Coach Manuel received his honorary coach credential from Chengdu Sports University, one of China’s premier weightlifting facilities and research center.

Manuel started as a gymnast out of high school and became interested in strength sports, especially weightlifting. He trained in the USA and with Ivan Abadjiev, but he was so intrigued by the different lifting style of Chinese weightlifters that he traveled to various training bases throughout China to learn Chinese weightlifting techniques.

Coach Manuel learned to speak, read, and write in Chinese in college, so he could communicate with coaches and athletes. He also received a PhD in Economics, which allowed him to analyze Chinese research articles, manuals, and textbooks on weightlifting.

In 2014, Coach Manuel launched Ma Strength (马力, “horse strength”) and began teaching seminars on Chinese weightlifting techniques, theory, and programming in China and around the world. He has also authored two books on Chinese Weightlifting:  1) A Visual Guide to Technique, and the textbook 2) Technical Mastery & Training. Both weightlifting books have been translated into various languages.

Coach Manuel also runs Ma Strength social media where he provides weightlifting and training tips to a global audience. And he also writes cutting-edge weightlifting articles for the Ma Strength Blog.