3 Stupid weightlifting myths that must die

Hi Internet,

 Every few years, several weightlifting myths seem to resurface. To help you out, Here they are:

Myth 1:"I read on the internet that The Bulgarian system is maxing out everyday"

Fact-Most articles on the internet on the "Bulgarian system" are written by people who never even been to Bulgaria, let alone studied the system.  Also, there is the system that Abadjiev created and the systems that other coaches in Bulgaria used which also won many medals. Sure, they might be related , just as all modern weightlifting training systems have roots in the Soviet system.  Many times the suite of exercises are similar with the loading being different. You can even see the influence of Bulgarian coaches in countries like Colombia that have employed them and created their own system. From first hand experience, I can tell you no system that achieves great results has their athletes max out every single day every training day of the year.

Myth 2: "people with long torsos are better for lifting"

Not true. Lifting is like American Major League Baseball, in that every athlete has to use their body type to its natural advantages technique wise.   This myth came out of the assumption that lifters with long torsos will have shorter arms in relation to their torsos, which will force them to pull the bar higher. For one, some people have longer torsos than legs And very long arms. Further, having a longer torso than  legs will shift your center of gravity upward in the catch position --so this body type would be more easily tipped over in the overhead position than someone with long legs and short torso.  Point is, Mage lifter needs to  vary things like foot spacing and to angle for their body types... 

Unless:

If your body phyisically can't go into a full squat,can't fully lockout (bent arms), or can't physically rack the bar on the shoulders, then you probably want to look at a different sport where these physical attributes would become an advantage- as according to actual Bulgarian coaches, these are the only physical body type requirements for becoming a champion lifter.

And this brings me to #3

Myth 3:"that lifters butt touches the ground when they squat, and their ankles bend so much. they must have great mobility"

Ever see a great weightlifter whose ankle bends so far that the top of their foot almost hits their shins?  Ever see an Olympic Champion weightlifter like Pyrros Dimas, whose ankle doesn't never bends more than 48degrees or so in any published photo of him winning an Olympics?  Are you going to really tell me that Pyrros Dimas has bad mobility because his butt doesn't touch the ground or his ankles don't bend back to his shins? Ofcourse not!  Because, what we are talking about is Not mobility- it is physical body types and genetic variation of the skeletal system of each lifter that we're really talking about. Just ask you chiropractor- the shape and proportions between bones differ between individuals. Many people cannot physically bend their ankle back to their shins because their ankle bone is in the way.  Lifters like Pyrros Dimas and Ilya Ilin show the world that ...hmmm... Maybe having ankles that only bend 50 to 40 degrees to the shin bone is actually an advantage vs having ankles that  bend within a few degrees of their shin bone.

Photos 8 and 9 of 3time Olympic Champion Pyrros Dimas show internetlore on "mobility " to be wrong. Or rather, your butt doesn't need to be an inch off the ground nor your ankles bending on top of your feet to be the best lifter ever.

Note on photo source - the photo shows the URL from which I downloaded this, though I believe this is actually from Denis Reno newsletter  1996 photo sequence of Dimas (which I have at home since I was a kid).

Yes, mobility is important ---and the difference between body type and mobility must be understood to get the most out of your lifting .