Ep. 320: Applied Research in Elite Weightlifting | Shyam Chavda, PhD

Ep. 320: Applied Research in Elite Weightlifting | Shyam Chavda, PhD

From Philosophical Weightlifting Podcast by Joshua Gibson

January 20, 2026 · 1h 3m

About this episode

This episode features a discussion with Shyam Chavda on applied research in elite weightlifting, focusing on coaching, trunk strength, and performance monitoring.

Sign up for the Power and Strength Summit (Jan. 24th/25th) to hear Shyam's presentation: https://powerandstrengthsummit.com/ This week, I sat down with Shyam Chavdar for a deep dive into applied sport science in elite weightlifting . We begin with a case study following Cyril Chachet , the first refugee weightlifter to compete at the Olympic Games. Shyam walks through coaching and monitoring a single athlete across multiple years, including adjustments made during COVID, limited access to technology, and the challenge of balancing performance, health, and uncertainty. From there, we explore Shyam’s current work examining trunk strength and its relationship to lower-body force production , discussing posture, force transfer, and why trunk capacity may matter more than assumed in the snatch and clean. Enjoy. Follow Shyam: https://www.instagram.com/coach_chavda/?hl=en https://x.com/shy_2tweet Follow me and get coaching: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/josh_philwl/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.philosophicalweightlifting.com Weightlifting House: code PHILWL for 10% off ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.weightliftinghouse.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Onyx: with code PHILWL for 10% off…

People in this episode

Host: Joshua Gibson

Guest: Shyam Chavda

Topics covered

  • applied sport science
  • elite weightlifting
  • trunk strength
  • lower-body force production
  • coaching
  • performance monitoring

Keywords

  • weightlifting
  • sport science
  • trunk strength
  • performance
  • coaching
  • Olympic Games
  • Cyril Chachet

Sponsors

Weightlifting House, Onyx

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Power and Strength Summit

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