Comments on: What’s My Motivation For Lifting Weights? http://www.newstasis.com/2009/07/13/whats-my-motivation-for-lifting-weights/ helping you find a better life one state at a time Sat, 19 May 2012 18:22:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Pat http://www.newstasis.com/2009/07/13/whats-my-motivation-for-lifting-weights/#comment-9543 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:35:45 +0000 http://www.newstasis.com/2009/07/13/whats-my-motivation-for-lifting-weights/#comment-9543 Hey Tony, Most of the people I train will never need to lift 500 lbs, but many of them would be better at their sport if they could (but not all of them). For O and D linemen, no one would argue that they will perform better if they are massively strong, the same applies to full backs, running backs and sprinters. The tough part is finding the balance between strength and power - it doesn't matter that you can lift 500 lbs if you move slowly. My observational experiences, along with my personal experiences, backs up the approach that first you build strong muscles and then you make those muscle fast by lifting lighter weights as quickly as possible. You are right about numbers being numbers. So long as one is lifting safely and the load is increasing over time, they are improving. Also worth mentioning that what is ideal for health and what is ideal for sport are often two very different things. Most sports injuries occur because someone is doing something that will make them better at their sport. It's kind of a paradox and the role of a trainer is to minimize the risks while maximizing the gains. But at times the two things are mutually exclusive. Pat Hey Tony,

Most of the people I train will never need to lift 500 lbs, but many of them would be better at their sport if they could (but not all of them). For O and D linemen, no one would argue that they will perform better if they are massively strong, the same applies to full backs, running backs and sprinters.
The tough part is finding the balance between strength and power - it doesn’t matter that you can lift 500 lbs if you move slowly.
My observational experiences, along with my personal experiences, backs up the approach that first you build strong muscles and then you make those muscle fast by lifting lighter weights as quickly as possible.
You are right about numbers being numbers. So long as one is lifting safely and the load is increasing over time, they are improving.
Also worth mentioning that what is ideal for health and what is ideal for sport are often two very different things. Most sports injuries occur because someone is doing something that will make them better at their sport. It’s kind of a paradox and the role of a trainer is to minimize the risks while maximizing the gains. But at times the two things are mutually exclusive.
Pat

]]> by: Tony DiMarco http://www.newstasis.com/2009/07/13/whats-my-motivation-for-lifting-weights/#comment-9542 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:11:06 +0000 http://www.newstasis.com/2009/07/13/whats-my-motivation-for-lifting-weights/#comment-9542 I can finally understand your motivation and I definitely appreciate the merits. With that being said, I have reservations that many of your clients have the necessity to dead lift 500 pounds :-) Just like the weight on the scale is merely a number... but not necessarily reflective of your true body composition and health... I think the weight on the end of the barbells are equally irrelevant (other than to know for the sake of knowing). In the end, the only number that really matters is that there is continued measured growth. So in that regard, knowing the "number" is important. Because even when you finally accomplish 500 pounds... I doubt you're just going to stop there :-) But best of luck accomplishing that goal. Because setting goals is an important part of the any process. Cheers. I can finally understand your motivation and I definitely appreciate the merits. With that being said, I have reservations that many of your clients have the necessity to dead lift 500 pounds :-) Just like the weight on the scale is merely a number… but not necessarily reflective of your true body composition and health… I think the weight on the end of the barbells are equally irrelevant (other than to know for the sake of knowing).

In the end, the only number that really matters is that there is continued measured growth. So in that regard, knowing the “number” is important. Because even when you finally accomplish 500 pounds… I doubt you’re just going to stop there :-)

But best of luck accomplishing that goal. Because setting goals is an important part of the any process. Cheers.

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