The Sweet Spot

Once, upon reflecting on how I clean and jerked 145kg, and someone else wondering how I did it, I concluded that I was lifting within the sweet spot. What is the sweet spot and what does it have to do with weightlifting? You may be familiar with the sweet spot in golf or in baseball, when you hit that ball perfectly and everything works with you instead of against you. In weightlifting the sweet spot is a little different but fundamentally the same thing. The sweet spot in weightlifting is when you have found the correct way to ask the barbell to do exactly what you want it to do, many times meaning relaxation of the mind and body while simultaneously moving and reacting with speed and precision. When you have found your own sweet spot, you'll have proper tension on the bar, not too much and not too little. We've all seen lifters miss weights because they are gripping the bar too hard or tensing up there muscle in a way that is limiting freedom of movement. Freedom is the proper word here, when you've found the sweet spot, you've found freedom of movement, as if up until this point you were working against the barbell but now are working harmoniously with it. In this way, lifting becomes a partnership, a dance that is done in unison. Most of, I mean almost all of my lifting, has been done away from the sweet spot, but I got a glimpse of it today. I started moving in the correct rhythm and timing and the word effortless came to mind. Getting back to the 145kg and how I was asked about how I lifted it. I remember it was effortless, I remember it felt like I was cheating, like it wasn't work, that's what the sweet spot is all about. People say the jerk is a jerk, and it sure is, especially if you've lost that sweet spot. My jerk has been shit lately, because I've lost that sweet spot, but I found it in the snatch today and I am remembering what it was all about. I'm gonna find that sweet spot again and apply it to both the snatch and the clean and jerk. Good lifters, every single lift for them is in the sweet spot, that's why they are so good. Dance with the barbell, feel the rhythm.