Strong and immobile or flexible but weak?

Depending on how you came into the sport of weightlifting as an adult, chances are when starting out you could find yourself either; strong but lacking technical skill or relatively weak and lacking technical skill. That’s not an insult, we all start somewhere and how you define strong is pretty open to interpretation. But which is favourable to end up as a good weightlifter?

Strong people with a background of something like powerlifting or even CrossFit tend to lean towards being good jerkers and pretty competent at the power variations. Often though they’ll lack the requisite mobility and flexibility to hit great depth in the squat or safe and comfortable overhead positions. So whilst the strength is useful, it can come at the expense of hitting good positions. In these cases much more time needs to be spent on developing the right mobility and focusing on the full lifts (if the ultimate goal is to lift well for a long time).

Another downside to having a strong upper body before learning the snatch and clean are that your brain usually looks for the strongest muscles to do the work. You’ll have to re-learn or un-learn and make real conscious effort to relax your arms in the pull and let the legs and hips do the work to get the best out of your lifts.

In contrast, those who have done very little or no strength training at all may be starting from a point of relative weakness. In my experience this is actually beneficial in many cases as it allows technical models to be learnt more quickly as it’s harder to cheat / compensate with the movements. Strength has to be built intentionally alongside the technical development but the two go hand in hand quite well. The downside is that unless you get A LOT stronger your lifts will stall sooner than someone with a good base of strength. This can mean a greater amount of time spent training max strength and often time spent trying to gain more muscle mass.

So which is better?

Honestly, neither. It’s not where you start but where you finish that counts (no idea who said that first but it wasn’t me).

Being strong is always a good thing and outside of debilitating injury, any mobility issues are just a matter of time and effort. Equally, starting out weak really only limits your lifting potential if you’re much older and/or not prepared to try and gain any muscle mass; which although harder as you age is not totally impossible.

I’ve coached super strong guys who need so much weight on a bar for feedback that it makes learning a full snatch quite challenging and frankly less safe. I’ve also coached people who have found a technique bar heavy overhead. Both end up making progress just at different rates with different ceilings on the own personal potential. Those limits tend to be more determined by age, genetics and time available to train rather than their physical status when starting out.

Of course we could also be the unholy triad of weak, immobile and inflexible but if this sounds like you there is still hope. The quicker you start and the better guidance you receive is key. Spend time doing the right things in the right amounts and you’ll still see progress. Keep in mind that unless you’re starting out in childhood or your teens it’s unlikely you’d make an olympics (if weightlifting's even still an olympic sport by then) so your goals should be to get as good as YOU physically can and be competitive at that level. Weightlifting for most of us is a hobby as well as a sport so you’ve got to find the enjoyment in little personal wins.

Recommendations for starting out:

Which camp do you fall into?

1, Walked into the gym day one and hit a great overhead squat position? You’re pretty mobile.

2. Walked into the gym day one and could squat more than body weight comfortably ? You’re starting stronger than most.

3. Struggle to hold a bar overhead because; A) it feels heavy? B) it hurts your shoulders or elbows

How did you answer?

Yes to 1, 2 and no to 3? You’re lucky and good to go!

Yes to 1 and 3-A? Ok so you’re not yet strong but you can start learning the full lifts safely from day one. Go get it.

No to 1, yes to 2 but also 3-B? You need to focus on getting those positions comfortable and just maintain your strength for now. It will all come together at some point. Go get assessed by a pro to speed things up and zero in on the right areas.

No to 1 & 2 but 3 A and B both apply? Sounds like you need some general resistance training before (or at least alongside) trying to learn the lifts. Don’t be put off, just understand that in order to get better and not get injured you’ve got a little ground work to put in.

You may not fall directly into either camp at all. Thats not to say that you’ll have any easier a ride in the beginning. Learning weightlifting is a long process and mastery (as classed by becoming elite level skill wise) is said to take 10years or more. How you walk into the gym on day one may influence your ultimate success but so did your mum and dad. That bit is, and was always out of your control so just know that hard work and consistent effort are what will get you to fulfil your potential either way.

I wish you all the best for your lifting journey and if you need any help please reach out.