Olympic weightlifters are the most powerful, explosive athletes in the world.Olympic weightlifting plays an integral role in the training of all our athletes.No other exercise builds greater power.

Why We Use Weightlifting With Our Athletes

Running, jumping, swinging a bat or a golf club, tackling - they all require power. Power is a combination of strength and quickness. To be powerful, you have to be strong, andyou have to be able to apply that strength quickly. A strong, slow athlete will not beeffective, and neither will a fast, weak athlete, because they both lack the ability toproduce power.

Olympic weightlifting builds power.

The Olympic lifts use the biggest muscle groups in the body, in a coordinated fashion, toproduce maximum power. No other type of weight training does this.Even the sport of powerlifting (which uses the bench press, squat, and deadlift) useslifts that actually generate relatively little power. Compare the power produced in twoworld record lifts by former world champions, powerlifter Doyle Kenady and weightlifter Alex Pisarenko. Kenady deadlifted 405 kg. at a bodyweight of 140 kg. It took twoseconds for him to lift the weight .40 m off the floor and stand erect. Pisarenko cleaned265 kg. at a bodyweight of 120 kg. It took him .90 seconds to clean the weight andstand up. The bar traveled .9 m from the floor. Pisarenko's 265-kg clean generated21.64 W per kilogram of body mass, and Kenady's 405-kg deadlift produced 5.57 W per kilogram of body pass. The world-record clean produced nearly four times the power of the world-record deadlift. The so-called power lifts are actually strength lifts.

We use the full Olympic lifts and many variations on those lifts with different athletes,and our athletes become faster, stronger, and more powerful.

Benefits of Olympic Weightlifting

Decades of experience have demonstrated the benefits of weightlifting as part of asport-specific training program. Look at successful Olympic athletes; 90 percent of themuse some form of Olympic weightlifting to develop speed, strength, and power for their sports. Plenty of scientific studies document the benefits of weightlifting. These are justa few:

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In an 8-week study, one group of lifters did various Olympic lifts (High pulls,Power Clean, and Clean and Jerk), and another group trained using vertical jumpexercises (Single and Double Leg Hurdles Hops, Alternated Single-leg HurdleHops, etc.). After the 8 weeks of training the weightlifting group had significantlyincreased their 10 meter sprint speed and their standing jump over the groupusing vertical jump exercises.

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A 15-week study compared football players and using a powerlifting program toplayers using an Olympic weightlifting program to improve athletic performance.After the 15-week study was over the Olympic weightlifting group showed asignificant improvement in the vertical jump and 40 meter sprint over thepowerlifting group.

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A study on bone mineral density (BMD) compared the BMD of elite junior Olympic weightlifters to a control group of the same age and another controlgroup of 20-39 year old men. The elite junior Olympic weightlifters hadsignificantly greater BMD in the lower back and femur than either of the other twogroups.

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Olympic weightlifting improves overall health. One study had athletes train withthe Olympic lifts for 8 weeks. The athletes decreased resting heart rates by 8percent; systolic blood pressure decreased by 4 percent; lean body weightincreased by 4 percent; and body fat dropped by 6 percent.

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Unlike other styles of weight training, Olympic weightlifting develops greatflexibility, balance, coordination, and athleticism. Olympic lifts have been used tohelp rehabilitate older injuries in many athletes.

The Lifts

Both the snatch and the clean and jerk involve lifting the weight from the floor tooverhead. There are many variations on each lift, but these are the versions most oftenseen in competition today.

The snatch:

The athlete grips the bar with a wide grip. In a single, smooth, explosivemovement, the athlete drives his body upward with the leg and back muscles, propellingthe bar upward. As the bar moves up, the athlete drops under the bar into the catchposition, catching the bar with arms locked, and stands up with the weight overhead.

The Clean and Jerk:

The clean and jerk is a two-part lift. In the clean, the athlete gripsthe bar slightly wider than shoulder width. In a single, smooth, explosive movement, theathlete drives his body upward with the leg and back muscles, propelling the bar upward. As the bar moves up, the athlete drops under the bar, catching it at collar bonelevel (the rack position), and stands up straight. The jerk portion of the lift starts with thebar held in the rack position, resting on the collar bone or the shoulders and held looselyin the fingers. The lifter dips his body slightly and jumps, driving the bar upward, andpushing himself downward under the bar. The athlete catches the bar with arms lockedoverhead, with one foot forward and one foot back. The athlete then brings the feettogether to complete the lift.

Safety

Weightlifting produces far fewer injuries per hour of training than other competitivesports.

Sports Injury Rates (Hamill 1994)

SportInjuries (per 100 hours)

Soccer (school age)6.20UK Rugby1.92USA Basketball0.03UK Cross Country0.37Squash0.10US Football0.10Badminton0.05USA Gymnastics0.044USA Powerlifting0.0027USA Volleyball0.0013USA Tennis0.001Weight Training0.0035 (85,733 hrs)Weightlifting0.0017 (168,551 hrs)

Children and Weightlifting

People have many misconceptions about children and strength training. When properlysupervised and instructed, weightlifting is safe, fun, and beneficial for a child's physicaldevelopment. For more information, seePosition Statement and Literature Review:Youth Weightlifting.(Kyle C. Pierce, Ronald J. Byrd, Michael H. Stone)