Re: Lifting Platforms

[Guest guest]

Hi Doug!

I recall reading an article in Powerlifting USA some years ago about a

2nd floor gym that had some members who were deadlifting 800+ pounds

and the problems with the complaints of the tenants of the first

floor. The gym owners got a number of used tires( six or eight

depending on platform size) and placed them side by side under the

platform with the desired results.

Good luck!

Dan Wathen,

Youngstown (OH) State University

Ohio

--------

Doug Schurman wrote:

> I built an 8 foot x 8 foot lifting platform about a year ago with 3 3/4 inch

> sheets of plywood and 2 foot by 8 foot 3/4 inch rubber strips for each side.

> The platform sits on a solid concrete floor. It works fine but I'm wondering

> if there should be something to cushion the impact in between the floor and

> the platform. Can I give my knees a break?

>

> Mel, I remember that you have some sort of cushioning below your platform.

> Is that right?

>

> [i have a single layer of carpeting beneath my platform, but it is more to

> keep noise levels down and to protect the bar when it is being dropped from

> overhead. You do not want to use thick, soft padding because you do not want

> compromise stability or dissipate any vertical force during the pulling and

> pushing phases of the lifts. The best way to protect your knees (and back) is

to

> use exemplary technique and avoid use of the deliberate stamping style of

> cleaning and snatching. Mel Siff]

[Guest guest]

Doug Schurman wrote:

> > I built an 8 foot x 8 foot lifting platform about a year ago with 3 3/4 inch

> > sheets of plywood and 2 foot by 8 foot 3/4 inch rubber strips for each side.

> > The platform sits on a solid concrete floor. It works fine but I'm wondering

> > if there should be something to cushion the impact in between the floor and

> > the platform. Can I give my knees a break?

> >

> > Mel, I remember that you have some sort of cushioning below your platform.

> > Is that right?

______________________

Mel Siff wrote....

> > [i have a single layer of carpeting beneath my platform, but it is more to

> > keep noise levels down and to protect the bar when it is being dropped from

> > overhead. You do not want to use thick, soft padding because you do not

want

> > compromise stability or dissipate any vertical force during the pulling and

> > pushing phases of the lifts. The best way to protect your knees (and back)

is to

> > use exemplary technique and avoid use of the deliberate stamping style of

> > cleaning and snatching. ]

------------------------------

Burkhardt responds....

Hey guys - good subject. I had the same idea of adding a " mild shock

absorbing quality " to my new weightlifting platforms in and effort to

reduce unnecessary joint/tissue stress. My hope was to create an

effect that would be so mild it would be imperceptible by the lifter

but would still offer some joint " protective " qualities.

Steve Plisk wrote a nice article a few years ago in the NSCA Journal

about platform construction and building-in a shock absorbing

quality – maybe he'd like to comment on how his are working. I got

creative and did some research into the gym/aerobic dance flooring

industry. I found two companies (Connor Sports Floor was one) that

utilized a small rubber " knob " (picture a half-dome about the

circumference of a quarter) which I fastened to the underside of the

lifting surfaces. I decided on Connor Sports Floor's " NeoShock "

Pad. They offer 3 levels of stiffness. Of course, I went with the

stiffest, hardest one. I bought hundreds of these and stapled them

to the bottom of my platforms. Guess what - BIG MISTAKE. I don't

think you can have the best of both worlds - significant shock

absorption AND high performance " impulsive " movement. I removed the

shock pads last week and took my first workout on my new, harder

platforms yesterday. I felt a big improvement during my 2nd pulls

and jerks.

[by all means have the padding beneath the two rubber mats on either

side of the wooden lifting surface where the rubber bumpers strike the

platform to reduce noise and wear on the bar, but, as said, don't try

to pad the region beneath your feet. An efficient pull and jerk depends on

the feet being on a surface of high mechanical stiffness. Remember that the

lifting platform is the equivalent of the track used by sprinters to produce

top level performances, not just any old surface on which to lift. Mel Siff]

I concur with Mel's comments. Proper lifting technique is the best

way to reduce unnecessary joint forces.

[by the way, I taught low and high impact aerobics barefooted on a concrete

surface (the class worked out on a padded floor) for more than 10 years and

never experienced " shin splints " or any other knee problems as a consequence.

That is what really convinced me that landing technique is far more important

for injury prevention than costly shoes or surfaces. Remember the great

Ethiopian

marathoner, Abebe Bikila, who won the Rome Olympic marathon in 1960? He won

the race and trained barefooted, set a new world record at 2:16:2, and was the

first

African to win an Olympics medal. Then there was also the great middle

distance

runner from South Africa, Zola Budd, who also ran barefooted and only started to

suffer from lower extremity problems when she started to wear sponsored shoes.

Other than protecting the feet from superficial cuts and injuries, it would

appear

that the use of expensive running and " aerobics " shoes generally has far more to

do

with marketing and money than enhanced efficiency and safety. Mel Siff]

Burkhardt

Irvine CA

* Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if you

wish them to be published!

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

If anyone's interested, the article you're referring to was published in

Strength & Conditioning Journal 21(5): 71-75, 1999. The two-course

plank design is working great - solid impact lanes where the plates land

(each 30 " wide), and a good combination of damping and recoil in the

footing lane (36 " wide).

Nothing substitutes for good technique, but a well constructed platform

can sure help make the most of it.

Plisk

Yale University

New Haven, CT

> Burkhardt responds....

>

> Hey guys - good subject. I had the same idea of adding a " mild shock

> absorbing quality " to my new weightlifting platforms in and effort to

> reduce unnecessary joint/tissue stress. My hope was to create an

> effect that would be so mild it would be imperceptible by the lifter

> but would still offer some joint " protective " qualities.

>

> Steve Plisk wrote a nice article a few years ago in the NSCA Journal

> about platform construction and building-in a shock absorbing

> quality – maybe he'd like to comment on how his are working. I got

> creative and did some research into the gym/aerobic dance flooring

> industry. I found two companies (Connor Sports Floor was one) that

> utilized a small rubber " knob " (picture a half-dome about the

> circumference of a quarter) which I fastened to the underside of the

> lifting surfaces. I decided on Connor Sports Floor's " NeoShock "

> Pad. They offer 3 levels of stiffness. Of course, I went with the

> stiffest, hardest one. I bought hundreds of these and stapled them

> to the bottom of my platforms. Guess what - BIG MISTAKE. I don't

> think you can have the best of both worlds - significant shock

> absorption AND high performance " impulsive " movement. I removed the

> shock pads last week and took my first workout on my new, harder

> platforms yesterday. I felt a big improvement during my 2nd pulls

> and jerks.

>

> [by all means have the padding beneath the two rubber mats on either

> side of the wooden lifting surface where the rubber bumpers strike the

>

> platform to reduce noise and wear on the bar, but, as said, don't

> try

> to pad the region beneath your feet. An efficient pull and jerk

> depends on

> the feet being on a surface of high mechanical stiffness. Remember

> that the

> lifting platform is the equivalent of the track used by sprinters to

> produce

> top level performances, not just any old surface on which to lift.

> Mel Siff]

>

> I concur with Mel's comments. Proper lifting technique is the best

> way to reduce unnecessary joint forces.

>

> [by the way, I taught low and high impact aerobics barefooted on a

> concrete

> surface (the class worked out on a padded floor) for more than 10

> years and

> never experienced " shin splints " or any other knee problems as a

> consequence.

> That is what really convinced me that landing technique is far more

> important

> for injury prevention than costly shoes or surfaces. Remember the

> great Ethiopian

> marathoner, Abebe Bikila, who won the Rome Olympic marathon in 1960?

> He won

> the race and trained barefooted, set a new world record at 2:16:2, and

> was the first

> African to win an Olympics medal. Then there was also the great

> middle distance

> runner from South Africa, Zola Budd, who also ran barefooted and only

> started to

> suffer from lower extremity problems when she started to wear

> sponsored shoes.

> Other than protecting the feet from superficial cuts and injuries, it

> would appear

> that the use of expensive running and " aerobics " shoes generally has

> far more to do

> with marketing and money than enhanced efficiency and safety. Mel

> Siff]

>

> Burkhardt

> Irvine CA