US weightlifting

[Daniel Wheeler]

Let's at least talk about something productive...

Why do we (the US) suck so hard on the international level..


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[Eric Montgomery]

1. How many kids do you know who want to be Kendrick Farris when they grow up vs. how many want to be LeBron James or Ray Lewis or Albert Pujols?
2. How much money does USAW spend recruiting and training prospective athletes? How many highly experienced club coaches are out there looking for promising kids and funneling them into lifting rather than other sports?
3. US anti-doping rules.

[Daniel Wheeler]

Basically my thinking.

I think there is only around 3000 members of USAW.

American Football.

[Chris Mason]

Read the Louie Simmons article I just linked to in another thread.

[Blair Robert Lowe]

I have heard that the Chinese have 3000 coaches and roughly 1 million registered training lifters. Which is probably 30x the amount of coaches and 1000x the amount of lifters. Well maybe only 500x.

We're probably lucky if we have 1000 lifters training under 18, much less 100 under 14.

[Sean Dunston]

I remember watching a video from Coach B at least a couple of years ago where he said (paraphrasing here): CrossFit has done more for USA Weightlifting than USA Weightlifting has done for itself.

Originally Posted by Chris Mason

Read the Louie Simmons article I just linked to in another thread.

Just my opinion, I have a lot of respect for Louie but all successful international weightlifters do the lifts more than once a week (bar a few who have been lifting since they were 7 or 8). The goal of Olympic Weightlifting is to Snatch and Clean & Jerk as much weight as possible. Squats are merely assistance work and should be treated as much.

USA's best hopes for medals at 2016 (Pat Mendes and Rob Adell) both come from John Broz's gym, who do the full lifts twice a day 6 days a week, with daily squatting on top of that.

Mind you if Louie trains someone for weightlifting, I'd be interested with the results.

[Keith Miller]

Crossfit has basically doubled the USAW membership. It's aroun 6500 registered lifters. However, too many of those are Masters lifters over age 35. What we need to do is get school-age lifters and train them up!!!

I agree with previous posters that there is basically no incentive for school-age kids to take up Olympic weightlifting, and too few coaches are actively recruiting them.

[Daniel Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Struan Potter

Just my opinion, I have a lot of respect for Louie but all successful international weightlifters do the lifts more than once a week (bar a few who have been lifting since they were 7 or 8). The goal of Olympic Weightlifting is to Snatch and Clean & Jerk as much weight as possible. Squats are merely assistance work and should be treated as much.

USA's best hopes for medals at 2016 (Pat Mendes and Rob Adell) both come from John Broz's gym, who do the full lifts twice a day 6 days a week, with daily squatting on top of that.

Mind you if Louie trains someone for weightlifting, I'd be interested with the results.

What's the deal with pat mendes? He's 105+ so he doesn't have to cut weight, yet he doesn't even come close to his training lifts in competition...

[Sean Dunston]

Originally Posted by Struan Potter

Just my opinion, I have a lot of respect for Louie but all successful international weightlifters do the lifts more than once a week (bar a few who have been lifting since they were 7 or 8). The goal of Olympic Weightlifting is to Snatch and Clean & Jerk as much weight as possible. Squats are merely assistance work and should be treated as much.

USA's best hopes for medals at 2016 (Pat Mendes and Rob Adell) both come from John Broz's gym, who do the full lifts twice a day 6 days a week, with daily squatting on top of that.

Mind you if Louie trains someone for weightlifting, I'd be interested with the results.

Am I the only one who finds it odd that Pat cannot seem to get anywhere close to the numbers he put up at Broz's gym, since he joined Team USA? he was going to break the Snatch record (207 kg)... and now he can't come close to replicating it?