meet vs competition

You hear these two different words thrown around to describe a weightlifting event. You hear about a weightlifting meet and a weightlifting competition. IMO they are two different things. Take today for instance, I coached at a mock weightlifting meet. Mock meaning that it was unofficial and meet meaning that it was a grouping of weightlifters but not a competition. The numbers were low and most were the only ones in there weight class, hence why it wasn't a competition. Exhibition would be another good word for a meet. You are showcasing what you can do legitimately with judges and a competition platform, but no competition. Most events held on the state level are meets, showcases, or exhibitions. Maybe it's different in other states, I can only speak for Minnesota. Some of the "open" events could be defined as competitions. Lifters from Northern Michigan and/or Canada come occasionally and thicken up the participants in each weight class making for some good competition. It's fine to do meets, they keep you sharp and interested, but it's competitions that are the heart of what weightlifting is all about. If you don't have a shot at gaining a place or loosing a place in your weight class, then you could have done it back in your training hall. What meets do is keep you in that performing mode so you don't get too used to lifting anti-socially. Choose your meets and competitions wisely. You don't want to come out of the woodwork until your axe is good and sharpened and is ready to be put to the test.

Exercise your body, not your mouth

I've recently arrived at the conclusion once again that I can not carry on conversations and lift to my potential. In other words, exercising my mouth is getting in the way of me exercising my body. This is a single minded approach. In this way there is a time to talk and there is a time to lift and they don't go together. Training is work and it is not play. If people wish to talk they can call each other on the phone, they can arrange to see each other socially, and in those ways it will be much more meaningful. Your training will be more meaningful and what you do outside of training will be more meaningful, it's win win. Here is the odd part, most of the people who talk to me at the gym I never see outside of the gym. They don't call me, I don't eat meals with them, I don't even share a car ride with them. In this instance, what is occurring is what I like to call bullshitting, people are shooting the shit with me because they think it is a duty to make conversation. At the gym that's not true. People are at the gym to better themselves, to do work in hope of accomplishing their goals and when you distract them you are hurting them. You may be at the gym to look nice, or compensate for the beers you drink every friday and saturday night, but others are at they gym purposefully as a sport and it's practice to them. Respect that.

"The Weight Nazi"

I think we've all bumped into the "weight nazi" in our lives. This is the guy who overly concerns himself with what others are doing in the gym. He might wander the gym as he's working out or after he's done and is sure to go up to people asking, "how much weight is that". It's like a drug to him, he has to get his fix, he has to know how much weight YOU are lifting, his lifting isn't enough to give him fulfillment. True story, I remember a guy in high school that would lay on the bench press that  I was using, press it, then say "put some more weight on there", and walk away. Finding out how much other people were lifting wasn't enough, he had to literally get a feel for what other people were lifting! If you are lifting a weight off the floor, the classic move from the weight nazi is to put his foot on your weights while asking you how much weight it is, it's a classic weight nazi pose. If you really want to throw the weight nazi off his game, respond to his question in kilos. This will befuddle the weight nazi, but he will retaliate, he will ask another question, "what's that in pounds".
I can't mention the weight nazi without talking about the "make believe coach". The is the guy who acts like he is your coach but isn't your coach. He watches every rep you do, he might even take a seat close to where you are lifting. If you miss a weight, he wants to know why. He's invested in you even though you don't want him to be.
Then you have "the distractor". I admit, I'm guilty of being that guy from time to time. This is when you distract someone who has already begun their workout with random conversation. I remember I was about to attempt a heavy clean and jerk and a woman in the gym asked me from a distance away if, "I was still dating that one girl". Obviously I don't want to be thinking about a prior relationships when I'm about to rip the head off a lion on this clean and jerk. The distracting usually takes place when people are in different zones. Usually it's someone who is either done with or hasn't started their workout distracting someone who is in the process of their workout.

Fallen Angels

I am a weightlifter. I'm proud to say that. Maybe I wouldn't be considered a weightlifter in Russia or Bulgaria because of how relatively weak I am, but I perform snatches and clean and jerks regularly and I enjoy it. All over the world you have weightlifters training on platforms, doing the olympic-style movements. Here in River Falls, WI there is a history of weightlifting. Alley Henry grew up here, she recently metaled at the Pan-American Championship and has competed at University Worlds, she competes internationally. Alley's sister, Kate, has recently qualified and lifted at the American Open. Here in River Falls there used to be a weightlifting coach by the name of Gregg Hadley. He had a platform at the local fitness center and coached weightlifting there. It was him who helped me out when I first arrived here in River Falls. On the platform were different colored stars, one color star represented an international competitor and another color represented a national competitor. There was already a colored star on the platform representing Alley Henry. Soon after arriving he put a colored star representing me as a national competitor. It wasn't much, but it was priceless, and I respected what it meant. After awhile Gregg ended up getting his dream job as a professor in Kansas. Gregg had been teaching at UW-River Falls here in town and gladly took this new position in Kansas. It was sad when he left and it's never been the same since. Luckily some of us that were instructed under Gregg still remained. Ryan Brill, a USAW certified coach and his wife Samantha, as well as me and some others we're here in town and weren't leaving anytime soon. At this same time that Gregg was on his way to Kansas, the fitness center here in town started to change hands. When Gregg left, the platform went with him. Luckily Ryan built two miniture platforms to carry on the legacy of Gregg Hadley and to carry on the weightlifting tradition. Ryan put these platforms in the fitness center, but the new ownership rejected them, they were not appreciated. The platforms were taken outside by management and reside there to this day, warped and deteriorated from the outside conditions. Every now and then I'm forced to look outside at these fallen angels and it's depressing. Ryan and Samantha don't come to the gym anymore, Kate Henry started commuting to Saint Paul in search of platforms and weightlifters. Yes, much has changed for me as a weightlifter in River Falls. The fitness center goes by a different name now and is filled with a lot more people, mostly CrossFit types and bench pressers. It's not a place for a platform with special colored stars on it anymore.

Front squat is king and style is important

(Above is Kazakh phenom Ilya Ilin front squatting. In an Ironmind published article Kazakh national team coach says Ilya doesn't go to maximum on squats, at the time had clean and jerked 235 in training and had done a 240 front squat for a single. It was also written that front squats were primarily performed.)

I've never written about the squat before, maybe because it's such a popular subject I've left it to others to write about, but in this case I feel I have something to bring to the table. I've been squatting for a long time, about 12-13 years and I've come to some conclusions. First off, I believe that the front squat is the best way to squat for a weightlifter because it's more specific. Not that you couldn't get away with doing back squats, I just think front squatting is ideal. Not only do I think front squats are the way to go but I've come to find that for them to really carry over into your clean and jerk you have to do them a certain way. What I mean by that is you want every squat to be fast, upright, and rhythmic. There is actually a tempo, a style, that once deviated from, I believe starts to produce diminishing returns.In this way you aren't practicing front squats, you are practicing clean recoveries.Smooth power carries over a lot more than slow grinding squats. This is where a keen coaches eye comes in as well as a self aware lifter. It's easy to get in the habit of going after big squat numbers for the sake of ego even when it means you increase static strength at the cost of dynamic strength. It's actually not uncommon for a lifters squat to go down and his/her platform lifts to go up especially if the lifter possesses lots of static strength in the beginning. Basically when it comes to squatting you have to ask yourself one question. Did I squat that weight in a way that would allow for a jerk to follow? Also, are you the type of lifter that can grind out your clean recovery and come up with a jerk? If that's the case then maybe you can allow for a slower tempo for your squats, but for me my clean recovery has to be smooth as silk to ensure a successful jerk. As the saying goes, the key to a perfect jerk is a perfect clean. In the case of squatting, it's not only what you do, it's how you do it.  

The low stress local weightlifting competition

#1 Show up to the weigh in late but within the time frame agreed upon. This way you don't have to sit around anxiously waiting for your name to be called and people won't have time to engage you in conversation and thus draining you of energy. Some people put in the music ear phones which is smart, it says "hey I can't hear you so don't even try".

#2 After the weigh-in leave the location and go get coffee and/or eat. Get away from it all.

#3 Come back just in time for introductions.

#4 Sit and watch as people warm up. Stay cool, it's their time to warm up, not yours.

#5 Warm up with singles. No need for extra reps, you've put in the work leading up to this point in time.

#6 Participate in the after competition festivities. Usually there is some form of after competition social. You've avoided everyone during the competition because you were a competitor, now's the time to let it all hang out and enjoy everyone for some food and conversation.

Simple can be genius.

I'm affected by the weather and it's amazing the difference between winter me and summer me. I'm a guy that sometimes thinks too much, I'll admit it. Especially during the depressing fall and winter I've just failed to see the big picture, but lately the weather has taken a turn for the better and I'm starting to think clearly and see things how they really are. One thing that dawned on me lately, something that I should have never forgot is that the main thing that matters is the main thing. What does that mean you ask? It means that getting enough calories in general is probably more important than what I'm actually eating. Smart isn't always smart. For instance eating Paleo might be a smart move but not if it makes me underweight and unhealthy. It also means training consistently is more important than how I train. It means squatting is more important than the type of squat I do (front or back). First things first so to speak. Most of the time it's not about being smart, it's about being simple. Simple can be genius.