Update 02.10.2014: Dmitry Klokov stopped by a Grid League Event and did the Thruster Ladder.
9 weights starting at 115kg (255 lbs) and going up to 174kg (385lbs).
(original Post from August 11th,2014)
Meanwhile in Ecuador … at a Dmitry Klokov Seminar.
Probably inspired by the Speed Clean Ladder at the 2014 CrossFit Games Dmitry tried a Snatch Ladder.
- Weights: 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170 kg
- Time: 2:23
That’s got to be the heaviest Snatch Ladder on video so far right?
Anyway, it’s always nice to see a Crossfit workout with some serious weights. Wouldn’t it be cool to see some super heavies going at? Imagine Behdad Salimi vs Ruslan Albegov going head to head 😀
One can dream I guess …
He also did some of his Straight Leg Snatch Grip Deadlifts and even got strict Muscle Ups on rings now.
Side Note: Notice the ingrained respect for the bar? Walking around the weights each time.
More Dmitry:
- Check out the Dmitry Klokov Category on ATG
- Watch his 170kg 2 Pause Snatch from the same seminar
- More Dmitry CrossFit Wods here
Update: Dmitry shows his critics that even after months of traveling he can still Snatch 186kg like a Boss!
Klokov; just awesome as allways!!!
Does him doing these seminars mean, that he`s not not going to the WWC in November? and will he be going to Rio2016?
PS: 1st post here; by far the best site I came across in a while!!!! great work by you gregor and all those who contribute with their knowledge, infos and what not; thanks a lot!!!!!
Regarding his plans for the future:
He will skip worlds this year and begin serious preparation next year. More info in his Barbell Shrugged Interview: https://allthingsgym.com/dmitry-klokov-barbell-shrugged-interview/
Wow, that was one quick answer!! thanks
Sorry if this is a silly, ignorant, and stupid question (in other words please don’t reprimand me too harshly for such a simple question) but…
What does respect the bar mean?
That you just don’t step over the bar?
Why does it matter if you step over the bar or not?
It’s a sort of Russian tradition/superstition from what I’ve gathered. Stepping over the bar is considered rude and/or bad luck. Many Russian customs have their origins in superstition, although in a lot of cases nowadays they’re just a part of social etiquette. Not stepping over the bar is obviously weightlifting specific.
In addition to the comment above by Juho, a root of the practice is an awareness and respect for the barbell as an inextricable partner in lifting. You do not drop your dance partner on her head, and you do not walk over her like a dog.
Thank you! Appreciate both replies.
What’s funny though is these guys won’t step over a bar, but they’ll drop one unloaded onto the platform during warm-ups. Only from hip height, but it was still surprising the first time I saw it.
You also do not place your foot on the barbell. As my coach said, “would you place your foot on your wife or child?”
I wouldn’t drop my wife/child from shoulder height either but they’ll do that with heavily loaded bars (as in numerous squat videos) – Veekhtor has a point
I actually heard one coach said, that stepping on the bar in a matter of hygene. Because you get scratches from using bar. Stepping over the bar is safety issue on other way. If you stepping over bar you may stumble and fall. But I think it is superstision stuff mostly, though it is a part of weightlifting gym culture.
First post, fantastic site Gregor!
Klokov is just a great guy, fun and inspiring to watch, hope he makes it to Rio.
Yeah I hope it all works out for him, he certainly has the heart for it.
Klokov emphasised respect for the bar during his seminars; do not step over the bar, do not touch the bar with your foot. I think it helps build healthy respect for the weight you’re lifting and stands in contrast to the screeching, bar slamming approach that’s coming out of some quarters.
I’d been watching Russian weightlifting videos (competition and training) on YouTube for a couple of years before I got a chance to start learning it. The walk-around-the-bar thing was obvious in just viewing those videos.
the snatch lasts 4 seconds. but klokov mades a 75 second video lol
His father
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdY2csw7w0k
Thanks for the post! In 2004, Dima Klokov parted with the coach that coached him from zero and that coached his father to a world record and world championship. Should make you wonder why Dima parted with that coach…the real reason.
Do share.
I will note certain facts for you and will note that which Dima himself has admitted in his interviews. First, he calls coach Anikanov one of the top three (or, depending on which interview you watch or read, five) coaches in Russia. Second, he acknowledges that Anikanov was his father’s coach (his father is world champion and world record holder whose career was cut short at the tender age of 24). Third, Dima admits that he received his one and only world gold (in 2005) shortly after parting with Anikanov but while still training according to Anikanov’s method (as Dima calls it, ‘na tekh drozhakh’).
Anikanov has other credentials. He coached Boris Burov to junior world champion at 90kg in 1990 or 1991, after which Boris left Anikanov and Russia to compete for Ecuador. He coached Maxim Agapitov to world champion at 91kg in 1997. Max should have been 1996 olympic champion but was a victim of political machinations in the Russian Weightlifting Federation (“RWF”), clearing the way for Aleksei Petrov to win in 1996. Starting in 2004, Anikanov coached Lapikov to olympic bronze in 2008. Anikanov now coaches Apti Aukhadov (but I fear that might change if Apti follows through with plans for a crossfit seminar world tour in 2015).
Dima calls Anikanov a dictator. Not true. He’s simply a coach who knows his trade. If you don’t want to listen to him, he won’t train you. But he will not abandon you if you do not abandon him.
Dima says Anikanov is not a politician. Partly true. Anikanov might not have had the strongest political connections in 2004 when Dima parted with him. He certainly did not have the political strength to protect Max before the 1996 olympics or to protect Dima’s father back in 1984. But times have changed. Anikanov is now a vice president and executive committee member of RWF (and Max is also an executive committee member).
Dima parted with Anikanov in 2004, when Dima was 21 and finally ready to compete for a world championship, i.e., finally ready to compete for the generous cash (and cars) that Russia awards to its international medal winners. Coaches of medal winners also receive generous cash awards.
Athletes can collect both the athlete’s and the coach’s cash awards if they coach themselves.
Hopefully I have given you enough information that you can understand what is what.
So it was about money and the lack of political power. Well…it doesn’t sound nice but and the money part is bad but I can understand the political part of it. If you are not backed by power you will probably fail. That is if I understood you well.
Nowadays political backing is needed by some athletes more than others based on the athlete’s natural abilities. I wrote you a longer reply and posted it here several times. Each time I check back here, it is gone. I told Gregor about it and sent him the more detailed version of this reply. Perhaps he will post it here for you.
Political protection for Russian athletes has meant different things at different times. In 1993, it meant more. In 1992, the Soviet level weightlifting leadership ceased to exist after the CIS unified team competed in Barcelona. The Soviet leadership wanted to keep their high level jobs, so they removed the RWF leadership by discrediting them (i.e., the Soviet leadership staged doping disqualifications of Russian athletes which caused a disgrace for the RWF leadership).
There was a recent power struggle where certain people tried to sack President Syrtsov. You can read about it at http://www.rfwf.ru/federation/news/1643.html/
If you need an accurate translation, let me know and I will post one.
I am not aware that the recent power struggle posed any danger for athletes.
Nowadays political protection is mostly needed by the less genetically gifted/talented lifters. You can interpret this statement in the context of Rigert’s surprising admission during his interview (https://allthingsgym.com/david-rigert-shatoy-interview/) that Russian champions sometimes do not compete internationally because they are not clean!
Political protection for Russian athletes has meant different things at different times. In 1993, it meant more. In 1992, the Soviet level weightlifting leadership ceased to exist after the CIS unified team competed in Barcelona. The Soviet leadership wanted to keep their high level jobs, so they removed the RWF leadership by discrediting them (i.e., the Soviet leadership staged doping disqualifications of Russian athletes which caused a disgrace for the RWF leadership).
There was a recent power struggle where certain people tried to sack President Syrtsov. You can read about it at http://www.rfwf.ru/federation/news/1643.html/
If you need an accurate translation, let me know and I will post one.
I am not aware that the recent power struggle posed any danger for athletes.
Nowadays political protection is mostly needed by the less genetically gifted/talented lifters. You can interpret this statement in the context of Rigert’s surprising admission during his interview (https://allthingsgym.com/david-rigert-shatoy-interview/) that Russian champions sometimes do not compete internationally because they are not clean!
Gregor found my original replies in the spam folder and posted them below. I rewrote the reply nearly each time that I tried to post it, hence the different versions. In any case, hopefully this gives you a more complete answer. Also, please see my recent reply above to Finn. I talk about Dima’s accusation that Anikanov is dictator.
Thank you for your insights, Kevin. These come exactly in tune with the opinion many in the Russian weightlifting community have of him (a money-obsessed loudmouth). I hope Anikanov does not lose Aukhadov as well, but I fear he will. Those CF dollars surely are a good test of a weightlifter’s character.
Regarding money, it might help to consider the various time periods.
Dima messed up in the past by parting with Anikanov. Dima had political protection even then (among others, there was Dima’s father who was RWF president at one point and then an IWF officer, and also Rigert). Dima had the best of both worlds and, I believe, would have achieved better than one World gold and one Olympic silver. Remember that he parted with Anikanov at age 21, just as Dima was starting to reach his potential, lifting 419kg at the 2005 Worlds. If he had stayed with Anikanov, perhaps he would have lifted 440kg (i.e., what his father lifted at age 24 in the 110kg class when coached by Anikanov), which would have won him gold against a very strong Aramnau in Beijing. Hopefully you will see that it was a bad decision for Dima to leave Anikanov. Dima could have made more money if he had performed better.
Incidentally, it may even be the case that Dima’s father did not reach his full potential since his career was cut short at age 24!
Dima turned 30 shortly after London 2012. That is old for weightlifting, particularly if you are disgraced (remember how during a recent interview he calls himself a lost/abandoned athlete, ‘poteryannyi sportsmen,’ after London?) and if you are not the most genetically gifted/talented person (remember how Dima called Akkaev a more gifted/talented lifter during his interview with Akkaev?). So realistically what were Dima’s options after London?
Worlds 2013 was Dima’s first chance to rebuild trust after London 2012. He was on the team and training for Worlds 2013. Do you really believe that if he was strong, and clean, before Worlds 2013 that RWF would have prevented him for competing? They would not have prevented him, which means he was either not strong or not clean or both.
So realistically what were Dima’s options at that point? He tells you in his interview: Crossfit invited him to do seminars. For Dima at age 30, Crossfit seminars, and reality TV, were probably his best options. And don’t forget that he idolizes Arnold Schwarzenegger for achieving in sport, then entertainment and then in politics, so Dima probably hopes reality TV and crossfit will be his segue into entertainment.
So, yes, Dima is focused on making money. He has a young family that he needs to feed.
But Dima does need to be careful and watch his tongue. Berestov warns him about it during his interview. You have to understand this in the context of Dima’s disgrace in London 2012. If you have been disgraced, it is probably best to be careful about what you say, lest you make matters worse for yourself with RWF leadership.
I wish him the best with his endeavor and hope he will mend bridges. That could only help him.
P.S. I am sure that Apti is doing very well financially after silvering in London and winning in Poland. The top lifters do very well (I understand around $10k per month), and all they have to do is eat, sleep, lift and go to the banya and get massages. What could be better?
Plus Apti gets at least $100k and a luxury car for Olympic gold. Not sure how much they get nowadays for a World championship gold, but I am sure it is generous.
I have not inquired, but it would not surprise me in the least if Apti was also given an apartment in Moscow and/or in Grozny, which if true would mean that his compensation is somewhere near $1 million this past year.
And let’s not forget how Russia finds good work for its retired Olympians, for example, Berestov.
I do not know how much Apti was offered by crossfit, but I cannot imagine that it is mega-bucks. If Apti goes on a crossfit tour and injures himself or overtrains, he could lose his chance at Rio and he could lose his position in the Russian team. In any case, he certainly will anger people at RWF.
If Apti is lifting for the money, then crossfit had better be paying him a lot of money. Otherwise, he is jeopardizing a very sweet deal.
Agreed. I don’t think he’s even getting that much from CF, actually. He’s a young man and like most he wants to travel the world and get around. Maybe it’s that. I assume him and his colleagues to be fully aware that to the CF meat-grinder they are just disposable assets used to promote the fad.
Thanks once again for your comments, Kevin. Of course I don’t believe he was either clean or strong for the 2013 Worlds. Neither does a good deal of people inside the Russian WL scene.
His main problem trying to emulate Schwarzenegger (besides the obvious fact that he’s not him) is that we’re no longer in the seventies. We have a radically different social and economic context nowadays and an extremely scattered society. He is also capitalizing on the very volatile western fitness market, where the greatest thing of today will be all but forgotten by tomorrow.
I liked the Berestov interview and I tend to think that, were it not being recorded, Dmitriy B. would have been even more accute with his words. Klokov speaks too much. And most knowledgeable people in WL think that he’s just postponing the Rio 2016 decision (which has in reality already been taken a long while ago – he has no chance against the current top crop of 105s) in order to charge higher seminar rates and “sustain the aura” for just a little more.
First, I wanted to shout back at grobpote to say that Dima
might actually believe that Anikanov is a dictator. If Dima believes that, it
is because he is convinced that he knows better. Dima came to this conclusion
at the age of 21, when he was just a kid. He has what Russian weightlifting
leadership calls ‘zvednaya bolezn’ (literally ‘a star’s sickness’ but perhaps
better translated as ‘celebrity sickness,’ where an athlete believes he knows
everything). My comment that Anikanov is not a dictator is the sober
observation of someone who spent years closely observing Anikanov (I am a very
close friend of one of his proteges from the 1990’s) before becoming Anikanov’s
close friend.
Second, you make very good insights. Oddly, I think Klokov
actually believes some of the trash that he talks. I say this because, at least
once, he corrected himself when corrected by someone who knows. For example, I
believe it was in his interview with Lapikov that he took jabs at Anikanov and
at Head Coach Venkov. Without specifically
naming them, he questioned the knowledge and authority of coaches who
themselves were not world champions. Venkov is a weightlifter from the 1990’s
who, if memory serves, never became world champion. He competed either at 100kg
(later 99kg) or 110kg (later 108kg); I cannot remember which class. Anikanov
competed at 90kg and, if memory serves, he had a Russian junior record in the
clean and jerk, but stopped competing early in the 1980’s in order to coach
Klokov senior. Anikanov was a college student at the time that he stopped
competing.
I sent Dima an email after the Lapikov interview and
reminded him that being an athlete in 1990’s Russia was very difficult, so he
should not judge Venkov. There was no
food and there was very little money.
And there were political struggles in 1993 that badly hurt a few
athletes (although not Venkov as far as I know). I also reminded him that Anikanov left
competition in order to coach Dima’s father, so he should not judge Anikanov. Incidentally, I had corresponded with Dima by
email before then, but he did not reply to this particular email. In a recent interview, Dima talks about how
well Russian team weightlifters are treated nowadays, and he notes that
weightlifters in the 1990’s did not have it so good. I would like to think that he remembered what
I wrote to him. Whatever the case, it
was a step in the right direction for him to acknowledge that the current RWF
leadership did not have it good.
Third, I think Apti either thinks he is getting paid well
by Crossfit, or he is questioning his ability to win and is therefore open to
Crossfit money while he still has the marketability of a world champion, or he
is starting to get restless and wants to see the world as you point out, or he
has Klokov whispering in his ear and thinks he can manage retaining his top
status in 2015 and also do crossfit seminars (have you noticed Apti wearing
Klokov’s “winner” clothing?), or a combination of some or all of the above.
I can tell you only one thing for sure. Neither Apti’s father (who is one of his
coaches) nor Anikanov (his main coach) knew about the crossfit seminars until
after Apti had already agreed to them. When a certain someone in RWF leadership
told his father about it, his father replied “he is not going anywhere.” I am
praying that his father will talk some sense into him because Apti apparently
does not understand what he is jeopardizing. As long as he is on the Russian
team, he is on the payroll. As long as he is on the payroll, he is basically an
employee of RWF. RWF will not take kindly to Apti globetrotting when his RWF job
is to train for the next competition, even if training means resting.
P.S. It seems to me (and it amazes me) that Apti seems not
to understand that Klokov remains disgraced at RWF and that it might be unwise
to align with him.
P.S. For the avoidance of doubt, I do not dislike Dima
Klokov. On the contrary, I love him like a nephew (because that, more or less, was
my relationship to him back in the 1990’s when he was still training under
Anikanov), but I am very disappointed in some decisions that he has made. Unlike
the majority of bloggers here at ATG, I believe that Dima could have been so
much better and achieved so much more.
Appreciate the knowledge you share, Kevin.
Klokov is indeed not acting in his own best interests by talking trash about other weightlifters and coaches. It’s not just Venkov or Anikanov, it’s his fellow 105 adversaries (Bedzhanian, to give an example) as well. He is naive if he thinks that these people bear no resentment and will welcome him with open arms when the CF bandwagon comes to a halt. He is effectively shutting close a number of doors which could prove fruitful in the future.
I also agree with your assessment of the Apti problem and think that real reason is probably a combination of all the things you mention, and maybe we might even have to look more closely into him not being in good enough shape to win against his competition. Maybe.
I do hope his father and coaches are able to talk some sense into him. As good as he is, it’s not like the Russian Weightlifting Federation has a shortage of good 85s/94s. He will NOT be sorely missed if he decides to jump.
Eager to see Venkov’s choices for the coming worlds.
Totally agree regarding Dima. It’s tough giving up the
throne, but we all must do it sooner or later each in his own way. Do it gracefully.
Regarding Apti, I know that Anikanov planned out for him a
somewhat different approach in preparing for Worlds 2014. Fewer big classic lifts. A recent instagram shows him clean and jerk 200 (if memory serves) with ease. It will be interesting to see what happens, but honestly I am losing interest now that I see signs of ‘zvezdnaya bolezn’. I have seen it too many times and don’t care to see it again.
Incidentally, I don’t ever ask about Okulov, but at 85kg, his main problem is he is very short and has small hands. Very hard to snatch a big weight with small hands, unless you’re using straps.
Venkov’s best is a C&J silver from EWC 1996 @ 108kg, total fifth.
http://www.tverlife.ru/news/73932.html
Thank you! I did not know that. I don’t know Venkov very well. I only remember that he roomed with one of my friends at the team ‘sbory’ outside Moscow. The name of the town escapes me right now. Not Chekhov or Ruza. Maybe it was Podolsk.
Very interesting. I don’t recall Berestov’s words; do you remember how he phrased it? (Russian is fine too).
I don’t remember the exact words, but there was a point in the interview, somewhat heated, where Berestov was warning Klokov to focus on promoting weightlifting rather than promoting himself. Berestov was clearly holding back and trying not to embarrass Klokov. I would have to watch the interview again to remember the details. As an Olympic champion, VP of FTAR and member of the FTAR executive committee, Berestov is a more authoritative figure than most people whom Klokov interviews, so he tried to give Klokov advice that others did not.
I copied here some of the translation provided on ATG for the Berestov interview. I did not check the translation for accuracy, but it is easy to see that Berestov is calling Klokov out on his behavior and my recollection of the Russian original is that it was clear that Berestov was holding back.
Berestov: That’s why they have you! [laughing] You
have to enjoy what you’re doing, I just don’t enjoy that type of work. I’m
trying to make weightlifting more popular just through different channels, for
example, school, parents, etc. “behind the scenes”. You have Dmitry Klokov who
popularizes weightlifting through television, shows, etc. There’s an opinion
that I’m against that kind of thing. I’m not, I’m all for it! If you have a guy
with a beautiful body and good brains, everyone understands that he’s a
weightlifter and popularity spreads that way. At the end of the day, we’re both
fans of this sport. You and I always had different energy though; you’re more
like an energy vampire and it’s hard being with you in the gym sometimes. There
were moments where it was uncomfortable…
Klokov: *Does a scream* [Implying that his
screaming before attempting a lift may be putting Berestov and other lifts off
their lift]
Berestov: No its not that. Let me explain. We’re all training in the gym,
you have Glebb Pisarevski who’s lifting 190kg for a double, noise and music
everywhere, nobody cares, but then you have Dmitry Klokov who’s only lifting
160kg and everyone goes silent… The point I’m trying to make is that if you’re
trying to make weightlifting popular through television don’t do it because YOU
want to gain something from it, but do it for the sport. Don’t be an egoist.
…
Klokov: You know how I’m involved with Youtube now and how I post
videos. The other day in the gym when I got there you said: “Here comes the
star of Youtube”. Do you really think that I’m arrogant like that? To be
honest, after doing it for 2.5 months I felt really positive about the whole
thing and it gave me a chance to show other lifters to the world.
Berestov: I don’t disagree, it is a positive thing. I think it’s
more to do with the theme we’ve covered above with you popularizing yourself [instead of weightlifting]. I just don’t want fame to take over you and then you totally forget about weightlifting.
Thanks Kevin, you got to it before I did. Personally I think Berestov was being too kind, not only because he’s a gentleman, but also because attacking Klokov on camera would be bad publicity for our sport (which is exactly what we try to avoid).
Hi Finn,
Is Rus WL community thinks of Dima or Anikanov as a money-obsessed loudmouth?
Dima. Definitely Dima. Apart from Dima, you will not hear a bad word about Anikanov in the Russian weightlifting community.
Exactly.
RE: the not stepping over the barbell thing, the last thing I want is some dude stepping over my loaded barbell on the way to wherever they’re going. I always took it as respect for other lifters as much as respect for the barbell.