Meanwhile in Norway …

Have you attended an Apti Seminar? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Related: Check out the Assistance Exercises from Dmitry Klokov’s Seminars.

Update 05.03.2015: Read the detailed reviews by Ramsey & Yuriy below the video.

Update 07.03.2015: Added Anton’s photo & video.

I attended an Apti seminar in London last week, video of his lifting is above.

So from memory here is what happened…..



Started off with his training session, he worked up to 160 of C&J then did some pulls at 170. Followed this up with close grip snatches, working up to 100 for a few singles.

He mentioned that his weight was currently just 81kg and that he tried to get to 94 category but only made it as far as 89kg. Also talked about how most of the year he is nowhere near competition bests ‘body cannot handle 200kg+ every week‘

We then moved onto snatches and Apti worked his way around everyone, Colin from WODSKILL TOURS also coached and was very knowledgeable. Throughout snatch session staying over the bar was emphasised and Apti said several times NOT to actively rebend the knees.

We then did a snatch from very narow foot position jumping onto plates to get better at finishing the pull, Apti said bar was enough weight to drill this.

Then it was C&J, again Apti and Colin worked their way around the goup. Staying over the clean was also emphasized as well as the point about NOT rebending the knees deliberately.

When it came to the Jerk Apti encouraged many people to slow down the downward phase of their dip, it worked for me as I got a PB 5 minutes later!

We then completed a jerk drill where you are not allowed to dip, just drive up. This was to teach you how to use full extension to get maximum height on the bar.

Close grip snatches (clean grip) were up next, again staying over the bar was a key theme. Apti said this was to develop flexibility and accuracy with the bar.

Finally we finished up with a back strength exercise which can best be described as a back plank. Basically a plank face down on a bench with plates on your back and legs [Video Demonstration].

Apti said 3 x 1 minute with a 20/15 plate would be a good point to get to. (Heavier on legs)

In summary it was without a doubt the best 4 hours of coaching I have ever had, the experience was fantastic and wod skill tours have done a great job organising it. Thoroughly reccomend to anyone.

From Anton:

Says 90-95% of injuries in WL come from bad warm-ups

Apparently has an old injury in his right shoulder and thigh/leg. This is why his grip isn’t 100% centered in his Snatches.

In the photo below you see Apti do a weighted Reverse Plank. He was in this position for 8-10 miuntes.

Apti Aukhadov doing som reverse planks with 40kg after his session! A photo posted by Anton Viberg (@antonviberg) on Mar 7, 2015 at 2:03am PST

Easy 125kg snatch! A video posted by Anton Viberg (@antonviberg) on Mar 7, 2015 at 2:12am PST

From Yuriy:

I worked as a translator during the Apti’s seminar in Italy about 2 weeks ago. I’m also a weightlifter so I paid attention to his thoughts about the technique etc.

In the first part of the seminar we did a little warm up after which he did a little training session (c&j, pulls). Once finished, we started our training.

The first exercise was the snatch. He told us to feel our feet and try to emphasize on the leg work while pulling, maintaining your shoulders over the bar.

After snatching, we did 3 accessory exercises useful for the Snatch:

Good Morning (while sitting on a bench and positioning your feet very wide) x4 + overhead press (deep squat position, bar behind the neck, snatch grip) x3

Hang Snatch with no leg/back drive (basically you have to pull the bar only using your calves and shoulders)

Snatch Grip High Pulls to a Stick (set your squat rack on the shoulder level and put a stick on it to limit the pull height) x8

Once finished these exercises we took a break after which we did the same with the C&J as we did with the Snatch.

Apti went over both the split and the Squat Jerks. He explained how the feet position should change after the clean if you don’t feel comfortable during the Jerk.

“There is no standard feet position” told Apti. He wondered if we had ever noticed that sometimes, after the Clean, the bar on his shoulders is inclined. Several years ago his coach tried to correct him but he didn’t feel comfortable with the bar straight.

These are the exercises we did after the Clean & Jerk:

Jerk with no leg drive

Hang Snatch (1x snatch grip + 1x intermediate grip + 1x C&J grip)

Vertical Jumps (holding the bar on your back) 8×3 [Video]

At the end we did a little jump competition (obviously Apti won).

We spent the last 30 minutes for the FAQ.

It was a full day seminar so we had enough time to talk to each other about all kind of stuff. I was surprised about the fact that, although he is a world champ and olympic silver medalist, he still remains a nice guy.

I have a 20 min footage of him answering to the questions and me translating in Italian. I’ll try to translate it in english once I have enough time.

Reader Martin sent in this info from an Apti Seminar he attended in Oslo.

First Video: He worked up to 160kg c&j and did some pulls. Said he was tired.

At the end he did some games and Kettlebell tricks (wrist stability stuff). Video is from the plate hold comp.

Apti and most of the guys used 20kg (different kind of plates) and girls used less. Just for fun.

Apti said he thinks he needs 178kg snatch and 219kg c&j to win in Rio. Bodyweight stays around 3kg over competition weight in training. He has no plans to go to 94kg category (he doesn’t have the appetite he said).

Super kind and cool guy who is a bit modest and is not really such a showman but is really honest and comes off as a good guy. No diva at all (you see he uses different kind of eleiko plates which has way different bounce but he just lifts and doesn’t mind).

Exercises he went through on Sunday: (You can see videos of most of those in the Klokov Seminar Videos)

Slow Snatches

Snatches Jumping on to plates

Narrow Grip Snatches

Snatch High Pull to Stick

Clean and Jerk

Clean Pull with no foot lift off (only traps)

Jerk assistance exercise where you have the bar on your back and you go in split position and then you shift for lead leg forward so your knee goes in way in front of your toes. Apparently helps so you get more comfortable in jerk position so you don’t “dance” (Apti’s words) when you catch your jerk.