A Long Term Athletic Development Model for Weightlifting
I’ve elected to begin this discussion by presenting a very generalized long term athletic development model for the sport of weightlifting that most experts could agree upon.
· Pre-adolescence: During this period there should be an emphasis on general development of the organism. This would best be undertaken by a physical education expert and not a sport specific coach. Attention would be given to development of gross neuromotor qualities, stimulation of the cardiovascular system and appropriate problem solving abilities of the psyche.
· Adolescence: At this point, the development of the athlete can be taken over by a sport specific coach who is specialized in age appropriate development. Neuromotor development can continue through the development of sport specific skills. Muscular development can be addressed as well as endocrine stimulation.
· Mature Athletes: A coach who specializes in developing mature athletes can now provide the best course of progress. This will address further technical refinement of sport specific skills, a greater emphasis on muscular development and heightened endocrine activity.
Notice that nowhere is it recommended that a developing athlete should periodically be subjected to starvation and dehydration.
Another way to look at it is to imagine the process of developing a draft horse from the foal stage to adulthood. If the goal is to grow the largest, most powerful horse would there be any reason to periodically starve and dehydrate the animal?
The Purpose of Bodyweight Classes
In sports with bodyweight classes, the intention for their inclusion is to increase the range of competitors. If there were no weight classes, the largest and strongest individuals would always win and the smaller athlete wouldn’t bother to enter. The classes are there to insure a fair competition, but they are not prescriptions to direct athletes how much to weigh without regard to height.
Cutting weight should only be for mature athletes and then only sporadically
Mature athletes are going to experience the best and most continuous progress if they do not cut bodyweight regularly. An elite athlete might consider only cutting weight to meet qualifying totals for national championships, and then again for continental championships and world championships. I think that some coaches might have observed the elite athletes cutting weight and presumed that it is part of a successful strategy and implemented it wholesale with all their athletes. This practice has become somewhat of a cultural norm in many sports. No one ever questions the practice, but it can have unhealthful if not lethal consequences.
A Healthy, mature athlete
A health, well developed mature weightlifter is carrying enough muscle to enable her or him to train hard enough to clean & jerk heavy weights (approximately 120% of the snatch). This should require eating three large and three small meals per day. Mature weightlifters are going to be heavier than non-weightlifters of the same height. Because of the elevated foot intake, however, losing weight for a competition is just a matter of skipping a meal or two and minimizing fluid intake. This can account for a 3% or less drop in bodyweight which should not interfere greatly with performance.
Beware Day Before Weigh-ins!
Some organizations hold competitions with weigh-ins conducted the day before. This encourages competitors to lose an excessive amount of bodyweight in the belief that the elongated window between weigh-in and competition will allow them to regain the lost weight and strength. In this case the weight loss may be so large as to be debilitating.
A Little Common Sense Here
Losing weight does not make you stronger! This is doubly true if you are immature, too tall for your weight class or both. Top level weightlifters are fully developed, muscular athletes and that is the model that competitors in the sport should seek to emulate.