How long ‘til I’m strong?

Getting really good at olympic weightlifting or developing national class athleticism takes many years. Garage Strength has done a great job mapping out what D1 athletes can lift and how fast they can run. Moreso, he's shown how many reps it takes at particular lifts or dills to build to that level. These statistics are measured in years, not weeks.

In olympic lifting, the snatch and clean & jerk are brutally technical and require a large amount of raw strength in order to maximize and fully develop technique. Perfecting movement patterns takes thousands of reps. Missed lifts? They’re part of the process. If you want to get better, the key is not getting discouraged by the subpar training days and keep showing up.

Improving your squats, pulls, presses, etc... will all contribute HUGELEY to making you a better athlete regardless of your sport. That said, getting “strong” doesn’t happen overnight. Trying to force progress out of your body at a rate that it's not ready to give is a recipe for stalling or injury. Some weeks you PR. Other weeks, you feel like 💩. That’s the weight room for you. Long-term success comes from showing up, even when it feels like you’re stuck.

For young athletes, there's no rush. Taking the time to get great technique before adding heavy weights to the bar just makes sense. If we know that serious progress will take many years, why rush things in the first few months when the athlete's lifts don't look supurb? "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" on the front end of things to get massive gains later down the line.

Bottom Line: Play the Long Game

If you put in the time — years, not weeks/months—you’ll develop devlisih skill and monstrous strength. Stick with it, trust your coach, and ENJOY THE PROCESS. Training should be fun. It is a privilege to be able to move our bodies and push ourselves. Don't get so caught up in the end result that you forget to enjoy today.

Best of luck with your training today!