08/04/2026
I bought Sisi some weights from 9 months ago. Being a strength coach and having a young athlete as my child, I was keen to start teaching her the main lifts early. But she wasn't ready. Even though the barbell only weighs 2.2kg, I have zero tolerance for messing about when it comes to learning the main lifts, as this can lead to poor technical understanding and injuries. They require focus, understanding and as I recently discovered - a certain level of maturity.
Fast forward 9 months, Sisi came to me last Sunday and asked me to teach her "this!!!" while proceeding to demonstrate a sn**ch from the floor. I thought "this is my chance!". So instead of the sn**ch, which is the most complex barbell lift that exists, I taught her the deadlift. "You can't do a sn**ch or anything else from the floor if you don't know how to pick it up first", I said. She agreed, and unlike 9 months ago, this time she listened attentively and this is the result. As for the sn**ch... all in due time!
