How do 123 Pound Guys Lift 350 lbs?!

I am encouraged now…

Now I want to try olympic lifting. I have to find a coach first but I was shocked seeing little guys like myself lifting nearly 3 times their weight. How do they do it? How do they stay so small? And how long would it probably take to reach that level of weightlifting (if you have the genetics)?

They stay small by lifting heavy weights for low reps (concentrates development on strength) and they do not eat a calorie surplus. Without a calorie surplus there is nothing to build more muscle with. The muscle you have just has to get more efficient.

[quote]Dstruct wrote:
I am encouraged now…

Now I want to try olympic lifting. I have to find a coach first but I was shocked seeing little guys like myself lifting nearly 3 times their weight. How do they do it? How do they stay so small? And how long would it probably take to reach that level of weightlifting (if you have the genetics)?[/quote]

They lift that much weight because they are training there asses off. They stay small, because they don’t eat enough to grow… how long would it probably take… well they are in the olympics… You can’t olympic lift for a few years, and hope to be lifting as much in your weight class as the athletes who have been training since they were children.

EDIT: Lol in the time it took me to type my post someone else responded before me saying almost the exact same thing… ah well.

Training, training, and more training. And likely steroids at some point in time.

Ah. That makes sense. I definitely wouldn’t expect to be lifting over 300 pounds right away. But its goal worthy.

Incredibly efficient CNS’s as well.

It helps to be a midget too.

[quote]dfreezy wrote:
Training, training, and more training. And likely steroids at some point in time.[/quote]

why would you say “steroids at some point in time” for someone that small?

[quote]gi2eg wrote:
dfreezy wrote:
Training, training, and more training. And likely steroids at some point in time.

why would you say “steroids at some point in time” for someone that small? [/quote]

… because it’s highly likly to be true. Gear and performance enhancing drugs are not just about putting muscle on. It’s about strength and recovery from brutal training. Infact for most sports gear use is much more for recovery than muscle mass.

How do 123lb guys lift 350lbs?

Efficiently.

[quote]IainK wrote:
gi2eg wrote:
why would you say “steroids at some point in time” for someone that small?

… because it’s highly likly to be true. Gear and performance enhancing drugs are not just about putting muscle on. It’s about strength and recovery from brutal training. Infact for most sports gear use is much more for recovery than muscle mass.

[/quote]

Exactly. Steroid use doesn’t necessarily mean huge rippling muscles and its definitely not restricted to heavier weight classes. Mutlu, one of the most well known 56 kg lifters just got back from his suspension after being popped. I personally think it would be naive to think that most of the elite haven’t juiced at some point in their career, regardless of weight class.

[quote]dfreezy wrote:

Exactly. Steroid use doesn’t necessarily mean huge rippling muscles and its definitely not restricted to heavier weight classes. Mutlu, one of the most well known 56 kg lifters just got back from his suspension after being popped. I personally think it would be naive to think that most of the elite haven’t juiced at some point in their career, regardless of weight class.[/quote]

Another good example would be baseball pitchers. They are definitely not looking to bulk up. The use gear solely for recovery purposes.

It also helps if you start during early adolescent years.