As I prepare for my first All-Round Weightlifting Competition in around 13 years, I’ve been thinking of the mistakes I made as a young lifter. Back in the day, competing in All-Round lifting, I did OK. I won a few comps, set a couple of records, and performed feats of strength at expos and on TV. But looking back, I never became really, truly strong. It wasn’t even so apparent ‘back in the day’ as strength sports were yet to undergo their recent renaissance, driven in no small part by the increasing popularity of CrossFit and other ‘functional’ training brands that has inevitably led to people being exposed to Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting and eventually crossing over to these sports. Case in point, several of our recent Commonwealth Games Olympic lifters are high-level CrossFitters, first exposed to Oly lifting in that sport. Now, looking back, I can see that I was lucky that there weren’t as many people competing in strength sports back in the day. This is not to say that I am deriding my achievements. I’m proud of the records I set and the records I surpassed in unofficial exhibitions. More so, it’s just that I could have been so much more as a strength athlete with that inevitable and always unattainable (in-the-moment) benefit of hindsight.
So, with that in mind, here’s what I would tell ‘me’ in my twenties.
Don’t rush
As a young lifter, I wanted to emulate my buddy, the late, great Steve Angell and be regarded as one of the strongest dudes on the planet! The problem was, I was always focussed on the records, on the titles, and not so much on training properly to have longevity in the sport. Consequently, I allowed too many max attempts and tried to have far too steep a progression strategy for my lifting. While I did hit some decent numbers, they were nowhere near what they could have been if I had taken more time to…. create a wider base.
Create a wider base
You can build a taller structure if it has a wider base. The same is true for training but many people (my previous self included) don’t want to spend long months working sub-maximal weights, with perfect form and work on their weak points.
Work your weak points
I tended to perform vanity lifts that I knew I was strong at. It’s probably fair to say I was a bit of a ‘back and grip’ lifter, putting up some decent numbers in one hand deadlifts, rack lifts, and other grip and muscle lifts. The thing is, I didn’t have the foundation to be putting up those numbers at my body weight! Particularly, I should have focussed a lot more on gaining prodigious levels of leg strength. As I’ve discussed recently with my buddy and movement/strength guru Darren Ellis MSc, I believe that leg strength is equally important for someone who tends to be a hinge/back lifter as it is for someone who is a ‘leg lifter’ (think if the difference between a hinge-style deadlift and sumo or squat-style deadlift). Having the foundation of support incredible leg strength and drive provides helps to retain greater stability, hip position, and reduces the risk of injury for the hinge-lifter. Therefore, I had to (and you probably need to) squat more!
Squat more!
My legs were far weaker than my back. While I have squatted some decent poundage (180Kg for a triple at a bodyweight of 75Kg), these were aberrations achieved after dedicated squat blocks, but much of my training failed to incorporate enough volume, technique work, and intention on good ol’ squatting, and when I did focus on it, I simply wanted to get some decent numbers up, rather than the better strategies of not rushing, focussing on a foundation of lower-body strength and training sub-maximally (i.e., don’t fail).
Don’t fail
I had my best strength increases training as an Olympic lifter (although I was using this to train for All-Round) under the tutelage of Richard Dryden. Sure, a big part of this was because, before this, my Oly lifting technique was rubbish…BUT it was also because of the progressive, sub-maximal, high-frequency approach inherent to Olympic Weightlifting. A major part of that training was building the base, not rushing, (there was also lots of squatting!) and a very low frequency of going to true maximums. I failed far too much in my lifting outside of my time in Oly and this led me to not just have sub-optimal results but also predisposed me to the severe back injuries that subsequently put me out of competition for many years. I also didn’t have the physical structure to be the best lifter I could be, and so, I needed to get bigger!
Get bigger
I lifted in the under 75Kg category. I’m a touch under 5’10” and this is just too small. I was by far one of the most linear athletes competing and the lack of mass, I believe’ affected not just my strength, but reduced my structural stability under load. I also actively tried to stay lean and was constantly fighting an internal struggle between gaining muscle, losing fat, and preserving optimal energy levels to support hormonal balance, offset the risk of overtraining, and ensure adequate rest, sleep, stress-modulation, and overall recovery. In retrospect, I can now see that I failed! The younger I was, the less it impacted me, but as I moved through my late 20s and early 30s, I experienced shorter and shorter sleeping cycles, severe muscle twitches, fatigue, lacklustre performances, and a slew of injuries, all common outcomes of total energy deficit (and potentially micronutrient undernourishment). I was pretty ripped and looked great for the beach, but I felt like I was on an energy and mood roller-coaster!
Conclusion
Slow down young blood. Take your time. Don’t train to failure except for the very occasional test of your max but make those max tests ‘easy maxes.’ Leave the gym feeling fresh. Eat to fuel the work required and the results desired (in other words, eat BIG). Fill out your structure to the max. Set a wide foundation of strength and focus on building incredible (and lasting) leg drive and strength. These things will set you up for a lifetime of strength and health.
Now, at 42 years of age, I am 15Kg heavier than my former competition weight (and I won’t be cutting for comps!). I eat a truckload more, I’m fatter (though not by any means ‘fat’) and as a result, a heck of a lot happier. I also have a feeling that I’ll become a lot stronger and sustainably so as I enter my next phase of lifting as a master’s lifter.
For the record, some of my best lifts at a bodyweight of 72-75Kg included:
Rack deadlift (from the knees) – 475Kg
One-handed deadlift – 180Kg
One-arm snatch – 60Kg
Military press – 90Kg
Thumbless deadlift (WR) – 140Kg
Lifted an Inch DB replica
I also Clean & Jerked 120Kg and Snatched 90Kg
