I must make it very clear that I am against the use of anabolic steroids and all performance enhancing drugs. There have been some early deaths and serous health issues of weightlifters and strongmen, but haven’t been directly related to steroids. Their bad health issues haven’t really been proven as so many athletes from almost all sports and countries have used steroids in the last 50-plus years and we haven’t seen serious health issues that can be directly related to steroid use. They do work to help you lift bigger weights. Initially, we were told steroids are bad for your health (your testicles would shrink up to the size of BBs) and they don’t work, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The drugs and doping in weightlifting have been going on since I first got involved seriously in the 1960s. Jim Schmitz snatching 117.5 kilograms in 1971, San Jose. (Image: Jim Schmitz)Īs someone who was deeply involved in the sport during a period of historic feats of strength by Soviet and Chinese athletes, were you surprised by the recent doping scandals? The exact opposite is true and that’s why so many people of all ages are weightlifting and enjoying the fantastic benefits, both physical and mental. When I began lifting it was considered bad for you, would slow you down, stunt your growth and make you “muscle bound”. Now thanks to CrossFit and the internet more people are doing Olympic weightlifting than ever. We also did powerlifting and bodybuilding as part of our training and even competed in those sports too. Strength & Health and Iron Man Magazines were our only sources of how to lift, train, and competition results to compare how we measured up. We lifted iron weights and we didn’t drop them. We wanted to be strong and were always trying to lift more because it always felt good to do personal records. We fell in love with the lifts, training, results and most of all how great it felt to do the lifts, workouts, and the camaraderie with other weightlifters. We all took up weightlifting to build ourselves up for various reasons, from sports to personal appearance, and then discovered the Olympic lifts.

Schmitz: I’ve been weightlifting since 1960 and involved as a coach since 1968, so what is the difference from then and now, a lot! The most obvious difference is that in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s it was almost a “cult” sport, meaning there were very few of us and we were obsessed and fanatical about Olympic style weightlifting. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the sport since you started out? He’s a man who helped the United States win multiple Olympic medals, and we wanted to know more about his training philosophy and his thoughts on the state of modern weightlifting.īarBend: You’ve been involved in weightlifting since the 1960s.

He’s competed since the 1960s and coached Team USA at the 1980, 1988, and 1992 Olympics. Jim Schmitz is a pillar of American weightlifting.

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