Olympic Weightlifting has become wide spread thanks to many different avenues. In particular the internet, while there is great information you can pull from the web, there’s also a LOT of junk…So we thought it’ll be a good idea to go over a few mistakes Weightlifters make.

Strength vs Technique

This subject is generally debated amongst young Weightlifters who are new to the sport. The debate of strength vs technique amongst veterean Weightlifters and Coaches is rarely stated, because we know it’s all subjective to the lifter.

For most new Weightlifters, they need a balance of total reps and general strength. Having a balanced attack will help develop them for the future. Afterwards, depending on the Weightlifters adaptability, will you decide to focus on strength vs. technique. It’s a tricky subject because of the many variabilities  but in general (in my opinion) most people need reps under the bar. This is even more crucial at the heavier sets.

Program

We are always looking for the next big program. This is how most people think:

“Joe Schmo gained 20k’s to his total off this program, so I should definitely gain the same or MORE!”

Does this logic work? Of course not, but could it help improve your overall total, probably. It goes back to what the Weightlifter needs, if a Weightlifter needs more positioning work or more volume under heavy loads then those are two separate programs.

The other type of meatball are those that jump from program to program. It maybe due to being impatient or just being a meatball but this will inevitable lead you to shit results. Programs build on top of each other, the last program built you to the next program and so on so on. If you keep skipping around from program to program that have nothing to do with each other then you’ll inevitable no progress as efficiently.

Weightlifting Idols

It’s clear that if a country is doing well or a Weightlifter is a plain bad ass, you’ll want to understand how they came to be. Most people look at their programs, nutrition, “supplements” etc… but what they fail to look at that is the BIG key, which is their genetics and drive.

Most elite Weightlifters are clearly genetically gifted but they are also VERY driven to excel in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting. I commonly hear Weightlifters talk about how Pyros Dimas, Lu yong, Dmitry Klokov, etc.. train and because X lifter did this they want to try it. My thoughts on trying to copy an elite lifter is first: do you have the drive to work as hard, NOT just in the weight room but to not eat that shit meal or go out at night, to stay in at night and get a 9+hours a sleep to set a side time to take a nap?

Unfortunately most people don’t or will not go to this extent, yet they want the same results with half the work????

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know what success Weightlifters do, but you need to keep it into perspective. Generally speaking most Weightlifters do this recreationally, which means that your training scope needs to be extremely efficient and for the most part can’t stray too far away from the classical lifts. While guys that do this as their full time job will utilize specialized exercises to excel, as they do this on a FULL time basis.

Stay strong,

Team Fusion Weightlifting