Recruiting Gymnasts for Olympic-Style weightlifting??

[DanHartley]

Hi there!
My name is Dan Hartley and I am a strength coach for Asheville Strength and Conditioning.

I was hoping I could get some insight from those of you savvy in the gymnast community as to how I can go about recruiting current/former gymnasts for our sport.
I am not in anyway trying to take them away from the sport of Gymnastics. Not at all. Ideally I would be looking for men/women/boys/girls who enjoyed gymnastics and were competent at it but, for whatever reason, could not excel in competition and due to that have become bored or quit altogether. It seems a shame to let any natural ability go to waste.

Generally speaking, gymnasts have the best athletic base for competitive Olympic Weightlifting.
For anyone unfamiliar with the Olympic movements of the Snatch and Clean and Jerk here is a video of random elite level lifters from the past 10 years or so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUl7UqbL3uc

Olympic weightlifters are trained to become the most efficient movers of weight. This requires large amounts of balance, timing, flexibility/mobility, body-awareness, and dedication. So you can see why gymnasts make for great Oly lifters.

We are a young club but are very dedicated to producing athletes and competitive Olympic Weightlifters to grow the sport. I apologize for the long message but if anyone has any ideas as to how I can get gymnasts interested please let me know!!

Dan Hartley
daniel.jacob.hartley@gmail.com

 

[gymnastbeth]

I don't want to sound harsh, I really don't, but I'm just gonna be honest.

My friends who have quit gymnastics through the years for various reasons probably would not like weightlifting. Any girls from the sport of gymnastics in general, I can't really see them weightlifting, most of them are just so petite!

You will probably have more luck recruiting guys, but why not just recruit people in general? I feel like it's not productive only trying to recruit ex-gymnasts. You might want to broaden the spectrum of people that you're looking for. IMO, there just isn't much market in ex-gymnasts for weightlifting.

ETA: Gymnasts have great bodies for most sports, not just weightlifting in particular. So the "natural ability" would most likely not "go to waste". It could be used in a multitude of sports.

 

[vagymmomma]

I really don't have any suggestions for recruiting, but pound for pound swimmers and gymnasts are probably some of the strongest athletes. Gymnastbeth is right that most team girls are on the smaller size though (especially in terms of height). Plus, I'm not sure how those drawn to the dance and grace of gymnastics will respond to the sport.

Good luck -- I'm sure there may be some that are looking for ways to channel their competitive spirit.

 

[JBS]

I think you're off to a great start. Just keep at it. I would work on developing relationships with local gyms. Do fun clinics and outings for their kids. We are always looking for fun stuff to do with our team kids. A low key weightlifting competition could be fun and I will pay off eventually.

Pole vault coaches do the same thing...recruit gymnasts.

 

[sportyspice]

YES! Gymnasts make amazing olympic weightlifters.....I have 2 children in the sport who both made the transition. My son is 13 yrs old, quit gym whilst training level 7 and made a seamless transition to olympic weightlifting. With expert coaching he has made the national team in 8 months of lifting and currently has a sinclair of 228.

My daughter (aged 11) is currently competing equivalent of Level 8 USAG and loves to lift with her brother whenever possible. She is very small, dainty and artistic and....Strong! Lifting her own body weight (34kg) is a huge sense of achievement and has made her bars much better (upper body and ab development).

Unfortunately there are many misconceptions about olympic weightlifting amongst the general public which can make recruitment difficult, but I agree that a gymnastic background is ideal - good strength base, co-ordination and flexibility.

 

[kecks]

Ok, I am biased by being a weightlifter and oly coach.

Olympic weightlifting is a great sport for former gymnasts! They take on to the really hard technique really fast and do generally very well in olylifting. They have the flexibility, strength can be build if not already there, some also have the explosive power. Very precise sport with nearly no room for error - that's weightlifting. There are weightclasses for women up to only 48 or 53kg. Former gymnasts are just perfect. Olylifting is gymnastics - just with a bar (a heavy one . It's hard, very hard, needs hours and hours of daily training, and most of it is mental. Just like gym . Give it a try with a good coach - you'll love it. Promised.

 

[Ayleward]

Thanks for sharing but I'm wondering that some of the shared links are not
working properly.
Can you see and fix the problem?
I'm curious about that.

 

[Omari]

I just need a little bit elaboration of "Unfortunately there are many misconceptions about olympic weightlifting amongst the general public which can make recruitment difficult, but I agree that a gymnastic background is ideal - good strength base, co-ordination and flexibility."
I couldn't get any clear idea about it.

 

[kecks]

well, many people think olylifting is something like bodybuilding - big women on steroids looking like guys. furthermore many people believe that your back will get hurt or other "it's dangerous" b*****s*** and a "strength sport". the truth can't be further from that.
olylifting is a sport with weightclasses, as mentioned above for women starting at 48kg and 53kg. the women competing there often lift more than double bodyweight but don't look big. heavier weightclasses look muscular, but not big either. only the superheavyweights (+75kg) tend to be really big - they have to to be competitive. all the other classes mostly consist of very healthy and fit females with not much bodyfat.

it's a sport in which serious injury doesn't happen often - compared to let's say soccer or basketball or track. in elite levels there may be overuse problems with wrists, knees, shoulders (personally only know of 1 single back problem, and that's a rec lifter at age 55 or so) but that's to be expected at any sport at this level.

most important are speed strength (being explosive) and a perfect (!) technqiue, that can be maintained under pressure in competition and the mental stress of lifting near maximum. diving under a heavy bar for a snatch or clean or jerk needs lots (!) of courage. there's no room for errors (or you won't make the attempt). this performance is achieved through years of training 2 a days or at least as much as possible. repetition is key.

see? it's a lot like gymnastics and rule of thumb is that former gymnasts make GREAT weightlifters (also because they are small which means they have the right levers for a lifter). btw USA like some European countries tries to do this sport without the use of PED, there are drug tests even in training and you don't need to do steroids and the like to be competitive on a national level.

various female lifters are on this video from cal strength: lift like a girl... http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...kESigMaNdpG0W-3Mw&sig2=mXWnjda3Y4q3glfWRuM8nA

 

[iwannacoach]

Not that I could be confused as a woman or anything, but I was an oly lifter at age 12-15 in the 114 & 123 lb class. I am totally convinced that the training I received as an oly lifter set me up with a phenominal skill set for gymnastics. Rolling your eyes? I experienced explosive power combined in rythm with balance and speed. That's a skill set we all want in any sport. Gymnastics to oly lifting would be a no brainer for any child wanting to leave gymnastics for a sport that doesn't go upside down. I mean geez, all that speed and power, and no rips, unless youre talking about ripped deltoids and abs.

 

[kecks]

well, regarding the rips i am sorry to say lifters do get ripps and are more often taped than not... ) it's really a lot like gymnastics. in nearly every way. (even in the way that my own coach keeps saying after good attempts "nice. and now make it look pretty and easy.")

 

[BlairBob]

well, 2 of the girls on the national team, megan poole and megan murphy werea gymnast and cheerleader ( im guessing with some tumbking ability )

 

[iwannacoach]

Hey, you did say you were recruiting....Right! So why not keep that whole "rip" thing on the "down low". After all, this is America, the land of the ...Free........to say what ever it takes to merchandize your products. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that EVERY laundry detergent in the USA is new and improved. Don't even get me started on breakfast cereal. How about a little gratitude for the great set-up I led you into one page one....Jeez! Look, I still think gymnastics to "oly" is a worthy cause. And I'd offer to help with some damage control, but I'm kinda busy trying to find the right, new and improved, cleaning product to tidy up the mess you made of my fine contribution...........

 

[kecks]

okay, that's very true. i sincerly apologize !