Different Theories, different styles:

There are many different styles of weightlifting. There are many different training techniques and philosophies. The Russian Principle, The Bulgarian Method, the Chinese philosophy, to name but a few. They all have their merits. They all have their good and bad points. There are many different ways of looking at all of these. Some Say do Heavy Pulls, some say Don’t. Some Say Squat Heavy twice a day, some say squat twice week. Everyone has an opinion. And Opinions are like assholes, we all got one.

Chinese Narrow Stance Clean

So which one would work best for you? Only you and your coach can decide that. I have been training for over 25 years and I am constantly updating my training philosophies and principles. Try them all, I say. So what fits you the best. Only you know what your body can handle, and what it can’t. I can’t train the same way now as I did in my 20’s. I have had to change my thinking around training in order to accommodate the fact that I am older than I was. I can no longer handle the Load of the Bulgarian Method. I am no longer recovering from training after a few hours, more like a few days. So I now train according to what my capabilities are. And you should do the same. Know thyself.

USA's Kendrick Farris Power Jerk

Every coach is different and has different styles and philosophies when it comes to coaching. No coach is alike. Just like personalities we all have our own way of doing things. And just like people we are all susceptible to being liked or disliked because of our views. No coach is always right. No coach knows everything there is to know. I certainly don’t. However I do try to know as much as I can, and keep as up to date with training philosophies as I can. Will my style differ from others, yes.  Will my terminology differ from others, yes.  As coaches we are all simply trying to help those who are as passionate about lifting as we are. We are never going to be perfect, but we will try and be as perfect as we can.