Last night I was sitting at the house doing some programming and got a notification that weightlifting talk with Jon North and Jared Enderton was live. I tuned in and was listening to the show and weighed in near the middle of the show on my thoughts on straps. Here’s that podcast:
However, what I found to be most interesting was Jared’s answer to a question I posed to them on Twitter. I asked who their favorite weightlifter was that nobody has ever heard of. Jared responded with Khaki Kakiasvilis. Jared was right, I had never heard of the guy. Which is outlandish! He stands next to names like Naim Suleymanoglu and Pyrros Dimas as one of four men to win 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals! That’s crazy!
So clearly today I spent some time looking him up and watching his videos on YouTube. Whoa is he unconventional. If there were ever a clear example of a man who defies all the laws of weightlifting and does all the things that coaches say not to do and yet pulls it off with flying colors, Khaki Kakiasvilis is one of them. He doesn’t move his feet when he cleans. He power jerks and doesn’t move his feet. He doesn’t extend his ankles at the top of the second pull. His knees come in under heavy cleans. The list goes on and on. And yet he’s won three consecutive gold medals. Ridiculous. Obviously there are laws of physics that apply to lifting. Pay attention to them to be the most effective lifter possible. However, if you have to adapt to get more weight overhead and your lifts looks a little different. Go for it. It worked for this man!
Here’s some solid videos to show you what I’m talking about.