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The Life and Strong Times of Pierre Roy

An exclusive interview with one of Canada’s most accomplished coaches

Two of the most common questions we are asked at the Poliquin Strength Institute are what books and publications Charles Poliquin reads and what coaches he has learned from. The first question is rather difficult, as Coach Poliquin spends about 16-18 hours every week reading, so his personal library is very extensive. The second question is a bit easier to answer. For example, Poliquin’s mentor in Olympic-style lifting has been, and still is, Pierre Roy. Roy is often invited to the Poliquin Strength Institute to give seminars. Why? Because in the world of weightlifting, Coach Pierre Roy is unquestionably one of the best in the world.

Roy was inspired to be a weightlifter after watching the 1968 Olympic Games, being especially impressed by the technique and explosiveness of Yoshinobu Miyake and his brother Yoshiyuki. These two brothers from Japan competed in the 60-kilo bodyweight class, with Yoshinobu winning the gold medal and Yoshiyuki taking the bronze.

At first it was difficult for Roy to find a coach, but eventually he found a great one in Lionel St. Jean. “I started at 18 years old,” says Roy. “I was a very tough guy and built my strength with hard jobs such as building houses and working on the farm, so after just two months I clean and jerked 125 at 80 kilos bodyweight.” For the next five years he trained hard, often seven days a week for up to three hours per session. He achieved best lifts of a 130 press, 120 snatch, and a 162.5 clean and jerk at 90 kilos bodyweight. Though he retired at age 25 he still kept in shape, and in fact won a bet at age 34 when he power cleaned 150 kilos.

As soon as he retired as an athlete, Roy immediately started coaching, and his first year he discovered a great talent in Jacques Demers. At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 Demers won the silver medal over Dragomir Cioroslan, who later became the head weightlifting coach for the United States. Roy also coached several more athletes who competed in the World Championships, including Denis Garon, who clean and jerked 222.5 kilos at a bodyweight of 100 kilos, and more than 50 athletes who competed in the Canadian Championships. Roy currently works with 48 athletes, 12 whom he says are serious weightlifters, at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, a multisport training center in Montreal, Quebec.

During a break from an Olympic lifting seminar he was giving at the Poliquin Strength Institute in May 2010, Roy sat down with me for a few minutes to share some of his thoughts from a lifetime devoted to the sport he loves, weightlifting.

KG: How did you learn to coach? Do you read a lot of weightlifting textbooks?
PR: I observe a lot. I was at the gym 60 to 70 hours a week for 30 years. Anything that comes to me that I think might be good I try for two to three years, and if works, I continue to use it with my athletes. One problem now is that there is so much information, so many methods, that many of the new coaches are lost and have difficulty finding their way.

KG: What differences have you seen in the lifting technique since you started?
PR: The method of pulling has changed a lot. In the ’60s you were not allowed to touch your lap during the pull. I started lifting just after this time, and it took some adjusting for the sport coaches to learn how to best use this contact.

KG: In the ’70s and ’80s the Bulgarians were going head to head with the Russians, but the Bulgarians used a much different style of lifting. Often they would be seen trying to rip the barbell off the floor, and often they assumed some unusual positions. Why the difference?
PR: The first time I observed the Bulgarians was in 1980 at the Junior World Championships in Montreal. The Bulgarians were training with very high intensity, and their intent was to achieve the highest levels of strength, whereas the Russians seemed more focused on achieving the best technique. As a result, in competitions the Russians were often ahead by 20 kilos in the snatch, but the Bulgarians would come back to be ahead by 20 to 25 kilos in the clean and jerk.

There was one Bulgarian lifter, Yordan Mitkov, who won the Olympics in 1976 in the 75-kilo category. Each time in his lift his back would bend as he pulled. The head Bulgarian coach, Ivan Abadjiev, was asked how much he thought Mitkov could lift with good technique. Abadjiev responded, ‘Yordan has good technique – he is Olympic champion!’”

KG: What about Naim Süleymanoglu, who won three gold medals in the Olympics. What do you think of his technique?
PR: I saw him, and his technique was quite efficient – when the bar reached his hips, he was very fast. Some coaches looked at him and said his technique was bad, but to be a three-time Olympic champion he had to be very efficient. The problem was that he was a very short man, and for someone of his height it would be hard – and might not be the best approach – to use the traditional technique.
 
KG: What age is best to start teaching competitive weightlifting?
PR: Some say start at age 10 – but much depends upon if the athlete has the passion for weightlifting. Kristel Ngariem, who is 14 and on our Junior World Team, started in the gym when she was only nine, but mostly playing; and now at 63 kilos she can snatch 70 kilos and clean and jerk 87 kilos. But I must say when you train kids, don’t be stupid and rush them, as they can become injured or leave the sport. Take your time with them and encourage them to develop passion for the sport.

KG: Is it difficult to recruit new athletes to the sport?
PR: It is very frustrating. I went to one school for 10 years, and I recruited nobody because the sport educators were not interested in helping me. No support. And the belief that weightlifting will stop growth is not good for recruiting athletes to the sport. My recipe for success is that you might have to wait about 10 years to find someone who can be a very special weightlifter.

KG: What are the differences between training men and women?
PR: In my opinion, the major differences are emotional. Women are weaker in the upper body, yes – but I don’t do anything differently with their training from what I do when coaching men.

KG: Is there a problem in Canada with coaches trying to solicit good athletes away from other coaches?
PR: Not so much, because athletes become familiar with the coaches who start them and they stay.

KG: Does the Canadian government offer much support for their best weightlifters?
PR: Weightlifters can get $27,000 a year when they get to the top, tax free. Plus more if they get some sponsors.

KG: Why have the Chinese weightlifters become so dominant a force in weightlifting?
PR: I went to China in 1980, which was when they were beginning to focus on weightlifting. Big reasons for their success are selection of athletes for the sport and very hard training.

KG: Over the years what international weightlifters have impressed you the most?
PR: Yuri Vardanyan was one of the greatest, but his technique was so peculiar.

KG: What about Vasily Alexeyev, the first man to clean and jerk 500 pounds?
PR: I saw Alexeyev in the 1976 Olympics when he was at his best. He was fat with a belly, but he was incredibly fast – he had great explosiveness. In 1980 at the Olympics in Moscow someone told me that because of his age he was losing speed so he tried to compensate by getting stronger. He was stronger, yes, but he started with the same weights he did in 1976 and bombed out.
 
KG: Many coaches believe that too much emphasis is placed on the squat in training – that all you need is enough leg strength to get out of the clean. What is your opinion on this?
PR: How much an athlete should focus attention on the squat depends on the weaknesses of the athlete – for some they do not need to spend as much time as others. But I must say that it is a mistake to spend too much time with beginners on strength. With a new lifter you need to begin by teaching the technique and working on speed, because if you practice too much on strength before learning the technique, you can injure athletes and they will not progress.

KG: Is it important for lifters to do plyometrics or jump training?
PR: Jumps, yes. My philosophy is that lifting weights is jumping with the bar, so doing jumps is natural for a weightlifter. And to change the strength curve with the higher-level athletes, you need to touch on more aspects of power training.

KG: What exercises do you focus on in your training?
PR: It’s best not to use too many exercises. During one training cycle I will use eight to 12 exercises, and which ones I use depends upon the time of the year. During the early part of the lifting year I do a lot of different squat methods to shock the body, but these would not be wise to do during the competitive phase.

KG: Some coaches do not believe in doing pulls, saying that they encourage the lifter to use the upper body to lift the barbell rather than using these muscles to pull the body under the bar. Do you do pulls with all your lifters?
PR: I don’t do pulls for the snatch because, yes, it teaches lifters to use too much of their upper body. And my athletes tend to be very good in the snatch. I do use pulls to help the clean, however.

KG: What is your opinion about the squat jerk?
PR: I prefer the split myself; and if an athlete is not good with the split jerk, it is probably a question of coordination. For them, the squat jerk may be better.

KG: Do you recommend that weightlifters do any bodybuilding exercises?
PR: It depends upon the kind of athlete you have. Marilou Dozois-Prévost is very powerful – she was power cleaning 70 kilos at age 13 weighing only 42 kilos. If I ask her to do too much technique work in her training with the lifts, she will self-destruct, so, yes, she can perform some of this type of training.

KG: What are your predictions for Marilou Dozois-Prévost and Paul Dumais? What are their limits?
PR: For Marilou, I would say 95 and 115; for Paul, probably 175 and 215 at 95 kilos.

KG: For non-weightlifters, do you recommend they teach the full Olympic lifts or the power versions?
PR: Just the power, as the Olympic is too complicated. I would like to say that I have one professional hockey player who plays in Europe who did a 100-kilo power clean when he came to see me. He is 6-foot-3 and weighs 97.5 kilos. After 13 weeks he power cleaned 140.

KG: Are there any new training methods you are currently excited about?
PR: Cluster training is the future, as it allows athletes to train at higher intensities. The cluster creates better conditions for technique, precision, less injuries, higher intensity and optimal development of the neuromuscular aspect of the sport.?

KG: What is your impression of the coaches and personal trainers who have attended your seminars at the Poliquin Strength Institute?
PR: They are all professional and have a passion for success. They all come here to learn.

KG: What do you think of the things that Charles is doing with athletes in terms of nutrition, supplements and sports medicine?
PR: It is all very interesting and important, and it is what has been missing in our sport for many years.

KG: Is there anything you would like to mention as we conclude this interview?
PR: I am surprised that my friend and colleague Charles Poliquin still has the passion for weightlifting that he does. He loves my weightlifters and has a strong desire to help them be good. He gives them supplements, treats them, and gives them money for training. Five years ago he came to my club and saw the sad state of my equipment and said he would do something about it. Charles keeps his promises. This year he gave me an incredible gift of wonderful Eleiko equipment, and he expects from me the best possible use of this equipment for the development of the sport. I will not let him down!