Weightlifting Coaching Options

If you want to get better at a skill, you need of course practice.  Not only just practice, but good, skillful practice. Psychomotor skills, like weightlifting, are no different.  Because of its technical nature, frequent and accurate guidance is extremely beneficial.  Someone that has a mastery of the movement patterns in your ear is extremely beneficial and can greatly accelerate your understanding of the lifts.

On site Coaching

The best option (from my understanding) would be that live, in person, beside the platform, coach.  This should not come as a great shock to most people.  The Yankees, to the best of knowledge, didn’t win any championships from skyping their coaches once a month.  A good quality coach can give instant feedback on each of your lifts, individualize your programming, and can get a sense daily of your ability to train that session.   I have never had a coach in this sense at all.  Because of this, I believe that my learning process has been very s-l-o-w.  It has probably taken my twice as long to get where I am, because of all of the trial and error.  Good thing I didn’t quit my day job. 

Seminars (reference my last blog)

Weekend training can be very helpful from time to time, in the absence of at home coaching.  I would definitely spread them out over several months or years.  It takes time to process and experiment with the seminar coaches’ suggestions.  I wrote about my experiences with four different seminars at Weightlifting Seminar Reviews

Online Video analysis

If you choose to stay home and can’t get away, online video analysis can be very helpful.  There are several options out available.  I have contacted Mike Burgener several times and asked for some feedback on my lifts and he has always been extremely generous and prompt with his replies. 

Donny Shankle offers his services of video analysis on his website.  I have not contacted him for his help yet, but he offers help and asks for a donation in return.  It seems like a fair deal to me to offer a donation in return for assistance from a five time National Champion and World Team member. 

I chronicled my process of with Chad Vaughn’s assistance in a couple of blogs: My Coach is a Fool, and Chad Vaughn Follow Up.  I found his help very useful and worth the low price. 

Online Coaching

In the absence of an on-site coach, this offer seems like a very promising idea.  Travis Mash and The Attitude Nation have joined forces and started an online weightlifting team.  That is right, you could be a teammate of  ‘Jumping Jon North”.  There are three levels of membership, with commensurate increases in price and benefits.  Aside from being a team member, some of the benefits include:  video analysis, programming, access to the team gear, access to a group chat room with one of your coaches, and unlimited email access to your coach.  The monthly prices range from $35 to $100 per month.  If you are a garage lifter, like me, and don’t have a world-class coach to train under, this could be a super option.  Check it out over at Mash Elite Performance.