“As many of you know, the CFW coaching staff spent this past weekend with Coach Alexander Varbanov and his family, as well as Tyler Touchette from Cornwall for an Olympic Weightlifting seminar.
A little bit about Alex: has set 10 world records in his competitive career, including a 382.5 kg Total (Snatch + Clean & Jerk) at a 75 kg bodyweight. For those of us who can’t quite grasp that feat when measure in kilos, we are talking 841 lbs in two lifts for a man tipping the scales at less than 165 lbs. He holds an Olympic Bronze medal from 1988 in Seoul, and is considered by many to be one of the top lifters of the 20th century. His wife Irina, who is a weightlifting referee herself and helped translate when Alex spoke Bulgarian, accompanied him. Also a huge part of weekend was watching his twelve-year-old son Nicky demonstrate the lifts. Involved in the sport since the age of six, Nicky competes in the 45 kg weight class and shows both incredible speed and athleticism, as well as maturity beyond his years. Not to mention strength. In one of the last sessions of the weekend, Nicky was demonstrating a max effort front squat. He matched his PR… of 225#! To respect his personal privacy, we will not post pictures or video to the website, but ask one of the coaches to show you some video of his lifts. You will be floored. Read the whole article Takeaways from the Olympic Lifting Seminar with Coach Varbanov by Quinn Taylor
“You see there are many people who believe they understand this sport and even more so the ‘Bulgarian Method’, but the truth is – they don’t.. They will tell you different of course, but why not just listen to someone who’s been involved, competed, dominated, and coached in the exact system. Kind of a no brainer. Coach kept it simple and worked nonstop to make sure everyone understood ‘the basics’.” Tyler Touchette (Caveman Strong) Here is the whole text about coach Alex Varbanov Seminar hosted at Academy of Lions in Toronto.
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