The USA Weightlifting Podcast
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This is the official Podcast of USA Weightlifting. Spend some time with hosts and Olympians Cheryl Haworth and Chad Vaughn as they interview the athletes and coaches you want to hear and learn from, and review the competitions you want to know about. You will be able to draw inspiration and motivation from their collective personal stories and experiences, as well as always leave with at least a few immediately applicable tips from content that will range from training to technique to competition readiness and strategies. We here at USA Weightlifting are very excited to provide this to the weightlifting community and other interested parties, and we are thankful for the opportunity to further support the sport that we all love! We appreciate you listening and hope you enjoy!
Location:
United States
Description:
This is the official Podcast of USA Weightlifting. Spend some time with hosts and Olympians Cheryl Haworth and Chad Vaughn as they interview the athletes and coaches you want to hear and learn from, and review the competitions you want to know about. You will be able to draw inspiration and motivation from their collective personal stories and experiences, as well as always leave with at least a few immediately applicable tips from content that will range from training to technique to competition readiness and strategies. We here at USA Weightlifting are very excited to provide this to the weightlifting community and other interested parties, and we are thankful for the opportunity to further support the sport that we all love! We appreciate you listening and hope you enjoy!
Language:
English
Episodes
The Exaggeration Method
8/13/2025
Today we are talking about how you can exaggerate your key positions in different ways to help increase mobility, comfort, and strength within those positions, and for your Olympic lifts as a whole. Enjoy the show!
Barbell Mobility Warmup Complex
https://youtu.be/BntQf9v3VPs?si=Lb8BIOx-cL7uLOFc
*5 reps for each exercise with an empty bar
Good Morning
Back Squat
Back Rack Elbow Rotations
Behind Neck Press and Stretch
Overhead Squat
Front Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Duration:00:37:51
Overhead Positioning
7/22/2025
In this episode we are breaking down how we suggest to hold and support the bar overhead with your upper body. This includes what we consider supporting and best distributing the weight, versus muscling the weight and/or more so isolating certain areas of the body, with the actions and positions of the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and scapulas. Tune in to hear our perspectives on what are some debatable points of performance. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:41:12
Foot Stability
7/2/2025
In this recording we consider foot stability and how it might affect your lifting. Tune in to hear how you can assess and address any potential lacking in this area through barefoot observations and exercises. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:33:20
The Zen of Weightlifting
6/7/2025
Today we talk about the calm, presence, and focus you should have for optimal lifting and performance. Tune in for our perspectives and suggestions on how you can obtain and hone these critical characteristics and skills. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:56:21
The Pull Under
5/26/2025
In this episode we are discussing an exercise we are calling a “pull under”, which can be performed with the clean or the snatch grip, and is one of my favorite exercises and one I’ve made an adjustment to, to add to my own teaching progressions. Tune in to hear about the purpose of the modification, and all the ways you can benefit from isolating the pull under portion of your lifts. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:35:02
Cleans & Snatches Sittin in a Tree...
4/25/2025
In this recording we are considering how combining cleans and snatches together in the same set as a complex might help overcome faults that are isolated to one lift or the other. Tune in to hear how you can give this a try in your own training if you feel it is indicated. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:30:25
Get Swole 2
4/14/2025
Today we are circling back around to considering the benefits of Bodybuilding towards your Olympic lifting potential, as well as your health and longevity as an athlete and human. Tune in to hear our updated and additional suggestions on the topic. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:40:07
The Finish
3/27/2025
Today we are giving terms and defining the portion of the lift where the greatest speed is in need, which includes your body reaching its highest point before going under the bar, as well as the pulling of your body under the bar and the subsequent lockout. Hence, finishing the “pull” of the lift. Additionally, we discuss how and why at times we can feel off or slow through this range, and give some considerations on how you can and when it will, or should, feel better. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:43:11
The Power Clean
3/15/2025
In this episode we are considering the importance of the power clean when it comes to your potential in the clean, and your overall Olympic lifting ability. We give our takes on athletes who might need to do more power cleans, and those that might need to do less or even none at all. Additionally, we suggest some ways to incorporate them into your training, as well as some standards that would benefit you to adopt. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:48:58
Navigating Knee Pain
2/12/2025
In this recording we are talking through our experiences with the common occurrence of knee pain, and give some suggestions on how you can consider navigating through, if it is ever an issue for you. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:50:52
Most Common Mobility Issue
1/29/2025
Today we are discussing what we feel is the most common mobility issue present in the community, how you can assess and gauge where you might be in this area, and some examples of some work you can put in to help increase your range of motion if needed. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:38:49
New Year, No Fear
1/10/2025
Today we are bringing in the New Year with a conversation about how we should all be reflecting on where we were, what we were working on, and what we accomplished through 2024, and where we want to go now. The Holidays are past us all now and it is time to get back to work, and Cheryl and I have included examples and thoughts of more complexes you can try and perhaps use to continue striving to perfect your technique and to help you reach your goals here in 2025. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:43:32
Holiday Training
12/20/2024
In this episode, we are talking through some suggestions to help us all navigate our training and health through the Holidays to finish out the year the best and strongest we can. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:43:12
Greatest Hits: A Weightlifting History Lesson w/Artie Drechsler
12/9/2024
This week we are digging deep into the vault and re-releasing an episode we originally recorded in July of 2018 with an absolute GOAT of our sport, Artie Drechsler. Tune in to learn more about this individual who has done so much for our sport, and a ton about the general history of weightlifting. Enjoy the show!
Duration:01:02:34
The No-Contact Drill
11/21/2024
Today, following a little detoured conversation about some of our current superstars American athletes, we discuss how not contacting your body with the bar in the clean or the snatch can be used as a beneficial drill for SOME athletes. To fully grasp this concept, and if it might be an option for you to use to help optimize your movement, you have to understand the importance and the how to actually contacting your body and why it is an optimal advantage, and that not contacting is only a drill for only a small percentage of athletes to use. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:35:19
The Clerk
11/5/2024
n this recording, we are talking about the unconventional exercise called the “Clerk”. At first glance, this can look like someone just performing the clean and jerk incorrectly, or at least rushing it to an extreme extent. If that doesn’t give enough of a hint as to what this exercise actually is, tune in to hear the specific description of the movement, and the great purposes it can hold. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:32:11
Proper Program Percentages
10/17/2024
Today we are excited to cover a suggestion from another listener; what to do when an athlete is using old or improper maxes to take percentages off of. Tune in as we delve into how this might affect the athlete and the program, and suggestions you can make or conversations you can have with yourself or your athletes to ensure an understanding of why one should use current and correct numbers. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:39:16
The Hookgrip and the Front Rack
10/3/2024
In this episode we are debating on whether or not lifters should hold onto their hookgrip within the reception of the clean, as well as considering the use of the hookgrip, or even a full grip within front squats. Tune in to hear our thoughts and tips on the topic. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:36:25
Overthinking
9/17/2024
In this recording, we are fulfilling a listener’s request to discuss overthinking. Specifically, how it can negatively affect an athlete’s lifting and progress, and what might help to overcome the issue. Tune in to hear our perspectives on the topic. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:39:46
Olympic Stuff
8/26/2024
Today, Cheryl is telling us about her experience as an NBC commentator for the Olympics, as well as gives some general observations and tells us a few stories involving a few of the moments that stuck out the most to her. Additionally, we navigate through an overview of the performances of our own amazing athletes who all represented Team USA so strongly. Enjoy the show!
Duration:00:39:36