5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Weightlifting

[@josegowerinhou]

Awesome vid. 5 foot 8 and 112 kegs! No wonder they called you the fridge!

[@sikastrength]

😂😂 Too fridgey for weightlifting at that point

[@Ahmed-vk8pv]

What I'm getting from this is: you're not competing in you accessory movements, so always question if what you're doing is improving your full lifts. Sometimes we get too focused in one exercise (back squat or snatch balance in your case) so we forget why we're doing it in the first place. Great stuff man, keep it up!

[@sikastrength]

Absolutely, assess whether is value adding or not and go from there!

[@xTehSnug]

1. do snatch n clean n jerk if u want to get better at those 2. be fast (in fact, this also applies to a lot of sports, for instance: boxing. Most people think that power comes from hitting the punchbag hard, but it really does not, power comes from speed generated in a short span of time) 3. dont neglect hamstrings (thats true...... in fact i started going up the stairs in my flat, 3rd floor, since feb, cos I noted that Iwas working my quads way more than my hams) 4.5 I am doing work while listening so I could not take notes but I totally agree with the first three. Thanks

[@MrJTMcGowan]

I've had the same problem early on with bringing up back squat vs the classic lifts. Good to hear I wasn't alone.

[@thepeatboggy]

But are you “only” squatting 270? 😫

[@EuskoViper]

This is one of the best weightlifting videos I have watched, really good job from one year and a half into the future.

[@alubchicken]

1. Snatch, Clean and Jerk often. 2. Speed is key. 3. Hamstrings - do more RDL's, don't just squat. Your CNS limits maximum speed by the weakest link (muscle) in the chain. 4. Bodyweight - don't let your boot get too big if you want to be athletic, fast and flexible. 5. Specificity is king - do lots of snatch clean and jerk as often as possible. You want to aim to snatch clean and jerk only for singles.

[@garyhyde6639]

Wonderful brain dump from an “old wolf” - someone who has been there and done that and learned a lot along the way!

[@teatowel11]

A bit of survivor bias here, perhaps you are not appreciating the fact that you have built such a great strength base so have the luxury of focussing so much on the two lifts. I'm sure there are plenty of lifters who focussed more on lifting the two lifts and found they stopped progressing for lack of strength. How many people fail a high % of their jerks because they haven't done the accessory work required for a strong lockout?

[@kblkbl]

The issue is that accessories aren't less demanding in terms of time or energy just because they're accessories. In the end you'll be spending more time and energy gaining diminishing returns in lifts that aren't your goal.

[@Wayf4rer]

@@kblkbl You have to admit what teatowel said carries an important point, though. Strength is strength, and guys who are naturally built/geneticall predisposed to be stronger in the 'weaker' positions can afford to focus less on gaining strength, and just focus on refining technique. Juxtapose that with guys who have to work tirelessly at both and you can see why there would be a divide.

[@kblkbl]

@@Wayf4rer I agree 100% with what he said, what I pointed out, and your comment allows me to reinforce it, is the following: It's very very very...VERY hard to split nature from nurture in an already developed athlete. Summoning genetics is an extremely easy way out from just admitting that a given person may have, as teatowel said, just BUILT a stronger base. As in, put the work more than you did. How does one assess if someone's hip mobility came naturally and not because of all the good things he did unaware that they'd have great carryover into lifting positions? How do we split what was just naturally there and what was there but was reinforced by positive patterns? We just can't. That's why IMO as far as evaluations go it should all boil down to what was *done*. Because that's the only thing that can be measured. When Lu Xiaojun and Chen LiJun were developed at similar ages in the same system but end up with completely different movement patterns, that's when we can point towards genetics. Every other time, it's often just a matter of who did more. Is it really a matter of genetics that I need to work "tirelessly" at both because while I'm the same age as Eoin I'm weaker and less mobile? Or perhaps back in 2010 while I was stuck in a gaming chair playing MOBAs he was already in the path of the squat? Even if I started weightlifting before him, did I really do put more work if his childhood was extremely active while I was just a bookworm? It's really hard to frame who did more and who needed to do less when we compare people with absurdly different backgrounds and IMHO out of the top of the crop there's just too much variance to consider genetics the difference.

[@thepeatboggy]

@@kblkbl your analysis is good food for thought, but a counter argument would be to say that genetics also governs how you have responded to training over the years, In real terms, you can’t separate genetics from training. If you can clean 150kg, you have the genetics to clean 150kg, it doesn’t matter how much you had to train to do that you have the genetics required to do it. Some unlucky people will never respond enough to training to clean 150kg because their genetics don’t allow it

[@kblkbl]

​@@thepeatboggy Agreed 100%. What, IMHO, makes the "genetics" argument even more irrelevant. If it's one aspect intertwined with every single other aspect of your life it isn't a factor that can ever be isolated. The issue with arbitrary goalposts in regards to "genetic potential" is that it can only ever be compared to those who are put through the same nurture processes, specially given how specific are the goals of sports. Let's forget a 150kg clean, let's talk about Naim, the greatest weightlifter of all time. It's clear that he had "good genetics" for the sport due to his performance in comparison to every weightlifter ever but can we really say he had "elite genetics"? Sure, there are many weightlifters around the world we can compare him to but how would his genetics fare compared to *everyone in the world*? Who's to say there isn't a random accountant somewhere in the world with the genes to clean and jerk 200kg -61kg if put under the same process Naim was? The only way to know is by putting everybody under the same nurturing processes, if we can't isolate this genetic factor, discussing it is completely futile.

[@loopeydloop]

Gurph I am past you - strong, heavy, a little slow under dat bar, and getting stronger faster than I'm getting better at the competition lifts. It feels like the message of this video was tailored specifically to me. Big ups bruv

[@laughter95]

Constant argument from Starting Strength: why not just get your conventional deadlift and low bar squat and see your Oly lifts go up?

[@teatowel11]

The answer is in the name. This will work great when you are starting. Because you are weak and you suck. Once you are strong but still suck, getting stronger would have diminishing returns.

[@retardno002]

What unlocked the snatch for me were hundreds of reps with just the bar. Small adjustments in between reps, mindfulness. Lean forward more, lean back more, pull more with arms, push more with legs, stand up straighter or swing with the lower back more etc. Basically doing it every possible way and feeling what feels right out of all those options. Slow muscle snatches as well, keeping the bar going up and down, not forward or backwards. Can't see how deadlifts and squats could help with that.

[@MarkoAssi_pokervlogger]

​@@retardno002 This is spot on. This is a highly technical sport. Master the technique first, add the kilos gradually after.

[@bigguy4u989]

your snatch is 50% of your deadlift, so it requires no technique obviously

[@utrlohan]

Great info.. I would say your getting at training specificity. A marathon runner would not train running on a grass pitch, they are wasting time. You have to train for specificity

[@supernoodles908]

A lot train on grass or dirt to reduce impact on the joints so they can get great volume in

[@paoloh885]

Training on softer grounds is actually very useful for elite runners since it reduces stress on their joints. A better analogy is that a 100m sprinter shouldn't be running marathons.

[@PhiyackYuh]

Yes kipchoge was wasting his time running on red sands right? And yet broke the sub 2 hours correct? You must be some special kind of stupid. Get back to us running on pavement preparing for marathon. Make sure you pound all that joints real good yeh 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤫🤣

[@tade5003]

Im not even in weightlifting and enjoying the content!

[@mkirylka]

Great video definitely will use this information. Thank you

[@JMFerguson]

Thank you. That concentrates the mind.

[@andrewruvira8355]

clean form (eye emojis)

[@rinkly]

Great video Eoin just subscribed!

[@GregQchi]

Useful stuff, thanks!

[@Dmoggins]

clarence at 12:22?

[@LucasDimoveo]

I literally don't understand how you're squatting so much weight. I'm 5'7 and I'm only squatting 140. Can't imagine squatting beyond 200. Jesus christ

[@muellernikolai8630]

correct programming (you are probably going way too heavy way too often) and steroids.

[@LucasDimoveo]

One year later and my back squat is 184!

[@WesLikeWest-oc9wr]

@@LucasDimoveo bro, adding 40 KG to your back squat is incredible, good shit. I’m curious what you did to start pushing it, cause my back squat is currently pitiful, stuck around 150 atm.

[@LucasDimoveo]

@@WesLikeWest-oc9wr one short cut is to eat a ton of food. I used Zack Telander’s multi-week plan for developing a stronger squat. It took about three months and it was super hard but that is how I did it. My tendons are naturally weak and overly mobile so it has been hard on my body

[@SmallersCY]

Great video here.

[@777Thebear]

Which squat in your opinion is the best to focus on front or back?

[@supernoodles908]

Front imo for WL

[@toximan2008]

Is the bar ever on your back during the snatch or clean & jerk?

[@PhiyackYuh]

@@toximan2008but then olympians do both right? Just ask klokov and ilya 🤷‍♂️🤫🤣

[@MrJay00013]

9:50- speed is key

[@erikfrost8531]

Thanks

[@getstrongby4038]

Guys, is it normal that it kills my shoulders to front squat? It's only 90kg but it's really not comfortable AT ALL. Am I just being soft here or what?

[@tyronenur2373]

If you are a beginner it’s most likely a matter of getting used to that position. What kind of pain are you experiencing, or is it soreness?

[@getstrongby4038]

@@tyronenur2373 Had a 4 week block wuth zombie squats 1x per week around 12 weeks ago but thats as far as my front squat experience goes. It's just pretty painful as I'm doing them, then the front delt is sore to the touch for a couple of days, doesn't affect my pressing though.

[@inky4690]

@@getstrongby4038 do you have a good rack position?

[@inky4690]

@@getstrongby4038 it sounds like you are actually holding the weight up. It should be resting on your shoulders

[@alexwilliams5587]

Same here, cleans and front squats destroy my shoulders

[@kristianmccloudmatillano7332]

Just subscribed. I agree with a lot of what you said here.

[@andrew98115wl]

Gosh... I'm glad I didn't back squat 290kg! (phew) 😶

[@gregorypeterson6008]

Nice

[@HamzaAli-yw1qt]

You talk a lot about training hamstrings for weightlifting. However, you almost never see professional weightlifters do targeted hamstring training. Would it be ok to just do pulls clean and snatch pulls or do you always have to add some hamstrings in your training program?

[@getstrongby4038]

Think about the RDL. That came from a weightlifter

[@HamzaAli-yw1qt]

@@getstrongby4038 I know. How many weightlifters have you actually seen that perform the rdl on a regular basis? Now compare that to the amount of weightlifters that can be found doing regular clean/snatch pulls or squats. Also, rdl volume in weightlifting programs is generally very very low

[@getstrongby4038]

@@HamzaAli-yw1qt I think it probably depends where your weaknesses lie. The RDL can leave your hams quite sore though so probably explain the lack of volume. But I see what you are saying

[@HamzaAli-yw1qt]

@Inquisitor Martyr dont think goodmornings would add a lot of mass or strength to your hamstrings because you do them with low weights

[@alexwilliams5587]

@@HamzaAli-yw1qt they’ll definitely add mass, you use low weights because of the lever

[@yetanotherRjven]

How I feel watching this video imgflip.com/i/3qzr6p

[@zeth479]

Handsome lad lol

[@squatwhitney2478]

Mini fridge

[@BernhardKohli]

You should do Crossfit! You have the perfect body and versatility. 270kg back squat... are you kidding? Took me 4 years to go from 80 to 135 and that's literally half of your back squat! 👍

[@brunogjna9224]

this comment made me rofl irl

[@inky4690]

This gotta be a joke

[@alexwilliams5587]

@@inky4690 fr

[@tonymontana6086]

Crossfit is dogshit and a disgrace

[@sabertoothwallaby2937]

long winded but nice content

[@hydeout1976]

Eoin are you lifteime natty?

[@Gusativo]

in 7:30 he says he was "not a pro bodybuilder or on a lot of gear". I am guessing, not natty but with only moderate amounts of gear?

[@FlyTour69]

@@Gusativosuspicious…

[@StarPlatinumSchmidt]

Wauw 0o0 is that an ATG shirt I see?! (As in like Ben Patrick kneesovertoesguy ATG?)

[@rufushomanen5735]

Most likely ATG as in All Things Gym

[@JbskMsj]

If you weren't born with a good vertical jump you will never be faster. So you need to get stronger in the deadlift and squats in order for the weights to actually be light enough to lift them to your shoulders or over your head

[@inky4690]

So you are trying to say that training speed isn't possible? Ever think that to even have a good vertical jump you need strong legs and therefore will have an alright box jump? This comment makes no sense

[@dinnybam2057]

Rippetard logic