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Home » interviews » Checking in with Tatiana Matveeva

Checking in with Tatiana Matveeva

August 13, 2014 By Gregor Winter

Just like he did with Olga Zubova and Tatiana Kashirina, Rashid Itsaev fom YouRaiseRussia spend some time with Tatiana Matveeva.

Who is Tatiana?

She is the 2006 European Champion in the 69kg category and also is the 2005 Junior World Champion. Her best lifts in international competition are 114 + 147 (at 69kg).

Follow her on Instagram: @matveeva_tatiana_

Below the video you’ll find a foreword from Anna Van Bellinghen, who trained together with Tatiana in the St. Petersburg training camp (where this was filmed), as well as a short introduction from tatian herself.

Video (Translation Below)

  • See her warm-up with some Sots Presses [6:20]
  • 145kg Rack Jerk [11:10]
  • 150kg Clean Pulls x2 [11:56]

Once again I asked Anna Van Bellinghen, who trained together with Tatiana in the St. Petersburg training camp (where this was filmed), to tell us a little more about Tatiana.

Foreword by Anna

Tatiana is a really open person, with a great sense of humor. She coached me for one week in March, regularly coaches junior girls, and it really looked like she was trying to teach me everything she knew. Here are the interesting things I wrote down or remember.

She really emphasises Squats, 3 times a week, 2 Back Squats & 1 Front Squat session.

Her record is 200kg x2 in back and 180kg in Front Squat. Her best training lifts are 125kg and 155kg, and 120 – 150 in local competitions.

As of 2010 she is being coached by her brother, he also trains Maria Lubina (2013 European Junior Champion in 58kg).

When asked how she got started in weightlifting she answered: “there was nothing else to do in our city” [believable, when you look up the cities on a map].

She entered the gym, saw other girls practising and liked it. She then weighed 37 kg.


Anna then asked Tatiana to introduce herself to the ATG audience. Here is what she wrote:

Introduction from Tatiana

I was born on the February 26th, 1985 in small town named Mama in the Irkutsk Oblast. On the map of Russia, you have to look for it near the Baikal lake (center Siberia).

Soon my parents moved to another city, called Zima (= winter in Russian). Yes, we have unusual names for cities in Russia. It’s in this city, in 1997 that I started weightlifting.

I entered the national team in 2001, I was then 16. In this very year I won my first international competition, European U16 in Klosterneuburg, Austria. After that I won two European Junior Championships and one Junior Worlds.

We started training together with Svetlana Podobedova. We had the same coach up to 2007, who made us become champions. After that Svetlana went away to Kazakhstan and I stayed in Russia.

But we are still very good friends, despite the fact that we live in different countries. She’s a sister to me and our friendship has been lasting for over 10 years.


Translation of the Video

Thanks to Vadim Pakhutkin for the quick summary. If you find other interesting things she mentioned let me know in the comments.

In the beginning of the vid she describes some minor injury she got because she decided to get new shoes. She has some ligament-related knee injury.

Then she talks about Circuit Trainings that they used to do as Juniors in their Off Season Training:

In summer they’d have circuit trainings on Monday-Wednesday-Friday:

  • 1st Cycle: 4 circuits of Snatch, Pulls, Push Press x5
  • 10 minute rest, then the second cycle
  • 2nd Cycle: Squat, Press, Good Mornings

and TUE-THU-SAT they just did general physical preparedness stuff like running.

Then there is a moment in the video where her brother says “you need to jerk 159 (WR)” and she answers “and to break down… I’m 29, I’m tired”.

Her coach doesn’t write her plans himself, he just tells her and she writes it down (6:54).

She doesn’t particularly like the Snatch. “Who invented the Snatch? What an idea …”

Pill Box [12:20]:

  • the white ones – potassium orotate
  • BCAA
  • omega 3 fish oil
  • and the mixed compartment she doesn’t mention

To round it off here Tatiana Squats 170kg for a couple of easy reps.

Filed Under: interviews, Russia, videos, weightlifting

About Gregor Winter

Hi, I run ATG.

Follow me on instagram @gregorwinter (and ATG @atginsta).

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