Some people lift weights, and some people are weightlifters.

This is one of those “there are two types of people in this world” concepts. In the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Clint Eastwood wanted a man to dig a hole for him. So he tossed the man a shovel, pointed a gun at him, and said, “There are two kinds of people in this world... those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.” Half of the high school graduation ceremonies in this country each year include some kind of keynote speaker who tries to motivate graduates by saying, “There are two kinds of people in this world... those who watch things happen, and those who make things happen.” We love to break society down into categories, and Olympic Weightlifting is a terrific area to draw a big thick line that divides two simple groups: those who lift weights and those who are weightlifters.

Anybody who is a “weightlifter” already knows that they’re a weightlifter. And they know the difference between themselves and people who “lift weights” as clearly as we all know the difference between a rattlesnake and a hummingbird. But people who “lift weights” might be a little fuzzy about the qualities that divide the two groups and, consequently, might be confused about which group they belong in. So we need some clarification about the difference between the two groups because it’s important for everyone to go through life with a definite understanding of what they are and where they belong. After all, we don’t want the Vienna Boys Choir walking into a bar where the Hells Angels drink, do we?

One of the best ways to analyze each animal is to start by observing its behavior. Therefore, here are some simple habits to watch for when you’re trying to distinguish weightlifters from people who lift weights. And, of course, you can make up your mind which group you personally belong in after you understand their identifying qualities.

Interest in Weightlifting

People who lift weights think that weightlifting is a fascinating sport. They have seen weightlifting on the internet, read several articles about training and competition, and probably even decided to try it themselves. If they are lucky, these people happen to live in an area where there is a weightlifting gym that has bumper plates, platforms, and a coach who knows how to teach the lifts properly. Once they have given weightlifting a shot and learned a little about it, their enthusiasm grows and they probably start to study the technique of lifters like Pyrros Dimas and Hossein Rezazedeh. They get a kick out of weightlifting, and it becomes a real source of enthusiasm.

Weightlifters believe that weightlifting is the greatest sport in the world and will probably dismiss anyone who disagrees with them as being retarded. They have watched every weightlifting video available on the internet fifty times, the home page on their computer is a weightlifting website, and their screen saver is a picture of an athlete catching a snatch overhead. They probably own a library of DVDs and, if they are truly old-school, VHS tapes of every state, national, and world championship they have ever been able to get their hands on; and they can quote several lines from the Bulgarian documentary “School of Champions” whenever they want to. They have read so much literature on weightlifting that they probably even understand a few weightlifting-related words in Russian. They know how many times per week the Soviet lifters of the 70s and 80s used to train. They know the world records from before 1993 when the weight classes were changed. If they are lucky, these people happen to live in an area where there is a weightlifting gym that has bumper plates, platforms, and a coach who knows how to teach the lifts properly. But if they do not live in an area like this, they will quit their jobs, load all of their possessions in their car, and move to a town like St. Joseph, Missouri or Auburn, Washington where there is a gym with a group of weightlifters who are as committed to the sport as they are. They study the technique of lifters like Pyrros Dimas and Hossein Rezazedeh, David Rigert, Vasily Alexeev, Naim Suleymanoglu, Ronny Weller, Yuri Zacharevich, Rolf Milser, Norb Schemansky, Tommy Kono, and John Davis. They also name their pets after these lifters. Their enthusiasm for the sport becomes less of “enthusiasm” and more “life-consuming hunger.” They cannot imagine their lives without weightlifting, nor would they want to.

Training

People who lift weights will set up a workout routine that incorporates the Olympic Lifts. They will put this routine down on paper and stick to it as closely as they can. They will find time in their weekly schedule when they can get to the gym and work out. Even during times when life is busy, they will make sure they get to the gym a couple of times every week. When they work out, they will concentrate on technique and try to perform the lifts as correctly as possible. They will also try to enhance their recovery from each workout through good nutrition, protein supplementation, and stretching. If they have time periods when their lifts are stagnant, they will understand that they have reached a plateau. When they reach plateaus, they will continue to work hard and remain confident that they will eventually start to make progress again.

Weightlifters will find a coach who knows more about weightlifting than they do and ask that coach to write them a workout program. The program exists for one reason: to snatch and clean and jerk bigger weights. They will put this routine down on paper, but they will rarely have to look at the paper because they have the whole program memorized. Their weekly schedule revolves around their workouts, not the other way around. Jobs, school, family, and relationships... these are things that are incorporated into training. If any of these things interfere with training, they have to be modified. If they cannot be modified, they have to be eliminated. It does not matter if life is busy, the car breaks down, finals week is coming up, or it’s Christmas Day. Nothing interferes with training. When they work out, they will concentrate on technique and continue to perform the lifts until they are done correctly... no matter how long it takes. Recovery from each workout becomes their lifestyle. On the way home from the gym, they will stop by the gas station to buy a ninety-nine cent bag of ice. When they get home, they will turn on the TV and put the ice on whichever body part hurts the most that day. If they have time periods when their lifts are stagnant, they will refuse to accept it. They reject the very idea of plateaus and their whole attitude about life will start to turn sour until they find a way to start making progress again.

Job/School

People who lift weights will put their workouts as one of their top priorities in life. They will try to find ways to set up their jobs and school schedules to accommodate their workouts. If the gym they train at has business hours that are incompatible with their job hours, they will buy their own weights and build a platform in their garage. They will pre-plan their meals and food consumption for each workday. Often, they will have to bring individualized Tupperware bowls to work in a big cooler and then find time in their workdays to get their small meals of chicken breasts, tuna, and fruit. They will stay committed to their workouts, but they will also stay focused on their education and careers.

Weightlifters will view weightlifting as their occupation. And when people tell them that weightlifting doesn’t pay any money, they will tell them to stick it. Weightlifters will select their jobs based on their weightlifting. If a job is too physical or requires too much time on the feet every day, the weightlifter will quit and try to find something else. The idea of job hours conflicting with training is out of the question. The main reason the weightlifter has a job in the first place is to make enough money to travel to the next national championship. The weightlifter will figure out what time they have to train every day, and then tell their potential employers that they are not available to work during those times. Like the people who lift weights, they sometimes have to buy their own weights and build a platform in their garage. If they have to max out a credit card to buy their equipment, so be it. Their college years will be some of their biggest weightlifting years, and it will be easier to train during this time because college schedules can be adjusted to be more compatible with training. Once graduation has passed and the weightlifter is looking for a way to make a steady living, time management skills will be critical and some sacrifices might have to be made.

Relationships

**Advance Warning: This one can get a little sticky**

People who lift weights have relationships like most normal human beings. They meet people at parties, go on dates, spend money on clothes and hair products that will make them more attractive to the people they’re dating, try to stay thin and sexy (that’s for women and metrosexual men), buy gifts for each other, do selfless things to make their partners feel valued and cherished, fall in love, take fun vacations together, argue sometimes, save up money to buy engagement rings (that’s for men), get engaged at some special place where the feelings of romance and happiness are like a thick goo that covers everything, get married, procreate, buy gas grills, drive mini-vans, and enjoy life while they continue their love for lifting weights.

Weightlifters have relationships that are slightly different from most normal human beings. They meet people at parties (hopefully before they’re too drunk), go on dates at places that serve large pieces of meat, spend money on protein powder and jeans that will fit their thighs, try to get muscular because they believe that being muscular and being sexy are the same thing, buy gifts for each other if there is enough money left over after paying for the plane ticket to the American Open, act selfishly because you have to be selfish to be a good weightlifter, occasionally allow their partners to take fun “weightlifting meet vacations” with them to swinging places like Merrillville, Indiana, argue whenever the non-weightlifting member of the relationship wants the weightlifter to do virtually anything that conflicts with training, buy engagement rings that come with a free set of steak knives (that’s still for men), get engaged at the place that serves the large pieces of meat, get married, procreate, quickly decide whether or not the child deserves love based on if they can hit a good bottom position with a broomstick, buy gas grills, drive piece-of-crap cars, and do their best to work out the relationship by getting the non-weightlifting partner to stop complaining all the time.

**You were warned**

Pain/Injuries

People who lift weights will reduce/modify their workouts when they experience pain.

Weightlifters simply accept that pain is part of the game.

Competition

People who lift weights will compete in weightlifting meets because it’s fun.

Weightlifters will compete in weightlifting meets because it seems like that is what they were born to do.

Frustration

People who lift weights try to look on the bright side when training is frustrating.

Weightlifters break things in their homes when training is frustrating.

Hands

People who lift weights have normal hands.

Weightlifters have discolored thumbs and calluses that look like little sand dunes.

On and on this story goes...

At the end of the day, weightlifting is one of history’s most sacred Olympic sports. Like many sports, it also includes a unique lifestyle that can only be experienced when a person makes the decision to completely commit their life to it. Many full-blooded weightlifters decide to extend their commitment and passion to the sport after their competitive days are over through coaching, directing meets, writing books, working as an official, etc.. The same intensity they brought to the barbell during their younger years becomes channeled into their service to the sport. In prison terms, these are “lifers.” They are in it to the end because at some point in their lives, weightlifting became buried in their soul. They all have times when they take their licks, certainly. Many of them have even had moments when they have hated weightlifting. The thought of quitting and walking away from it all... that thought has popped up. But they always come back because they are fanatics, and that’s what fanatics do.

And obviously, this fanatical approach is not for everybody. It does not have to be for everybody. There is no law written in any religious text that says a person cannot simply dabble in weightlifting for recreation and giggles. The sport has benefits for everyone. If the individual simply wants to use the snatch and clean and jerk to get a little stronger and more coordinated, great! That is positive involvement in the sport. Even if competitive weightlifting is not a goal and the athlete just enjoys lifting a barbell overhead, then weightlifting has added something fulfilling to their experience. Therefore, the question still stands; are you a weightlifter or a person who lifts weights? Which group do you belong to and, more importantly, which group is the superior one? Who is the perfect child, and who is the evil twin? Who is Cain and who is Abel? You can answer for yourself, but make sure you understand that it does not matter which group you line up with. Anyone who has chosen to make this sport a part of their life, in any capacity, has done something special. In the eyes of the almighty Lord Snatchikus, we are all members of the same tribe. If training with a barbell has done anything to make your life better, then the universe is unfolding exactly as it should.