How to win an Olympic weightlifting competition
We may have only opened our doors at the start of 2022, but Mem’s Weightlifting Club in Camberwell has already helped athletes prepare for weightlifting competitions, not least the European Weightlifting Championships and Commonwealth Games Weightlifting Trials.
In this edition of Mem's Weightlifting Blog, we ask head coach and founder Mem for his expert tips on how to win an Olympic weightlifting competition, from training, right through to tactics on the day of the meet itself.
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How to win a weightlifting competition #1 — training
"As a coach, I'm looking to design a training programme that will help my athlete arrive at a weightlifting competition in peak condition. This will give them the best chance of winning.
"What does that look like? We start ramping up two months out from the competition. We have certain training blocks where the athlete will lift 90-95% of their max twice a week and once a week we'll aim to max out.
"What this means is when they arrive at the weightlifting competition, they're feeling confident about executing those heavier lifts."
How to win a weightlifting competition #2 — trust the process
"As a coach, I tell my athletes: ‘make sure you follow my training plan, everything is there for a reason.'
"It's important they trust in the process and follow the sessions as prescribed. Of course, every now and then an athlete has a bad day and feels tired. When that happens it's not the end of the world.
"But this is where it helps to have an experienced coach. Because if the athlete is tired and sore and still tries to hit her numbers, there's a chance she could tire herself out for the next session, or worse still get injured.
"As her coach I can make an assessment, keeping the bigger picture in mind. In this instance, it may be better for her to back off, drop the weight and still get the work done, so she can recover and come back the next day feeling fresh."
How to win a weightlifting competition #3 — competition tactics
"If the athlete has followed their programme, they should feel well prepared. Then it all comes down to executing on the day of the weightlifting competition.
"In terms of tactics, for our first snatch lift, we'd look to target 88-90% of the athlete's 1RM. They should feel confident about achieving this and get a good lift on the board early. For the second lift, we'd target 93-95% and for the third lift, it's 95% plus.
"I'd advise following the same tactics for the first two lifts of the clean and jerk, but once the athlete has done their job and secured a place on the leaderboard that they're happy with, they can possibly think about risking a lift that's a little out of their comfort zone — if it means they can climb a place or two.
"But mostly I would tell my athletes to concentrate on their own game and to get as many good lifts as they can under their belts before trying to match a competitor who — let’s say — has just succeeded at 110% of their max."
