The Silliness of Olympic Lifting for Athletic Improvement
I recently had a local high school strength and conditioning coach telling some of the athletes that I didn’t know what I was doing, despite his not knowing me, ever talking to me or ever coming to my gym. I can only speculate that it was jealously and ignorance on his part. But today, I will pick apart the ‘golden egg’ of his program, Olympic lifting for athletes:
GETTING BIG
The reason I love training athletes so much is because I have been in their shoes, I have been in their mind. When I was a junior and senior in high school, I wanted to get bigger so badly that I often ate until I puked. I did not do this on purpose, but the drive was there and I knew that I had to drive the body out of its comfort zone to get the muscle that I wanted. When an athlete tells me he is eating good and a lot, I ask to see his nutrition journal. It is says 2 eggs and cheerios for breakfast, you can be sure as heck that they are going to get an earful from me. Does that even sound like it is a breakfast for a young athlete that wants and needs to get bigger? Cereal is garbage and you should be eating 6 to 8 whole eggs (cage free) for breakfast. The whole idea is to make the body step out of its comfort zone. Training as a young athlete is as much mental as it is physical. You have to put a 10 in to get a 10 out, nothing less.
