S03E119 From CrossFit to the top of USA Weightlifting - Special Guest Dan Dodd
Coaches David Syvertsen @davesy85 and Sam Rhee @bergencosmetic sit down with the formidable Dan Dodd @danimaldodd, an elite-level weightlifter, former regional CrossFit team member, and owner of Tri-State Training @tristatetraining.
This is a journey that starts from the CrossFit arenas to the pinnacle of weightlifting. Dan's story is not just about sheer physical strength but also about the mental fortitude and strategic approach required to excel at this level.
We discuss Dan's transition from CrossFit to Olympic weightlifting, a sport that demands not only power but precision, to where Dan is now amongst the top athletes in US Weightlifting.
Dan delves into the role CrossFit has played in the resurgence of Olympic weightlifting, common flaws demonstrated by many CrossFitters and how these athletes can benefit from the fundamentals to increase their strength and lift capacity.
For novice and experienced athletes alike, this episode will enrich your understanding of elite-level sports as well as help your everyday workouts.
Daniel Dodd is the owner and founder of TriState Training. As an athlete, Dan is a nationally ranked Olympic lifter as well as a two-time CrossFit regional athlete. He won the American Open 1 at The Arnold Classic in 2020. Dan continues to pursue his weightlifting career and is excited for the opportunities yet to come.
As a coach Dan has Nationally Certified USAW and CFL1 certifications as well as a BS in Health and Exercise Science. He holds an MS degree in Exercise Physiology. Dan’s philosophy on training is based on developing a strong mindset, learning proper movement patterns, and creating opportunities for excellence in athletics.
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00:00:05 Herdfit Podcast Introduction
00:06:37 Transition From CrossFit to Weightlifting
00:12:59 CrossFit to Weightlifting
00:20:37 Training and Coaching in Weightlifting
00:32:36 Mobility and Stability in Training
00:41:35 The Impact of CrossFit on Weightlifting
00:49:47 Meditation, Mindfulness, and Finding Your Why
S03E119 From CrossFit to the top of USA Weightlifting - Special Guest Dan Dodd
David Syvertsen: [00:00:00] All right, welcome back to the HerdFit Podcast. I am Coach David Syvertsen. I'm here with my co host, Dr. and Coach Sam Rhee. And we have a very special guest here. He actually was a talking point on one of our recent episodes with social media, My Relationship With Dan. He's a neighbor of mine. Um, also probably the strongest person on our block, which isn't saying much.
Um, but one of the strongest people I know, um, that I've competed with him. I've competed against him. I've also competed with and against him at the same time. I want to get into that. Those are some fun times with our Coliseum team that we'll get into at some point. Uh, but Dan Dodd is a CrossFitter turned elite level weightlifter.
Um, he is the owner, head coach, CEO even of Tri State Barbell, uh, which is a weightlifting coaching program. Um, we'll get into that a little bit later. But Dan, welcome to the
Dan Dodd: podcast. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. I look forward to be part of this. Awesome, man. So,
David Syvertsen: we're, we're gonna get into... What I want you guys to know, what's coming up in this episode, is I want you to [00:01:00] hear from someone that's not just a weightlifter.
Let's keep in mind, Dan was on a regional CrossFit team multiple times. So we're talking, for those that don't really remember or don't completely comprehend, it's a very high level of CrossFit. One of the highest levels you can get to and he was on a team multiple times that qualified and they were in the Northeast Which we consider one of the top regions in the world back when regionals were rare.
Absolutely. They were top half So I'm trying to build them up to the point would say hey, this guy's a crossfitter He did make the change the turn to full time weightlifting and now he's nationally ranked He's doing we're gonna get into I would even say probably worldwide ranked Um, we're gonna get into what that journey was like, but how can, what can a CrossFitter get from this?
I want you to know that if you are pursuing sport in CrossFit, and you do want to get to the highest level, it's not an option anymore to not be strong. You, you have to have really high level strength. Are there some guys and girls stronger than [00:02:00] others at the games? Sure. But there's a minimum there that I bet most of you don't know about that, you know, guys, you need to snatch 275 plus now, girls, you need to be snatching 185 plus now, it's just like where the numbers are lying right now, and it's really interesting to get a perspective of not just a weightlifter, how do we get better lifting, I love getting perspective from a guy that's done it, And probably, I bet, if we made him train CrossFit for a year, I bet he can get back to the same level he was at.
Scary. No cardio. Dan's cardio is walking up a hill right now. Um, but he really is, truly is one of the strongest guys I know. He's a great coach. Um, he's done a lot of things at Bison. Um, with kids, with adults, with classes. He's got some clients from Bison that are coaches. I've done many courses with him.
I've sent him messages and videos of myself lifting, asking for some advice. So, I really do think you're going to get a lot out of listening to this and, um, whether getting stronger or competing is a goal of yours, um, he's going to have a lot to offer
Sam Rhee: here. I also think if you're a [00:03:00] pretty early CrossFitter, one of the most challenging things in CrossFit is Olympic lifting, right?
It's like learning the clean, learning the snatch, probably one of the biggest bugaboos when you're first learning how to CrossFit. So, to get that sort of perspective from someone who does that, You know, at an elite level, you've taught and coached so many CrossFitters, you can probably outline what are the most common issues that we have when we first start going, what are the things we need to do, because there's so much technique in it, it's like a golf swing, it's like, you have to perfect it in order to be able to do well.
Uh, no one on the PGA Tour has a crappy golf swing. Uh, they've worked on it for, for decades, and, and it's the same with weightlifting, so it also probably provides some perspective on us, so if we suck at our cleans or snatches, we can realize, well, there's a reason why it's so hard.
Dan Dodd: Yeah. Well, it's funny, because I always think about, like, in the CrossFit world, you would never throw somebody up to just do a set of muscle ups, right, and that's kind of what a snatch is.
Right? If I [00:04:00] loaded a, you know, a 185 bar for so many people at the high level, it's just a different
David Syvertsen: world. Yeah. Uh, it's a really good point. It's one of my biggest struggle points as a coach, to be honest with you, is when we do, we do a couple snatch cycles, meaning we snatch once a week, um, and kind of focus on it.
We just got done with one over the summer, and the gym did outstanding with it, but at the same time, you know, we have, we have people here that have been crossfitting for 10 years, and we have a lot that have been crossfitting for less than a year. Some even in this snatch cycle that just got done with their beginner courses, and they're thrown into a snatch cycle.
And it's still, it's the one movement, even more than the clean, even though there's a lot of technique work with the clean as well, that I struggle with how aggressive should we be with people that can move weight with a snatch. So, Dan, circle back to when you started
Dan Dodd: CrossFit. So, I started CrossFit back in, I think, 2014,
David Syvertsen: 2015.
Okay. So, you started CrossFit at CrossFit 201, right? Was that where you started? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right around the time we [00:05:00] opened in 2014. What were you, what was your lifting background prior to that? Or even just your training background? Because I want to circle this back to should people be snatching when they start.
Dan Dodd: So, I did, uh, I played some collusion baseball, right, for a couple years. Um, and that was really like, you know, we squatted, we dumbbell bench pressed, like it was like the old school lifting. Uh, I never really experienced any weightlifting until I got into CrossFit. Um, I was always a stronger squatter, so like that was always a good background of mine.
Like I was always like strong legs. Were you a catcher?
David Syvertsen: I was. Okay. I was always in a squat. Him and Brian DeCarlo.
Dan Dodd: Yeah. Always in a squat. Yeah, shocker. Nah, Brian can sit a lot more upright though in his squat than I can. Yes, he can. Yeah. Yep. So that was more my background leading into the CrossFit realm.
And then, I didn't really get... Uh, into like a competitive state, probably into Coliseum. And I met them at a, a Grid League challenge. Okay.
David Syvertsen: And that's kind of how I found that. I remember, my first memory of you, before I knew who you were, Do you remember when you competed at [00:06:00] CrossFit West Essex with Alone?
Yeah. And you guys were, they were, there was a partner workout with, I think 75 kettlebell swings is the way it started off. And they were throwing the kettlebell back to each other. Oh, really? And they were wearing, they were wearing like Superman shirts. I think you guys were more like have fun than compete at that time.
Uh, but you were still very, very capable and able and fit, and I remember for whatever, I have a weird memory, I just remember like, what you guys were wearing down to like the color of your tights back then.
Dan Dodd: Yeah. And... We were the Hebrew Hammers. Yeah. Yeah.
David Syvertsen: The Hebrew Hammers. Fitting name. Yeah. Um, but you know, you were into the, hey, this is what a competition's like, but hey, I'm here for fun, I'm not training for it.
I'm fit, I'm strong. Back then, were you... And just so you guys know, weightlifting in a weightlifter's perspective is snatching clean and jerk. Yeah. Some people think they're weightlifting when they're lifting weights, barbell curls and bench press. Weightlifting for this podcast is the snatch, is the Olympic weightlifting snap, uh, snatching, clean and jerk.
You were naturally [00:07:00] strong when you started. You had some good coaching. 'cause alone was a really good coaching guide back then. And then a few years later is when you actually start to get into, Hey, I might be able to compete at a pretty high level. I have that competition switch in my head. You know, where did you realize that you were?
Above average strength with the snatch and the clean and
Dan Dodd: jerk so that event I actually it was my first 300 clean Oh,
David Syvertsen: you're at the uh, that event at West
Dan Dodd: Texas. That was my first time clean 300. Wow, that's awesome
David Syvertsen: Um with not a lot of really technique
Dan Dodd: training just you were strong. I was strong Yeah, I was like you can and that's the difference like the muscle I mean the clean the snatch is like you can kind of just kind of grit your way through.
Yeah through a clean. Yeah And that's, it was really that I found the clean was something that I was kind of able to push. Um, and I'll tell you, like, Snatch, probably not for another two years, kind of kicked into something that I was good at.
Sam Rhee: That reminds me of Chandler Smith type of,
Dan Dodd: uh, lifting. Yes. Yeah, probably very similar to Chandler.
Like, [00:08:00] I can just kind of muscle the hell through it and figure it out after. Um, when I was progressing with those, it probably was right before I got into that Grid League. I was like, alright, well... I know I can, you know, push my clean numbers and I can kind of show off and shoulder to overhead too, I was able to push press 330.
Wow. Right, so I was able to push press a lot of weight, which in Gridley, it didn't matter, right? I didn't have to do anything else. I was able to do, you know, 10 ring muscle ups, which was like, alright, that's cool enough. That's all they needed out of me. And they're like, alright, but you clean, you know, I think I hit 350 or something at that combine.
Um. And then I realized, like, I just wasn't really in shape other than that, uh, and that's when I started training, really pushing that CrossFit training. So you were really
David Syvertsen: a specialist early on, and that's what the Grid League was, you know, for those that don't really know what the Grid League is, without going down too, uh, going down too dee uh, de deep on that.
Grid League was a team of athletes that were all specialists. You had your [00:09:00] gymnasts, your engine, your, you know, your lifters, and you kind of just took on CrossFit competitions as a team, and you could be a lifter and not have to do anything other than lift, where CrossFit, that's not CrossFit, but it was Grid League.
It did well for a little bit. I kind of, I think they overshot a little bit too much and went out of business eventually. There are still some, There's a Grid League, Florida Grid League, that they do, I think they're doing it right because they didn't, Try to make it huge. Right. Uh, but it is a cool thing to watch and it's fun and it's, it's an opportunity for specialists that aren't wanting to get into shape.
Yeah. Really just kind of had lean into the strengths
Dan Dodd: murder Dmitri Koff. Yes. Yes.
David Syvertsen: Yeah, he did. Was his video McGee? He did too, I think. Right. He did a thruster
Sam Rhee: in grid league, I think in one of the comps, and I saw it on YouTube
Dan Dodd: and it just blew my mind. Yeah. Yeah. I think it was probably like a clean, and it was probably a clean and jerk and he's like, I can, I can thrust through this no problem.
David Syvertsen: But what I like about Dan is that he. He saw that. He was self aware enough to be like, Hey, if I do want to compete on a team as an individual, I can't just be good at lifting. It can definitely, and it [00:10:00] helped Coliseum out, to have a guy that can lift. I mean, it is a huge help. I mean, that's often a separator across the team competitions.
If you don't have a guy that can lift or a girl that can lift. At some point you kind of get screwed, but Dan had to work really hard to refine Muscle Ups, and his engine, and his capacity work. So you start getting hooked up with this Coliseum team, and you spend two, three years with them. You get in really good shape.
I think 2018 was the best shape I've ever seen you. That's when I was with you. You were just in really
Dan Dodd: good shape. Best shape I've ever been in. Who was on the
Sam Rhee: Coliseum team at the time?
David Syvertsen: So, the first year it
Dan Dodd: was, it was, uh, myself, Matt Malone. Uh, Nicole, Nehemiah, uh, Elise. And then
David Syvertsen: Russell, right? Russ. Yeah.
Russell. And, uh, the girl from time server.
Dan Dodd: How did you guys all get together in the first
Sam Rhee: place?
Dan Dodd: I mean, that was the uh, I would say the slow build to making like super teams before you're allowed to do that, right? So that was the super team of [00:11:00] like, alright, can we drive? Cause the only rule was that we had to be and train in the same gym two or three days a week.
And I remember Kristen would drive up from Tom's River. Wow, I don't know like three hours. Oh my god, and she would do it I think it had to be two or three times a week. Yeah, and it was like and he had a hey That's why Dave got the Instagram, right? Yep. Yep, right So I remember we had to like take Instagram pictures and we're posting them and it was but that's kind of how we like kind of found each other and Uh, kind of started making that team for what it
David Syvertsen: was.
Yeah. I mean, you basically just had to find people that wanted to dedicate a lot of time in driving and training, getting with each other, and if they were fit enough, you'd make regionals. And it was, it was simpler back then. And then they came up with all these different rules. I don't want to get into that too much, but, you know, you guys made it.
You had some success there. Um, I was with you guys the second year. I was the alternate. Um, let's talk about the decision after that to dive into weightlifting. Because we just talked about how [00:12:00] you started off. Hey, you were just a naturally strong guy. You got some good coaching early on. You got good enough at lifting and good enough at fitness to be a part of a CrossFit team.
When did you decide that, Hey man, if I really lean into the weightlifting, I can do something. When was that decision made and why?
Dan Dodd: So I had, uh, Ryan Hansen, who owns Intrepid. Yep. Right, so he literally looked at me one day and goes, Hey, you'd be pretty good at like, just some weightlifting stuff. He's like, I'm running a meet, you're doing it.
And that was basically, I guess, the sense of my conversation with Ryan, and if you know Ryan, that's a long conversation. Um, so essentially he signed me up, I, uh, I ended up winning the event, and I qualified for, so, it's the American Open Finals, so that's like, um, the biggest national event is Nationals, and then right below that is the American Open Finals, so I qualified for it.
Um, and a month after the American Open was in Guadalupe, and I qualified for BOLT as an individual. Got it. Um, RX individual. [00:13:00] Mm hmm. And I did, I trained so hard for both of those events. Pre
David Syvertsen: kid, pre kid, right? Pre kid,
Dan Dodd: yeah. Pre kid, there's a lot of time to train then. Um, and I ended up bombing out of AO Finals, which means that I didn't hit any of my snatches.
And then I ended up coming in, I think it was like bottom five at Guadalupe. And I remember I got home like... Alright, so I can't do both. It's like, this is a world of like, I have to make a choice. It got,
David Syvertsen: it got so big. I mean, you were, that's right when CrossFit, kind of like, just after it exploded, so it was huge by that point.
In 2014, I bet you could have. Yeah. But just the volume of athletes that can lift, but also can run and muscle up in gymnastics and engine and... You know recover all that stuff. That's why that 2018, 2019, 2020, there were so many fit people that if you had a hole, it just got exposed in such a big way. Oh, immediately.
And you got a, you got a hole in both. This is where, this is a Ben Bergeron thing. He goes, he goes, if you're trying to [00:14:00] be really, if you're trying to be great at two things, you're going to be, you're not going to be good at either one of them. Yeah. No, you can be average at both or great at one.
Dan Dodd: Yeah, I learned that one the hard way.
That was, that was, that was a very quick lesson learned that I was like, okay. I need to like, sit down, made a choice, um, and then I continued to kind of push my weightlifting. I was lucky enough. I then went to, uh, the Mid Atlantic event with, uh, another team. And uh, we did pretty well on that one, but it was kind of on the way home with that.
I was like, okay, that was fun, but I kind of started to see the writing, like, okay. This is my threshold, right? Do I want to just keep going back to this over and over again? Yeah, and of course the back of your head I was like, but someone told me I could be really good at weightlifting So maybe I can push that a little further and that's kind of when I made my decision.
That was probably 1920
David Syvertsen: 1819
Dan Dodd: yeah before the pandemic. Yeah. Yeah, and for my kid. Yep
David Syvertsen: for Jackson So now let's get into now you're in your weightlifting career and let's just talk about the progression you've had over the past few [00:15:00] years You know, it's 2023 right now um What was the last meet
Dan Dodd: you just did?
So, I did, uh, that was Nationals back in July.
David Syvertsen: And, let's talk leading up to that. What happened, what transpired, your failures, your successes, what you had to qualify
Dan Dodd: for. So, over the last couple years, um, if you go all the way back to, like, 2020, I did actually the last major event before, like, the shutdown, right?
So, I was at the Arnold in March. Um, and I actually, I took gold in that event, right? So I took gold in my weight class. Um, and then that was kind of when I just duped up. I'm like, all right, how far can I take this? Uh, that then pushed me to start finding like, what are the next steps after this? So now I know that I've qualified for nationals.
What else can I go for? And that's, um, I was lifting as an 89 kilo weightlifter, so I was about 196 pounds. And I'm like, all right, so I needed to hit, I believe it was like a 320, 330, 320 [00:16:00] kilo total as that. And then I qualified for the USA team. Right. So that was my next step. And that was all during the pandemic.
Okay.
David Syvertsen: The USA team for...
Dan Dodd: So the way the USA team works is basically you have a minimum total you hit for international competition. Yep. And then you're basically selected. Okay. So they're like, all right, you know, you can compete at this caliber event. They're bronze, silver and gold level meets. Um, so I believe I went to Canada for Team USA, and I think that was a silver level meet.
And this all has to do with, um, it all gets tracked back to, uh, Olympic points. Got it. For Olympic standings. Um, so then I went and I competed for Team USA in, I think I want to say it was like 2021. Okay. And then that has kind of like just led through. I then came back home from that. I then took a silver medal at nationals and that was last year.
Okay. And then it led me through this season where I had a, one of my worst meets. I actually [00:17:00] bombed out again. In March at, uh, on one of the coolest platforms. So if you ever have a chance to go to Rogue, um, and that, that's at the Arnold, they have a Rogue platform that they only select, uh, that caliber of lifter.
Right, so I'm there, I'm next to CJ Cummings, I'm next to Aaron Williams, like, I'm next, I'm on a, I'm on a lineup, right? So, I, uh, Took a really cool event, and I ended up bombing out again, uh, while I was pushing numbers, I was trying to qualify for the world team. Right, and that's where, that's what's going on right now.
It's in, uh, it's in Riyadh. Okay,
David Syvertsen: wow. Um, so you're that close, you're in that discussion.
Dan Dodd: Yeah,
Sam Rhee: yeah. So put it in perspective, like, as a CrossFitter, if you compete in the open, you're competing against, like, hundreds of thousands of people. At the, at the regional level, you guys were competing against, like, Hundreds, maybe, or probably in the world, maybe like 500 in the world.
Yeah, I'd say about 500. And then if you get to the games, you're competing against like 20 or so or 40 or something like, or you know. Yeah. Something like that. So you're at [00:18:00] the level where right now, where you're competing against how many people?
Dan Dodd: So at your weight class. So when you take it internationally, it's a lot bigger.
Right. So our worlds would be, I guess, essentially our CrossFit games. And then anything national level would be more of like a regional kind of for us. Got it.
Sam Rhee: So you're competing with other
Dan Dodd: U. S. athletes. Correct. And your group of competitors
Sam Rhee: numbers, how many? That you're literally like neck and neck with or you're fighting with right
Dan Dodd: now.
So there's probably about 1, 500 96s, which is the current weight class I'm in now. Yeah. It's about how many. And that's where you're, and where are you sitting? Second. So,
Sam Rhee: so you're literally competing against the top 10 or 15 people in the, In the United States,
Dan Dodd: in your weight class. And then we also break down, so, there's a point system of like, it's basically projected on like, alright, if I'm trying to go to worlds, what's my shot at getting a medal, right?
So that's like the next step they take you [00:19:00] to. And uh, when you get into that category, all weight classes are put together. And at the end of our, end of last year, I think I was 16th. And that's all weight classes together for most. So,
David Syvertsen: pretty high up there. That is, I mean, do we need to go break someone's kneecaps?
Like, who's in front of you? I
Dan Dodd: mean, that's, that is incredible. So, how do you structure your life
Sam Rhee: to be able to compete at this level? Like, like, what kind of sacrifices are you
Dan Dodd: making? How are you training?
Sam Rhee: Like, what is it that you have to do to be able to maintain
Dan Dodd: this? So, I'll actually tell you that the weightlifting transition was easier than CrossFit.
Really? Yeah, the, the time that I need. It was also like, as my, like, I wasn't good at my cardio, right? So, my time was put into cardio, and you can do a squat cycle in 30 minutes, but when you need to run for an hour, you gotta run for an hour. That's,
David Syvertsen: that's one of the hardest things about someone building their engine.
That we see here. It's just, you would [00:20:00] need a lot of time. Time. Yeah, time under, not time under tension, but time with a high heart rate. Yeah.
Dan Dodd: That's, that's a good point. Yeah, so that was actually, so my time's actually, I would say, easier now. Cause I mean, when, when we were probably in 2018, I was at probably 12 sessions a week I was training.
I put a gym in my basement, you know, I'm like, I had... Of course, I was working with Invictus at that time, and I was working with, uh, Tino, and I remember, like, I called him, like, Hey man, my wife said I can put a gym in the basement, what do I need? And he looked at me and he goes, you need a sandbag and an assault bike.
And I remember, like, well can I get some weights? He's like, you don't need them. And I'm like, boy, this doesn't sound fun anymore. Baby don't need the gym. Um, but that's literally all, like, that was the first time I went in. I got a rower. A bike and, yeah. Do you have a coach right now? I do. I work with, uh, Sean Rigsby out of, uh, Heavy Metal Barbell.
Okay.
David Syvertsen: Um. Do you like having that? Have you ever tried to coach yourself prior to yourself? I, this
Dan Dodd: is, I've only had a coach, I think Sean and I have only been [00:21:00] together for less than a year. Okay.
David Syvertsen: I haven't coached myself before that. What led you to that decision? Because were you programming yourself prior to that?
Wow. What led you to the decision of getting a coach? I mean, how
Sam Rhee: many elite lifters don't have coaches and program for themselves?
Dan Dodd: The smart ones, none. Like, I, I don't, it was, so, and this was more me not asking the question, was, in my head it was like, I didn't see that I could compete for another team and run a team.
That was, that was an issue in my head, and then I sat down with Sean, who, so Sean actually took me to Canada for Team USA, and that's how I met Sean. And he's like, well, you don't need to do that. That's it. He's like, yeah, that's, that's, yeah, that's fine. He's like, you can still compete under you. He's like, I'm just your coach, right?
I'm like, oh, okay. That's a lot easier because in, in the weightlifting world, like if we compete, you can have teams on, you know, national stages and you just kind of get points based on medals the [00:22:00] same way you would for like the Olympic. Got it. And he was like, no, he's like, that's not the priority here.
Part is you.
David Syvertsen: Yeah. Which is hard. It's hard to do because you are, you're a coach, you're a selfless person. That's, but you do, we talk about this all the time. When you're competing, especially at that level, there are some decisions that you need to make for you. Yeah. And so what's your training like throughout the year?
Like what, what's coming up is I'd like to kind of get into what are your training cycles like? What are, are you watching your weight all year? Are you eating more? Like, is your volume higher or lower at certain points of the year? What's the next thing you're
Dan Dodd: training for? So, my next major meet is, uh, the American Open Finals, which is in December.
Um, I'm doing... Where's that? Uh... Ooh, that's a good question. Somewhere. Somewhere. Yeah, that's about all I got. So,
David Syvertsen: in December, and what's
Dan Dodd: training like leading up to? I have two prep meets before that. Okay. So, I'll compete, um, October 7th at Murder of Crows, which is in Brooklyn. Uh, which is super cool meat. And then, uh, I'll compete again, more or less for fun, but we have, uh, New Jersey State Championships.
Okay. Um, and that [00:23:00] we're being a large roster too, and the talk that I had with my coach was essentially like, hey, like... I've coached long days with, you know, 15, 16 athletes. I don't want to lift after that. Like you're, um, you're shot. 100%. And coaching and weightlifting is, it's a little bit different because it's more of like a mental fatigue.
Cause you're, if you've ever seen a Brinton weightlifting meet, like there's all these cards out and you're trying to like count, like I'm trying to figure out like, all right, you're doing this weight. Okay. How many more people are going to go until you go? And then I'm writing my notes down. You know, and it's, it ends up being just, you know, so much mentally trying to get after it and loading and unloading barbells.
Right,
David Syvertsen: absolutely. Um, so, the training, are you more squat based, are you pull based, is there a healthy mix? Are you biased towards the snatch because that's your weaker lift, right? The clean and jerk is still your lift, right? You know, for a crosshitter, we listen to this. Do you need to constantly train those strengths and try to improve [00:24:00] them?
Are you trying to get linear gains with both? What are you trying to do there
Dan Dodd: with your training in the next place? So, we've definitely, and in the same way, like, I'll kind of coach is, uh, it's very periodized, right? So, I have, you know, in the beginning of the season, which is really now, like, now is the start of our next season, because any, uh, local athlete is really, your first goal is you want to push to make nationals, right?
So, if nationals is your major event, Uh, right now, we're super squat heavy. Okay. Right? We're doing, I think, I had a 10x3 last Saturday. Right, so. How long does that take you? 10x3, so I'm also, I also work on a timer. Okay. So, I would say I can probably do a 10x3 in about 30, 35 minutes. Okay. Noted.
David Syvertsen: Sam, how many times do we see people lift here and they feel like every time they lift it has to be an EMOM?
That's right. You know, like. You need the recovery period. Yeah. To get the most out of your squat sessions. It can't always be like quick, quick, quick. Are you waiting,
Dan Dodd: what, three minutes between lifts? Uh, yeah, so I'm about two to three minutes from my list. Same weight or do you build? Uh, so this past week I was same weight.
Okay. So I was, [00:25:00] I think I was about 80%. Um, we also just put in a velocity based system. I don't know if you've seen anything in velocity based training. We
David Syvertsen: do talk about it. It's not only about the lift. The weight that you're lifting is how fast you can move it.
Dan Dodd: Right. Yeah, so we just started implementing that, and that's now what I'll base most of my quote unquote percentage work off of.
Awesome. I have to move a bar at a certain speed to calculate that that's my 80 percent for that day. I love that. That's awesome. Is that a video based system? So, literally, like, I had it set up yesterday that they just, like, set my phone up almost like I'm recording, and it just has a screen on it in front of me.
I hit my squat and it comes up with my speed. So it,
Sam Rhee: it looks at your barbell and sees how fast
Dan Dodd: it's moving. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's a, there's a little knot, a little cap on the end of the bar. Yeah. And a reflector on the floor. Yeah, yeah. Um. So, we just started implementing it. It's, I used it last time I flew out to, uh, North Carolina to train with my coach.
That's really cool. And it was... Eye opener? Yeah, and, and like game changing, cause he's, he looks at me and goes, He goes, you're, you're stronger than [00:26:00] you're pretending to be. And he goes, you're, you're moving, you're, you're 90 percent too fast. I'm like, too fast? He's like, so I'm like, so do I, do I slow down?
He's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. So he's like, it's gotta be a little bit heavier. And again, that comes down to like, alright, how'd I feel that day? What'd I eat? Where'd I sleep? So many variables. Right? So that, that, that comes into a large play, but to the structure of my training is like, right now... We are very squat based.
Um, I think next week I get to try to find a 3 rep max back squat or something like that.
David Syvertsen: Ooh, I'd like to know what you get hit on that. Uh, see if it's double what I do now. I'm hoping for 250. 250 kilograms? Kilos. Kilos. Me too. Me too. 250. On to the next question. Uh, um, the, so a crossfitter. That is listening to this, that wants to get stronger, but doesn't want to leave CrossFit.
They still want to want, they still want to get that, that fix, right? Because a lot of us, they come in, they, it's, it's a feeling, more than just a training thing. They, they [00:27:00] love the feeling of coming and seeing their friends, of that dopamine rush, of getting a hard workout in. If someone came to you and said, Dan, I don't want to leave CrossFit, but I want to get stronger, what's your advice to them?
Just in terms of volume of training, how often you hit this, hit that, don't hit that, that kind of thing. Yeah,
Dan Dodd: it's, and I've had this a couple times with a few athletes that I've talked to, like from Bison, I'm like, you don't, like you don't have to, like, You don't need to do that, especially at someone that, um, isn't looking for the high level.
Right. I would have a different conversation if you're like, Hey, I want to go, I want to compete at quarters, I want to compete at semis. Like, if that's, that's a goal, it's a different conversation. But, um, for a CrossFitter that is just looking to be in a CrossFit gym, maybe compete locally, you don't have to leave.
It's, you know, uh, it could be that, hey, my snatch technique is rough right now. It's like, okay, so we're going to put... You know, we're going to do some movement mechanics because right now your strength doesn't matter, right? If you're not moving right, I can pick up your back squat weight, but it's not going to help your snatch.
So, I actually take, [00:28:00] uh, a lot of my athletes, we have, uh, um, basically an algorithm that I take their squat, their deadlift, and it basically kicks me out all of their, you know, prepared numbers. Like, this is where you should be. Based on your numbers, this is about our range. That's cool. Um, and that kind of gives me an idea as a coach, right?
Like, if I'm looking at that, and I'm like, I actually had an athlete, Steve Neer. Yep. Who's a very high level athlete. And made an individual semifinal. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I would say, and right after semis, went and competed at nationals with me. Oh, wow. Yeah. So, like, very high level lifter, but he's a very, um, Unique weightlifter in the sense of I plugged his numbers in and he was on point.
Really? Oh He's
David Syvertsen: crisp. He's a very impressive athlete. Yeah, he's just very everything about him is crisp technique, speed, strength I could tell he takes care of himself. Yeah. Yeah. Now when you see I mean I'm assuming most people when you put this algorithm together [00:29:00] You see a pretty significant gap between their strength and what they're lifting.
Yep. What's the Most common shortcomings you see that prevent someone from getting to those numbers. I know technique is like the macro level. Yeah. What about someone's technique? So
Dan Dodd: it usually comes and it usually the major flaw that I see in crossfitters is usually that They can outpower their foals.
Got it. Right, like if I told you to power snatch and I said, you know, Hit your one rep max. And then the question always is like, Do I have to squat? Like how many times have you heard that in class? Give me a power, yes. Give me a
David Syvertsen: power lift any day. Oh my god, who would say that? Unbelievable. That's so true.
Yeah. Don't ask me to do a full, uh, a full squat, please.
Dan Dodd: And then in my head, I'm like, of course you're gonna squat if you can. We're laughing because
David Syvertsen: we hear that all the time. It's very rare to see someone that, like, needs to squat to get to their top lift. That is the way it should be. That's so true. And why is
Dan Dodd: that?
So it's usually some, either, either it's [00:30:00] mobility or stability. Right, it's usually those two factors we come back to, right? So if it's mobility, it's like, alright, well, you gotta start stretching more. Like, that needs to become part of your priorities. Um, and if it's stability, okay, we're gonna start working on like, it's usually hips, it's usually like midline, right, and it's usually at that position.
It's very rare that I can take a crossfitter and be like, alright, well, you can do 30 toes to bar, but you can't hold the bottom of an overhead squat. Right, so it's definitely, this is some stability things and some range of motion. So, I, I'd worked with an athlete recently, and this is a difficult thing to coach because we very quickly improved his range of motion.
But then he wasn't stable, right? So he learned that, hey, I can squat to depth. And I was like, oh, but I can't hold anything down here. So for those athletes, and especially for CrossFitter, it's like, all right, well, now what I want to do is, can you tempo overhead squat? Right? Can you hold that bottom position or something?
Right? Sots press. Can you [00:31:00] hold a barbell behind your head and press up? And I'm also not someone for all athletes to make them overhead squat, right? All right. What's your depth that you're stable to? Right, and then the next week, okay, what's your depth this week? Can we go a little bit further? Can you hold a little bit lower?
Can you press in that position? In between those sessions, in between those sessions, they need to be
David Syvertsen: stretching. You think, do you think that needs to be like a daily goal?
Dan Dodd: I think a combination between the stretching and the stability work. Yeah, yeah. Especially if that's like, if that's something you're working on, right?
If you came to me and you're like, hey, I wanna, I wanna still crossfit, but I gotta improve my snatch. It's like, okay, well, you're gonna do stability three days a week of the hips. And you gotta make sure you mobilize every day after CrossFit. And it's not like just to sit here and touch your toes. Right.
David Syvertsen: And hold a pigeon pose for, you know, while you're surfing on your phone for a little bit. Right, and have a conversation. Sam, what do you think about this, just Coach CrossFit perspective? Uh, well, it
Sam Rhee: rings true. Yeah. For my experience, for me personally, and for a [00:32:00] lot of CrossFit athletes, uh, I mean, asking a CrossFit athlete to do more mobility is like asking 'em to eat more broccoli , like they're just not gonna do it.
Uh, but it is inspirational to hear you. So, like, even as an elite athlete, do you do mobility work
Dan Dodd: or not all the time. All the time. Well, almost, I would tell you, I, I'll, I'll tell you a few things. So, um, especially since working with a new coach, he has found some things that I just wasn't doing right.
Right? Because you're definitely coaching yourself, and I know you've coached yourself
Sam Rhee: before too. Yeah, both of you guys are two peas in a pod. You guys program and coach
David Syvertsen: yourselves all the time. It's very stubborn. Yeah, that's exactly what it
Dan Dodd: is. Like, there's no, I know. Um, there's holes, right? Like, I found very quickly, it was like, alright, I think, one of the first things I gave him was like, it's like, alright, do a Cossack squat.
And I'm like, Ooh, I, I can't.
Sam Rhee: Yeah, those are
Dan Dodd: Kosac is like one leg out and one, one leg out. And you have like a side lunge? Yeah.
David Syvertsen: Side lunge. Side lunge, yeah. Yeah. Deep, very deep side lunge. Like hamstringing to calf type. Yeah,
Dan Dodd: yeah, yeah. And I'm like, oh wow. [00:33:00] Like I can't do that. And he's like, well, are you doing your mobility?
I'm like, well, I thought I was. Mm-hmm. And quickly learned I wasn't. And just putting those things in. I will tell you that my knee pain has gone down. I used to have horrible knee pain, like I had a knee tendonitis just because. Uh, I mean just Overloading. Yeah, yeah. Overloading this
David Syvertsen: hesitant. Yeah. And
Dan Dodd: not taking care of range of motion.
Ah. So, I will tell you that almost every time that I've peaked for an event, it's been something that, you know, comes up. Right, so I would tell you that I probably, almost every event I've done in the last two years, I've gone in with knee pain. Until now. Right this last nationals was the first time that I walked in I'm like, that's awesome.
Oh, wow. I'm fresh Yeah, that's awesome. And I PR'd my clean by, you know, 16 pounds. Wow, that's a that's a lot I miss someone that I miss the jerk. I miss the jerk, but
David Syvertsen: I remember watching that video. Yes, it's unbelievable weight It's just unbelievable how much you bend the bar. What is that weight?
Dan Dodd: So 191 I think is like 420 420 [00:34:00] Three.
Clean and jerk. Holy
David Syvertsen: sh Think about that. We're gonna be deadlifting soon, just, if you ever try to get to 400, know that he's cleaning it and putting it above us. Yeah. So I actually unlocked it out over
Dan Dodd: it. It was, I mean Yeah, you had it. It was a crazy, that was a crazy scenario that just came to fruition, but back to the mobility and stability stuff, I would say, like, even if you're just doing warmups, if you can put some tempo over it, like someone working on Snatch.
Just put some tempo overhead squats in. Start working your range of motion of like, do the co sat squats, do a single leg stuff. Mm hmm. Like between, yeah, just the mobility stuff that I've had been now and all the different unilateral work I'm doing. Mm hmm. So just like single arm, single leg, right? I'm doing pistols again.
I'm like, I thought I got rid of these. Yeah, right? I left that sport. Have fun. Right? Like, right, the first time I got back to them, I'm like, I'm like, Can I go to a box? Yeah, PT. I still say that. Yeah, so that was a lot of stuff that's kind of come back from, I don't know, I'd say probably from CrossFit. Like, I find [00:35:00] myself doing more, not necessarily heavy breathing stuff, but like More of that, like, movement based stuff.
David Syvertsen: Big picture. Don't just, don't just lift. You know, big picture stuff. You don't need to just squat. That's one thing about CrossFit that I think really does, if you really buy into the methodology, you see that there's just such a bigger picture to just that movement, or just that score, or just your first muscle up.
You know, Sam, I love that I asked him, what does the first shortcoming he, the biggest shortcoming he sees in a CrossFit athlete that wants to lift? And I was ready for him to say something technique based, and it was mobility and stability. Yeah. You know, because at the end of the day, it's like Sam said, you're very rare to meet a crossfitter that wants to come and do that.
Right. They want to WOD. It's not cool. No, it's not cool. Yeah, you're not burning calories, you don't get to like dramatically strip your shirt off and go for it. But, I think there's a lot of truth to what he's saying. That if you do want to get better at these movements, it's not going to be like, what lifting program are you going to do?
You know, what, what mobility program are you going to do and how consistent will you stay with it? [00:36:00] Um, I think it's a shortcoming of myself too. So I don't want to tell people that you need to be better at this too. I do think that 5, 10, 15 minutes extra of that, even if that means 5, 10, 15 extra minutes of working out, would probably do more for you in terms of getting stronger.
Yeah.
Dan Dodd: Well, I would say like, I probably do majority of my mobility stuff started to kick in like, alright. I'm sitting watching a show tonight. Like, all right, I can do something. I can sit here and I can do my stretches and I can still have a conversation with my wife. I mean, you know, like schedules get crazy, right?
I'm, I'm a full time school teacher. I am training at a high level. I'm coaching a team, right? Multiple kids, right? Two kids. Like my hours are limited, but I can still sit here and I can stretch and have a conversation. That's, that was something that kind of like dawned on me. I would say probably later on.
That's definitely like, I've matured in the sports realm of like, okay, we gotta, you know, Trade smarter. Time wisely. Trade smarter. Not always
David Syvertsen: more. Now, let's say we find that rare crossfitter that does the mobility, [00:37:00] that does the stability. Still want to get a little bit stronger. Where do you start them skill wise, technique wise, and loads?
You know, do you just come in and do an EMOM 10 lift really heavy every single day and that'll help out? Or do you go back to some basic pulls and squats based on what lift you're doing? What are some of the things that have worked for you? What are some things that you've actually struggled with as a coach and as an athlete in terms of where to really zone in on what kind of techniques that can really, you know, the biggest bang for your buck?
Because you're talking to a lot of people that don't have a lot of time.
Dan Dodd: Yeah, so I'd say first thing is, like, if it's a strength and element, any way, shape, or form, like, alright, we, we gotta squat more, right? So when that, that does come into play, it's like, alright, well, look, you got 30 minutes, you're gonna do a squat program, right?
If we can add that in to already well programmed CrossFit, right, and I've always kind of dove back to you guys of like, this is a well programmed gym, you're training with purpose, right? So if you have those 30 minutes, you should be doing your squats. Now, if it's a technique thing, um... [00:38:00] I am a coach. I've always coached top down and what I mean by that is like, I always have you start at the hip, right?
If you can't snatch from the hip, why are you gonna go from the floor? Correct. Absolutely. So, I have so many athletes that will go from just a hip position, high power position, and I'll have them like just muscle snatch. Okay, can we do this? Great. So that's really where I start and then slowly gets to like, alright, now we're gonna go from the knee.
And I would say a lot of issues occur in the CrossFit realm, either from the knee to the hip or from the floor to the knee. Very much. Right. So those are usually a lot of our, you know, downfalls. And if they have the ability to hang snatch, that means that we're missing something from the floor. So. If it's someone that is having trouble, you know, and this goes for The Clean as well, like they, they, I apply the same rules, right?
So, and I would even say for the CrossFit realm, you guys are probably the strongest from your
David Syvertsen: hang. Yeah, I would say most. Most athletes. Are [00:39:00] stronger from the hang or as strong? Yeah, I would say as strong. Yeah, should that not be the case? No. Okay Yeah, that's what I thought you should
Dan Dodd: be stronger from the
Sam Rhee: ground Yeah, because you're building more velocity with the barbell But because we screw up that bar path or we're not holding it in the right.
Um position to bring it up Like it's like shortening up a golf swing Like you can't
Dan Dodd: take a full
Sam Rhee: golf swing if you suck at golf like you you don't know where your club is going Same with the
Dan Dodd: barbell.
Sam Rhee: If you shorten up that bar path, there's less opportunity
Dan Dodd: to screw it up, basically. And I'm learning a lot about my golf swing, too, that I should swing lower.
I'm like, is that the problem with my golf swing? It's going all over. But yeah, now to your point, so I also have, so if you've ever been to like one of my seminars that I run, um, when we kind of do the progression, we do work top down, and then I spend a lot of time on what we call the first pull, right?
Like, we always do the first pull, which is, you know, from the floor to your knee. Mhm. And I very quickly chime in and say, well, it's not a pull. [00:40:00] I don't want you pulling, it's not a deadlift. So I want you pushing into the floor. Right, so I A squat. Yeah, like a squat. And that was one of the hardest things to kind of like, even as an athlete, like, that was one of the hardest things for me to wrap my brain around.
I'm like, you're calling this a pull, but you're telling me don't pull. Right, I want you to hold and brace that position that you start in, and then push. Is
David Syvertsen: the purpose of that to keep your butt down, chest up? Yeah. Okay. Because a lot of people, I just watched someone lift right now. Trying to hit a max lift.
Yeah. And the butt shoots up. Yep. The chest stays down so that when they go for the aggressive second, third pull, they throw their head. The bar, it just, there's no control. You just don't know where the bar is. Because they're feeling
Sam Rhee: about pulling as opposed to, okay, I get it. Like a deadlift. Yeah, yeah,
Dan Dodd: yeah, yeah.
Deadlift, you let your hand drive and then you, yeah, you pull through it. Yes. Where if you can, you know, brace that first position, you can push into the floor to hold that back position, um, your bar path changes, right? So now I'm able to... You know, some coaches use the term sweep the bar in, like I can now get that bar back into my [00:41:00] hip, and I can extend vertically, and you know, a lot in CrossFit ends up being, you know, the bar's out in front of me, so now I'm gonna just throw my hip at it, which I, that was, that was me too, for the longest time, I was in, I was in Canada competing for Team USA, and one of the judges came up to me and goes, oh, you're a CrossFitter?
I was like, Yeah. I was like, why? He's like, ah, it's the way you lift. I'm like, I think, I think that was a negative.
David Syvertsen: It probably was, but I think the weightlifting community also knows that CrossFit's helped them immensely. Oh, I mean. It's been huge. I think CrossFit is probably, I think Rogue is the biggest beneficiary to CrossFit.
But I think Olympic weightlifting and all those, all the, the ecosystem under that is, is very thankful
Dan Dodd: to CrossFit. Oh, I, I don't, I don't think I would have the team that I have if it wasn't for CrossFit. But I would tell you that.
David Syvertsen: You're probably not weightlifting without CrossFit right now. I'm assuming.
Oh, no way.
Dan Dodd: I never would have found the sport. Yeah. Right. There's
David Syvertsen: so many people that are in it. But it is funny that you could tell CrossFit. Maddie Rogers. [00:42:00] Right? Maddie Rogers.
Sam Rhee: I love watching Maddie Rogers. She's amazing,
Dan Dodd: but she was a previous CrossFitter. Yes, she was too. She was. Early days. CrossFitters and gymnasts.
Yeah. That's weightlifting right now. Yep. We're retired athletes from other things, right? Like, we left something else to start weightlifting.
David Syvertsen: Hypothetical year. This is something I've, uh, I don't have any regrets of my training with CrossFit, but if there's one thing I could rewind and do, it would have been taking a year off from competing and training and just, just lifting.
Yeah. Do you, we have a Q& A coming up and one of the questions is about taking a break from CrossFit and coming back to it at some point with a certain goal in mind. And from this perspective, And yes or no, there's no right or wrong. I'm just curious what your take is on this. Is there value in something that is trying to reach a really high level CrossFit?
Maybe even the highest. Is there value walking away from CrossFit for an entire year, six months even, to really refine their craft with Olympic weightlifting? [00:43:00] Especially if it is a weakness that does prevent that athlete from moving on to further stages. Because at some point, any responsible CrossFit competition, it's gonna come up.
The Olympic lifting's gonna come up at some point. They won't let you advance to the highest level without testing something. Um, with the snatch or the clean jerk, if not both. Um, what are your thoughts on that? If someone's kind of at this like, T in the road, Hey, I have to stop crossing so I can pursue to my highest level.
I really want to go into weightlifting for a year. Is there benefit to that? Do you think it's necessary? Do you think it's vital? What's your approach on that?
Dan Dodd: So I think it depends, I think to your point, it definitely does depend on the athlete of like their caliber of where they are currently
David Syvertsen: and how far they are away from
Dan Dodd: the top end strength.
Yeah, so I'm like, I'm currently working with athlete and I am with a lot of athletes. I'm very like straightforward on our conversation. So to the minimums you talked about in the beginning of like our conversation, like, Hey, look, like if you can't snatch this and clean and jerk this, [00:44:00] we're not talking about the next level, right?
So for him, we had to pull all the way back. I think he was cleaning. 250, and snatching, you know, 180, maybe, on a great day. And it was like, hey, look, like, you're not in the conversation right now. So, if we are pursuing this, for him, I'm like, look, you gotta pull all the way back. You're 155 pounds, I think, when you started with me.
I'm like, we gotta gain weight, right? We gotta hit those numbers, right? Like, CrossFit world, like, you gotta be 180 to 190, if not heavier now. Athletes are getting bigger.
David Syvertsen: They are. Just the Korean Games athletes just sure were
Dan Dodd: very big. They're getting huge, right? They're getting bigger. So... Like, we gotta gain weight, and we gotta hit, I think our conversation would be like, if you want to be in the conversation for a high level event, we gotta be snatching 260, 265, and you gotta be cleaning 330, right?
Those are just kind of the realms you need to start walking in comfortably. Um, so for him, what we did is we actually totally pulled him back, so he takes, I wanna say, seven to eight months out of the year that he is, [00:45:00] Just weightlifting, and with our weightlifting accessory, we do pull ups. He does strict ring muscle ups, he does strict handstand push ups.
Yeah, there's, there's things you
Sam Rhee: could do. So, like, he
Dan Dodd: still keeps the strict motions. He's not kipping, we're not doing super high volume in those things. He's keeping movement patterns, so when he's doing that, he's fully pulling back, and then for the other part of the year, he preps for the Open. And when he preps for the Open...
That we start to put more volume back into his CrossFit stuff. So for him, he kind of goes in and out. I would say for majority that have some strength, but they need that extra push. You can stay CrossFit a few times a week, right? I have. Um, one of my female athletes right now is, she's like, I just like crossfitting.
I'm like, you can keep doing it, it makes you happy. And just kind of know that, the give and take on it, right? Like, you can take a day, like on a deload or an off day, whatever it is, you just gotta know the difference, right?
David Syvertsen: Right. And just also know where you are on the [00:46:00] calendar. You know, if your scores start going backwards, you lose your toes to the bar, you lose your chest to the bar.
Hey, that's not your focus right now. Right. Come in for the exercise portion, the community, the fun. Yep. But I think one of the first things you talked about on this episode was it's, it's not impossible, very unlikely that you're going to move the needle on both of them at the same time forever. Yeah.
There's going to be some give and take with gymnastics and lifting and vice versa. Yeah. Let
Dan Dodd: me ask this. It
Sam Rhee: looks like. Other than the super heavyweights,
Dan Dodd: all of the elite weightlifters
Sam Rhee: I see on Instagram are amazingly fit looking, like you guys all look
Dan Dodd: totally cut, totally buff, like
Sam Rhee: everyone looks shredded, but you guys aren't doing cardio per se, so how is it that you guys are not, like, Unfit people, when all you do is lift, wait three minutes, lift, wait, like, you know what I'm saying?
Like, what is
Dan Dodd: it that you guys are doing? You guys don't call a 10x3 cardio? That's, that's like, that's my cardio. It's like, it's like, don't, don't tell me how to do cardio. Like, that was a two minute [00:47:00] break. I'm like, like, Sam, I'm trying. Um, it really is. It's like, think like, uh, the bodybuilder mentality, right?
That's really more or less what it is. And we do a lot of bodybuilding. Um, so yeah,
David Syvertsen: I think that's something people need to know. You're not just snatching clean shirt. No, we do
Dan Dodd: a lot of bodybuilding. I probably do, you know, I have two, I probably have two main focus lifts a day, and then other than that, we are bodybuilding and accessory movements.
Mm-hmm. Um, and then sometimes in the off season we are doing cardio movements. Right. So a hard part of weightlifting is how long our sessions are. If you're, you know, I'll give the example of last nationals I was. The third person out for a snatch, and then I finish that session two hours later in the clean and jerk.
So, that's a long time to be on, and a lot of reps to take in between. There is a little bit of that piece, but a majority is like, we're doing some of the cardio, and then we are [00:48:00] doing, you know, just a lot of bodybuilding.
Sam Rhee: Do you feel like elite weightlifting is healthy? Like, for example, if you're an elite marathon runner, you are not healthy.
Agreed. You're not healthy. Agreed. Um, if you're an elite weightlifter, are you healthy? No.
Dan Dodd: Okay. Just checking. No. Um, it's the same realm, right? Like, if I am, right, I have to talk with people all the time, like, I don't know how many more times I can squat 500 pounds, right? Like, I don't know how many times, like, should I really clean 400, right?
I definitely think that there's a realm there that you have to kind of fine tune. Right. And when we're talking about, you know, pushing the high level, I. Venture got on a limb of like, show me a high level athlete that is healthy in all states, right? Mindset, like, I think that's probably one of the hardest things to hold on to for high level athletes in general is like, are you mentally okay?
Sam Rhee: What do you do for your mindset training? I assume you do some sort of training or
Dan Dodd: do something for it, right? So, um... My father, and [00:49:00] you've met my dad a couple times. Yep, absolutely. Um, uh, was a retired police officer and later on life found mindfulness. And since then I have deep dove into that world. Um, George Mumford wrote a book on Mindful Athlete.
He worked with, uh, Jordan and uh, Kobe Bryant. Okay. And, uh, he talked a lot about it, like being able to find flow state. So I encourage my athletes to meditate. Right. Are you able to, can you find meditation? It doesn't have to be. You know, sitting in the room, right? Not feeling kumbaya, but can you meditate?
Can you breathe through things? And we do a lot. I, they all do visualization cues. We talk a lot about visualization. I have them like, okay, can you walk yourself through a meet? Like with your eyes closed, like, can you visualize everything? So finding their mental state for competition as well of like, we do a lot of talking about, you know, mindfulness outside of it too.[00:50:00]
Same as here, we try to have the community that, you know, you can lean on each other, right? Cause you need that to, especially when you are doing the hard things. Cause I feel like that's when more emotion comes out than anything else, right? Like, yeah, absolutely. The hardest workouts we've done, I think, are some of the most emotional times I've ever been.
Cause that's when, like, everything kind of sets in. And along with that is like... Make sure when you enter the gym, you know your why and you and what I mean like what I mean But and you guys talked about this before it's like know your purpose like no, why are we doing this? Like is it is it for health?
Is it for you know? Am I trying to be a high level am I and if you are trying to be a high level you still need a bigger why than that because I Would tell you for me. I don't know without the why I have if it would be If I would be able to push, right? Like some of the things we do in both realms of CrossFit and weightlifting suck.
Oh
David Syvertsen: yeah. They, I mean, you hear it all the time. It's like, why am I doing this? I bet that question goes through a lot of people's heads. [00:51:00] Can I ask what your
Dan Dodd: why is? So my why is, has always been my, like, it's been my family, right? Like I almost want to always have. Um, be a role model and I'll even extend that to like my students, like you have one of my students that just started training here and she had done kettlebells with me, uh, Kevin.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So she had done like kettlebell swings in my PE class and she's like, I love this. And the mom texted me and I was like, probably one of my favorite text messages. Like that's one of the best things. Absolutely. It's like,
David Syvertsen: I can have... Really mold the future for someone.
Dan Dodd: Yeah. Like a role model or not.
I mean, another example was like I had, and just cause like I'm into it. It kind of just keeps flowing. And like that became a huge why I had a student approach me. Um, I was in Dunkin Donuts and I was like, just getting a coffee. And she's like, all he was like, Mr. Dodd. I'm like, yeah. She's like, she was, had to be like 17, 18 years old.
And, uh, she looks at me and she goes. You made me run the mile in elementary school and I hated it [00:52:00] But then I fell in love with running and I'm going to college to run Wow Wow, and I'm like really cool Wow I'm like, I'm sorry that you hated it But what a cool outcome yeah, and that really that you know that changed the perspective of my why because originally was like You know, as a, you want to compete, you want to win.
As a young athlete, it was like, I just want to be cool with my shirt off. Yeah,
David Syvertsen: I just want to, you want to kick ass. Yeah, but then you start to see you living that lifestyle with that mindset. It impacts how other people approach
Dan Dodd: it, too. Yeah. And it became like, and walk the walk. Yeah, and after kids, like, that just, that wasn't important anymore.
Right. Right? Like, being cool wasn't a thing. Like, Steph makes fun of me all the time. Like, I'm walking around with my, you know, dad pants and a fanny pack on. She's like, I'm like, I don't need to be cool. Like, it's just, it's the, you know. The, the things we're setting in motion for other people became so important.
That's awesome, man.
David Syvertsen: Very cool. That's really cool. Yeah, that's something that, that [00:53:00] kind of can really get you going on a day where you're lacking some
Dan Dodd: motivation, you know. And think about all the parents you have in here. Yep. Right? Like, just the motivation. I mean, look at your, your daughter is like, right?
Yeah. She loved this world. Yeah. Yeah. Right? And excelled.
Sam Rhee: Yeah. Yeah. You're absolutely right.
David Syvertsen: So, yeah, Dan, thanks for coming on, dude. That was awesome, and I hope everyone that was listening, you got something out of that with, uh, work on your mobility and stability.
Sam Rhee: What is the name of your training
Dan Dodd: group or program?
So, we're Tri State Training, is our company. Um, you can just follow us on Instagram, we're Tri State Barbell on Instagram. Um, and you can follow us. We do multiple different levels of programming. And just so
David Syvertsen: you know, what do you
Dan Dodd: offer? So, we offer, uh, three days and five days a week of programming. We do custom design programs.
We also do in person sessions outside of another gym in, uh, in Mahwah. Um, and then we also do some seminars on weekends, uh, and that's kind of like sprayed throughout the year, but we always post our schedules, as well as we do small, we do [00:54:00] some six week programs, which we've done together before.
David Syvertsen: All welcome, all levels welcome?
All levels
Dan Dodd: welcome, yeah. Do you do remote? Uh, most of our programming and training is remote. Oh, it is? So that's awesome. Yeah, I would say, yeah. So you have clients all over? Clients all over, um. And then I would say only a portion of them actually trained in person at MOTW. That's very cool.
David Syvertsen: Alright, well thanks again Dan.
I'm sure I'll be seeing you when our kids are yelling at each other.
Sam Rhee: And we'll be cheering you. When's
Dan Dodd: your next big meet again? It'll be in December at the American Open Finals. Awesome. Alright, good luck man.
David Syvertsen: Thanks guys. Thank you.
