Why does North America suck at Weightlifting?
This is a question that has been on the lips of a lot of troubled souls.
But has anyone really found an answer yet?
Is there a single person out there who has found the way out of the miseries of ...
Athletes dramatically low-balling their potential?
Them rarely qualifying for the events that matter, let alone podium finishes?
Them lifting like amateurs and then publishing "How to" articles on the lifts?
Their "training motivation" plummeting due to "insert-excuse-here"?
Them getting injured repeatedly, stressed out and then finally, starting their own "brand"?
(And begin giving "seminars" to pass on the disease?)
...
Recently some have seen one side of the problem.
That of folks not starting early enough.
As such, they have made it a point to start more weightlifting clubs, encourage youth to pick up weightlifting early, etc
And while they think they have found and fixed the issue, let me tell you this ...
You do not even realize the bigger problem yet.
You do not realize it because you are living and breathing in it.
When one is amidst and even part of the chaos, how can they see the chaos!?
Let me clear the clouds for you ...
Olympic weightlifting is one of those sports that is certain to draw the attention of a young athlete at heart.
For at its very base it involves "lifting weights",
(that which got the individual enter the gym in the first place)
and then it also exhibits an element of play.
The young mind looks at it as something that will give them both the superficial goods
(looks, muscles, and leanness)
as well as a deeper purpose.
(getting better at it while also starting a "productive" endeavor)
As the journey begins for the novice, with the first few months doused in almost an equal mix of makes and misses,
and an increasing love for the sport on one side
while frustrations of the nagging pains, that come and go, on the other,
they realize something that they themselves did not consider at all,
that they might have found something that will stick around with them for a while.
When such a novice lifter notices the downsides of training without supervision,
in the form of inefficiency, inability to move the bar a certain way, nagging pains, and emerging limitations,
and as they start becoming more and more serious about what started just as a hobby,
they almost invariably start looking for external assistance.
This seeking for assistance usually starts at following/ reading tutorials,
then has them joining help forums to get "their form critiqued" and finally,
getting a coach or joining a weightlifting club
Most WLs in their primes as of today, that is in 2019, started this way.
Most will nod to this "natural way" of progressing towards becoming a coaches' student or a Club's member.
These same people will not even notice or question the deep-rooted, almost default sense of seeking external help once the desired level of interest and seriousness has been reached.
These same people will then defend their behavior using various phrases and sayings that they picked up here and there.
And as they peak in their WL career, these same people, never seem to cross a certain threshold, get stuck around a certain number.
They become the chaos which is the weightlifting culture in North America
Do you now, at least have a glimpse, of what the problem really is?
No?
Okay, I will be more direct...
The moment one decides to start "getting coached" or joins a club,
not because they want to but because they need to or have to,
the game is already lost!
For they decided it is better to get hammered into something than learning what hidden potential they really have!
A coach coaches, and in doing so, propels the student on a trajectory towards a destination that only the coach sees!
The coach decides on this destination based on "previous similar students".
This student does not even know if he wants to go there!
What if the student is capable of reaching a far more superior destination?
And there exists, their own precisely designed, yet unearthed, trajectory within them?
What about in a Weightlifting Club?
Yes, there is more leeway in a club but the problem is the same!
When one joins a weightlifting club, they sign a contract to inherit the Clubs' culture ...
Learn the "technique" or "style" of weightlifting being taught.
Follow a slightly modified "program" that has them do specific things on a specific day.
The "Program" changes from time to time based upon what the coaches observe.
(The students are far too busy sheepishly following the program to actually care where it is taking them)
Compete with other members, train on designated days, participate in this competition and not that competition ...
So I encourage you, the young weightlifter to ask,
What is the Truth about getting coached or joining a club?
It is this...
Both are a means to reach a sub-optimal version of yourself.
I am not saying that you don't need supervision to reach your optimal self.
I am saying that you will not get that supervision while with a traditional coach or a Club
The culture that these people and places are infected with will always come in the way of the supervision.
And in so doing, will come in your way to reach the absolute hights.
And what is the point of doing anything, if not for the unfathomable peaks and never-ending highs?