Your Move

Different strokes for different folks.  Different strides for different minds. A different paint brush for every artist as they paint their masterpiece.  A swimmer swims fast to win, but how that individual swims is up to the camp he trains in, lives in, and bleeds in. There is no wrong way to lift weights.  The sport of weightlifting is getting the bar from the floor to overhead in one motion, or for the second part of the sport, two motions. How you get it there doesn't matter. This ain't a beauty contest.  The only thing that truly matters is winning. There is more than one way to get to the top of the hill.  This battle between coaches is laughable to me. I sometimes feel as if I'm watching children fighting over a toy in the sandbox. There is so much hatred in weightlifting, and not enough improvement. Take as many seminars as you can. Talk to as many coaches as you can get your hands on.  Train at different training camps, read different articles.  Become a melting pot of ideas and methods and then poor it on yourself, or better yet... your athletes. 

Is my way of lifting the best way?  Of course it is, I would be crazy not the think so, and I hope you as a coach think the same about your way.  Do I understand and respect other styles of technique and programing? Absolutely.  An open mind is the secrete to becoming a champion, without it your athletic career will shut down like a small business in the depression.  I learn every damn day, I never stop.  I wake up and look for better ways to benefit myself and others.  This goes for weightlifting and life.  How can I lift even more weight than I am now?  How can I become a better husband, a better friend, a better family member? How can I become a better man? I have been on every lifting program known to man, and every different style of technique as well, and with much trial and error I have found a way that has produced gold medals and the great opportunity to represent my Country. Even my way has wiggle room, and many different styles that can be done within it.  You can add arm bend if you like, or if you prefer, keep those arms nice and straight. Add in a dynamic pull to your liking, add more feet, or less......it's totally up to you, not me.  Do you like a slower pull, or faster? Does the bar slightly drag your thigh on the "superman  pull"? Or as an athlete, do you like a little bit of space between you and the bar? Do you like pulling back a little earlier, or do you like staying over longer?  You choose. I only show up to a Seminars to help, never to become a dictator. I teach a style of lifting that has helped many athletes better themselves in Crossfit, Weightlifting, or just crush PR's and getting them one step closer to their goal. But I don't take credit for the athlete's success, absolutely not.  The reason is because every athlete on the planet is going to lift differently than the person next to them. I always say that there is a million different styles of technique, why? Because there are a million lifters in the world who move in all sorts of brilliant and fascinating ways that can never be taught.  This is why I am so in love with weightlifting, the beauty that lies in each athlete amazes me.  I sometimes feel I am in the safari watching different animals stock their prey, and then pounce on their prey killing everything in their way.  Every time, I jump out of my chair and watch in complete amazement.  No coach can take credit for rhythm.  No coach can claim instinct.  This is the athlete's accomplishment.  Did we as coaches help them find their way, their lift, their movement? Yes.  This in my opinion is what coaching is all about, helping an athlete find their niche, their power button, their motivation and their strengths.  Yes athletes should be taught a way, a rough draft as I call it, but then like a teenage bird, they must sooner or later spread their wings and do whatever they need to do to fly... and not fall. 

Watching an athlete smoke a PR.....well, it's one of the biggest joys of my life, even if I don't even know them.  Seeing an athlete hug their coach after a win hits home to me, and in my opinion is what sports are all about.  I can relate to the emotional feelings the athlete and coach share, because I have been there before, and hope to soon visit this feeling again.  Every kilo counts, and every little advice helps.  Even advice that you choose not to keep helps tremendously! Who are you as an athlete? You will never know unless you try, and trying can lead you down a dead end, which will then turn you around so you can find your way.  Fail is the best teacher. 

For all the coaches who talk bad about me, who send me hate mail, who tell others my style of technique is wrong, well my friends they deserve a hug, and maybe one day I can give them one.  I am not going to rant or get mad, there is no reason to. I simply feel bad for the blind fold these coaches are putting around their athlete's head.  I simply hope one day they can open their mind to a world full of ideas and methods, a world full of paint brushes that paint incredible paintings.  A power snatch is still a snatch.  There is no such thing as an ugly lift, just a missed lift or made lift. There is no in between.  This is my opinion blog.  If you disagree then great, that's what this blog is all about.  That's what the Attitude Nation is all about.  Do what works for you. 

230kg PR set of 5

Lift Big Weight 2016 2016