I started strength training at a young age in the mid 80’s. I was encouraged by a former high school football coach to purchase a $20 beginner set of plastic covered concrete DP weights from Wal-Mart, where I also fumbled through a book of beginning lifts that I attempted in my garage. As a 10 year old attempting to teach myself to clean and jerk, I am fortunate the only thing I hurt was the glass window in the garage door. I don’t recommend this learning method and I’m sure Dr. Kraemer would advise against it as well.
Eventually, it was onto junior high athletics with the Universal machine in the locker room, to the high school field house with squat racks, flat benches, incline benches, power clean boxes, dumbbell rack, and the hydraulic neck machines with bass boat gold covered vinyl pleather.
In high school I participated in the traditional Texas high school off-season staple of Spring powerlifting competitions. We competed in meets all over East Texas. Power-lifting, for those unfamiliar, is the where three judges give you a green or red light for an attempted lift. Each athlete competes individually in a weight class and also as a team. Events are the Squat, Bench Press, and Dead Lift. An athlete records his best of 3 attempts at each event for the best total score. We were very competitive and a pretty strong bunch. Our top lifters had high 400 – 500+ lb squats, 300+ lb benches, and high 400’s – 500+ lb dead lifts.
The benefits to this type of training were many, including strict technique on lifts and focus on compound movements. Coupled with the benefits of competing with individual accountability and teamwork, these benefits make power lifting a winner for high school athletes.
The downside to the powerlifting mindset of weight training specifically for me was the change of focus. The competition shifted my single goal to pushing up bigger numbers. On its face, bigger numbers aren’t the villain– compromising technique and losing focus of my long term goal was. This also posed a problem for me in speed training, for which the focus was a faster 40 time. Running would parallel lifting for me. My tight hips and poor flexibility coupled with bad running technique would only get worse as I strained and struggled to beat my average at best 40 time. Like in everything, you have to maintain focus keep the big picture and end goal in mind. For me it was to be the best football player I could be and play college football. For more talented athletes than myself, it is probably not as big of a problem.
Gifted athletes will not require the same instruction. They’ll have another set of challenges. We all know that speed and talent are God-given gifts, and those athletes will require motivation and refinement. Competitors with a hot running motor and drive are going to need major intervention in their technique as early as possible to help shape and build a quality foundation. Too many times sweat and hard work can be for naught when they are done improperly. So many could benefit from learning to lift and run properly. Taking for granted for too long, these are not simple skills that are just a birth right. I finally began to learn to run properly (correct arm swing, foot strike, leg cycle, and start technique) late in my college career. How much better could I have been with earlier intervention? I was coaching young athletes and in the midst of training myself to lose my lineman 300 lb figure when I began to train more explosively and improve my hip flexibility. Why did I discover this too late? It’s through my own failures and learning from them that I have come to a much greater understanding of how to more effectively approach performance training. The earlier the evaluation and intervention the more effective and efficient training can be. Proper fundamentals and technique will ensure a strong base and powerful platform on which to build. Placing importance on the development of a solid foundation in proper lifting and running technique, along with healthy eating habits.
Matthew 7:24-27 (New International Version)
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24″Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”