Author Topic: New to weightlifting...help...tips...advice (Read 1736 times)

Michael Kirkland · « **Reply #8 on:** May 21, 2007, 05:45 PM »

Thank you for the advice, Shawn. I'll likely us the USAW template. You are right on about the benching and the flexibility issues. The last power meet that I did was late March and I haven't benched since the contest. I have had to pay a lot of attention to increasing my shoulder flexibility. That and my ego had to go out the door when I changed my squat style and depth.
I just wish that I had discovered weightlifting several years ago. Great sport!

Paul LaDuke · « **Reply #9 on:** May 21, 2007, 07:44 PM »

Mike,

I would echo Shawn's advice - find a coach, especially if you have never really performed the snatch before. Â It is best to find a coach early and learn correctly. Â DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL STRONG ENOUGH TO FIND A COACH. Â It is much better to learn correctly even though your only performing what you might call puny weights than to learn bad form with bigger weights and then have to try and correct it. Â It is very hard to get out of bad habits once they are formed.

Secondly, make sure you are following a training program and not just working. Â Oly lifting is a very different sport in that aspect. Â More work will slow progress, the right training program will speed it up. Â Sure, the sport requires brute strength, but is requires more coordination and controlled power. Â Training for power takes much less work that most people realize and they often overtrain because they want to perform more work. Â Get one of the plans off of the Idaho Weightlifting website and follow it for at least 12 weeks and go to 1 competition. Â Believe me it works. Â Make sure you train and not just work. Â There is a big difference between the 2.

Third peice of advice - go compete as soon as you can. Â That 1st competition is the hardest 1 to do. Â Competitions are a great way to meet other lifters, coaches and get advice on training and tweaking your lifts.

Lastly, watch as much top quality weightlifting competitions on the internet as you can. Â This website is full of them as are Revver.com and youtube. Â Make sure you only watch the national and international level competitions so that you are watching good form. Â Get a great grasp of the positions the body must be in for the snatch and clean and jerk. Â Don't waste your time right now watching all the other "lifters" out there on youtube putting their lifts out there to watch. Â Quite often they have flaws in their lifts that you don't want to imitate. Â Only compare yourself to the best.

Michael Kirkland · « **Reply #10 on:** May 22, 2007, 06:54 PM »

Thank you, Paul. That's good advice because I have a tendency to train as much as my recovery will allow. I'll be carefull.
I plan on competing at the Georgia Games in Atlanta on July 21, 2007. I did the powerlifting at the Georgia Games last year. I hope to make a somewhat smooth transition. Thanks again to everyone.

Paul LaDuke · « **Reply #11 on:** May 22, 2007, 09:02 PM »

Good luck! Their is not better sport to compete in for long term health than the sport of weightlifting. Keep us posted of your results at the Georgia State Games even if you don't think you performed like you want to. BTW, how old are you and what weight class will you perform in?

Michael Kirkland · « **Reply #12 on:** May 23, 2007, 07:12 PM »

Paul, I am 32 years old and will compete in the 85 kg class.
By the way, does anyone out there have the USAW training template in some other form? My computer won't read it in it's current form and I am not computer savy enough to fix it.

Chris Ⓐ LeRoux · « **Reply #13 on:** May 23, 2007, 07:17 PM »

Michael,

What format is the template in? If you give me a link to the file or upload the file to a post, I will see what can be done with it.

Michael Kirkland · « **Reply #14 on:** May 23, 2007, 07:41 PM »

I think that on the idaho weightlifting site it is on microsoft excel. I don't know how to post a link or whatever.
By the way, I sincerely hope that they get your situation resolved. This is the kind of thing that has put powerlifting in it's current state. People change federations or form new ones because the federations have arcane rules and can sometimes seem to be against the lifters instead of for them.
In the U.S., weightlifting isn't covered enough. People like you are good for the sport. Good luck.

Chris Ⓐ LeRoux · « **Reply #15 on:** May 23, 2007, 07:47 PM »

Michael,

Thanks for the support. I expect I will win this battle as long as I am willing to spend somewhere around 40 hours of time and $1000-$2000 to do it, which I will do.

I looked at the Idaho site and see there are multiple excel files. If there was just one, I would convert it to a pdf for you. But, you can use google docs to view Microsoft Word and Excel documents online without Microsoft software. You will need a google account. Here is the link: GOOGLE DOCS