Distinct Styles of Lifting

I don’t think it’s any secret that in this country and around the world there are multiple styles of lifting. Each style has their advantages and disadvantages and each style is claimed by world-renowned coaches. There’s a more traditional style that I teach, the catapult style that Don McCauley teaches and everything in between from John north to Coach Pendlay. We all teach the different parts of the lifts slightly different based on our backgrounds and personal beliefs about the lifts. I teach my lifters to lift a certain way because I believe bar speed is key and this is the best way to achieve the greatest velocity at the hips. Others would tend to disagree and teach the lifts a little differently. The beautiful thing is as John North said on his podcast yesterday “we are all lifting weights.”
Four or five years ago I was still confused as to which style of lifting would work the best for me and had no clue which style of lifting works the best for Crossfitters. I sent an email and had a conversation with Mike Burgener asking about styles of lifting and I believe his response about sums it all up perfectly. My struggle was which style is the best. His answer was beautiful.  He said, “there are 100 different ways to skin a cat just pick one and stick to it and ultimately the cat will end up skinned. “I think this is genius. You can’t argue with the style of lifting if it wins gold medals and if you see elite athletes performing and lifting incredible weights with that style. The argument is futile because it works for that specific person. I clearly use the style that I use because it works best for me. I clearly teach the style that I teach because it tends to work best for Crossfitters who desired consistency through multiple reps over a certain time domain.  I also teach the style that I teach because I believe it to be the easiest way to achieve maximal results. The beauty is that there is no real black and white in lifting. All that matters is the eventual outcome. If the bar is over your head, stable, and locked out then whatever you did to get it there was affective. Could it be more efficient? Probably. Are there more efficient ways to lift than others?  Definitely!  But it’s hard to argue with an elite lifter lifting a elite amount of weight with a different style than me. Ultimately it works for them.
Every coach believes the way they teach the lifts is superior to every other coach or they wouldn’t teach it that way. However, I think it is important to remember that every coach respects other coaches regardless of technique. Performing different styles of lifting don’t necessarily make one lifter better than another.
You are going to see some of the differences in tomorrow’s post with three different female lifters.  Pay close attention.
Also: Moving forward I am going to start posting at 10AM Central Time.  Keeps me from putting it off until late at night.  Need my beauty sleep 🙂