WNY Strength and Conditioning, Depew, NY Videos

On Saturday November 16 are 1 PM we will be hosting a Jerk Clinic run by USAW National Level Coach Steve Titus. The clinic will go through all of the progressions that we use to develop our competitive lifters. This is a good opportunity for those with exeperience to refine their technique as well as for new lifters to get an introduction to the Jerk. The cost for this is $50, and spots will be limited. If you are interested in taking this as a coach through our Coaching Mentorship program, please DM for details. Registration link is in the bio. #crossfit #olympicweightlifting #usaweightlifting #wnysandc #cleanandjerk #splitjerk #powerjerk #pushpress #collegiateathlete #scholasticathlete

I got asked a great question concerning the ex*****on of this PR clean that I posted the other day. Here is my response: How we define proper form is often determined by an athlete's build or mobility. In the case of this lifter, his fr rack tends to be elbows a bit lower than optimal and the bar more on the finger tips . Often with a PR we will see a slight deviation from their normal ex*****on (especially with beginners). Do all of his reps look like this? Nope. Do I have an issue with it for a one rep max? Nope. As long as the coach and athlete both know to stop there AND that is an issue that needs to be worked on . I'm a believer that one can learn to lift and move some weight while working on improved mobility and technique. And not just waiting until everything is perfect. #teamwnyweightlifting #usaweightlifting #olympicweightlifting #olylifting #clean #stevetitus #teamwnyremote #crossfit #powerlifting

In the development of an athlete of any sport, movement proficiency is the foundation that all other skills are built off of. One of the most fundamental of these is the squat. A proper squat not only develops leg strength, but also helps to improve power output, force absorption and change of direction. We are offering a chance for people to elanr or refine their mechanics for free!!!! What: Free Squat Mechanics Clinic for High School Athletes When: Saturday October 19 at 1:00 PM Where: WNY Strength and Conditioning 3946 Broadway Depew, NY 14043 This clinic hosted by WNY S and C will be taught by USAW National Level Weightlifting Coach Steve Titus. Coach Steve has over 20 years of experience working not only with competitive lifters, but also athletes of various sports. If you are looking to learn or imporve your squat mechanics, the registration link is in the bio! #squat #scholasticathlete #collegeathlete #sportsperformance #athleticdevelopment #trackandfield #football #hockey #softball #wrestling #wnysandc #strengthtraining #volleyball #olympicweightlifting #powerlifting #strengthathlete

As important as they are, always remember that back squats are an assistance exercise for Olympic lifting. And that mindset is important as we assess our training philosophy. For lifters who are technically efficient, heavy back squat work is a must. But we need to understand how they will impact out power output. Over time slow, heavy squats will have a negative impact on our power output. This can lead to a negative impact on our Oly lifts. For this reason we need to make sure that our max effort, heavy work is done 3-4 weeks prior to when we want our lifts peaked. After we back off of the heavy work we want squats with a medium load (85-90%) done with a rep range that will allow them to be executed with higher velocity than we had been executing the heavier sessions with. This will help to ensure that the new found leg strength from the heavy squat work will carry over well to the technical lifts. Always remember that there is a difference between force production and power output. And while increasing the former will carry over to the later, we need to make sure that we time it accordingly. #wnysandc #teamwnyweightlifting #usaw #backsquat #squat #olympiclifting #olympicweightlifting #cleanandjerk #sn**ch #clean

On hang reps we want to emulate the positons, tension and balance that we would have at that respective position when doing the lift from the floor. How one sets up for hang reps often determines how effective those reps are. Often times a lifter will simply bend over/hinge with the bar and then try to establsh a quality position. This leads to an increased risk of not being able to replicate how we want to execute each rep. This can not only lead to an increased level of difficulty making hang reps, but will also minimize how much carryover there is from the hang rep to the floor rep. When we initiate the set up by bending with the knees, then sliding the hips back and doing this while we continue bending with the knees we ensure that as soon as the bar reaches the desired postion, the lifter is set up for success. Not only does this lead to heavier hang reps being easier, but the eccentric control of the lowering helps to stengthen the muscles and establish the proper motor patterns. If you find that you struggle to execute hang reps or that your work on them does not carry over well to floor reps, assess your set up. #teamwnyweightlifting #crossfit #sn**ch #clean #olympicweightlifting #aboveknee #belowknee #highhang #powerclean #powersn**ch

On Saturday Sept 14 WNY S and C will be hosting a Sn**ch clinic. This will be taught by USAW National Level Coach Steve Titus. Based on his 20+ years of experience teaching the lifts this clinic will go from establishing hand spacing for the sn**ch, proper bar path and overhead control all the way to the sn**ch off of the floor. This is a great chance for beginning lifters, Crossfitters, or athletes who use the sn**ch as part of their development to take their ex*****on to a higher level.Though designed for people with experience with the Oly Lifts, beginners are also welcome. Coaches...if you are interested in learning how we teach the sn**ch, DM us for more information. The clinic will be run for 1.5-2 hours (pending amount of participants) and cost $50. Registration link is in the bio...spots will be limited so don't hesitate to sign up!! #sn**ch #crossfit #athleticperfromance #olympiclifting #usaw #teamwnyweightlifting #scholasticathlete #collegesports #football #trackandfield

The pull sets up the catch. On the first rep @ashleybereziuk does a great job of both fully extending on the pull and rapidly changing direction. This allowed her to punch down into a flat footed bottom position as she received the bar. On the second rep she fully extended, but stayed in that extension slightly longer. This led to the weight staying on the balls of the feet too long in the pull leading her to receive the bar with her heels off the ground. If your heels come up when you receive a sn**ch or clean, it may be an issue with pull mechanics and not mobility. Head to our website (link in the bio) and sign up for our mailing list to receive monthly training tips like this! #olympicweightlifting #olylifting #clean #sn**ch #clean #crossfit #teamwnyweightlifting #wnysandc

***NEW TRAINING ARTICLE*** Whether you are an Olympic Lifter, Powerlifter or an athlete looking to improve your on-field performance,the back squat is one of the cornerstone movement patterns that we use. As much as we focus on mechanics, how they are programmed and implemented in each member's training differs based on what their sport/end goal for training is. In our most recent article we discuss how and why we program the back squat differently for an Olympic Lifter, Powerlifter or an athlete. The link to this, as well as our past training article is in the bio. While you are there, sign up for our email list to receive monthly training tips and updates on events at our facility. #teamwnyweightlifting #usaweightlifting #usapl #squat #backsquat #athletics #athletictraining #crossfit #wnysandc #teamwnypowerlifting

Failing in a set is not always bad. Last night @hr_gordon was programmed to work up to a heavy set of 5. After hitting 185# for a new 5 RM, we made the call to go for 190. The result, made 3, buried on rep 4. What was the upside? The upside was that her failing with 5 at 190 meant a new 3 rep max. By 15#. After setting a 5 RM we were playing with house money...there was nothing to lose. In this case pushing to failure allowed for 2 new PRS and new found confidence in training with heavier load. Failing often is bad. But once in a while it can be beneficial. Just be judicious with how often you miss, and always make sure you are confident that you can be successful and execute the heavier load safely. #teamwnypowerlifting #usapl #benchpress #wnysandc #strength

The pull sets up the catch. It is something that we talk about a lot in our training sessions. This video shows that in action. On the first rep the lifter does a good job of pulling using the knees and hips equally to drive the bar up. This allows him to stay in control of pulling the bar up as he descends into the squat. He was able to stay "connected" to the bar the whole time, allowing for a well controlled catch. We can see that in the hole he has good leg tension and control of his torso. On the second rep the lifter over uses his hips. As a result the bar pushes forward and he has to hop forward to catch the lift. We can see that as he hits the bottom position he does not have the same tension in the legs or control of the torso as he did on the first rep. This was not due to timing. It was due to the pull mechanics. If you feel that your catch is not well timed or lacks adequate timing and tension a good place to start looking for a weakness is in your pull mechanics. #olympicweightlifting #olylifting #clean #sn**ch #wnysandc #teamwnyweightlifting #crossfit #athleticperformance #pull

Is a short leg drive your issue on the jerk? If so this, iteration of the Drop Jerk is our preferred drill to work on that. The 2 more common forms both start with the feet flat and involve pushing up/splitting under from either the front rack or with the bar held at the forehead. The problem with these is that after the dip phase has been finished, the feet will no longer be flat. So we miss out on the feeling of being in full extension as we would be at the end of the drive. When the bar is held at the forehead this problem is amplified: as not only are we on flat feet, but the bar is much higher before the split has begun than it would be when jerking. In this version after we extend onto the balls of our feet we initiate the movement by pressing up then immediately punching into a split. This is more similar to the action of a jerk...where we use maximum leg drive to start to push the bar up right before we split. If you find your leg drive lacking, preceding your jerks with 3-5 rep with an empty bar with this Drop jerk is a great way to drill this flaw. #teamwnyweightlifting #usaweightlifting #jerk #wnysandc #olympicweightlifting #crossfit #cleanandjerk #teamwnyremote

If your heavy sn**ches look like this..... There are two movements you should avoid doing/never see in your programming. And two that you are probably doing/getting programmed that will be of very limited value. You should avoid doing Muscle Sn**ches or Power Sn**ches. All that these will do is reinforce your pattern of over relying on the pull. If you have these programmed, you have some serious questions to ask your coach. EVERY time you have sn**ch work, it must be a full sn**ch. If you are doing a lot of Overhead Squat work and/or Drop Sn**ch/Sn**ch Balance work you are not maximizing your training time. If you have the requisite mobility to get low but do not do so on the lift, chances are that you have serious issues with your pull mechanics or lack the ability to transition from the tension in the pull to a relaxed state to drop fast. Neither of the above will fix either issue. So what should you be doing? Well, sn**ches of course!!! If your sn**ches look like this video and you are doing the things listed you need to put more thought into what you are doing in training or ask more questions about what you are being programmed. #sn**ch #powersn**ch #crossfit #usaweightlifting #olympicweightlifting #teamwnyweightlifting #teamwny #wnysand #buffaloweightlifting

Saturday July 13 at 1 PM WNY S and C is happy to host our Summer Clean Clinic instructed by USAW National Level Coach Steve Titus (Team WNY Weightlifting). This clinic will take participants from solidifying their front rack positions and pull ex*****on through to how to properly execute a power clean and how these all carry over to a full clean from the floor. Though designed for people with some experience with power cleans or cleans, beginners are welcome as well. This is a great opportunity for Crossfitters, scholastic athletes or Oly Lifting hobbyists to get hands on coaching from someone with 2 decades of experience coaching the lifts. The clinic will be $50 and will run 1.5 to 2 hours (pending how many participants sign up). Registration Link in the bio. #clean #crossfit #usaw #buffaloweightlifting #buffalofitness #wnysandc #teamwny #athleticperformance #weightlifting #olympiclifting #highschoolsports #collegesports #scholasticathlete #football #trackandfield #gymnastics

Success breeds success. Success comes from technical proficiency. Technical proficiency comes from consistency. We all want to push heavy weights, but all too often we do this at the expense of mastering the technical aspects of the lifts. For this session we used our Daily Minimum protocol. That is when I program a given number of reps to be done, with a minimum weight programmed. The lifter can push as heavy as they feel comfortable doing, with the focus remaining on a high rate of made lifts and quality ex*****on. It is easy for an inexperienced lifter or coach to treat these sessions as a green light to max out. But what we see here is an example of proper implementation of this protocol. @emkesslew95 chose to stay at 77 based on how they were feeling. And she succeeded in maintaining both a high rate of success (no misses) and quality ex*****on (1 sub standard rep). It is easy to look at these lifts and question why she did not push heavier. But as we progress and we see her success rate with heavier lifts remain high, we will have our answer. #teamwnyweightlifting #usaw #teamwnyremote #wnysandc #sn**ch #olympiclifting #buffaloweightlifting

This Jr Nationals marks 20 years of coaching in National meets. And what a day it was. and I had 2 goals. 1) go 4/6. 2) Have more fun than anyone else in that session. Mission accomplished. We knew going in that he would not be primed for PR's as he trained through his final track season and compete in State Championships a week and a half before. We just wanted the experience of the big platform. We got more than that. We got a 6 for 6 day and bigger lifts than expected. In training the most he has hit is 100/130. And they looked HEAVY. Game day? 105/137. To say he showed up big on the biggest stage of his short career is an understatement,,. Could not be prouder of him or more excited to get back to work. Prep for Jr Nationals 2025 starts in a week!!! #teamwnyweightlifting #usaweightlifting #wnysandc #sn**ch #cnj #oly #olympicweightlifting #scholasticathlete #trackandfield #discus