Weightlifting is an elegant balance of power and grace. On the surface, it appears to be a purely physical practice—a discipline for those ‘natural athlete’ types.
Once you get into it, you learn this couldn’t be further from the truth. Weightlifting is 80 percent mental. Of course, there is a component of physicality that any student will need to tap into to be successful. However, all of the greatest impediments to progress in Weightlifting lie within ourselves.
This is the aspect I love most about coaching strength sports, Weightlifting in particular. It has nothing to do with singlets, rulebooks, or attitudes but everything to do with the metamorphosis of human beings.
“To triumph in Weightlifting, you must confront yourself.”
Often, it is a weightlifter’s biggest insecurities keeping kilos off the bar, not the absence of the perfect equipment or training program.
Watching the human spirit shine in a dusty training hall amid sweat, rust, and shouts is one of the most beautiful things I can imagine- and I am blessed to witness it on a regular basis.
The most rewarding part of coaching is witnessing this self-actualization.
At DEUCE, we provide a structured environment to facilitate technical and personal growth through Weightlifting. For many, our foundational course, Weightlifting 101, serves as a catalyst for this growth.
Weightlifting 101 will hammer in the fundamentals and focus on mastering positions, restoring deficits in hip and shoulder stability, and increasing neural drive and force production. Students can expect lots and lots of practice reps at lower intensities before increasing the load on the bar and peaking the Snatch and Clean and Jerk at the end of 8 weeks. In addition to sixteen coach-led sessions, athletes will also have access to video movement analysis and individualized programming for any problem areas they would like to address.
The course is built on four principles. These are important because the most technically proficient program is useless without the right approach to training.
- Work Ethic: You can’t be great at anything if you aren’t willing to put in the work. There are no shortcuts in this life, just years of crushing hard work. Any attempts to cut corners will make the process longer.
- Consistency: Consistency is just another way of taking responsibility for the few variables over which we have control. We strive to make every setup and lift the same. Posture in movement is an accumulation of time spent in positions. It takes lots of repeated exposures to become proficient.
- Discipline: You have a million great reasons not to commit to this or to quit once you do. Staying true to the process and yourself is the only thing that will yield results.
- Aggression: You must attack your training and your lifts with violence that would surprise the people in your life outside the gym. Go all in.
The ‘right’ program does not exist. The right mindset will take you farther than you can imagine. Most of my job In facilitating this course will be to instill a training mindset that will take you much farther than eight weeks out.
The program is enrolling now to start October 16 and will run Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:00 PM. Email campbell@deucegym.com to commit.
10/8/24 WOD
DEUCE Athletics GPP
Test Day
5RM Back Squat
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
10 Toe Elevated RDLs
15 Roller Hamstring Curls
50-Yard Farmers Carry
Complete 3 rounds for time:
25 Ball Slams
25 Hand Release Push Ups
Corner Run
DEUCE Garage GPP
12-10-8-5
Bench Press
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
Max Paused Dips
10 SA Supported DB Row (ea)
8 1/2 Kneeling Bottoms up KB Presses
Then, AMRAP 9:
30 Squats
12 Alt. DB Snatches (50/35)