Weightlifting Coaching

Coach Elsa
Coach Elsa

I offer group in-person Olympic weightlifting coaching for athletes of all levels, including beginners trying weightlifting for the first time who may not have any prior barbell or strength training experience. Coaching sessions are a welcoming, fun, supportive environment for developing weightlifting technique and confidence.

For beginners the session format is a class with a fundamental and scalable workout including a short warmup, snatch and clean & jerk overview and practice, and some strength building work. For more independent athletes following their own training program the session format is simply coached hours.

Coaching Sessions
🗓 Monday - Friday
5-7pm
🌎 RCF Barbell SODO
🧭 2227 4th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98134

News

Quarterly meets are scheduled for 2025. The first spring meet will be Saturday March 22.

Sign Up & Payment

1. Sign up

Join a session

Coaching sessions are booked in advance. Walk-ins may not be accommodated if that session did not have any sign-ups.

2. Pay

Per Session RCF Barbell Membership Session Payment
$33 ⭐️ Non-members / guests Guest payments
$8 💗 Members Member payments
💖 Unlimited Coaching members

Payments are due at arrival or made in advance.

All payments are made online here. For the ease of my bookkeeping, please no cash or other modes of payment.

The most cost effective option depends on how frequently you attend coaching sessions and if you're a member of RCF Barbell. We love new members!

⭐️ Guest attending 4x per month or more?
💗 Become a member of RCF Barbell for $99/month (+tax)

💗 Member attending 3x per week or more?
💖 Upgrade your RCF Barbell membership level to RCF Barbell SODO: Unlimited WL Coaching for $199/month (+tax)

Contact

💌 Email me

🫙 Tip jar

FAQs

What if I can't be there for the whole session, such as arriving late or leaving early?

No problem! A session is just a window of time to receive coaching, and we'll aim to get the most out of the time we have. However if you're running extremely late to a session and it no longer feels worth attending you should skip it and sign up for a future coaching session instead. Any payment already made can be applied to that next session.

What should I bring?

Workout clothes that are comfortable when raising your arms overhead, squatting down low, and jumping. Because weightlifting technique involves brushing the barbell close to your legs and torso it may be helpful if the workout clothes aren't extremely baggy, and some people prefer to have those areas protected with fabric to prevent accidentally scraping skin. There is a drinking fountain, but you might want the convenience of a water bottle. If you have weightlifting / squatting shoes with a raised heel please bring them, otherwise any athletic shoe will do, the flatter and firmer the sole the better.

Do you offer programming?

I provide a beginner workout to follow when first learning weightlifting that will primarily focus on developing fundamental technique and secondarily builds some strength. Once your goal shifts from learning the lifts to increasing the weight you can lift well I recommend following a more structured training program. I suggest starting with either of these options from Catalyst Athletics:

I do not offer individualized programming at this time. I may in the future.

In the meantime there are Rain City Fit personal trainers who may be available to provide personalized weightlifting programming. If you'd like to source your programming from elsewhere, I suggest avoiding programs from Torokhtiy because they have too much volume at too low percentages. Personally I use weightlifting.ai for my own training.

Events

Quarterly Meets

Not formal USAW competitions, but rather informal opportunities to practice aspects of the weightlifting competition format such as taking 3 attempts at each lift. An occasion to train for and cheer each other on. Perfect for beginners easing into the sport or just having a max out day for fun.

2025 schedule:

More information to come.

Coaching Education

2024 Oct Coach at RCF Barbell SODO
2024 Jul Shadowing / assistant coaching
2024 Apr USAW Level 2 Coach
2024 Mar USAW Level 1 Coach
2023 Nov Weightlifting Coaches Project: LIVE
Wil Fleming of 1Kilo, USAW Senior International Coach
Greg Everett of Catalyst Athletics, USAW International Coach
Mike McKenna of McKenna's Gym, USAW National Coach
2017 Mar Began weightlifting training

Coach's Training Log

Decide for yourself if my movement quality meets your standards for a coach.

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Elsa (@elsatko) • Instagram photos and videos