What Has Weightlifting Taught You in 2011?

I’ve heard it said in a few places, notably the Donny Shankle interview; that weightlifting isn’t just a physical journey but mental and spiritual too. So what has weightlifting taught you this year?

For me it’d got to be:
My body is a lot more resilient to squatting than I thought
If I snatch in some form every day with an ammount of volume my snatches are a lot better than if I rest, or snatch heavy with low volume every day.
That I LOVE to compete
That even on days I feel like death, it is possible to lift well
Finally, every compatition I do/see/watch someone inspires me and I come out wanting to train harder!

Weightlifting with a flat foot is a bitch.

David Woodhouse is a visionary amongst lifters…he said years ago I should be doing pretty much what I do now but with less sessions :stuck_out_tongue:

FS to max
Sn to max
CJ to max
FS to max

daily…

There is no such thing as over training. Only under trained. You can push yourself a lot harder then you ever thought you could. The mind is stronger then the body.

I forgot to add the Jerk is such a humbling thing…it’s a very very fine line between a make and a miss. Same with the Snatch. A fraction in front no lift, a fraction slow under the bar looks awfully heavy, a fraction faster you look oh so good!
Koing

That some days you body likes to say ‘so today im going to forget how to snatch… and clean’

[quote]Koing wrote:
There is no such thing as over training. Only under trained. You can push yourself a lot harder then you ever thought you could.
[/quote]

Ditto. I switched from bodybuilding type training to Olympic lifting this year. I used to never even think about squatting 2 days in a row. Most of the programs, authors, and users here on T-Nation would say it’s stupid and counter-productive. I started doing Saturday and Sunday sessions b/c of my schedule and I’d snatch, clean & jerk, do some assistance exercises and then squat - both days, and these workouts would take just under 2 hours. From what I had read before, I thought that all this was “wrong”. But I blew past all my previous PR’s. If anything, I don’t train nearly enough - the concept of “over-training” is gone.

Also, I used to think squatting was the most challenging part of a work out. Now, when I finish with snatches and c&j’s, and it’s time to squat, I think, “Phew, just squats now.” Not that they’re necessarily physically easier, but just a hell of a lot mentally easier.

When I look around the (commercial) gym I train at, I can’t help but think that all the fitness workouts I see (that I used to do and think were hard) are like Disney movies.

I don’t care to ever read another article about squat technique. It ain’t that complicated.

I don’t care if my technique isn’t textbook on a max attempt. It’s a max attempt.

No more cardio.

“Power Belly” :wink:

i learned i need to fuss over form or i get hurt and can’t do much at all

[quote]TimG2009 wrote:

[quote]Koing wrote:
There is no such thing as over training. Only under trained. You can push yourself a lot harder then you ever thought you could.
[/quote]

Ditto. I switched from bodybuilding type training to Olympic lifting this year. I used to never even think about squatting 2 days in a row. Most of the programs, authors, and users here on T-Nation would say it’s stupid and counter-productive. I started doing Saturday and Sunday sessions b/c of my schedule and I’d snatch, clean & jerk, do some assistance exercises and then squat - both days, and these workouts would take just under 2 hours. From what I had read before, I thought that all this was “wrong”. But I blew past all my previous PR’s. If anything, I don’t train nearly enough - the concept of “over-training” is gone.

Also, I used to think squatting was the most challenging part of a work out. Now, when I finish with snatches and c&j’s, and it’s time to squat, I think, “Phew, just squats now.” Not that they’re necessarily physically easier, but just a hell of a lot mentally easier.

When I look around the (commercial) gym I train at, I can’t help but think that all the fitness workouts I see (that I used to do and think were hard) are like Disney movies.

I don’t care to ever read another article about squat technique. It ain’t that complicated.

I don’t care if my technique isn’t textbook on a max attempt. It’s a max attempt.

No more cardio.

“Power Belly” ;)[/quote]

Nice mate :slight_smile:

Smash up those numbers!

Koing

that i hate front squats

[quote]deep squat wrote:
that i hate front squats[/quote]

GTFO.

/maybe not 100% serious

[quote]deep squat wrote:
that i hate front squats[/quote]

haha

When are you coming back to train man?!

Koing

That there are a lot of deceptively strong people in the sport.

[quote]TheFatGuy wrote:
That there are a lot of deceptively strong people in the sport.[/quote]

Saw a Thai dude at the Olympic test event…he did NOT look like he could Sn 100…165 200 LOL.

Koing

Weightlifting showed me how fucking inflexible I am.

[quote]TheFatGuy wrote:
That there are a lot of deceptively strong people in the sport.[/quote]

Saw a Thai dude at the Olympic test event…he did NOT look like he could Sn 100…he ended up with about 165 200 LOL.

Koing

Hi everyone I’ve been following this forum for a while and finally decided to sign up. It’s probably going to end up as another reason to procrastinate but I hope it will help to motivate and educate me too!

  1. Real, deep squats are far more difficult than powerlifting curtsies.
  2. Squatting daily is easy.
  3. Bench press is unimpressive as soon as one has tried to snatch.
  4. My stability is shocking.
  5. 90% of assistance exercises are a waste of time for strength training.

train through pain. no pain no gain

Biggest realization: How little strength (as a generalized concept and over used “blame”) correlates with weightlifting performance.

[quote]Drenmi wrote:
Biggest realization: How little strength (as a generalized concept and over used “blame”) correlates with weightlifting performance.[/quote]

Why is it then that when we go up in weightclasses the weights lifted increase steadily although flexibility, swiftness and overall technique all decreases? Why is it then, that a lifter like Chemerkin who looked like he didn’t have a fucking clue about weightlifting could still outlift all but handfull of lifters, all of those being from the same weightclass as him?

Oh and please share us some of your absolute beginner experiences. “I used to front squat 100 kg and jerk 60. Now I front squat 90 kg but jerk 70. Technique rulezzzz” Like someone cares. Piss off.

[quote]Wrah wrote:

[quote]Drenmi wrote:
Biggest realization: How little strength (as a generalized concept and over used “blame”) correlates with weightlifting performance.[/quote]

Why is it then that when we go up in weightclasses the weights lifted increase steadily although flexibility, swiftness and overall technique all decreases? Why is it then, that a lifter like Chemerkin who looked like he didn’t have a fucking clue about weightlifting could still outlift all but handfull of lifters, all of those being from the same weightclass as him?

Oh and please share us some of your absolute beginner experiences. “I used to front squat 100 kg and jerk 60. Now I front squat 90 kg but jerk 70. Technique rulezzzz” Like someone cares. Piss off.[/quote]

Damn man, who pissed in your cornflakes?

[quote]TheJonty wrote:

[quote]Wrah wrote:

[quote]Drenmi wrote:
Biggest realization: How little strength (as a generalized concept and over used “blame”) correlates with weightlifting performance.[/quote]

Why is it then that when we go up in weightclasses the weights lifted increase steadily although flexibility, swiftness and overall technique all decreases? Why is it then, that a lifter like Chemerkin who looked like he didn’t have a fucking clue about weightlifting could still outlift all but handfull of lifters, all of those being from the same weightclass as him?

Oh and please share us some of your absolute beginner experiences. “I used to front squat 100 kg and jerk 60. Now I front squat 90 kg but jerk 70. Technique rulezzzz” Like someone cares. Piss off.[/quote]

Damn man, who pissed in your cornflakes?[/quote]

That was some serious agro lol