Science for practice

Changes in a Weightlifter's Results on Moving to Another Weight Class

I. N. Abramovsky, Associate Professor, Komi Pedagogical Institute (Order of the Badge of Honour), Syktyvkar

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1985 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1985), pp. 43–46: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels.

Strength depends largely on muscle mass. As training builds it the lifter moves up a class, and the author showed earlier (1966, 1968) that results may then grow faster than body weight; Professor A. N. Vorobyev (1977, 1981) sees muscle growth as one reason for the rapid rise of results. After the 1980 Olympics many winners and medallists moved up and set world records or won world titles: the Olympic champions D. Nunez, Ya. Rusev, A. Zlatev and Yu. Vardanyan, and the silver medallists Yu. Sarkisyan, A. Pervy and B. Blagoev. In 1984 N. Suleymanov (56 kg) and A. Bem (67.5 kg), lighter two years earlier, raised the world records in the total markedly. Planning needs to know how results move after such a change.

The author followed the world’s strongest lifters who gained most on changing class (Table 1), treating separately those who already held or had equalled world records in the total (Table 2). Further growth in the first group fits the equation y = 71.2 − 71.1/(t + 1), σ = 2.7, where y is the total (kg) and t is time in years from the last result in the lighter class. For record-holders who moved up it is y = 1.0 + 30.3 ln (t + l), σ = 4.0.

Within a year of moving up the largest gains (kg) were Suleymanov’s 45, O. Mirzoyan’s and Rusev’s 40 each and Bem’s 37.5; among record-holders, R. Urrutia’s 33.5, Vardanyan’s (82.5 kg class) and Nunez’s 27.5 each and D. Rigert’s (90 kg class) 25. Sometimes months sufficed: Rusev 40 kg in 6 months, Suleymanov 35 in 6, Pervy 25 in 3, Rigert 22.5 in 4, as a heavier class suited them better. Rusev’s best at 60 kg was 277.5 (122.5 + 155), but he jerked 165 in a fourth attempt, 10 kg more, which would have cut his later growth by 10; Pervy and Rigert did 5 better in extra attempts. Rigert had also set several three-lift world records at 90 kg in 1971–1972, and Suleymanov was exceptionally gifted and young.

After two years up Rusev had added 60 kg, Suleymanov 55 and Bem 52.5; among record-holders Zlatev added 40, Rigert 37.5, Vardanyan and Yu. Zakharevich 35 each. After three years: Rusev 65, Mirzoyan 55, Vardanyan 52.5, Rigert 45. Record-holders gained most on moving up thus: Vardanyan 57.5 kg (7.5 years, classes 75 and 82.5), Rigert 45 (3.5 years, 82.5 and 90), Sarkisyan 40 (3.5 years, 56 and 60), Zlatev 40 (2.2 years, 75 and 82.5).

In total rise in records, from the first in the lightest class to the highest in a heavier one, the leaders (records in three classes) are Vardanyan with 67.5 kg (5.5 years) and Rigert with 60 (7 years); Rigert’s first world record was in the three lifts (March 1971), his last in the total 8.7 years later. The super-heavyweight V. Alekseyev set records in one class while his weight grew: in the 7.6 years between his first three-lift record and his last total record he gained 24 kg; his record totals rose 26.5 in 4.2 years as his weight rose 14. Across two classes Vardanyan again leads with 57.5 kg in 7 years, then Blagoev 50 in 7, Zlatev and Rusev 47.5 in 2.7 and 4.3, Sarkisyan 45 in 4 and Rigert 45 in 3.5.

Within a single class the biggest rise was Vardanyan’s 30 kg in 6 years (82.5 kg class), then Rusev’s 25 in 2.3 years (67.5) and Rigert’s 22.5 in 3.2 years (90), each not in the class of first world-level success but in the next one up: Vardanyan set his first records and became world champion at 75 kg (1977), Rusev won 1977 World Championship silver and set a jerk record at 60, and Rigert set his first total record at 82.5. Of those who set records in one class only, the biggest rises were L. Taranenko’s 22.5 kg in 4 years, N. Kolev’s 20 in 6.6 (after a long injury break) and Suleymanov’s 20 in 1.4; they trail the lifters who moved up, and in total growth are three times behind Vardanyan and Rigert.

Last appearances in the lighter class came at 15 (Suleymanov, 52 kg); 18 (Zakharevich, 90; A. Vyrbanov, 67.5); 19 (Sarkisyan, 56; Mirzoyan, 52; Rusev, 60); 20 (Bem, 60; Zlatev and Pervy, 75); 21 (Vardanyan, 75; Urrutia, 67.5; G. Todorov, 56); 22 (Nunez, 56; Rusev, 67.5); 24 (Blagoev, 82.5); 25 (V. Kravchuk). Rigert left the three lifts at 82.5 kg at 23 but set a total record there at 25, and at 32 set records at 100 with little gain over 90. Vardanyan set records at 90 kg at 25–26 but went back to 82.5; Rusev, twice world champion at 75 at 23–24, returned to 67.5 in 1983–1984. The greatest success evidently comes in the class entered at 18–21.

Lifters under 21 ranked in the world top ten or better could thus gain up to 37.5–45 kg in a year after moving up, and 50–55 or even 65 in 2–3 years; world-record holders over 22, up to 27.5–32.5 in a year, 35–40 in 2 and 42.5–45 or even 52.5 in 3–5. These are the most successful athletes, but the figures matter for forecasting and planning: contenders in any class include young lifters (18–20) who may gain weight.

In individual lifts the mean gain was 17.85 kg (12.6%) in the snatch and 21.7 kg (12.4%) in the clean and jerk: larger in absolute terms in the jerk, practically equal in relative terms. The author showed earlier (1968, 1972) that snatch (S) and clean and jerk (C) are related by the ratio C : S; on moving up it rose slightly in 8 cases and fell slightly in 9, averaging 1.256 in the lighter class and 1.254 in the heavier.

Table 1. Change in the total on moving to a heavier weight class

* World record or its equalling.

Table 2. Change in results of world-record holders in different weight classes

As printed; the ages 10 for Zlatev (first record, 75 kg) and 13 for Zakharevich (90 kg) are evidently misprints, and the last record total is headed “g” in the source.