Olympic weightlifting is a contest in which athletes compete in the snatch and clean and jerk and attempt to push the envelope of human performance. Very few injuries results from this, as weightlifting is far safer than many sports. While injuries will occur from time to time, they are few. If you have a broken bone, it is doubtful that you should attempt to continue practice until you are fully healed, as both lifts utilize the majority of your bones and muscles. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
The Snatch
The snatch is the first of two lifts contested and consists of pulling a bar overhead while squatting down to limit the distance you must pull it. The lift is not complete until you are standing fully erect with the bar overhead. The lift is executed with a wide grip, and the goal is to pull the bar as smoothly as possible from the ground in as straight a line as possible. This reduces the mechanical work and allows a superior position to accelerate the bar once it reaches the mid-thigh level. The speed with which you dip under the bar often determines your ability to fix it firmly in position overhead.
Clean and Jerk
The clean and jerk is the second lift contested, and it consists of pulling a barbell to your shoulders while squatting down to catch it, then standing up. You must then bend your knees and generate enough power to jerk the bar overhead to full extension. This is accompanied by shifting the feet to lower your position, generally one foot forward and one foot backward. The lift is not complete until you stand erect with the barbell at full extension overhead. The jerk generates more power than any lift ever recorded.
Training
Training for the Olympic lifts requires focus on technical mastery. As a beginner you will spend time developing and improving your technique, which is slightly individualized for each athlete. This requires consistent practice and good coaching, like any other sport. At first training may consist of partial versions of both exercises to teach you to learn to accelerate the bar smoothly and catch it without injury. The emphasis on technique is the primary reason for the low injury rate. Weightlifting is not just about throwing weight around, it is a series of skills that must be matched with strength to achieve success.
Benefits of Weightlifting
Like other forms of resistance training, weightlifting will promote increases in bone mineral density, which reduces the risk of broken bones. A comprehensive study published in the "Journal of Athletic Training" in 1999 of elite athletes showed that most injuries were simple over use injuries. More than 90 percent of all injuries resulted in no more than one day of missed training. In the entire six year period of the study, not a single broken bone was reported.
References
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Relative Safety of Weightlifting and Weight Training; B.P. Hamill, February 1994
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; The Three-dimensional Kinematics of a Barbell During the Snatch of Taiwanese Weightlifters; H.T. Chiu, et al.; June 2010
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Comparative 3-dimensional Kinematic Analysis of the Snatch Technique in Elite Male and Female Greek Weightlifters; V. Gourgoulis, et al.; August 2002
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; Power Production by Olympic Weightlifters; J. Garhammer; Spring 1980
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; "Changes in Bone Mineral Density in Response to 24 Weeks of Resistance Training in College-age Men and Women"; Harold Almstedt et al; July 2010
- "Journal of Athletic Training"; Injury Rates and Profiles of Elite Competitive Weightlifters; G. Calhoon, et al.; July 1999
