Lifting Olympic | Exercise and Fitness

012.06.09 Lifting Olympic

Lifting Olympic

What Does Olympic Weightlifting Involve?

Weightlifting as an Olympic sport trains an athlete completely: there is combined power and flexibility, special techniques, an enviable health condition and a life style that is both fit and challenging. Since Olympic weightlifting mainly involves the use of weights mounted on barbells, the specific training that it requires is very often the basis for other sports, such as American football for instance. Olympic weightlifting techniques are the most important part of the training, since the correct performance of the exercises may have very serious consequences on the body. Hence, many professionals in the field will insist on the importance to alternate workout with resting periods.

It is no secret that Olympic weightlifting favors short people, since the success of any weightlifting exercise is directly connected with the height the weights are lifted at. Nevertheless body size is not necessarily a selection criterion that tells which athlete is more valuable; there are tall people who have been very successful at Olympic weightlifting and that is an undeniable fact. There are however certain body features that are developed in time and they surely set weightlifters apart: large muscle size, broad chest and shoulders and an overall look of unsurpassed strength. At least these can be called the standard attributes of a weightlifting athlete.

As an Olympic sport, weightlifting consists of two separate exercises or events, they are equally difficult and challenging for any competitor, particularly since any winner has thousands of hours of training behind. One of the events is called the “snatch” and it involves the lifting of a barbell over the athlete's head in a single continuous movement. The second type of event is the “clean and jerk” that includes two steps: first the athlete lifts the weight in an intermediate position and then he or she lifts it over the head. Olympic weightlifting also requires that the competitors be able to hold the barbells straight-armed and without moving.

There are other special rules concerning the judging criteria for Olympic weightlifting; thus, the competitor has only sixty seconds to get the barbell to knee level. Moreover, he or she needs to hold the weight above the head until three judges mark the lift; when they shine a white light it means that the lift was successful, while a red light marks the failure to perform a correct lift. Sometimes Olympic weightlifting requires two consecutive lifts and this time too there are special rules to be followed by the competitor.

About the Author

Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Weightlifting for Years. For More Information on Olympic Weightlifting, Visit His Site at Olympic Weightlifting

Need exercise and diet advice for olympic style barbell lifting.?

I'm 19 years old, and want to take barbell lifting (clean and jerk, snatch) as far as I can. I can currently lift 67.5kg on clean and jerk and 57.5kg on snatch. My diet's pretty average, and I don't have much of a set fitness or diet plan.

So that I don't spend more money than I have to as I don't have hundreds of pounds to blow on supplements each month, what foods should I be eating and what supplements should I be taking. Also, what exercises should I be doing to see that I have the fastest increase in strength as possible? I would like to keep the number of exercises, foods and supplements to a minimum so as to keep things simple; and then just stick to the plan.

The 'right' exercises and improvement techniques depend on your current ability and the potential you can demonstrate.

Go down to the nearest athletic stadium and join the team that trains in its gym. The team coach will be able to tell you whether you have the necessary potential, and advise you about the best conditioning, diet adjustments and training regimes for your body type and stage of development.

Trying to do this withouit the support of a club would be pointless; you need the motivation and interest that only being around other olympic-lifters can provide. Trying to do it without the detailed analysis and personal advice of an experienced coach would be disastrous.

Using the wrong techniques, or applying the right ones SLIGHTLY wrongly, could destroy your chances of achieving the dream you have described. Even worse, you could easily injure yourself, and if the injury is serious enough this might ruin your chances of participating in many enjoyable activities for the rest of your life.

Aiming for "the fastest increase in strength as possible" is probably a mistake. Rapid increases don't prepare your body properly for a long-term ability to keep getting stronger.

Olympic Lifting on the 2009 Arnold Expo Stage