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
0:00 - From gymnastics and powerlifting to Chinese weightlifting
3:34 - First Olympic lifting exposure via IronMind footage and Pyrs Dimas
5:40 - The Chinese team’s systematic approach that sparked the study abroad
9:30 - Breathing, shapes, and the funnel concept for lifting
26:15 - Bottom-up squats: why weightlifting squats differ from powerlifting squats
30:45 - Training near the hip and block work to bias upward, explosive shapes
41:08 - Squat jerk versus split jerk - body shape, femur length, and selection
54:34 - Box squats, touch-and-go versus deloading - individualize by athlete shape
58:29 - Practical breathing cues to create and switch the funnel shape
1:07:24 - Applying shapes to sport - who benefits from which strategies
Actionable Takeaways
0:00 - From gymnastics and powerlifting to Chinese weightlifting
Manuel’s early background (gymnastics then powerlifting) led him to seek a more athletic, attainable physique via Olympic lifting.
Use cross-sport curiosity: explore other lifting cultures to discover training cues that fit your athlete.
Test new lifts with low ego loads to learn the feeling before programming heavy progressions.
When an approach resonates (Manuel saw this in video footage), lean into learning it systematically rather than chasing trends.
3:34 - First Olympic lifting exposure via IronMind footage and Pyrs Dimas
Seeing training hall footage made manual learning possible; video can reveal consistent patterns across a team.
Use curated training footage to spot systematic cues you can trial in the gym.
Compare multiple athletes in the same system to find the shared principles, not the outlier quirks.
Trial small protocol elements from footage (timing, shapes, sequencing) on yourself or a pilot athlete before scaling.
5:40 - The Chinese team’s systematic approach that sparked the study abroad
Manuel noticed consistent shapes and timing in the Chinese footage that contrasted with other teams’ variety.
When observing multiple athletes, note common positions and tempo as signals of a system you can emulate.
If a system looks consistent and repeatable, consider immersive study (courses, short placements) to learn its language.
Use language and cultural learning to communicate directly with athletes and coaches when studying foreign systems.
9:30 - Breathing, shapes, and the funnel concept for lifting
Manuel stresses creating a funnel-shaped torso from the start position - compressed lower torso plus expanded upper torso - to bias upward movement.
Teach athletes to compress the abs first, then allocate air to the upper torso so chest and mid-back expand; this creates an upward gradient.
Practice the shape unloaded: stand, exhale to compress lower abs, then fill front and back of upper torso so the mid-back expands. Repeat until the cue is reliable.
Avoid powerlifting-style breathing in the start position (squeezing top while pushing belly against the belt) when the goal is quick upward reversal.
26:15 - Bottom-up squats: why weightlifting squats differ from powerlifting squats
Weightlifting squats are usually “bottom-up” because the lift catches are unweighted while the bar rises; powerlifting squats tend to be “top-down”.
Program bottom-up variations (Andersons, pin squats, bottom-position work) to train the specific rebound and reversal q