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Home > Just Fly Performance Podcast > 484: Manuel Buitrago on Olympic Lifting, Pressure Mechanics and Explosive Athleticism
Podcast: Just Fly Performance Podcast
Episode:

484: Manuel Buitrago on Olympic Lifting, Pressure Mechanics and Explosive Athleticism
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2025-10-09 14:22:00
Description: Today’s guest is Manuel Buitrago. Manuel is a PhD, along with being the founder and director of MaStrength, a global education brand dedicated to authentic Chinese weightlifting. Since launching MaStrength in 2014, he’s taught 100+ seminars worldwide, authored Chinese Weightlifting: A Visual Guide to Technique and Chinese Weightlifting: Technical Mastery & Training There are many misconceptions in the world of strength training, especially as the lens of a skeletal pressure-based view is not included in modern training systems. When skeletal pressure dynamics are understood, it allows us to see why athletes prefer particular variations of lifts, how and why they fail lifts, and what aspects of the lifts themselves lead to better athletic outcomes. On today’s episode, Manuel speaks on the practicalities of weightlifting and how it carries over to sport. He compares powerlifting and Olympic lifting from a technique and transfer standpoint, and gets into how body shapes, breathing, and set-ups affect a lift. Manuel also touches on connective tissue and why it matters for performance and durability. From this episode, you’ll learn concepts about the Olympic and powerlifts that can not only improve lifting performance but also facilitate a better transfer to athleticism and movement ability. Today’s episode is brought to you by Hammer Strength. Use code “justfly10” for 10% off the Vert Trainer at thedunkcamp.com Use code “justfly20” for 20% off of LILA Exogen Wearable resistance gear at www.lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 0:20 – The Path to Chinese Weightlifting: A Journey from Gymnastics to Asia 9:30 – Breathing and Torso Shape are the Primary Differentiators Between Olympic and Powerlifting 25:01 – Weightlifting Squats are a Bottom-Up Movement, Distinct from Powerlifting 58:29 – Coaching the Olympic Lift Breath: Creating a "Funnel" for Upward Force 1:05:53 – Applying Shape Strategy to Different Athletes and Sports 1:24:49 – Direct Abdominal Work is Low Priority for Olympic Lifters Actionable takeaways 9:30 – Breathing and Torso Shape are the Primary Differentiators Between Olympic and Powerlifting Change your shape during the lift; successful Olympic lifting requires switching between shapes, not maintaining one position. To move up (the pull), create a "funnel" shape: narrow the lower torso (compressing the abs) and expand the upper torso (chest). To move down (the catch), change to a "cone" shape: narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, which enables faster descent. Avoid starting the lift with a powerlifting-style breath (squeezing the top and expanding the belly against a belt/creating a cone), as this impedes the upward movement necessary for Olympic lifts. 25:01 – Weightlifting Squats are a Bottom-Up Movement, Distinct from Powerlifting Recognize that the squat in weightlifting happens after the catch and is a bottom-up movement, which is fundamentally different from a powerlifting squat that starts from the top and descends. Squats performed from the rack (front or overhead) will look different from a heavy catch, as the catch is an unweighted descent followed by an immediate bottom-up drive. Focus on the funnel shape during the unrack and ascent of a weightlifting squat to maximize the upward gradient. 58:29 – Coaching the Olympic Lift Breath: Creating a "Funnel" for Upward Force From the start position, exhale and compress the abs until they feel tight, then maintain that tension. Inhale while maintaining ab compression, directing the air to fill and expand the chest and the mid-back area (between the shoulder blades) to create the full funnel shape. Do not take a maximum breath (gasping) as this removes space to move and can force the body into a rounded shape that is counterproductive for the lift.
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