Even a cursory search of Youtube will reveal a slew of videos of relatively strong people lifting with poor technique. This is the case in spite of what your coach, trainer or fitness guru has been telling you: lifting with correct technique is a must both for injury prevention and maximizing performance gains. Nevertheless, there you see them, doing things with poor technique that you have a tough time doing on your best day. I’m not talking about athletes whose sport of choice is powerlifting or weightlifting, where at the highest levels you really must have superior lifting technique in addition to superior genetics in order to stand a chance in hell of success. I’m talking about athletes for whom lifting isn’t the focus of their training but a supplement to it, or individuals for whom lifting is, at most, a very important hobby. So really, what gives?
Before I go any further, I want to assert from the outset that this post isn’t intended to provide excuses for those who are weak, who lack power, or who are just generally out-of-shape to go on being that way. Regardless of who you are, how old you are, or what your history of injury is, there is a way for you to become stronger and just plain healthier than you are now. Recognizing that you’re not “world-class” material isn’t a reason not to, well, at least strive to do better and be better.
Ahem, now that that’s out of the way…As difficult as it can be to admit, there are—for lack of a better term—“supermen” among us. Don’t get me wrong: whether you’re talking about a top-tier athlete or that really gifted gym rat working out in the rack next to yours, you need to understand that they’ve probably worked fairly hard to get to the point where they are in the weight room. Without work ethic, someone can still squander all of his or her genetic gifts. What I mean to say is, some folks are strong in spite of their poor technique. Even with poor technique, the fact that they’ve plugged away at it week in and week out with determination and diligence for years on end means that they’ll be plenty strong and powerful, especially when compared to the genetically, well, average newbie trainee just getting his or her feet wet.
Most people don’t fall into the “superman” category, however. The average trainee will need to train smarter and become technically proficient in order to approach some percentage of what those with greater natural talents will be able to achieve, and it may take him or her longer to get to comparable levels of strength, power and…blah, blah, blah. In short, for the average to below average athlete, technique will be even more important. With a lower genetic “ceiling” of potential, there just isn’t a great deal of “wiggle-room” up top for mistakes. You’re going to have to maximize on what gifts you’ve got by training smart and ensuring that you understand and can display proper technique.
This guy is neither strong nor technically proficient:
On a related note, it’s typical–particularly when starting out (you know, the time when anyone with any training background whatsoever is outperforming you)—to look up to just about anyone with better lifts, better times or greater all-around athleticism as someone to emulate. And it’s not that they don’t have something good to teach you—they probably do. However, they may not know exactly what they do or do not know, never having had their brains picked; they might not be particularly good at expressing what they know in a way that you’d understand; or they might not be good at dealing with a broad range of athletes, each having greater or lesser natural ability, higher or lesser degrees of training advancement, or special issues like injuries or other medical conditions that make a particular exercise or approach to training a bad idea. In other words, they might not be “coach material.” A college running back with a 400-plus pound back squat is strong, relatively speaking, but can he get the rank beginner to that same level of strength, given the running back’s own poor squat, deadlift or overhead press technique and his surplus of natural talent? If he can’t personally identify with your physical or mental “hurdles,” or he hasn’t helped others to navigate similar hurdles prior to his training you—well, what are the chances of the running back coaching you up to a level of competency and, moreover, doing so within an efficient timeframe? Does he have the proper skill set for this? I’ll leave you with that to think about.
In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to pick up Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training and Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes and Coaches, both of which should be a part of every lifter’s library.
-S.
