I remember almost eight years ago today, being convinced by my coach Steve Gough that I needed to do my first competition. I was very hesitant. I had only been lifting for a few months and I had always just enjoyed the training, the results and athleticism I got from doing the Olympic lifts, and also challenging myself in the gym. Why did I need to do a competition? Finally, I gave in and accepted. At that time, weightlifting still hadn’t seen the increase in popularity that it enjoys now, so there were only about a dozen lifters in the entire competition and most of the audience was made up of my other gym members - not a big show by any means. Although I had competed in track meets with thousands of spectators, but still, I was about as nervous as a virgin at a prison rodeo.

I don’t remember what my lifts were that day. It wasn’t really that important. What I do remember was having an absolute blast. Every athlete watched and cheered the other athletes on, and the crowd - most of who had never seen a weightlifting competition - were blown away at what the athletes were doing. It took me out of my comfort zone like I had never experienced. Training so hard for months for only a few seconds on the platform was a challenge like I never could have expected. So in my opinion the number one reason you should compete in a weightlifting competition is because you’ll have fun, especially if you’ve never done one before.

The next reason is something that took me awhile to figure out, but I think is probably one of the most important things I’ve learned in weightlifting: Competition drives progress in multiple ways.

Let’s start with how competition can drive progress within the individual. Be honest with yourself and ask how many times you went into the gym and worked through your squats, snatches, clean and jerks, and simply went to your “typical” weights--those weights that you could pretty much always exist at. There was no pressure to do more, no real reason to push that much harder. You got a good workout in and that’s about it.

Now imagine you are 4 weeks out from a competition and replay that training session. Would you be satisfied with that 120kg snatch, or would you set your sights on 121 or 122? Maybe you would hit it 5 times instead of 3? The motivation, drive, and urgency start to push you to do more and more each day. No skipping sets or reps because you’re a little tired. No staying up late to watch one more episode on Netflix. You might even give up that extra beer when you’re out with your buddies. You eat better quality food, sleep better, and train better, because you want to be at your best on competition day. Everything goes up a notch. My guess is that unless you’re signed up for a competition you won’t be performing at this level. You’ve gone from “working out” to “training.” Having something to train for is invaluable.

The Bulgarians believed that competitions were also the best training sessions since competitions provided the highest demand on quality and intensity. There is no doubt in my mind that you don't need to be a Bulgarian weightlifter to benefit from the physical and mental demands of doing a competition. Each one provides an opportunity for a great atmosphere and big time lifts.

More than anything, competition drives progress within the local weightlifting community. When we started years ago, our meets had about 12 to 15 athletes on average. I remember when we finally broke over 20 for the first time! Now our competitions will host upwards of 50 to 60 athletes, with crowds of spectators in the hundreds. Local sponsors get involved and help put together a party afterwards, and athletes and coaches from all over the state get together in one place. More people are exposed to the sport with every event we host, and it doesn’t matter if you snatch 50kg or 150kg--the support from the community is tremendous. These competitions are how the sport of weightlifting picks up momentum locally. Gaining exposure and garnering new interest is the lifeblood of smaller clubs. Who knows, the next Olympian might be sitting in the crowd during your next competition.

Right now, the USA is not a competitive country in international weightlifting, and we never will be unless change is initiated on the grassroots level. It rises up the ladder from there. USAW memberships and certifications grow, funding for high level athletes (hopefully) increases so they can train more with less “life stress,” yearly competition circuits develop in areas where there once were none and youth athletes who don’t yet know how to correctly perform a clean and jerk will be exposed to better coaching and facilities. More competitions push the current athletes to be better and perform at a higher level. These are only a few of the changes that need to take place for us to get better as a whole, and it starts with having more competitions locally so that more people get involved. Whether you host, judge, compete, coach, sponsor, volunteer, or all of the above, it is all important for the evolution of weightlifting in the United States.

You see, the weights we lift are only temporary, for many of us will never lift numbers high enough to be remembered for years to come. Only a select few will ever have that honor. It’s up to the rest of us to keep our foot on the gas, create more resources for weightlifting, host legitimate weightlifting events, and build something that will be more permanent in order to ensure that we all continue to move forward together.