Weightlifting makes the Difference!

By Mal Irwin

There is, in the obscure field of psychophysics, a law known as "the law of the just noticeable difference". It is referred to as the Weber-Fechner Law, and it was formulated following tests on weightlifters in the 1800’s. The originator of the law, E. H. Weber, asked weightlifters at what point they noticed the extra weight on the bar. The important point of this law is the recognition of a "threshold of consciousness". This is the point at which an experience stands out from the everyday flow of experience. Learning will proceed when an experience is sufficiently different from preceding events to stand out and be memorised. It was found that the "just noticeable difference" was a constant relating to the level of the basic stimulus (which means that the fitter you get, the harder it is to improve above your level).

I discovered this interesting tit-bit in the pages of the Scientific American magazine. A column called "Connections" rambles through a series of apparently disconnected facts, to show, in a playful way, how ideas and events can often be inter-related. The contribution of weightlifting to the concept of "just noticeable differences" led to experience-based learning. In the 1820’s, a school based on the ideas developed above was founded in Indiana, U.S.A. , by a geologist who discovered the zinc deposits from which the germanium for the world’s first transistors was mined (though of course, he didn’t even dream of transistors or electronics at the time). This was the point being made by the "Connections" author.

So it was the connection between the weightlifting and the geologist that first drew my attention! It is often a fact that great discoveries are made when people with an interest in two fields find connections between their fields of interest. How often do we discover new ways and means to improve our training and competition performance, by making more time, building a bit of our own gear, doing a more effective warm-up routine, or simply having a good long think about how the rest of our business is affecting our training.

During this year, I have found a new gym on the way home (YMCA George Street), where I can get in a good set of squats and benches in half an hour, and still get the train home on time. I also set up a tripod squat rack so I can train on decently heavy front and back squats at home. Doing hanging leg raises and other stretches have just about eliminated back pain. However, my work schedule often prevents me from maintaining a cycled program.

An idea I was given in the 70’s, by the powerlifter Merv Stacey, to overcome this problem was isometrics. Not a lot of gear is needed; just two 450mm pipes and about five metres of light chain with a hook or shackle in one end. The chain is threaded through the pipes, and adjusted to length for whatever exercise is needed. So I used such a set-up in the wilderness of Mt Isa for several months at a stretch. Of course my lifting was upta when I came home; but the power didn’t take long to come back. The trouble with isometrics is that progress is very hard to judge, because the object does not move, and it is very hard to tell whether you are having a heavy or light workout! At least you can carry an indefinite amount of resistance in airline luggage.

This is the true value of lifting weights, that you can actually measure your improvement. For most Master’s lifters, the improvement is "just noticeable".Which brings me about full circle!