Could I qualify for the 2016 Olympics, starting training now?

[derkerkjerk]

My .02, for whatever the hell they are worth, on all of the above...

No, you won't make to the closest olympics and you may, with great genetics, complete dedication to the craft by spending all your time in the gym working and all your time out of the gym reading and reviewing tape, attaining a high caliber coach, and a bit of luck, be able to tryout to go to the next furthest olympics. But that is itself a long shot. You have to remember, that despite all our ambition and drive, the three people you see on the podium taking home bronze, silver, and gold are beyond any measure in the olympics, regardless of sport. Further, there is a whole handful that make it within contention, and there are many more who barely make the list and just narrowly avoid bombing out. These people alone have attained far more than millions of others with the same dream will ever achieve. We get caught up in the big names in any sport and who medals and who should have, without realizing that there exist a whole swath of people that are more talented than we will ever be, whose names we won't remember. That doesn't even include the people who NARROWLY missed making it on their respective team or the people who were the caliber to attempt making it on a team. These people also will achieve far more than the majority of people.

All Olympians train since child.

With that said... Pretend and vision that you are given a free slot on the Olympic team for 2016. Now dedicate yourself as if all you have to do is put up numbers. You keep that in your head and you'll make incredible progress in the next 4 years, and that may give you some doors open to competing, and potentially reaching some high stages in your time with weights. But don't let the goal, or the failure of achieving the olympics, be any downer. Those that make it there were forced or found it at such young ages that it's hard to imagine a different path in life. While we may reminisce with friends about swinging on the playground or catching cooties or playing tag, they will reminisce about clanging barbells and playing "test your 1rm"

As for clarence..... I'm surprised there's people taking up for the OTHER side of the debate on this one. Dude has great genes, definitely was made for lifting and has the dedication for it. But that's always only part of the equation.

Also, interesting about the pendlay forum post from Limerick. Interesting.

[ironmouth]

this question cannot be answered by anyone but you as there are too many factors. Ill list some of them

-learning a sport from a young age doesn't necessarily allow you to become better or elite at an older age as -most kids take up a sport, most kids are not athletically gifted, and most kids playing sport do not go on to become elite athletes.

- it takes DELIBERATE PRACTICE to succeed and do well at anything. But it doesn't guarantee success either. You need the physical genetics as well. Starting at a young age, kids who engage in deliberate practice + physical genetics = elite level. The only drawback is if you start young, you run the risk also of retiring early and burning out earlier hence no more deliberate practice.

-motor learning takes longer for kids than adults (not senior citizens). If I'm correct young adults are the fastest, so learning the lifts and deliberate practice will be an easier learning curve for you.

you will only find out when you try it. This comes from getting feedback on how fast you progress and plateau in the sport.

[SquinkysGhost]

All Olympians train since child.

Vasily Alekseyev who set 80 world records started lifting at 18.

Besides. No-one talked about any kind of success, only the qualification and the difficulty of that depends on the country. Here in Finland a superheavy might get in with a 360 kg total, 380 kg total is almost sure to do the trick. In Russia you might need about 440 kg total (just throwing a guess).

[SalStrength]

He benched 385 at 15 years old. Much as I like Donny, it kind of pisses me off reading the sections in his articles saying genetics don't matter.

Bench Press has absolutely nothing to do with Oly Lifts. There is a certain percentage of people that are genetically gifted with strength. However, strength needs to be trained for someone to become STRONG. No one squats over 500lbs not having ever touched a bar.

[ProjectTrack]

There is only one way to find out.. and that is to go out at try the sport.

It is at least worth a shot trying. Just remember, don't get disheartened if progress is slow. Keep going and you never know where you might end up in 4 or 8 years.