Bomber Strong: Scott Safe on High School Weightlifting

Liz - interviewer

Scott - interviewee

So how long have you been in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting?

I think 18 years. Longer with powerlifting, but for weightlifting I think 18.

So you have a big powerlifting background then?

That’s what I was. I was a powerlifter, then I converted to weightlifting because that was much better for athletics. My kids were coming up and I wanted them to do what was the best, so that’s when I made the switch.

How did you get involved in the high school weightlifting program?

We started it. I knew that when my kids were coming up I wanted them to have fun with weightlifting in a high school environment. So when my son, Nathan, and I were deer hunting one year, we were talking about this sitting in the woods, and I said “We’re going to make this weightlifting association up with high schools,” and he thought “Yeah, that’d be cool dad,” and that’s actually how it started. So I got with Roger Sydecki, and the NSCA (Scott Sully), the NFC people, and the USA weightlifting people. We called a meeting, and I said I wanted to run these high school meets, it would be for high school only, with high school state championships. They all kind of laughed at me, but said “Yeah, lets try.” That was the start of it, and I think this is the seventeenth high school state championships. That was seventeen years ago, and that’s kind of how it started.

So, just follow your dreams then right?

It was! It was something where we just had a plan and it worked out.

Can you tell me more about the program? Like how often are the meets and more about the season.

The meets start in December, after volleyball and football are finished. We like to be finished before track and baseball get started. So we’re kind of a winter sport. We follow the model of Texas with powerlifting and that, but the reason they did that is because more high school coaches are accepting of that. We’re not interfering with their sport seasons too bad, we’re just taking up one sports season, and that’s the one we picked; the winter.

How does this program benefit the students?

Physically, weightlifting is by far the best and as an athlete I think mentally it’s awesome. It’s all about hitting PRs (personal records), and building self-esteem. All kinds of good character-building things. Weightlifting is good in many ways, so I think it’s a beautiful program for kids.

Do you have any ideas for how to spread the program to other schools?

We try every year to bring new schools in, and so we’re always talking to schools. Not just myself, but Scott Sully does, a lot of guys do. Also now USA weightlifting is flying me around and we are going to other states trying to build the same kind of program in hopefully all 50 states. We need to get more weightlifters.

What do you see for the future of the program?

It’s very bright. I don’t think many people know how cool it is, but they’re finding out and as they find out, for every good experience that a youngster has that youngster and his parents tell other people. So I think the future is very bright, it’s a great sport that not enough people know about.

How do you think we could make it more entertaining?

Part of that is that we just need it to continue to grow like it is now. Nationally, weightlifting is growing because of the influx of crossfitters. That helps because there’s more interest, more money, more gear, and more people doing it. The more people do it, the more they like it, so it’s kind of like the chicken and the egg. You don’t grow unless you got more people, but you don’t get more people unless you grow. We’re kind of in that, but I think every time we can hook another school in, we bring another whole group of people; parents, kids, coaches, etc. I think we need to continue to just keep on doing that.

Any ideas to get weightlifting on the media?

The entertainment part is a good question. That’s a toughie, because we still need to get through six attempts with everybody. Cooler singlets are fun, people like that. Streaming live, like today, so people can watch from home is good. It’s a long day and I don’t think we can ever get away from that totally, because everybody gets six attempts. They need their six attempts. That is something we have to keep working on though; figuring out how to make it more acceptable to the TV audience.

Last question, what’s the most important thing in weightlifting?

Desire. If you’re really going to be the top of the top certainly there’s a tremendous amount of just physical talent. At the very very top of the heap you do need a big amount of talent, but I think passion more than anything. People with a lot of passion for it, they continue to train even when they don’t get maxes. You just keep on and keep on. I think passion is #1.

 The Cannon Falls weightlifting team. Each one medaled at the
 state championships. Coach Scott Safe is pictured to the far left.

Scott says none of his lifters are pure weightlifters, most of them participate in other sports such as volleyball, football, and basketball. If you are interested in the high school weightlifting program go to www.mnweightlifting.org.

Eliminating Bad Food

I eat pretty healthy, which is odd for a teenager. Most people my age eat whatever is available or whatever seems most tasty; nutritional value does not usually come into play. I often get asked why I don’t eat certain things, and sometimes I don’t have the answer. Sometimes I have just read the science behind it in a book, but I don’t fully understand why. In understanding why certain foods are eliminated from my diet I can inform others; maybe even persuade them to look at what they are putting into their body. By writing this blog I hope to clarify why I don’t eat certain things, also to help myself & others understand how certain foods affect our overall health.

Why I choose not to consume artificial sugars or sweeteners:

• super normally stimulating without any nutritional value
• promote insulin resistance (insulin keeps blood sugar levels balanced, high blood sugar can lead to damage in many vital organs)
• promote leptin resistance (leptin keeps body fat stores and energy levels in check, high amounts of leptin can cause over consumption and a screwed up appetite)
• promote intestinal permeability (a leaky gut can let in foreign substances which cause inflammation and lead to chronic illnesses, also very stressful on your immune system)

Why I choose not to drink alcohol:

• I’m under the age of 21
• more empty calories
• it’s an addictive substance for some people
• interferes with normal glucose functions
• known to be neurotoxic (kills neurons that send messages to the brain - which is why people think and react slower when under the influence)

Why I choose not to eat or cook with seed oils:

• contain high proportions of polyunsaturated fat (PUFAs) and omega-6 (good for brain function, but not in large amounts) which promote systemic inflammation
• PUFAs go rancid through oxidation when exposed to light, heat, and air which then causes free radicals to form (too many free radicals can damage cells and DNA)
• contain antioxidants to protect fats from oxidation but not many, so some oxidation still occurs (too many oxidized fats can cause damage to liver & toxic byproducts)
• least stable of all oils - there are many healthier options like olive or coconut oils

Some common seed oils are: canola, chia, corn, cottonseed, flax, grape seed, hemp, palm kernel, peanut, rice bran, safflower, sesame, soybean, sunflower.

Why I choose not to eat grains (even whole grains):

• most fibers, vitamins, and minerals are removed in the refining process
• water is sucked out - sugar, salt, & fat are added to increase palatability
• effect they have on hormones leads to overconsumption, elevated blood sugar levels, reliance on glucose for fuel, increase in body fat, and increased triglycerides in the blood

Whole grains:

• lower glycemic index (GI) than regular grains which means that it raises blood glucose levels slower than regular grains, but a lower GI is irrelevant to good food choices (for example watermelon has a rather high GI of 72, while M&M’s have a lower GI of 33)
• don’t contain a single vitamin or mineral that can’t be found in fruit and veggies (fruit and veggies also both contain higher amounts of fiber than whole grains)
• contain a phytate (antinutrient) that holds on to minerals so they can’t be absorbed and used by our bodies
• contain proteins that can’t be digested properly which then cause inflammation (inflammatory effects include allergies, asthma, celiac disease, lupus, chronic fatigue, and the list just goes on and on…)

*Even gluten free grains contain problematic proteins which is why some people still have unexpected immune reactions to gluten free grains. So gluten is not the only problem with grains.

Why I choose not to legumes:

*Legumes include beans (not green beans), peas, lentils, and peanuts.

• contain large amounts of phytate (the antinutrient that makes nutrients unavailable to us)
• contain short chain carbs (sugars) that aren’t absorbed completely in our small intestine - they act as food for bacteria, the bacteria ferment these carbs which cause gas and bloating

Peanuts (which are not actually considered nuts):

• contain lectin which is toxic when raw, lectin is not destroyed by heat like other legumes are so when lectin gets into the blood it causes an unhealthy immune response

Why I choose not to eat foods containing soy:

• soy contains isoflavones which are a type of phytoestrogen (phyto=plant, estrogen=female sex hormone), our bodies recognize isoflavones as a female reproductive hormone which does not create a healthy hormonal response

Why I choose not to eat or drink dairy products:

• contain bioactive substances that promote aggressive growth (which is intended for young mammals)
• contains biological messages intended for offspring of the same species to double or triple body weight in a short amount of time (human milk intended for infants, cow milk intended for calves)
• casein (makes up 80% of milk protein) causes a specific immune reaction which can lead to headaches, GI upset, asthma, and allergies
• whey (which is a blend of immunoglobulins, insulin like growth factor 1, and estrogen) causes the release of large amounts of insulin when consumed
• Insulin like growth factor 1 is a growth promoter in children, but for adults is associated with the promotion of various cancers
• contains lactose which causes bloating and gastrointestinal upset when not digested properly

*You can find enough calcium in meats, nuts, seafoods, and veggies that you don’t necessarily need milk for calcium. Also the amount of calcium that your body can actually absorb is more important than the amount of calcium in your diet. If you eat too many phytates (antinutrient) you will not be able to absorb as much calcium; but eating good fats and proteins will promote the absorption of needed vitamins and minerals such as calcium.

In conclusion eating unnatural sugars, processed carbs, beans, legumes, and dairy all builds up to cause a leaky gut, autoimmune disease, and sensitivity to certain foods. If you don’t want these negative effects I suggest trying to avoid the majority of these foods as much as possible. The only way to find out how these foods affect you is to eliminate them for a period of time then reintroduce them one at a time. Not everyone will react the same to any one of these food groups. Also I’m not saying that they aren’t ok every once in a while, but why eat foods that make you feel less than optimal when you could eat tons of delicious foods that make you feel great? The only reason to eat something unhealthy is because it tastes amazing, not to fuel your daily processes and not to make you feel better after a stressful day at work. Hopefully this persuaded you to make some better food choices and maybe even gave you some answers to why you haven’t been feeling or performing your best lately. Try eliminating these foods a little at a time and I guarantee that you will be feel more energized, happy, and relaxed in no time.

Bibliography

Hartwig, Dallas, and Melissa Hartwig. It Starts with Food. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Pub., 2012. Print.

This entire blog is based off of the information in their book and the information I have gathered through reading various blogs/articles as well as participating in the Whole Life Challenge.