Started Oly a Few Months Ago, Frustrated

Hi Everyone,

Im new to the forums, so I figure I’d say HI!!!

I started Oly Lifting a few months back, about 4 to be precise. I really like Oly Lifting but I must admit I am not the most athletic when it comes to picking up really physical stuff quickly. I do ok but am no natural by any means. I dont have a ton of weight lifting experience either so this doesnt help matters greatly.

The gym I train at is actually an Oly Gym so this helps but the trainer there that is suppose to be training me doesnt seem too interested in me (or at least training me thoroughly). Every once in a while I will ask him to watch and critique a lift and he will only give one or two word answers like ‘More Shrug’ or ‘Faster Snatch’ then go and make a phone call for 15 min.

I just need some advice from people on what I should do? I havent made as much progress as I would have liked to in these 4 months and when I express this concern to my coach he tells me it takes time to get the technique right but I feel at the rate Im going I’ll be an old man by the time I get these lifts down.

Thanks in advance!!

My coach is the same way. Its always small infrequent ques.

Personally it has worked for me so i would just go along with it and trust in your coach.

And where at in nj?

Moorestown Weightlifting Club…

Could you elaborate on how it has worked for you over the days, months, weeks, years…?

Im just curious

Thanks

I just wrote out a rather long response only to realize i dont get your question.

Worked in what way?
Program,progress,coaching? Or all 3

And Btw im glad too help out but im only about a year and a half into this. So you might want to wait for the more experienced posters to chime in.

I would say all 3 yes…

PS- Have you competed in any competitions yet?

Thanks again Diver!

Once I have some idea of what I’m trying to do with the lift I find it really helpful to be left alone for a bit so I can practice. Takes a while for me to think I’m starting to approximate that idea. A coach expressing the same idea over and over before every lift (when I’m doing it to myself already) only frustrates me. I’M DOING THE BEST I CAN DAMMIT.

Once I think I am reliably doing that then it is really helpful to get another assessment / input as to what I should think of improving on next. Too many different things to think about all at once can result in my being paralyzed and hardly being able to lift at all. I CAN ONLY THINK OF ONE MAX TWO THINGS BEFORE I LIFT DAMMIT.

It is frustrating. And humbling. But then you get it and it feels EASY and… Well, when in life did something really worthwhile ever come easy?

[quote]alexus wrote:
Once I have some idea of what I’m trying to do with the lift I find it really helpful to be left alone for a bit so I can practice. Takes a while for me to think I’m starting to approximate that idea. A coach expressing the same idea over and over before every lift (when I’m doing it to myself already) only frustrates me. I’M DOING THE BEST I CAN DAMMIT.
[/quote]

lol

Like my little bro, he doesn’t take criticism well LOL. It’s like bro, I’m telling you these points so you can improve you f00l! (at him, not you!).

My coaching is it’s my way or take the f0cking high way.

OP, find another coach mate. Do you even pay this dude for coaching?

Remember as a beginner it’s not useful to say 3+ coaching points. You can’t process and do this. 1-2 points TOPS so you work on the 1-2 issues, then once you got them down he can get on to the other points.

How have your lifts improved in the past 4months? 4months isn’t all that much time mate if your training 1x a week. How often are you training? How many lifters is the coach training?

Koing

Thanks everyone for the replies so far.

@ Koing- The problem with finding another coach is that I believe hes the only daytime coach, so I may be stuck with him for the foreseeable future. My lifts have improved in the past few months but improvement seems like it has been few and far between.

For training, I am doing 4 days a week and there are about a half dozen to a dozen others he trains but theres usually only 2 or 3 of us in the gym at a time, so I dont think hes drowning in trainees (from what Ive seen).

And no I pay $20 a month for the gym and the coaching is included.

@ Alexus- You’re right the best things in life dont come easy, thats a good point!

I personally have found that if you do 4 things properly during the pull, then there’s few other things you might need to fix.
1)Keep back tight
2)Keep arms loooooooooooooooose
3)weight on heels
4)stand straight up(as in keep the angle your back has constant for as long as possible)

Then comes the 2nd pull, where you don’t do number 4… as for how to do it, I think it happens kind of naturally and you learn it on your own. Don’t try to stand on your toes, don’t try to shrug(at least while you are still new to this IMO), just do the 2nd pull and then get under the bar fast and then tighten everything up.

I think if you focus on the above(and I’ve personally found that keeping arms loose is quite hard to learn for some people, including myself) you will do most things right IMO.

[quote]Ghaz013 wrote:
Thanks everyone for the replies so far.

@ Koing- The problem with finding another coach is that I believe hes the only daytime coach, so I may be stuck with him for the foreseeable future. My lifts have improved in the past few months but improvement seems like it has been few and far between.

For training, I am doing 4 days a week and there are about a half dozen to a dozen others he trains but theres usually only 2 or 3 of us in the gym at a time, so I dont think hes drowning in trainees (from what Ive seen).

And no I pay $20 a month for the gym and the coaching is included.

@ Alexus- You’re right the best things in life dont come easy, thats a good point![/quote]

Your not paying for coaching mate. That $20 a month wouldn’t cover the fee at most gyms in the US…let alone a gym with bumpers and decent bars.

List your lifts before you started and up until now? How much have you gained in 4months? We need to know numbers to gauge your progress.

Did you have flexibility issues before you started to OLift? This will seriously hamper your gains in the first 4months if you can’t get in to position correctly.

Koing

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:

2)Keep arms loooooooooooooooose
[/quote]

For me, I like to emphasize this among many other things. I find that keeping the arms loose tends to make your whole body to not be unnecessarily tight, which is important for power movements.

[quote]Ghaz013 wrote:
Hi Everyone,

Im new to the forums, so I figure I’d say HI!!!

I started Oly Lifting a few months back, about 4 to be precise. I really like Oly Lifting but I must admit I am not the most athletic when it comes to picking up really physical stuff quickly. I do ok but am no natural by any means. I dont have a ton of weight lifting experience either so this doesnt help matters greatly.

The gym I train at is actually an Oly Gym so this helps but the trainer there that is suppose to be training me doesnt seem too interested in me (or at least training me thoroughly). Every once in a while I will ask him to watch and critique a lift and he will only give one or two word answers like ‘More Shrug’ or ‘Faster Snatch’ then go and make a phone call for 15 min.

I just need some advice from people on what I should do? I havent made as much progress as I would have liked to in these 4 months and when I express this concern to my coach he tells me it takes time to get the technique right but I feel at the rate Im going I’ll be an old man by the time I get these lifts down.

Thanks in advance!!

[/quote]

Why not just talk to your coach and let him know what you feel? Coaching is a relationship and if he and the athlete are not on the same page, nobody wins. He might think nothing is wrong or is very minimalist in his approach.

Like my little bro, he doesn’t take criticism well LOL. It’s like bro, I’m telling you these points so you can improve you f00l! (at him, not you!).

lol. yeah, i know.

i just find it hard when i’m focusing as best i can on doing x and i’m feeling pretty frustrated that i’m not pulling it off… then hearing someone say ‘do x! do x!’ can add to the frustration. if i can be left alone for a bit so that I think i’m finally doing x… then hearing whether i actually am or not can be helpful.

My coaching is it’s my way or take the f0cking high way.

you don’t strike me as being particularly temperamental, though. i think my biggest problem is learning to shut my yap. i don’t need to explain why i think i’m doing it wrong. nobody cares. best just listen to what i need to do in order to do it right.

[quote]alexus wrote:

Like my little bro, he doesn’t take criticism well LOL. It’s like bro, I’m telling you these points so you can improve you f00l! (at him, not you!).

lol. yeah, i know.

i just find it hard when i’m focusing as best i can on doing x and i’m feeling pretty frustrated that i’m not pulling it off… then hearing someone say ‘do x! do x!’ can add to the frustration. if i can be left alone for a bit so that I think i’m finally doing x… then hearing whether i actually am or not can be helpful.

My coaching is it’s my way or take the f0cking high way.

you don’t strike me as being particularly temperamental, though. i think my biggest problem is learning to shut my yap. i don’t need to explain why i think i’m doing it wrong. nobody cares. best just listen to what i need to do in order to do it right.
[/quote]

Different lifters different coaching styles. The coach has to decide how to approach.

I’m not temperamental. It’s just my coaching method is as is. I don’t do cushy BS. If it’s crap I’ll say it’s crap and if I felt you didn’t give it your all I’ll say so. Just ask Ox Man and Regieski/DeepSquat. I coach them both. They have about 6months training with the gaps we had last year.

How often do you train?

Koing