? “Yes, they do”

16:50 “Of course, generation are changing and people forget”

17:00 The melody is nice “This melody has something meaningful”

17:10 “But people treat you differently when you have some significant awards, so it helps”

17:22 “Significant awards will help any athlete in his life”

17:29 It was sad that you said about people forgetting “This is life”

17:38 So what can we do to avoid it? Maybe we should do something ourselves? “I wanted to say the same thing”

17:47 “We need to do publicservice work or do something that you do, teaching people your craft”

18:00 “A lot of people learnt Wl from you, so it might help them to achieve their goals and be thankful”

18:13 “You just need to decide what do you want, whether being public and vocal or be off the light”

18:32 We always hear people saying that younger generation has no role models to look up to

18:43 It’s a fault of Ministry of Sport that people are lacking information about athletes like you

18:54 Because people always ask me about you, Aukhadov and Ilyin

19:03 When i was preparing for this interview i decided to search the web for videos with you

19:11 You’re world champion, europe champion, two time olympic medalist and i found only 3 videos

19:20 “And two of them were with you”

19:24 That’s what i meant by fault of Ministry of Sport and WL Federation

19:33 “I think it’s WL Federation fault, because we have a lot of other atheltes from other sports”

19:45 “But, on the other hand, what will you show if people are not public enough?”

19:58 I think that athletes have a lot to share

20:05 Because people are intersted not just in your workouts, but your personal life, too

20:15 People want to know how your character was build or how did you overcome obstacles

20:30 It should be shown that athletes are not just machines and they have good traits of character

20:52 And, of course, it should be shown that you need to work to achieve your goals

20:59 Do you have times when you want to go to team base?

21:03 “I’m not really thinking about that, but i’m missing those times”

21:08 But would you be able to spend time on camp? “I would”

21:15 “My main problem is that i do not have desire to lift, but if’d have it i’d go on camp”

21:31 “2 years ago when i arrived at camp i understood that i’m not used to it already, you need to stay on track to do it”

21:55 You say that you’re lacking desire, do not you have desire to return and defeat Ilyin?

22:10 Because you were the boss in 105 and now he can stimulate you to lift even more than you did before

22:23 Your best was 198 + 232, right? “Yes”

22:30 “Well, people come and go, but the thing is that he was training all this time”

22:45 “If i’d be younger, i could start preparation 6 months before Olympics”

22:58 “They will not be able to lift our results on training for a long time”

23:10 “I read articles saying that we should return”

23:15 “But where were you when we were competing?”

23:21 “People were always talking about us” Well, it was our time

23:30 “Now that someone would lift some result, they tell us to return”

23:48 “Bedzhanyan jerked 239 right on front of us.I did not even know some Uzbek there”

23:58 Nurudinov “I’m not talking trash, but you can not challenge us now that we’re finished”

23:08 I wanted to ask you this question later, but since you touched this name i wanted to ask you about Bedzhanyan

23:21 2 years ago you called him untalented, but in interviews he mentions that me and you called him so

24:31 But actually you called him untalented and i said that i just do not know him

24:38 Now that David has matured and put on a how on 2014 World Championship, do you have something to say?

24:50 “Well, you have to consider lots of factors”

24:55 But he lifted those results, though “He did, but i still think he’s untalented”

25:04 Even after he jerked 240 kg “It does not change anything, what was his total, by the way?”

25:11 He snatched 187 and C & J 240

25:18 “It’s a good result, but he’s still untalented”

25:26 “Albegov was talking trash too, he should call me”

25:31 I did not like it too, if Ruslan would hear me

25:41 “If he wants some type of duel, he should call me, but not talk trash through media”

25:55 “I understand that he became a better athlete”

26:05 “And if i’m not talking trash to him, i’d like him not to do it to me”

26:18 “But if i’m saying something to Bedzhanyan then let him talk to me personally”

26:28 Do you need any help?

26:32 “Do not worry about me, i’m able to deal with them by myself”

26:42 2 years ago Russian WL federation structure was changed

26:51 And you were not pleased with the changes

27:02 Back then you were guessing what would happen with the Federation, but you were right. So what do you think about it now?

27:20 “Well, a lot of people, including staff and athletes were not pleased with the Federation”

27:34 “I’m not judging anybody, i’m just saying what i heard”

27:45 “So they built their own team which is closed to everybody around”

28:00 “They promote certain athletes and suppress the other ones”

28:10 “They achieved some results, medals and awards”

28:21 “They do not let the competition come into play, it always the same names”

28:30 The European Championship starts very soon and the team is already there

28:36 So they sent all of the Russia’s champions

28:41 In all categories and it’s never been done before

28:51 But they want to check out new athletes, is not that what you wanted to do? “Not really”

29:01 “You should check out athletes on Russian championships or other national comps”

29:11 “Where an athlete could show himself”

29:21 “It does not make sense to send 56 or 62 athletes to World championship”

29:32 “Maybe they need some time to achieve results”

29:40 “They need to recruit a lot of perspective athletes, but not the ones they want to see”

29:55 They sent a lot of perspectiveless athletes in 56 and 62, but they did not send Vasya Polovnikov, who was in good shape

30:05 He was very angry when he called me

30:08 I think it does not make any sense to send 16 years old boy who has a lot of time in front of him

30:15 But do not send Vasya, so he could achieve his goals

30:22 “The worst thing is that they do not tell that you’re not going to compete right away”

30:29 They told that they’re saving him for biggest comps

30:34 “They’re saving him for Olympics?”

30:42 You were sent a question after i told that i’m going to see you and David Rigert:

30:50 “Why Akkev were sent to Olympics instead of Polovnikov?”

30:55 “Instead of Polovnikov?”

30:58 My subscribers sent me this question

31:01 “Let’s clarify to which Olympic games?”

31:09 “Vasya was not in a team when i went to Athens”

31:15 “And we had a lot of guys who should go to Beijing before of Vasya”

31:19 “Konstantinov, Demanov and others”

31:23 It’s probably was a mistake

31:25 “Let me explain anyways”

31:30 “If we talking about Athens, Vasya was not even in a national team”

31:38 “For Beijing Vasya was qualifying for 85 kg and i was in 94 kg”

31:50 “So the only time i competed in the same category with vasya was in 2009”

32:00 We have to give him credit “Of course, i was not ready for the result he’s shown”

32:11 Let me remind viewers that Vasya beat Khadzimurat in 2009

32:23 I remember that photo when Khadzimurat was sad “I did not want to stand on pedestal”

32:26 Moreover, it was your hometown

32:32 “They wanted to present car for the 1st place, so Vasya won”

32:45 Which car was it? “I do not remember, probably Priora”

32:54 “And in 58 category the 1st palce was taken by other one too, so we did not win cars”

33:09 “I had this unpleasant episode in my life” Was it unpleasant? “Of course, it was”

33:22 Are you abiding rules? “Of course, i’m law abiding citizen”

33:38 What was your car choice?

33:44 “Well, the one i wanted to buy was over 10 millions, so it was very expensive” Yes, it’s a little bit expensive

33:52 “So i decides to take the one between E and s class”

34:02 How much does it cost? “About 6 mills”

34:06 “It’s max option car with alcantara material and wooden steering wheel, so i decided to take this one”

34:23 Since the last time we talked did anything change about your home or some people still waiting for you near your door?

34:32 “Well, recently i’m travelling a lot, not for work, but to hangout with friends”

34:42 “The last month i visited my brother in US”

34:46 Which state you were in? “California” Did you like it there?

34:51 “I like LA a lot” Me too

34:56 “I did not like it in San Francisco, even though it was warm in winter” Well, it’s still pretty cold there and windy

35:04 “It was 15 degrees for sure and the max was 26”

35:14 My favorite city in US is Orange Country

35:20 “Is it in california?” Yes, it’s not far off LA, i like that city very much

35:35 If i’d need to leave Russia, i’d like to go there

35:40 I’m a patriot and i want to live and work in Russia, but i guess that something might happen

35:59 Would you be able to live in other country?

36:11 “Well, there are some countries that you’re internally connected with”

36:16 “I’d like to live in South france in Cote d’Azur, because i have a lot of friends living there”

36:25 And what about US? “Us is somewhat unusual for me”

36:37 “I like Cannes, Nice, Monaco, but i did not like san Tropez even though a lot of people are praising it”

36:53 I recently was in Nice on seminar and people told me that you’re chilling somwhere near

37:07 I wanted to call you, but thought that you would not make in time

37:12 “No, i have a car and i can make it quick”

37:19 “You know that there’s no serious traffic in Europe”

37:24 How’s your English?

37:28 “Well, i can express my self.Did you notice that It’s different in US?”

37:38 Well, it’s informal

37:41 “WHen i speak in US people understand me, but i do not understand them, but after a month it was easier”

37:53 Can you speak french? “No”

37:57 “I have russian speaking friends, so i do not need to speak french”

38:04 “But i had some curious situations”

38:08 “Like when i was told to take food, but i went to cashier”

38:20 I see that your knuckles are busted, can you do it in gloves?

38:28 “Well, once a week i hit without gloves”

38:33 “When i sparr i wear gloves and mouthpiece”

38:42 “But i do boxing for real life situatuions”

38:49 “So when you hit with bare fist, it’s completely different”

38:55 When was the last time you fought?

38:58 “It was a long time ago, i have conversations”

39:06 “There are some situations when you have to do something and i might slap”

39:22 You’re not going to solve the problem by fighting “Of course and you might get into some trouble”

39:28 “Fighting becomes a business nowadays”

39:35 I’m very careful in US, because they can make profit out of everything

39:55 “My brother warned me about it when i came there for the first time for vacation”

40:05 “I was there with you in 2002. i Have a photo which you sent me” I have it too

40:16 We looked so ridiculous

40:18 Do you remember when we went to stripclub?

40:25 I’m on cut, so i have cramps all over the body

40:30 I’ll tell you the story guys, you gonna laugh your pants off

40:38 We were young and heard that they have beautiful latin chicks

40:44 But we went there after competition, because we took it serious already then

40:52 It was 5 of us and i told Khadzi to take one chick for private dance

41:01 We thought it’s going to be a spacious room

41:09 But it was a small room, narrower than this car

41:16 So we sat on chairs they brought us

41:24 So i hugged Khadzi on shoulder, because we could not fit

41:30 So as the girl started to dance we were becoming aroused

41:35 And i already started to stroke girl’s butt

41:39 And simultaneously i started to do the same with Khadzi’s shoulder

41:48 If only you could look on his face

41:55 “It was crazy for me then, i just got into team”

42:04 I laugh everytime i reminisce this story

42:15 “They told me to come and show how to really lift weights”

42:23 “And in 3 minutes i was surrounded by crowd”

42:30 Did you like to tech people “I did”

42:35 “And if i see that someone is doing well i love it”

42:40 When i was starting to teach people it was difficult at first, but now i can see some things that i was not even thinking about

42:55 “Locker room”

43:13 Khadzi chose glamorous gym, you can even smell glamor

43:31 You’re ready to compete

43:39 “We’ll do some boxing after press”

44:02 How often do you benchpress? “Very often.That’s probably the only thing i do”

44:06 Were you doing it when you was a weightlifter? “No”

44:11 “You know that i’m lazy”

44:20 “Now i need to get busy, so i do this bullshit”

46:07 “When i finished i tried to cut, because i weighted 116 kg”

46:20 “I had photo from birthday party, but it’s good that it was the only one”

46:29 Why it’s happened? “I think my metabolism was down, becasue i did not have balance in nutrition”

46:40 “So besides my technique, i decided to do boxing, because it burns fat very fast”

46:53 “I was going to gym, but did not notice any change in physique”

47:10 “But boxing helped me a lot, i can lose 1,5 kg after one boxing session”

47:18 You mean working on heavy bag? “Yes”

47:24 “Also i burn 1,5 kg on wrestling and i watch my nutrition”

47:34 “I wanted to cut more, but you said i’m alright”

47:40 You do not need to cut more, so people could be afraid when looking at you

48:11 Khadzi said that he’s working on street fight skills, so it’s ok!

48:31 You boxed only 3 minutes and you already sweating

48:38 “I like that it helps my stamina and breathing”

48:43 And where are you wrestling? “I’m wrestling here in ‘Olymp'”

48:50 “It’s a legit wrestling gym”

48:54 “Olympic champion and Russia’s champions are training there”

49:10 When was the last time you talk to Soltan Karakotov?

49:16 “I talk to him about half a year ago”

49:25 “Well, i thanked him a lot, becasue you can not forget what he’s done for us”

49:40 How are you doing with Makhty?

49:44 “We’re good.We’re very close, he called me on my birthday and wished me the best”

50:01 “We’re already 20 years together, he is my first and the only coach”

50:15 Is he telling you to return to weightlifting? “Yes, he does”

50:25 “He told me that he wants me to win Olympic gold more than i want to”

50:34 “He believes in me, otherwise we would not have any results”

50:40 How do your parents react to you finishing with sport?

50:47 “Well, my father insist on my return”

50:51 “But my mother and brother want me to live a normal life”

51:05 “My father wants me to win Olympic gold and acvhieve my goals in sport”

51:26 “Recently he told me that he’s proud of me, but he wants me to win Olympic gold”

51:32 Did his words touch you? “They did”

52:35 “I’m not saying that i’m back or i’m done, but, honestly, i’m thinking about return”

51:45 “I’ll take some time off and then will make final decision”

51:52 Are you happy? “Yes, i am”

52:03 “I often watch TV and see that a lot of people have serious problems with health, law and so on”

52:16 “I have my friends who help me and i do not have any significant problems”

52:30 “I have nothing to complain about and my life was decent”

52:42 “I keep my head up all the time”

52:51 “Of course, I have goals to achieve and i need to work to for them, but i consider my self to be happy”

53:01 What about your personal life with women?

53:04 “It’s good as always”

53:09 You was always good in taht field “Well, you can not complain about it.Let’s not make God angry”

53:25 As we could see you’re funny, ambitious and sometimes hard

53:34 But i’m wondering have you ever cried?

53:41 “I think that with age i become more sensitive”

53:49 “I can easily begin to cry watching a movie”

53:53 “Did you watch ‘the passion of the christ’?” A long time ago

54:01 “I broke out in tears in theatr when i saw christ’s mom running to him after he fell down”

54:13 “And i’m not ashamed of it”

54:48 Are you still going to banya (sauna) after sport?

54:53 “When i was lifting i hated banya most than anything else”

54:58 “And now it’s a habit”

55:05 I’m promoting banya as the best way to recover. And you being 2 time olympic medalist consider it to be true or not?

55:22 “I think it is true, because it opens up pores and has other benefits, but, of course, you should not abuse it”

55:33 “I agree with Klokov and recommend it to everybody”

55:41 “Klokov never gives bad advice”

55:45 I wish you’d say it 5 years ago

55:56 “Thank you Dima for coming!”

56:01 “Stick to us and do sports.Goodluck!”

57:57 “Proud father is more significant to me than worldwide recognition”

Dmitry Klokov Interviews Khadzhimurat Akkaev – April 2015 is a post by Phil from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Dmitry Klokov continues his “On Par/On Equal Terms” Interview series with Mikhail Koklyaev.

It has lots of info about his views and troubles with the Russian system. The hypocrisy of performance enhancing drug use in sports.

Video has English subtitles.

More: All other Interviews in Dmitry’s “On Par” Series.

Transcript:

0:08 Today’s guest did not win Olympic gold, World or Europe championships

0:14 But he’s loved by people

0:17 He tried himself in weightlifting, strongman and powerlifting

0:25 And, in my opinion, he was winning despite bad relationships with authorities and officials

1:16 And Mikhail Koklyaev himself will tell you about how it all happened in his life

1:26 Koklyaev Mikhail Victorovich

1:30 Just tell everything and then if you think that you said some bullshit, we’ll cut it

1:40 Here we have everyone’s favorite face

1:50 First question is why we were not able to make this episode with you for so long?

2:05 “Because we needed to make people hungry”

2:12 “People were asking me when will we make the project with Klokov and so on?”

2:19 “And this Yashankin Cup was perfect opportunity to make it”

2:25 “But this is your channel and i have different ideas for project on my channel’True Gym ‘”

2:32 That’s why i started BB to prepare for your project

2:36 And we lacked time too

2:40 “I think we chose the right time when the interst is raised and it’s showtime!”

2:47 That sounds frightening

2:52 When i was reading your wikipedia page, i saw that you have a lot of titles.Whis one is most valuable to you?

3:01 I understand that you’re not proud, but happy for them. But which one is it?

3:15 “Some people do not see me as a great athlete, because they envy of how i was able to do different sports”

3:26 “Some people say that i do not deserve credit for what i did, because i did not win any significant championship”

3:41 “But it compliments, because i was able to compete in different sports in one year”

3:50 “I competed in weightlifting” Was it 2011? “No, it was 2007”

4:00 “I snatched 210 and C & J 240, but then missed jerk 253 2 times which would have been total record of Russia”

4:09 “Prior to that i won Russian strongman championship”

4:18 “And later in december i lifted 975 total in powerlifting comp, which was my total PR”

4:26 So you did it in one year? “Yes”

4:31 “And between weightlifting comp and strongman comp was only 3 week difference”

4:37 Did people ask you how to combine sports like you did?

4:41 “Well, powerlifting big 3 is the base for weightlifting”

4:53 “I’m not really strong at squats and press, but i’m strong at deadlift”

5:01 “I was strong at deadlift since i was child”

5:07 “I guess it’s my body complexion”

5:16 “I see that i’m strong at deadlift when i compare myself to other athletes”

5:31 “And also i do not really have preparation period, because i’m always competing”

5:38 “In weightlifting we have preparation, competition and rehab”

5:43 “But in this case i compete all the time”

5:51 “You relax only after competition abroad”

5:56 “Sometimes i just sleep in hotel room for two days and that’s it”

6:08 A lot of people say that weightlifting is very dangerous, which is not true if you do everything correct

6:14 But when i look at powerlifters and strongman, i’m really afraid

6:20 “Powerlifters are frightened too when they see bar above the head”

6:30 “Elbrus Nigmatullin who brought me in strongman probably in 2000”

6:39 “Was wondering at how we were able to hold 200 kg above our heads”

6:51 “So powerlifters think it’s impossible what we do and we think the same about them”

6:56 You tried it all, so which one is the most dangerous?

7:02 “The most dangerous situtation is when you trying to break your PR”

7:12 I guess that strongman is more dangerous, because there is no such technique as in WL or powerlifting

7:18 “Of course, it is dangerous in comparsion to WL and powerlifting, because there is more lifts to do”

7:25 It’s not a natural movement to lift such big stones

7:32 “In the beginning i started to lift sandbags which were wrapped together”

7:40 “I did not know how to lift it at first, but i got it as soon as i lifted my first 110kg stone on training”

7:51 “You could do it too, because you’re a thinking athlete”

8:00 “Not one of those who think that they’ll just lift it and then they tear biceps”

8:11 “But you analyze, watch video and think how would you do it”

8:23 “I’m sure that you’d be able to lift 160-180 right now”

8:29 “I would just give some small tips and that’s it”

8:35 “Because it’s not like in WL where you can adjust the angles of knees and hips or tighten your back and so on”

8:50 “You just need to show it one time and let try then”

8:58 “I’ll reveal a secret that you can not lift stone with your hands, you need to do it like in deadlift”

9:12 It’s like in arm lifting when i was trying to lift it with my arm

9:16 But then i saw how Roma Penkovskiy was lifting it with just his legs and i got it

9:27 “It’s dangerous to lift stone with hands only, cause you can tear your biceps”

9:34 It’s difficult to see it, but it’s written ‘RUDIARIUS’

9:40 As i remember from your interviews it means Gladiator, right?

9:46 “Gladiator is the one who earned the love of people, authorities and sponsors”

9:58 “Sponsor was a man who was observing fights”

10:06 And he was watching fighters, so they wouldn’t negotiate to fight half-heartedly”

10:14 And he had rights to kill gladiator,if he wasn’t fighting full strength”

10:23 And that’s how he impacted on gladiators to fight for real”

10:37 People always say that we russians should be orthodox or at least old believers”

10:48 But i gave up on the idea that i can change the world the way i want to see it”

10:58 We’re slaves,because we’re brainwashed by ideals that they give us”

11:06 This world is already set and built to guide us a certain way from cradle to grave”

11:15 We were guided when we had communism and now we have tha same with capitalism”

11:21 All words are roman:advocate,consitution,notarius”

11:32 And now we have a Third Rome”

11:40 And i consider myself to be a warrior whose parents were working for great future, but lost everything as a result”

11:58 Is this how you treat a free human being,no, it’s how you treat slaves”

12:05 So i accepted the fact that i’m son of slaves”

12:11 But i was able to step up a bit and my children now live better than i was”

12:20 ut do you still have desire to fight the system?

12:25 If you want to win an argument you should lose it”

12:32 There is no system in my system, that’s why i’m a free gladiator”

12:38 ccording to your interviews there’s chaos in powerlifting and strongman systems

12:47 That’s right, but it doesn’t affect me”

12:53 I would think twice if i would be offered to be the head of some strongman federation”

13:00 Because i don’t see people there to work with. It would be the same as in IPF or WL Federation”

13:11 re people in these 3 federations are similar to each other

13:17 They’re all good people, but there is something to it”

13:26 All these people who give money for training,federation,grants etc.make it worse”

13:35 As Vladimir Glushko said that grants would spoil us”

13:48 isha, thanks to you, word ‘RUDIARIUS’ became a brand.Do you have some bigger plans on it?

14:00 ecause this brand is coming up and you see it

14:09 I tatted it on my 36 birthday as my own gift to myself”

14:23 And then a man named Yakov Letov appeared in my life with who we were shooting my videos and he offered me to make shirts”

14:31 So we started shirts in the name of my tattoo and now it’s the other way around”

14:41 sn’t this brand reserved by someone?

14:48 No,i’m patenting it right now”

14:55 here your apparel manufactured? “In Moscow”

14:59 It would be cheaper to do it in China,but we don’t have a person who would watch the manufacturing”

15:10 re you sewing or you print it on promo shirts?

15:18 I don’t really get into these details.Yakov just tells me the amount of money needed”

15:26 I just watch the quality”

15:32 The first delivery was very bad though, and Yakov told that they deceived us,but…whatever”

15:43 amiliar situation,right? You get very disappointed when you don’t get what you wanted

15:51 We cooperate very well, though, with present manufacturing company”

15:58 hy shirts only? “No,we already have pants,shorts and so on”

16:04 here do you sell it?

16:07 The group called ‘Dobro’ in VK social network”

16:15 it’s not really big now, but we’re coming up”

16:25 t’s very interesting,right?

16:32 Some people would say that i make money off of my name, but i’ve never received money for doing nothing”

16:47 If you take my mask off you would see that behind a funny person is an exhausted man”

17:02 But you need to give to people back,you need to have fire in your eyes”

17:13 ren’t you afraid of ending like Vladimir turchinsky?

17:18 I am afraid”

17:22 t’s a very bright example for us

17:27 Listen,Dima,it’s OK, you just need to watch for yourself”

17:38 You just need to know where’s the limit, because the exhaustion is coming gradually”

17:50 You might go to sleep and never wake up”

17:58 But i compare us with soldiers who have a mission”

18:05 And one of them can die with grenade in his hand,but the other one,knowing it, would go after him and die too”

18:18 So if we take away all the profit that we make off of it, our original mission is to motivate people”

18:30 t’s good when you can combine your favorite thing to do and make profit out of it

18:39 some people say that there’s nothing special in moving stone from one place to another”

18:47 And these type of people are narrow-minded”

18:57 Even if they have 120 IQ. They’re smart,but they’re stupid”

19:10 veryone does what he can

19:19 Me and you have really hard work to do”

19:25 Travels,communication and we need to always show solid results”

19:30 I won’t be taken serious if i’d be 110kg”

19:38 lot of people say that me and you have bad relationships,even though i couldn’t think of anything

19:53 ut you said something on seminar yesterday towards me and i would like to get it from you

20:04 You and Dmitry Klokov are 2 most popular russian weightlifters,are you taught to do it or…?’

20:17 I can forget your question, but i’d like to tell about me and Dima”

20:22 We both came out of weightlifting, but we have different motivations”

20:29 There’s no doubt that he’s workaholic”

20:33 But he doesn’t think revolutionary”

20:39 He goes through like an icebreaker”

20:44 I don’t have enough qualities to be icebreaker,but i’m revolutionist”

20:56 As Bob Marley said:’Don’t regret your mistakes,cause they might help you'”

21:10 I know Dima very well and he changed to good after weightlifting”

21:21 Because he started to think his own way”

21:27 Because when you obey the system you become passive”

21:37 Now he became Dima who is loved by people and who can talk, because he was mumbling before”

21:54 In my opinion he done some things wrong”

22:01 And i was thinking that there’ll be a moment when he’d fail and become a good guy”

22:08 2012 Olympics was that moment which drastically changed him”

22:16 He broke out of system,became free and became a good guy”

22:28 We had a couple cases with you” I don’t remember

22:36 You were skinny and impudent back then”

22:42 It was in 1999 in Ognikovo when you was skinny”

22:49 Your dad was the president of WL Federation”

22:54 I wanted to deliver you some punishment for what you did”

23:03 I came to base earlier than you did, so i took my bar,but then you started to train with it”

23:08 So i told you that it’s mine and you told me ‘Fuck you!'”

23:14 really said it? “Yes”

23:18 So i’m thinking like…”

23:25 I had couple cases when i had to use something more than words”

23:43 But i thought that if i’d hit you i’d probably be expelled”

23:55 ou see i was fighting for my platform even with this big monkey

24:01 It wasn’t yours, you came and took it from me”

24:12 We was going to base from Taganrog to Moscow and you were having fun, but when we started training i wasn’t myself for 3 days”

24:30 At that point you was in the system, so you was guided”

24:52 And also you had to have special qualities appropriate to weightlifter” Well, i know what you mean according to your seminar

25:17 So some people say that we have bad relationships, i have bad relationships with all russian weightlifters”

25:30 On Berestov tournament national team weightlifters didn’t greet me, only Nadya Evstukhina did”

25:48 I talk to weightlifters who are not even in national team and they look at me like i’m sick”

25:56 o why it happens? Why if you become popular in other field you unwanted in your original field?

26:08 uri Vlasov had that,you and now me

26:15 Because people in the system afraid that the truth will be revealed”

26:23 You understand?” I got you

26:30 And all those youngsters who want to be like Klokov,Koklyaev, Aukhadov would know the truth”

26:43 However, young ones don’t understand anything even if you’d tell them the truth”

26:55 Because they’re in the period where you scream when everyone else screams”

27:04 ell,there are some situations when i speak up, because i can’t sit still.

27:15 o you sit still? “I sit still”

27:21 I told on seminar yesterday that you can’t let the sport subculture get into you”

27:29 I understood that sport is a good thing and it’s a subculture”

27:39 You can and should forgive mistakes and betrayals here”

27:49 And when i forgave people i felt more loose and free”

27:55 It’s sport, it’s not a battlefield”

28:00 Someone cussed you out here, didn’t let you to compete there and so on”

28:06 They guy who was with us in sauna drinking vodka called the man who is now recording enemy ı1 for WL”

28:20 And you just don’t pay attention if someone say about you something bad no more”

28:31 It’s not a thing that you should be upset about”

28:45 You should have self-esteem and respect yourself”

28:57 You should be like ‘whatever, fuck it!'”

29:03 I’m not upset with David Adamovich no more, it’s easier to me to say that i was guilty”

29:13 As i said if you want to win an argument, you should lose it”

29:22 David Adamovich is a man you shouldn’t talk bad things about”

29:30 He won Olympic gold, set 63 world records – you can forgive him”

29:41 ou was always telling that you didn’t consider yourself to be a weightlifter despite your 210 and 250.Why is that?

30:00 I don’t know. It’s not really it”

30:10 I was a weightlifter when i knew ’92,’93,’94 Olympia journal by heart. I knew every name and result trhere,i was an encyclopedia”

30:27 And i started not to pay attention to this in 2002 Europe championship when i missed my lifts”

30:35 I understood that you can’t discredit yourself and shatter confidence of system in you”

30:53 Evgeniy Chigishev was a golden boy, real pro who was bringing medals to country,so system relied on him”

31:05 And when i understood that there’s no dicipline in the system and it’s considered to be OK, i stopped being a weightlifter”

31:15 remember when academy opened, David Adamovich relied on you and i remeber how you were training together after dinners

31:30 I want to thank your dad for Rigert Academy”

31:37 And i was telling my wife that Vyacheslav Klokov was the reason we met each other and i took her to Chelyabinsk”

31:50 I was able to take 2 good things from being in Rigert Academy.The first one is my wife”

32:05 And the second thing is Master of Sport at the age of 20. I was the youngest super heavyweight in Russia to do it”

32:20 hare about David Adamovich anyways

32:28 We ended not because he didn’t like me”

32:38 Alexander Sukonnikov, Alexander Musaev and Igor Borisovich were happy that David Adamovich was watching and training me”

32:57 So they knew that it’s going to bring me to something”

33:07 And it did. I was able to overlift 7 kg for Master of Sports honor with the first try”

33:17 I have my pictures with David Adamovich in my hall and i was reading books about him a lot ”

33:30 And it seems very likely to get you to some results when you train with a man who was a role model to you”

33:55 I was wrong”

34:07 So recruitment office wanted to take me to Rostov aviation college, so i would represent them”

34:27 The next day we went to Timernik district where they showed me one-room flat”

34:38 But after me representing Rostov i should have sign out Moscow or Chelyabinsk out of payment”

34:44 So i choose to sign out Moscow”

34:52 It meant that my assistant trainer Alexander Sukonnikov wouldn’t get money”

35:03 It meant that i betrayed him,Soltan Karakotov and most importantly Georgiy Nikolaevich”

35:16 Because i was serving in Strategic Rocket Forces and i needed to serve only half-year”

35:28 So the money question spoiled me”

35:40 So we all were told to use PED’s, but only me and Roma were caught”

35:52 So they caught me to expose me for my mistakes of getting some money”

36:10 I was young though and also David Adamovich told me that i should do it, because it’s profitable”

36:25 He told me not to worry and that he would solve the problems with going from Rocket Forces to Aviation college”

36:48 And then some changes inside the federation began. David Adamovich was removed from head coach position, so i was removed too”

37:10 Also david Adamovich treated my future wife very well,she was working on base and he was calling her ‘daughter'”

37:21 Godmother of my son Misha is Nadezhda Rigert”

37:30 Someone told something on me or exaggerated and we are where we are”

37:44 So when everything was great and i was coming on a platform i was supported by everyone”

37:53 But when i was coming out to lift my PR and total natioanl record he didn’t tell me anything, just watched me missing it”

38:07 But again i’m not upset, i understand it”

38:13 It’s not us, it’s life”

38:22 Coming back to my wife, i repeat that i took a very good person from Taganrog”

38:35 She is very loyal and very kind person”

38:51 And also she was a very good worker.She started as a waitress, but then was promoted higher”

39:01 And after that i started to gain weight eating caviar”

39:17 o you track present national team? “Of course, I do”

39:22 But i watch only intersting ones” Who is interesting to you now?

39:30 Lovchev, Albegov”

39:35 With all respect to 105 category, i don’t watch them, because the best 105’s are gone”

39:42 The most interesting were you and Akkaev ”

39:48 what do you mean by interesting?”

40:01 First of all, you see that he is self-confident”

40:15 And also he understands that it’s a system and you should try to be yourself in order to stay free”

40:32 But everyone else,with all respect, are slaves”

40:41 I can tell you this,because i was lifting too ”

40:50 And i lifted more than some of you. But you’re slaves not because it’s your choice, but because you was born slaves naturally”

41:10 You do what you’re told to do. Come to base leave the base, use PED’s don’t use them”

41:19 People come and go without leaving their names in a history”

41:29 Interesting ones were:Perepechenov,Sheshlyannikov,Slava Ivanovskiy,Roma Mesheryakov”

41:40 They all had ambitions and soul. Perepechenov wasn’t golden boy,but he could fire you up”

41:56 But now, who can you call ambitious in national team?”

42:06 Albegov and Lovchev”

42:11 With all respect to Chingiz, but he’s not like them”

42:15 ou saw different heads of federation and who was the best? “It was the best when your father was president”

42:22 har about Parhomenko? “No”

42:29 I’m not complimenting you, because i was expelled when your dad was president of federation”

42:37 And then after some time your father was removed too”

42:44 I was lucky to be in my golden time in WL, as i was lucky in strongman too”

42:51 And i thank him a lot, because he took me to team, otherwise i would be on streets”

43:05 e asked me yesterday whether we were able to record this episode.And he got upset when i told him we didn’t have time

43:17 Shout out to Vyacheslav Ivanovich”

43:22 Thank you for the academy, because it was fateful for me”

43:32 I lived my small life there.I was born there i shined there and died there.”

43:41 But one part of it was given to me. It’s my wife who is my savior”

43:51 Thanks God it’s all good”

44:01 He’s pleased too that i found Lena there and Nastya was born there”

44:10 Taganrog was fateful for me and you”

44:15 nd what about Demanov, Sheshlyannikov,Perepechenov?!

44:22 We took the best ones from there”

44:36 You know sometimes behind the mask of indifference there’s an upset. And i had those moments after i left team”

44:50 I don’t have those now”

44:53 You can say that it was a motivation to prove that i can”

45:01 But this anger burns you from inside”

45:10 You get old faster and often get sick”

45:15 And my advise to you would be to get free from negativity”

45:22 According to Shukshin when father was accused of stealing spica grass and he told him to raise his hand and let it go”

45:40 ou’re not related to WL since 2005,right? “Since 2004”

45:50 o is there anything that you still regret about and would like to change?

46:00 I don’t even to change anything right now”

46:10 Maybe i wouldn’t have started strongman, so people wouldn’t know about me”

46:22 As Andrey Chemerkin told me:’Misha, it’s going to be the way it has to be'”

46:29 I never undertstood those words till now, so it’s the way it had to be”

46:37 When he told me this it’s stuck in my mind for a long time”

46:50 He told me this when i was worried about who will be taken to national team” It was 2004? “Yes”

46:59 So he told me:’Don’t worry,it’s going to be the way it has to be'”

47:10 The only thing that i’m concerned about is that people don’t change. Zombie lifters come and go”

47:21 It’s very primitive”

47:25 They’ll say now that i wouldn’t be saying this if i’d have won Olympics. Of course, i’d be silent”

47:31 I would have been an Olympic champion and would say that everything is OK”

47:43 We had Olympic champions like Chemerkin and Petrov who could say it straight”

47:52 But one of them was influenced by the book and the other one by his dad”

48:05 We had a situation when one time some guy named Plotnikov was a head coach”

48:15 It was fucked up!”

48:20 I had an unpleasant conversation with him back in the days”

48:25 After which he’s always telling that i’m a good guy, but i have some mental problems”

48:31 But thanks God, i’m not abroad saying ‘Give me nuts'”

48:50 It was weekends and we were having fun and playing pool.It was 11 p.m”

49:06 We didn’t have a curfew that day. Is it sunday?” Yes

49:20 So Plotnikov comes in and says:’Do you know what time it is?Some people ar asleep and you laughing out loud'”

49:28 And there was Syrcov,Petrov and Chemerkin in that room”

49:37 Chemerkin told him ‘Fuck you’ right away”

49:42 But Chemerkin is an Olympic champion, he has rights to say this kind of things”

49:57 And so we decided to write a petition on Plotnikov to your father” I remember something like this

50:10 It was 2000″

50:20 I remember that only those who were serving in army under his guidance didn’t sign the petition”

50:31 Only Sergey Flirko,Lesha Botkov,Matveev and Mashkovetz didn’t sign,but the rest of us did”

50:41 We gave a petition and some coaches were pressured,so Chigishev,Shyshlennikov and some other cancelled a petition”

51:00 So only Petrov,Chemerkin,Syrcov,Perepechenov and me didn’t refuse a petition”

51:11 It’s like in a joke when deer,wolf,fox and bear fell into hole”

51:18 After sometime predators decided to eat deer”

51:28 Deer wasn’t against,he just asked them to read what was stamped on his ass that jaeger put”

51:35 So deer turned his ass and predators approached to read and deer knocked all of them with leg”

51:45 And then bear was wondering why he approached it if he can’t read”

51:55 So i’m like that bear who bought on it”

52:03 I don’t know why i got into it,because they were olympic champions,world champions and record holders”

52:15 They were telling me to take it back,but i live by principles”

52:26 aybe because of the situations like this, you didn’t go to olympics?

52:35 In 2003 before Vancouver i knew that i had to go to Olympics and knew that i’d be on a pedestal”

52:51 I will compare this situation with Kochergin’s story”

52:58 One lady was telling that some drunk man in underground comes in and starts to piss by door ”

53:10 so everyone was silent and one woman stood up and started to speak up”

53:23 So Kochergin said that this man wasn’t pissin on door, he was pissing on your life and you would have to live with it your whole life”

53:37 So instead of doing nothing everyone should have protested”

53:53 So even if i would have won olympic medal i would have had bad memories of how i kept silent in some situations”

54:10 So it’s not worth it to live with it”

54:25 I look at our young athletes and i see that they look at me sideways”

54:38 I’m sure that they’re told not to talk to me or have some kind of relations with me as if i’m an enemy”

54:50 I feel sorry for them. With all respect, but i can tell it to your face, you just don’t want to come and see me face to face”

55:12 n your interview to “Iron Studio” you told that you’re ashamed to tell that you’re an athlete when you get into new company.Why is that?

55:30 6 is not an age. You only 4 years older than me

55:39 We too old for the system.I have my own verse about Sydney ”

55:49 Sydney is far away, Olympics are very close, 4 year only, but not for us”

55:55 I still measure my life by 4 years cycle, not 1 year”

56:01 I had a lot of those 4 years cycle and i know that i’m old, superold”

56:13 So when i meet new people i’m ashamed to tell that i lift bars and stones”

56:28 People assume that by now i probably should own a gym or work in Olympic committee”

56:44 But i still compete”

57:00 So people judge by the way you look. And they say that i’m a good and reliable guy”

57:13 But then you say that you lift bars and …”

57:27 That’s the way it is.As i told you before we live by rules and ideals set by some other people”

57:38 I could say that i fight in UFC and people know that you get 250-300 thousand dollars for the first place”

57:58 Or i could say that i’m a toughguy for Anaheim team”

58:08 That’s why i don’t like to tell people that i lift weights”

58:17 Lifting weights is not a status. It’s prestigious when you have musles and intellect”

58:35 Because you can learn a lot of bad things about yourself after saying something bad to those people”

58:50 So when girl with a silicon breast and lips asked me whether mine is natural or not, i say that i won’t touch hers ”

59:10 It’s like in a song:’It looks like a set up – when you can take drugs but can’t drink vodka'”

59:16 So a girls can have silicon breast,but a man can’t be pumped up”

59:25 So society treats girl as babes, but a man is on steroids for sure”

59:39 The only thing i can say is that I don’t give a fuck!”

59:47 agree that you shouldn’t give up training, but why do you still compete,though?

60:04 I remind you about Rudiarius”

60:10 I think those who fought Rudiarius was warned that if they would kill Rudiarius then they would burn them and their home”

60:25 So people need Rudiarius.It’s written that he was people’s favorite”

60:36 So when they call the name people were cheering”

60:47 So i can lose a competition,but it’s victory for me just to come out and lift.”

61:05 But it didn’t come that it easy.I had to earn it through WL and powerlifting and competing from 10 to 15 times a year”

61:23 hat’s the secret for people’s love to you?

61:27 The secret is in comprehensibility” You mean in ability to reach and teach

61:32 It’s not benefiting me all the time, because sometimes people just use you to get money”

61:43 And so people know that i can refuse”

61:59 As one man wrote me that I’m like Mike Tyson – a legend and a tragedy at the same time”

62:13 I consider myself to be successful,but a loser”

62:26 ou mean loser in sport? “No, i’m a loser in life”

62:34 But at the same time i’m lucky, because God gave a good wife,amazing children and friends”

62:42 I met Vladimir Turchinsky,Katya Mayorskaya,Lesha Shipanovskiy,Vladimir Koleshenko,Alexander Klyushev ”

62:58 I live with them and they mutely say that they love me”

63:11 So they keep me off of upset”

63:21 So there are more unlucky people than lucky ones”

63:26 So the secret is that people love me,because we’re similar to each other”

63:35 So they see that even when i fail i still smile and keep my head up up”

63:45 And so it gives them hope and faith”

64:02 o you competed a lot in Russian WL championships,powerlifting championships and strongman. Doesn’t it bothers you that you don’t have any memorable win?

64:26 It doesn’t bother me at all already, because i have my own destiny”

64:35 Last year on a world championship when i was deadlifting 422 kg, right before lockout i tear all my calluses and didn’t win”

64:57 In 1999 when i was walking around in Moscow, fortune-teller came up and offerd me to predict my future”

65:07 She told me that i’m beloved and missed by my wife Oksana”

65:17 She told me that everything would be OK. And i consider everythign to be OK when you have children, family and a job to do”

65:35 She told me to ask her 2 more questions”

65:38 so i asked her would i be able to change this country” “She said it wouldn’t be me”

65:48 Would i become a world champion” “She said no”

65:52 But then she looked at my busted hands and told that maybe i could since i worked hard”

66:07 As a christian i shouldn’t believe her, so don’t do it”

66:30 There are cases when someone wins,but he’s not the best” I know what you’re saying

66:42 You’re the best when people applaud you louder than everybody else.And i heard it a lot of times”

67:02 So i’m not bothered at all.I don’t look at certain cup or medal, i just know that i’ve done a lot”

67:16 ou prepared for WL,powerlifting and strongman. Whic one needs more money to prepare

67:22 It’s the same everywhere”

67:33 There’s no Drug test in strongman, so anyone could use any PED. And you spend money on pharmacy,massage,rehab,HGH”

67:55 hy do you speak so publicly about PED’s now?

68:02 ren’t you afraid that youngsters will take a bad example and will start to use it, but it wouldn’t fit them

68:20 we have a democracy and i wasn’t saying anything illegal”

68:30 We have a rap culture which publicly proclaims using marijuana”

68:37 We have ‘Comedy Club’ which publicly proclaims using cocaine”

68:44 Everyone knows it and it’s shown on National television”

68:57 secondly, someone from famous athletes should be talking about it”

69:05 A guy who goes to gym for 5 years naturally would never be like Koklyaev. You’ll be someone, but not Koklyaev”

69:19 Some jerk wrote me that Andrey Konovalov claims that he didn’t use PED’s” “Of course, he didn’t. No one is going to tell you what they use”

69:32 I’m not saying that he used something, i don’t know, maybe he really didn’t”

69:41 Well, then he could be an example for those who think that you can do it without PED’s in pro sports.Good luck,guys!”

70:01 y question is aren’t you afraid to give your own perspective on PED’s which might not be appropriate to other people?

70:14 If i’d die tomorrow then i did something wrong” What if someone else dies?

70:20 I can’t watch for everyone,but at the same time i have no right to tell that i’m not using it”

70:35 ay it again “I don’t use PED’s”

70:44 We live in lies today, so i like what Sergey Shnurov says”

70:55 He says that lie’s everywhere and i agree with him on that”

71:09 I want to tell the truth,because someone has to tell it and not because i want to stand out”

71:15 I done a lot of things, so i already stand out”

71:30 If a guy is stupid ass, sooner or later he’d do some shit with or wothout PED’s”

71:38 But if a guy is smart he’d find a very good coach who can write him a course”

72:00 So you telling me why i reveal about PED’s, becuase our youth is stupid,right?”

72:11 t’s very difficult to take responsibility for recommending PED’s, because it might be dangerous

72:32 When generals promote serving in army and then they send youngsters to die in Caucas, they recommend too.That’s it!”

72:50 So again, if you want to achieve really big results in sport, it’s dangerous anyways with PED’s or without them”

73:05 So a smart guy who takes care of his health would think twice before doing something”

73:16 It’s like when you watch children in kindergarden you take responsibility for them”

73:22 But then you see that one kid choked out.What could you do?!”

73:40 I’m not allowing them to climb somwehere high or jump into window”

73:51 But you can’t take care of every little detail”

74:08 fter observing your channel i noticed that your main topics are religion and showbusiness

74:25 nd some people or haters,as you call them, are getting annoyed. So why do you do that?

74:39 One guy told me to stick to some one thing”

74:47 But i’m in sport,because it unites people from showbusiness, criminal world and so on”

74:55 I don’t go to jail to record the ones who can play backgammon or speak criminal slang”

75:05 I record sportsmen. I surf on a board which symbolizes sport”

75:24 Sportsman is a unique person who can be policeman or criminal”

75:39 He does everything connceted with sport:owning gym, selling supplements or apparel. He’s a man from a crowd”

76:01 I have a lot of friends like this, Alexander Karelin for instance, who has conncetions with authorities and criminals ”

76:17 So you can see it raw and uncut on my channel,because sports unites us”

76:33 It would have been shole another question if i’d have been recording rapist and pedophiles”

76:50 Or if i was dancing in gay clubs telling people to lift ”

77:08 Or if i’d have been telling religious things like how you’re going to burn in hell for some sins”

77:22 I don’t tell that it’s the way to do it, i just show how i do it and then it’s your own decision to follow me or not”

77:31 It’s a gift from God that unlike animals we have a choice”

77:37 heard recently that you decided to stop cursing

77:42 Well, i decided to fast and in that period i almost didn’t curse at all”

77:56 well, i have a special team that tells me sometimes that i should curse at certain points on video ”

78:07 But in real life i was sometimes afraid to tell someone that he is a jerk ”

78:13 e and you are those who curse on videos, i certainly do it less than you, but why don’t you edit it or cut it?

78:30 Sometimes i tell Yasha to cut cursing,but he says that it wouldn’t be as interesting”

78:40 Well, it acts like sniffing ammonia when a guy watches and hears word ‘dick’ he be like…”

78:50 It’s like he sniffed ammonia”

79:00 n ‘Waste words’ video you said,tearing up, that you wwas late What did you mean by that?

79:16 I meant that i was old. At that time i was 32 in the turn of 33″

79:35 I was healthy,wise and i was able to build a strong team around me, but it was just too late”

79:51 I didn’t manage to do it earlier”

80:04 I realised that they wouldn’t take me to team”

80:14 I can say that i probably competed there to lose rather than to win,because i injured myself in Penza”

80:20 I missed my jerk due to injury”

80:24 And in Saint-Petersburg i had a farewell performance”

80:36 And on Arnolds in 2013 when i was looking at those faces standing on a pedestal i knew that it probably would be my last comp in strongman”

81:03 But at the same time everything that happens in my life right now is God’s plan on me”

81:17 It’s like he told me that i won Russian championships more than anyone else and i finished my career in 2011 in an amazing fashion”

81:33 And i won Arnolds 8 times, 3 times i got 3rd place and one time i was second”

81:41 It’s very difficult sport,so calm down, because i prepared something else for you”

81:51 He left deadlift in my life so i can keep my image and gave me new contacts and connections”

82:23 One of the reasons i do what i do is to motivate people.My motivation is to motivate people”

82:37 So, i’m 160 kg now, everything’s great thanks to my family,friends,country and Vladimir Putin”

82:46 re you happy now?

82:50 I go to Rostov today to host a tournament and i realize that i’m on demand and it’s cool!”

83:04 All you need for happiness is to be waited and beloved,have children who ask for candies and a favorite job”

83:16 Only rastamen in Jamaica are born to smoke and admire the sea”

83:26 That’s all a russian needs is family,job, perspective and no shame for what you did”

83:40 There are some things that you can’t change,but i’ll try to use them as a weapon in the future”

83:52 Thanks God i’m happy for now.Everything’s great!”

84:05 Don’t judge me guys, I am who i am. I don’t wish bad to nobody i’m just trying to change the world”

84:16 Even though fortune-teller predicted that i won’t be able to change this country,i’m trying to do it nevertheless”

84:23 hank you Misha!Good luck!

84:27 I wish you luck,because i remember those 15 comps in a year.I look at you and realise that you’re going to succeed”

84:42 You’re Honored Master of Sports,you know what to do” Thank you Misha!

Dmitry Klokov Interviews Mikhail Koklyaev is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Folks I am in Moscow for the Klokov Power Weekend!

Arrived here, dropped the luggage off, ate something and went straight to the competition venue to film a little tour. This is the place they built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. It’s quite impressive from the inside and outside too. Lots of history in this place. Dmitry’s father, Vyacheslav, became world champion here in 1983 [video].

Competition Exercises for Klokov Power Weekend:

• Saturday: Hang snatch, Snatch Deadlift, Thruster!
• Sunday: Rack Jerk, Front Squat, Power Clean + Press.

Update 19.06.2015: Part 2 of Dmitry’s footage, with his final speech.

Translation of the Speech

(Thanks to Sergiy for that)

Like Misha Koklyaev said, I didn’t make it. It’s too late.

Well, these 2 days have come to the end. I am very happy. When I just started thinking about all of this, I had this athletic anger to do better than my dad, just like in my weightlifting career.

I beat him in weightlifting by getting a higher total than his best. In 2005 there was a competition here hosted by him as a president [of the RWF]. And I wanted to do better than him. I wanted to host a better competition.

Now I understand how unimportant this was.

This holiday was done for all of us, for you. Today they told me that everything was organized professionally. What will we take from this day?

We will take the emotions that were given to us by my friends who came here from different countries. They made this competition alive. They gave an international status to it. All these guys who stepped on the platform today, as well as many other people, made this competition successful. Thank you, athletes. Thank you, other assistants.

There was a lot of work for the loaders during these two days. Judges… Audience, thank you too. You give us emotions.

There are 10 most courageous guys in front of you. It was very hard to make athletes come here. Nobody knew what to expect from this. But you [athletes] did it.

I am very happy that you are leaving this place without injuries. The biggest injuries here were Vasily’s calluses and Demanov’s toe. His foot doesn’t even fit in a weightlifting shoe. I think this is nothing for such a challenge.

Finally, as I promised, I will announce whether I will end my professional career or not.

All these stars that came here knew for a long time that I am finishing. They came here to support me. Thank you for that.

This is the day I announce that I am ending my weightlifting career and will never compete at Worlds or Europeans. Even if I didn’t want to say this, it would have to be done one day.

Today I feel that I am more needed outside of the platform. We have enough guys to lift and win medals at Worlds and Olympics. I am going to a place that is meant for me, so I will stay there.

I will try to make a not very interesting sport of weightlifting cool, popular, safe, and loved by everyone.

I wanted to do it long ago, but was waiting for this competition to do it here.

[After the speech, Dmitry asked all the guys to sing a final song with him.]

Update 13.06.2015: Klokov has started to post videos of the weekend, brilliant footage!

Update 08.06.2015: Power Clean and Press!

Update 05.06.2015: Part 2 from Oleksiy Torokhtiy.

Update 04.06.2015: Here are all Front Squats!

Update 03.06.2015: Here are all lift from the Rack Jerk event.

Vasiliy got really close on his 245kg attempts. The night before we were talking about this exercises and how he hasn’t done it in like 8 years.

Update 02.06.2015: Here is Dmitry’s 192kg World Record Thruster.

and here are all Thruster attempts, finishing with Vasiliy Polovnikov’s attempts at 200kg. He told me during dinner (we ate borscht and lamb shashlik, very tasty!) that he was ready for 200kg. That day it just didn’t work out due to problems in the warm up area.

Update 02.06.2015: Andrei Aramnau in the Klokov Power Weekend Warm Up Area.

Right before the Max Jerk from the Rack event I asked him about his best result in that exercise.

His answer: 260kg!

During the whole weekend Andrei was a lot of fun. He is just a really cool, down to earth kinda guy, like all the big names I met.
Currently he is injured (hip) and doesn’t get any financial support from the Belarus federation.

He currently plans to visit the US later this summer, to do seminars along with Vasiliy Polovnikov. This is still in the planning stages

Update 01.06.2015: 3 long nights and endless karaoke sessions later I am back home. Videos of all the lifts follow during the next days.

Here is the Snatch Grip Deadlift Session.

Results After Snatch Deadlift:

Update 31.05.2015: Day 1 Video from Oleksiy Torokhtiy.

Sunday

After he announced his retirement from professional weightlifting, Dmitry Klokov was celebrated for the great man that he is.

With pride he can look back on 20 years in the sport for which he has done so much. I am sure he will continue to be involved in it in some form or another.

Thank you Dmitry for being such an awesome dude!

The last lift of the weekend!

@klokovd Power Clean + Strict Pressing 162kg to end the first of hopefully many Klokov Power Weekends! #klokovpw

A video posted by All Things Gym (@atginsta) on May 31, 2015 at 6:34am PDT

Saturday

Awesome day!, I just came back from dinner with Vasiliy. Super nice guy. I had my first borscht and lamb shashlik.

Hang Snatch Video:

Vasiliy Polovnikov won with his 190kg opner (missed 195 and 200). Ibrahim Bersanov also did 190kg.

Results after Hang Snatch:


Video Tour:

Dmitry doing the First Lift on Platform

Full Results:

Klokov Power Weekend is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Dmitry Klokov visited Aleksey Lovchev for his “On Par/On Equal Terms” series.

Instead of the usual format, they decided to go offroading with Aleksey’s UAZ hunter.

Training footage follows after that.

Not 100% sure, but I guess Dmitry will put english subtitles in the video later on.

But if you can help with translating interesting bits, please do so in the comments.

Dmitry Klokov Visits Aleksey Lovchev is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Kazakhstan …

Dmitry Klokov is currently at the World Championships and having a look.
While he is there he figures he can get some training lifts in, who wouldn’t want to train amongst other world champions?

His Bodyweight is currently 110kg, this 200kg snatch is the first time snatching 200 since his preparation for London Olympics 2012. See his 205 and 206 kg Snatch here.

Oh, and did i mention that he is currently recovering from a back injury he got a week ago? He can’t Clean and Jerk, Squat or Deadlift because of it.

200kg Snatch

Update 22.07.2014: His 160kg, 190kg and 200kg. It’s fun to see his reaction and decision to try 200 after the 190.

Him working up to the 200 seemed like a very spontaneous thing to me. After 140 you could feel that he realized he has got more today. From this point on it went pretty quickly. 60, 70, 90 and then “Not sure, try 200”. It was awesome to witness it live.

Update: Here is what happened after the Snatch

Update: Here is Dmitry’s own video from that day

190kg Snatch

140kg Power Snatch warm-up

130kg BTN Snatch Press

Dmitry Klokov 200kg Snatch at Almaty 2014 Worlds Training Hall is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships, Houston…

Dmitry Klokov pause snatches 200kg! He said he was after this a while back when he Pause Snatched 193.5kg. Dmitry weighed in at 108kg.

Update: Watch the Full Session with Warm Up / Mobility and all attempts (160/175/185/195/x200/200)

Dmitry Klokov 200kg Pause Snatch *Full Session* is a post by Phil from All Things Gym.

Here is a best of the greatest hits in the 2015 Worlds Training Hall.

Look at the different techniques on display here!

Featuring Super Stars like:

Lu Xiaojun, Om Yun Chol, Dmitry Klokov, Sibel Özkan, Mirco Scarantino, Mohamed Ehab, Kim Myong Hyok, Deng Mengrong, Youngchul Lim, Dadas Dadashbeyli, Tian Tao, Mart Seim, Ksenia Maximova

2015 Worlds Training Hall – Greatest Hits is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

During Dmitry Klokov’s training camps in Chekhov he invites various coaches to give lectures.

In the following video he had coach Vladimir Safonov speak about the peculiarities of women’s weightlifting training.

If you are not familiar with him, he trained Olga Zubova and Oksana Slivenko among others.

Some Notes:

• Women can handle higher workloads than men
• have more energy left for other exercises
• that’s why they have their women do more volume, more reps
• developed upper body (broad shoulders) is very important for Jerks. Since women have less muscle mass compared to men in that area, they need to spend more time, doing bench press, push press, pull ups, push ups etc
• women can handle more pain, don’t get as many injuries as men do
• other than that exercises are the same for men and women
• women have more trouble learning technique , he thinks it’s psychological in nature
• he likes the girls attitudes in the national team, very focused, on target
• age 13-17 is when girls progress most, for boys it’s from 17-22,
• that’s why girls lift more weights earlier than men do
• To get them to world level in their system they try to get girls at 11/12 years old (max 13/14), so they can teach them technique while they hit puberty. Then when she starts to grow, they prepare her for the “big level”. Age 13/14 at very latest
• he emphasizes the importance of jumping and stretching
• every girl in national team can do splits
• beginners do lots of jumping

Psychology

• from his experience women concentrate more than men
• once technique is on point they like max weights to reduce fear of lifting weights overhead / getting under the bar
• if there is no fear in a girl’s head they already know she can become a champion
• fears are hard to get rid off, to reduce fear, give her big weights to lift at 14/15 when the girl has a good technique

Training During a Woman’s Period

• he had students at world championships that had their period
• every woman is different
• his students trained the same way
• the body just gets used to it
• don’t skip training, do more warm ups, more stretching

Vladimir Safonov on Women’s Weightlifting Training is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Dmitry Klokov & Dmitriy Berestov team up for a 245kg Tandem Power Clean + Strict Press!

They say they will train to hit 300kg at Klokov Power Weekend 2016.

More: 240kg Tandem Clean & Jerk by Two 69kg Lifters

Dmitry Klokov & Dmitriy Berestov 245kg Tandem Power Clean + Strict Press is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

In preparation for the 2016 Klokov Power Weekend Dmitry Klokov and Dmitry Berestov are going heavy on Strict Presses.

160 / 165kg!

More: Watch the 2015 Power Weekend Strict Press competition with Klokov’s 162kg Press.

Жим стоя Берестов & Клоков продолжаем подготовку на KLOKOV Power Weekend 2016 (19-20 ноября @snproexpo ) @power_weekend . . Strict PRESS Berestov & Klokov . preparation for 2nd KLOKOV Power Weekend (19-20 November 2016 @snproexpo Russia ?? Moscow) @power_weekend

A video posted by Berestov Dmitry (@berestov_dmitriy) on Oct 10, 2016 at 5:17am PDT

Dmitry Klokov & Dmitry Berestov Strict Pressing 165kg / 160kg is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Russia …

Dmitry Klokov Push Pressed 210kg (after hitting 200kg for a double)!

Dmitry Klokov 210kg Push Press is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Dmitry Klokov Hang Snatching 190kg at Power Weekend!

Not only is 190kg an impressive weight on its own, but he also did it after literally pulling an nighter!

The amount of effort he puts into these competitions is unreal.

More: Dmitry Hang Snatching 200kg (on a good night’s sleep)

Dmitry Klokov 190kg Hang Snatch 2016 Power Weekend is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Here is Dmitry Klokov’s 160kg Power Clean + Strict Press from Power Weekend 2016.

This was done after 155, and missing 160!

Dmitry Klokov Power Clean + Strict Press 160kg 2016 Klokov Power Weekend is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

I’m currently in Moscow for the 2016 Klokov Power Weekend (2015 KPW here).

Dmitry worked endlessly (all nighter) and still competed!

Full Results

Highlights

• Dmitry Berestov’s 200kg Thruster
• Dmitry Klokov 190kg Hang Snatch
• Dmitry Berestov 164kg Strict Press
• Dmitry Klokov 160kg Strict Press

Strict Press

Thrusters

Full Thurster Session:
(Dmitry Berestov won with 200kg!)

Hang Snatch

• Hang Snatch Results

Full Hang Snatch Session:

Rack Jerk

Full video with Dmitry Klokov hitting 240kg at the end.

2016 Klokov Power Weekend *All Strict Presses Video* is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.

Meanwhile in Kazakhstan …

Dmitry Klokov is currently at the World Championships and having a look.
While he is there he figures he can get some training lifts in, who wouldn’t want to train amongst other world champions?

His Bodyweight is currently 110kg, this 200kg snatch is the first time snatching 200 since his preparation for London Olympics 2012. See his 205 and 206 kg Snatch here.

Oh, and did i mention that he is currently recovering from a back injury he got a week ago? He can’t Clean and Jerk, Squat or Deadlift because of it.

200kg Snatch

Update 22.07.2014: His 160kg, 190kg and 200kg. It’s fun to see his reaction and decision to try 200 after the 190.

Him working up to the 200 seemed like a very spontaneous thing to me. After 140 you could feel that he realized he has got more today. From this point on it went pretty quickly. 60, 70, 90 and then “Not sure, try 200”. It was awesome to witness it live.

Update: Here is what happened after the Snatch

Update: Here is Dmitry’s own video from that day

190kg Snatch

140kg Power Snatch warm-up

130kg BTN Snatch Press

Dmitry Klokov 200kg Snatch at Almaty 2014 Worlds Training Hall is a post by Gregor Winter from All Things Gym.