Learning Footwork in the Jerk
Why Weightlifting Is A Wonderful Activity For Children and Adults – Especially If You Are Well Coached
Many beginners get confused about how to start learning the sport of Weightlifting. Many parents worry when their children want to lift weights. Yet of all the activities you or your child might undertake, it would hard to come up with a more beneficial one than Weightlifting, practiced properly. Why?
Weightlifting is an activity that offers great benefit throughout a person’s life because it:
- Strengthens their muscles as they grow and mature,
- Can build muscle size if that is desired, or help in weight reduction, if that is a goal
- Improves the overall mobility of most athletes (except those who are especially flexible at the outset, who aren’t likely to get more flexible, but certainly won’t become less so),
- Increases bone density and the strength of connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments,
- Improves the lifter’s self-confidence – both in their strength, their ability to defend themselves if needed, and in their ability to grow through hard work (many gain the confidence to try to develop in other areas of life once they see what consistent training has done for their strength and muscles, as well as their confidence),
- Is one of the most affordable and accessible sports – no track, no court, no pool, or playing field, is needed – great lifters have come out of basements and garages. Barbells once purchased can last a lifetime,
- Is an activity that can and should be done throughout your lifetime, so that you reduce the decline in strength, muscle size and mobility that normally accompany aging,
- It can be done simply for your own satisfaction, or you can choose to lift in competitions to officially memorialize your efforts, or to actually compete against those who are your own, size age and gender,
- You can become part of a very welcoming community, one that encourages everyone who wants to participate in the sport, however those who prefer to train alone, or only with a family member, have achieved great success in weightlifting as well.
Getting Off To A Good Start In Weightlifting is A Key To Your Success
Seek Out Instruction
It is possible to self coach and become an outstanding. However, given the importance of technique and programming knowledge, self-coaching is a hard way to go. So we recommend that you should seek out some form of instruction, on how to lift and train. With the technology available today, there are many options. Some learn by watching videos on YouTube and reading books and/or blogs. This can certainly work, especially if you choose the right instructors and materials, but as a newbie to the sport, it is very hard to know who to listen to, and about what. However, here are a few pro tips.
Live Versus Remote Coaching
As far as training conditions go, all other things being equal, live coaching in a reasonably small group environment is ideal. This is partly because the coach is able see and give feedback as needed, to assess whether whatever drills have been assigned are working as they should, whether the lifter is progressing in terms of weight in a reasonable way, and whether something more, less or different than what was planned is appropriate.
On the other hand, remote coaching by a better coach than one has access to locally, may outweigh the benefits of live coaching. Today, with video monitoring, and various forms of electronic communication, excellent coaching is possible remotely, although it is challenging to do and can require as much or more time of the coach than live coaching in the gym does.
More important than whether you get your coaching live or online (or some hybrid) is the coach you select. People make such selections in a number of ways, one of the most common is simply looking for a famous retired lifter who is offering coaching.
Look For A Former Champion?
Many begin their search for coaching by looking for a retired champion who has taken up coaching. For instance, you may see a lifter who was world class on YouTube, providing remote instruction. Having been a world class lifter can give a coach a great background for being a coach, but simply having been a great lifter doesn’t mean that lifter is a good coach. Having had success as a competitive lifter gives such a coach a real head start in coaching, and such a coach knows many things first hand that a coach who has never lifted big weights may not fully understand.
On the other hand, I’ve known world class lifters who knew very little about coaching, as, even if they had a good coach, they seemed to have paid little attention to the structure, content and rationale of what they were doing as athletes. And even if they did pay attention to what they were taught, if they haven’t practiced coaching very much they may not be very effective in the coaching role. So don’t be over-impressed by the fact that Coach X was a World Champion (although you should be impressed by that lifter’s accomplishments as an athlete). It is hard, to say the least, for someone who has no personal experience with lifting to coach it successfully. And even if a given coach does that, the coach is likely to have some blind spots that are typically filled in only by personal experience.
For instance, I’ve actually known at least one former World Champion and World Recordholder who knew next to nothing about coaching. He was a great athlete, but simply did what he was told by his coaches when he was lifting, and apparently made no effort to understand the context of what he was being told to do. Discovering this was astounding to me, as I expected to learn much from this famous lifter, but didn’t.
In contrast, I’ve known champions like all time US and World lifting great Tommy Kono, and the Bulgarian World Champion and World Recordholder, Antonio Krastev, who were real students of the sport and were very knowledgeable coaches. Their experiences as athletes gave them a great foundation on which they built their outstanding coaching skills.
So you can’t simply assume that because a coach was a good lifter he or she will be a great coach, although what one learns first hand as a high level lifter can be indispensable to a coach. For instance, people who have never lifted heavy weights find it much harder to fully understand some of the nuances of the sport (e.g., how a heavy bar springs when one dips to drive up a jerk or how the split second timing of a truly heavy lift feels). But this lack of first-hand experience can be made up for in various ways and some truly great coaches were never great, or even good, lifters, so it can be done.
What About A Coach’s Formal Education?
One way coaches learn to coach is by pursuing some kind of coaching certification. For instance, USA Weightlifting offers courses for new and more experienced coaches. As far as I know, these are the best courses around for teaching coaches the basics of Weightlifting coaching. In fact, I’m an instructor for such courses and even contributed much of the content used in the first level course. So a Level 1 USAW Coaching Certification is a great start for a coach. In addition to its content, it is one of the few courses that includes practice of the exercises being taught and practice coaching. Finally, training in protecting young athletes from improper coaching is part of the course.
However, no certification course that lasts only a couple of days is sufficient, by itself, to enable one to coach in a highly effective way. That takes practice. So when a coach points to a certification as proof of competence it pays to look a bit further. How long was the course that coach took and how long ago did the coach take it? Who gave it? Did it include actual practice in lifting and coaching?
It’s worth looking up the organization that provided the training to see what their credentials are and what their course content looks like. That will give you a better idea of what the coach you are considering might have learned. In addition, you’ll want to look at who the coach has coached since taking the course, and especially what the technique of the athletes that coach has worked with looks like, as compared with that of accomplished lifters (videos of which are readily available on YouTube and the like). There are champions who don’t have the greatest technique, but most have technique that ranges from good to excellent. How do the more advanced athletes the coach you are considering look in comparison?
Looking at a coach’s academic credentials has limited value, since to my knowledge we have no colleges in the US that offer a degree in Weightlifting coaching (or coaching in most other sports for that matter). Many coaches do have undergraduate or even graduate degrees in such fields as physical education, physiology of exercise or biomechanics. And training in these fields can give a coach an advantage in terms of understanding scientific principles that apply to weightlifting, separating unscientific claims from scientific ones, and understanding what science has to say about technique and training, to the extent weightlifting technique and training have been studied by scientists. But such studies often carry with them knowledge that is very limited in terms of applicability. For instance, studies of technique have provided significant detail about what high level lifters do, but little advice on what they might or should do.
“I’ve Worked With Many Champions”
Looking at a coach’s track record in terms of developing athletes is perhaps the best single indicator one can use to identify a good coach. A coach who has a track record of actually developing athletes who are technically proficient and have lifted heavy weights is of course preferable, all other things being equal.
But there are many coaches who claim outstanding athletes as their pupils, so have a big “name” as a coach. But if you look into it further, the lifters they claim were already excellent before that coach started working with them, and the big name coach may have actually have contributed little, if anything, to the lifter’s success. Some coaches are great at putting sponsorships and teams together, or becoming influential on YouTube, but may not as great at the actual coaching.
So in considering the record of a coach, it is important to try to understand the extent to which a coach actually developed a lifter, versus having such a lifter on that coach’s team. That will often take some digging, but it is research well worth doing. A coach who has brought some lifters from beginner to high national or international level is generally more credible than someone who simply took on a lifter was already outstanding. In the latter case, it would generally take a track record of continued progress under the coach’s period of service to the athlete in order to demonstrate that coach’s effectiveness.
Consider Chemistry
Part of receiving great results from coaching comes from what is often referred to the “chemistry” between that athlete and coach. A coach can be great from a technical standpoint, but if the strengths of the coach and needs of the athlete don’t mesh, if the athlete’s needs aren’t met by the coach, or vice versa, there may simply not be a good match – even if both are diligent and capable. While that can be sad, there is no shame in it, the real tragedy comes only when differences can’t be resolved and this is not admitted.
Perhaps The Most Important Consideration – The Coach’s Process and Outcomes Traceable To It
So how do you find the right coach child or yourself? Good coaches should be able to spell out clear educational objectives that they have for their students in the short and long runs. They should be able to demonstrate success with such objectives by having pupils who have actually achieved such results. Their style should be motivating to you.
One way to learn more about a coach’s approach to coaching is to ask that coach key questions like “Of all the athletes you’ve coached, who did you develop most and how did you do it? Then follow up with questions about the details, so that you fully understand what the coach did, why that was done and what the outcome was.
Another important question is something like “How would you plan to teach me weightlifting?”. While the coach can’t explain or even predict every step in the process, that coach should be able to explain, in some detail, what the process will be like.
Apart from speaking with coaches on the above topics, one of the best ways to determine a coach’s likely effectiveness for you is to see the coach in action. Sit in on classes or training sessions if possible (beware of those who won’t let you watch). Attend at least one competition where the coach’s athletes are competing. Do the athletes look skilled relative to others in the competition? Does the coach interact with the athletes in a way you like? See if you can interact with some of the coach’s students and see how they feel about their lifting experiences. Take a few lessons with that coach. During the lessons ask about how the teacher would move forward with you – steps and teaching methods. On the basis of what you learn, you are in a much better position to determine the substance of the coach’s expertise and style – and whether those will be a good match for you.
Red Flags
There are some coaching characteristics that should be considered red flags, indicators that a given coach may not be someone to select or remain with. Here are some descriptions of those flags, and how to deal with them.
Make sure any coach being considered for coaching a minor has a SafeSport or similar certification, to assure that they understand what the boundaries of good coaching are. The horrific stories of sexual and other abuse by coaches that appear in the news should not scare parents off from coaches in general, but they should be motivators for parents to make sure they understand what coaches are being taught and practiced to prevent abuse (which is rare but can be tragic). I would recommend that parents look at the materials available to them through organizations like https://uscenterforsafesport.org/ . This will help you to understand what is considered acceptable and not when it comes to coaching behavior.
Another thing to consider is general approaches to training. There are a wide variety of acceptable approaches to coaching, but my view is that certain behaviors should be of concern. For instance, coaches should not be embarrassing athletes with public criticisms. They should not be asking them to train when they are injured (unless when placing stress on injured is avoided). They should not be increasing an athlete’s training load precipitously (e.g., going from training three times per week to every day without a considerable period of gradual progression to the new level – from three days to six days of training per week can take years, if it is even necessary).
With respect to the latter issue, under a number of weightlifting training systems used in Eastern Europe when the countries in that part of the world dominated world weightlifting, athletes typically went from training three days a week to six days over a period of several years, with careful monitoring of their reactions to the increased training. This is partly because increasing an athlete’s training load too quickly can lead to chronic overuse injuries.
Another important issue is that young athletes, actually all newer athletes of all ages, should be emphasizing good technique over heavy lifts from the outset. They should be taught how to miss the lifts they are being asked to do, from day one, as well as learning other safety precautions. Their early training should be focused on learning good technique, in the context of a gradually increasing training load, as needed.
In an actual gym environment, athletes should not be criticizing or otherwise disrespecting other athletes. The coaching staff should not allow that. If an athlete observes some behavior on the part of a fellow athlete that should be corrected, that athlete should bring it to the attention of the coach, who should deal with the situation, while protecting the complaining athlete’s identity.
However, not all complaints or advice will make sense for the coach to act on immediately, if at all. For instance, if an athlete reports on a technical flaw an athlete is making, the coach may very well have noticed the same flaw, but feels that, in comparison with other flaws the lifter has, it is not appropriate to address it at this time. If that proves not to be the case (e.g., the coach didn’t notice the problem and perhaps several others) it may be time to consider another coach.
Weightlifting exercises should never be part of punishment – never “give me 100 extra squats because you were bad”. There are plenty of more civil, safer and effective ways to deal with misbehavior. Training should be based on an athlete’s needs as athletes, not as part of corporal punishment.
Be wary of programs that you or your child are told to carry out without deviation (e.g., “here is our standard beginner’s program). In my experience, beginners have only one thing in common – they haven’t previously tried to become Olympic-style weightlifters. While they share that characteristic, knowing that alone has limited value to the coach.
For instance, athlete A is a teenager who did power cleans and bench presses in the wrestling program that athlete just left. In contrast, athlete B is middle aged, has never lifted a weight and hasn’t exercised since leaving high school. Sure they are both “beginners”, but the kind of program athletes A and B should follow would likely be very different (and the difference would likely be explained more fully by many factors other than the ones already mentioned).
Of course it may well be that Coach X’s standard beginner’s program is suited to athlete A or B. But it almost can’t be perfectly suited to both, although there will likely be some similarities. In order to prescribe effectively, the coach must understand what the athlete has done before that, especially with weights (if anything). The coach needs to have assessed the new lifter’s flexibility, looked at the technique the athlete may have developed in any lifts that will carry over into their training is the sport of Weightlifting. The coach should also look at the new person’s exercise history, recent and ancient.
There are of course others factors that can and should be taken into account when deciding on who to entrust your coaching or your child’s coaching to. One of the most important being how much a coach seems to care. A less technically sophisticated coach who is highly devoted and willing to learn, can be a great choice. Such a coach and athlete can learn together and both become much better.
Get Medical Clearance Before You Begin
Before beginning any strenuous activity, you should seek medical clearance, to assure there is no medical reason why you can’t exercise, gradually at first, and more vigorously over time. it is rare for this to be the case, especially for younger people, but it is important to rule out some contraindication for lifting. Even if you have some limiting condition(s), some kind of exercise will generally be beneficial rather than harmful, but ruling that out any contraindication is important.
Some Last Thoughts
As a parting piece of advice, don’t be afraid to express any concerns you may have to a prospective coach. And don’t be afraid to switch coaches if you are not satisfied with the coaching your child is receiving. Coaching changes are not uncommon and while no coach likes losing a coaching relationship with a lifter, there are generally no hard feelings.
May you find a coach who is a good fit for you or your child, so that you and/or your child can enjoy the great sport of weightlifting to the fullest. And thank that coach for the work the coach does – as the contribution it can make to your life, inside and outside of weightlifting, can be immense.