U of T Weightlifting Outdoor Demonstration

This picture pretty much says it all... August of 2013, U of T Weightlifting hosted an outdoor demonstration at Kensington Market. While Killian steadies his Jerk overhead, the crowd cheers and some have their mouths wide open in astonishment!

The Culture of Weightlifting at the SCC

The Community of Weightlifters at U of T are represented by a group of tight knit student athletes that strive to train as competitive weightlifters. They support each other through constant motivation, and chirping as a form of negative reinforcement.  You can identify the SCC weightlifting community by their extensive gear and unique training methodology 

The Gear

Weightlifting shoes are a must because they provide a solid sole for stability and elevation in the heel to allow for increased range of motion in the ankle. Most weightlifters at the SCC possess AdiPowers (seen on the left) or Nike Romaleos 2 (seen on the right)

Knee Sleeves

You can see these signature knee sleeves on most of the weightlifters of the SCC community. These blue knee sleeves design are worn by the National Chinese Team Members. They serve a purpose of warmth, compression, but mostly style.

Straps and Belt

Most of the weightlifters in the SCC will come to train with their knee sleeves around their ankles, Weightlifting shoes tied loosely and a belt in one hand and straps in the other. 

Straps are used to save one's grip strength when there is a high volume of repetitions (eg. 5 hang snatches). The belt is used for heavy squat or clean and jerk set to protect the stress on the lower back. 

The Weightlifting Equipment 

The Weightlifting Bars

Weightlifting Bars differ than standard bar because they are designed for the dynamic nature of the sport. Firstly, they are made of steel that allows whip for an easier catch and spin that reduces stress on the wrist. 

The SCC gym owns 2 Elieko Competition Bar, 2 Pendlay Bearing Bars, and 3 Pendlay Bushing Bars.

The weightlifting community will sit 20minutes to an hour and  wait for other members to be done with their favourite bar. Every lifter has a bar that they prefer to work with. For example, Killian says he can only PR with the Pendlay 2009 Bearing Bar because it spins better, while Jae will wait for others to be done with the competition Elieko Bar. 

Platform and Bumper Plates

Whenever you intend to drop any weight from overhead safety, you must have a platform and bumper plates. The SCC is equipped with 4 platforms and an assortment of Pendlay bumper plates. However, with the growing population of the SCC weightlifting culture, there are not enough platforms and bumpers to meet everyone's needs. The result is that most weightlifters have to share 2-3 per bar and platform and take turns loading the bumper plates on when needed. Jae and Killian have mentioned that the most frustrating part of training in the SCC is waiting for a platform and asking to borrow bumper plates from other members that are deadlifting. 

Training Methodology

Squat Technique and Frequency

Weightlifters in the SCC are mostly easily recognized by their squats. ATG is a common term used by members of the weightlifting culture. It stands for ass to grass, meaning that you squat down to the full range of motion till the thighs meet the calves. Weightlifters squat up to 5-6 times a week. The high volume and frequency of squatting is a training style from the Russian Olympic lifting program. 

(Me backsquatting 150kg, March 13th, 2014)

Counting in Kilos

In the SCC, weightlifters calculate all their lifts and weights in kilograms. A common issue that I first came across when I was talking to the weightlifting culture was the constant need to convert my lifts in lbs to kilos. Eg. Instead of saying that you squatted 230lbs x 3 reps, you would say BS 105kg for triple.