"I really wanted that lift."

Originally Posted on Monday, October 24, 2011 1:39 PM
The meet in Moorestown, NJ this past weekend gave me ideas for a few blog posts.  Today follows up on last week's post about managing anxiety while lifting.  In the last session Saturday, one of the lifter's missed his final clean and jerk.  He complained to his coach "I really wanted that lift."  There was no possible way this dude wanted to make that lift.  He maybe wanted to have achieved putting that weight overhead, but he really didn't want to go through the process of that lift and make it.  What he should have said was "I wish I could have made that half-assed effort and the bar would have magically lifted itself into the air so I could claim a PR while degrading the nobility of this sport".  Unfortunately, that bit of honesty is lost on the kids these days, so I'll attack this ignorance the way doctors attack disease (by the way, a free sticker to the first person who identifies that allusion correctly).  

What the guy needs to do is love how it feels to lift more than he loves to have a big number.   Loving the lift, loving how it feels every time, how technique gets better day to day leads to big numbers.  You need to embrace the little things, want to dip straight on your jerk, want to keep your back tight, want to move fast; when you're there, when that's your focus, the big numbers will come.  Next time you train, understand that squatting is about squatting and not about the 100/200/300 kilos on your back.  Just get down and push hard to get back up.  Then do it again tomorrow.