Why do we do Training Camps?
Weightlifting is an individual sport, and many lifters, though part of a “Club”, train alone. Even while training in a gym, with a club, you may not always have the opportunity to train at the same time as your fellow club members and teammates.
In a perfect world, Weightlifting practice would be held like any other team sport following a practice schedule, and in some places it is. Mon/Wed/Fri from 5pm-7pm, for example. Everyone comes together at the same time every day, and practices together.
Our club, the Harrisburg Weightlifting Club, unfortunately cannot operate that way. We have such a diverse team, with athletes from elementary school, college age, working professionals, multisport athletes, and people from all different walks of life. It is extremely difficult for us all to train together all the time.
Enter Training Camps. Several times throughout the year, especially leading up to a big competition, we all give up a weekend and get together for some tough training sessions, and team bonding time.
Training Camps serve multiple purposes:
Obviously they bring the majority of the team together.
They create a high energy atmosphere in which athletes feed off the successes of each other.
They get everyone on the same page and understanding of the direction of the team, and how and why we train.
They allow the coaches to gauge where the athletes are in their training, and set a game plan for the upcoming competition.
Camps allow newer lifters to get to know the veteran lifters better, and watch them train.
They allow veteran lifters to get to know newer lifters better, and help mentor them.
They give coaches more opportunity to see how athletes perform in the spotlight, in a heightened atmosphere.
Camps help foster more positive relationships between team members, and healthy in house rivalries.
We expect big things from this upcoming training camp. The uptick in energy always leads to great training sessions and big lifts. We haven’t had a lot of time together since Covid hit in March, and we are itching to show out a little bit. Even though most of us train here under the same roof, we don’t always train together, so we really look forward to getting together for these camps.