Daily Evolution from Mastering Tai Chi-Chapter 60: Clean and Jerk 180kg

However, what caught Wang Ye’s attention was...

The occasional surprised glances from a coach resting on a nearby bench press rack.

Judging by the look, it seemed like he knew Wang Ye from before.

Wang Ye couldn’t resist under the coach’s stare, so he put down the barbell and approached to ask.

"Have we met before?"

The coach didn’t answer but instead asked, "Hey, are you the champion of the half-marathon a few days ago?"

Wang Ye was taken aback. He didn’t expect to be recognized.

"Indeed, I am."

"I knew you looked familiar," the coach immediately grinned, "When you were on the podium, I happened to be in the audience. You have quite a sturdy build, not typical for a long-distance runner, yet you won the half-marathon. That’s why you left an impression on me."

The young coach training Wang Ye also chimed in upon hearing this, "You’re an athlete? No wonder you learn the moves so quickly, you have a foundation."

"But, aren’t you a long-distance runner? Why train in weightlifting? I heard long-distance running doesn’t focus on explosiveness?"

Another coach shook his head, "This guy’s build doesn’t look like a long-distance runner anyway."

"Just wanted to try it for fun," Wang Ye awkwardly laughed.

"Alright, I see you’ve mastered the clean pretty well. Let me add some weight for you," the young coach, realizing that Wang Ye was a top-tier athlete, no longer behaved as cautiously as before.

He directly brought over two 10kg barbell plates and attached them to the sides of the barbell.

The bar itself is already 20kg, and now with an additional 20kg, the total weight of this barbell became 40kg.

People who haven’t lifted weights might not comprehend this well.

For instance, many girls who are shorter in height weigh about 40kg. For many beginners, this weight might be easy to deadlift, but doing a clean with it would be much harder.

If it wasn’t for Wang Ye being a top-tier athlete, the coach definitely wouldn’t have dared to have a beginner practice cleans with this weight.

Wang Ye stood in front of the lifting platform.

Gripping the barbell.

Then with a push of his hips and legs, the barbell in his hands was swiftly lifted up and easily flipped onto his shoulders.

"Good!"

The young coach clapped and encouraged him:

"You look relaxed doing the move, this weight shouldn’t be a problem for you. But I don’t recommend adding more weights just yet, since you’re only in your first day of learning cleans, taking it step by step would be better."

Wang Ye returned the barbell to the rack.

He slightly moved his leg muscles, feeling that he still had plenty of strength left.

"I want to try adding more weight."

"Go ahead, I’ll be right beside you to assist," the young coach didn’t stop him. After all, Wang Ye is a champion athlete in international competitions. Such athletes have years of training experience, not only is their physique more resilient compared to the average person, but their awareness of injury prevention is also stronger, and they would never mindlessly use weights they couldn’t control for the clean. He trusted the top-tier athlete to have his own judgment.

After receiving approval, Wang Ye began to add weights to the barbell step by step.

From 40kg, to 80kg, and eventually even increased to 120kg.

Yet, he could still smoothly lift it onto his shoulders as if flowing water.

The two coaches watching were already wide-eyed in shock.

120kg.

Even they wouldn’t dare to try such a weight.

You should know that the current Chinese champion Shi Zhiyong’s record in the clean is only 194kg.

Yet Wang Ye, on his first day of learning, already reached 120kg.

And without showing any weariness, still continued to add more weight onto the barbell.

As Wang Ye progressively increased the weight, his hips and legs started to feel a bit wobbly, and his breathing became much heavier too. His muscles were sore all over, more exhausting than running a long-distance.

In general, the heart rate during anaerobic exercises like weightlifting is higher compared to aerobic exercises like long-distance running. Because the body’s output power is too high in a short period, the heart takes time to adapt. So weightlifting is more exhausting in the short term, many top-tier weightlifting athletes need a 5 to 10-minute break to return to peak condition after each heavy lift.

Wang Ye kept increasing the weight, and after completing a 160kg lift, he finally showed obvious signs of fatigue, sitting down on a bench to take a break.

Those two coaches were completely shocked too. Sitting beside each other, they mumbled with twitching mouths.

"This is truly eye-opening... I’ve never seen such a badass person in my life."

"Is this the adaptability of a top-tier athlete, just starting is already my limit."

"Screw this, I’m done training."

"I’ve lost my composure. A long-distance runner is stronger than me at weightlifting... and he’s a beginner too."

"Sometimes, it really feels like the gap between people is bigger than between people and dogs."

...

After Wang Ye took out electrolyte water and replenished some fluids...

He took two more 10kg plates and attached them to the sides.

"180kg, I wonder if I can lift it."

Wang Ye furrowed his brow slightly.

The 160kg just now already felt quite challenging.

But he felt there was still some room before reaching his limit.

Wang Ye took a deep breath, applying pressure to his molars. He gripped the barbell tightly with both hands, exerting a slight brute force, and lifted the barbell a few centimeters. For a moment, the 180kg weight bore down on his spine, causing his waist to feel strained.

Feeling that his posture was off, Wang Ye immediately put the barbell down, muttering:

"No, I underestimated this... 180kg is much heavier than I imagined."

A coach nearby approached and said:

"Your lumbar spine wasn’t stable in a neutral position just now, you need to center the weight back a bit. Although you’ve lifted heavier than me, there are still quite a few technique issues that need correcting..."

With such flawed technique, an average person might not even manage to lift 70kg.

Yet Wang Ye used this amateurish technique and sheer force to lift 160kg...

Thinking of this made the coach feel even more hopeless.

What kind of talent is this...

Meanwhile, Wang Ye, fully unaware, corrected his technique according to the coach’s guidance, then began to attempt lifting the 180kg again.

He let out a deep shout, channeling his energy through his hips and legs. The Qi sensitivity cultivated through Tai Chi immediately focused on his lower Dantian, or the core muscles.

A visible mist of Qi sprayed from his mouth.

The incredibly hefty barbell was instantly lifted by him.

Flipped onto his shoulders.

"Done!"

Wang Ye immediately placed the barbell on the ground.

Producing a loud thud.

Usually, gyms like this would explicitly require members not to drop barbells or dumbbells to make loud noises.

But given the situation, the two coaches didn’t reprimand him. At such a weight, expecting someone to handle it gently is a bit too much.