Picture the scene: you rock up to the gym all excited to do your 5×5 squats, only to find the squat rack is occupied by three dudes doing endless seated shoulder press. You immediately panic about your lack of ‘gainz’ and sulk because no exercise can possibly come close to the awesomeness that is the […]
Pull ups! We all want to be able to knock out them out like a marine. In the eyes of many, it’s the ultimate show of strength – especially when you don’t have a barbell handy! But getting that first pull up seems incredibly hard.
Weightlifting is more than just brute strength and being able to chuck the heaviest weights above your head. Olympic weightlifting champions can’t just stroll up to the bar with no warm up or training and that’s the job done – no matter how tired or stiff they might feel! As weightlifters, we have to perform […]
As a lifter, this is one of the most painful situations you will be in. Emotionally painful, that is. And with the deluge of social media, it has become even worse! Everyone and her dog is dying to tell you about their latest Personal Best. It feels like the whole world is rubbing your miserable […]
Often people struggle to focus when lifting heavy weights, especially in the olympic lifts, which happen so fast. Other thoughts muscle their way in just as you are preparing to lift the bar. You’re distracted, you’re overthinking it, and all of a sudden your lift is gone. I’ve found that one of the best ways […]
Is fear of lifting heavy weights affecting your progress in the gym? You’re not alone! I work with a lot of adults taking up weight lifting for the first time, or coming back to it after decades of not weight lifting. As we get older, we naturally feel more fear and it becomes harder to […]
The best way to overcome your weightlifting frustration is to learn how to master your emotional response to missed lifts. The mental game takes practise.
In the 24 hours following your competition, you’ll be fired up to dive back into the gym! But it’s important to take it easy for a week or two, to avoid the post-competition blues.
It’s fun to come up with your own workouts and programs! But many people don’t try because they are worried about doing strength programming ‘wrong’ or they just go round and round in circles. It’s tempting to go to the gym and just do what you enjoy/what you’re good at (these are usually the same thing). So here’s my method for constructing a quick and easy strength workout that will actually benefit you.
Do you have problems holding snatches overhead? Do your shoulders ever feel unstable in the snatch receiving position? Try a behind neck press in squat stance with snatch grip. This exercise will make you strong and stable in that all-important snatch receiving position.