4/2/2017 0 Comments Olympic Lifting for Beginners
Weightlifting, also called Olympic-style weightlifting, or Olympic weightlifting, is an athletic discipline in the modern Olympic programme in which the athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates. The two competition lifts in order are the snatch and the clean and jerk. Each weightlifter receives three attempts in each, and the combined total of the highest two successful lifts determines the overall result within a bodyweight category.
The Olympic Lifts have consistently been used by martial artists, wrestlers, football players, and a myriad of other athletes to aide them in their development of power and explosiveness. For someone starting out, the Power Clean, Power Snatch, and Push Press is a good start. Power Clean The Power Clean is a combination of the Deadlift and Front Squat. Exercise Data Type: Strength Main Muscle Worked: Hamstrings Equipment: Barbell Level: Intermediate Power Snatch Also Known As: Hang Power Snatch Exercise Data Type: Olympic Weightlifting Main Muscle Worked: Hamstrings Equipment: Barbell Level: Expert The purpose of the power snatch is to bring the barbell from the floor to above your head in one flawless motion, without having to clean it to the shoulders or stop the movement in any form. Aa wide grip is recommended. Push Press Exercise Data Type: Olympic Weightlifting Main Muscle Worked: Shoulders Equipment: Barbell Level: Expert
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I'm getting stronger but not bigger? We’ve all seen it before; the “smaller” athletes at the gym bench pressing three times their body-weight, or the big guys with biceps the size of their heads who couldn’t deadlift the same weight if their lifes depended on it? If you’re training for size and strength, then read on.... THE WIRING. In order to fully appreciate what your body goes through to increase in strength, it’s important to understand exactly what a muscle is and how it works. When we think of our muscles, we think of the things you can see - biceps and quads.. They are what help us to move after all. Or so we think. The central nervous system (CNS) is in complete control of your muscle contraction, and how quickly they respond to stimuli and how much power or force they generate. The central nervous system sends messages in the form of electrical impulses from the brain through motor neurons which “instruct” the muscle to “do work” or contract. A single motor neuron can innervate anywhere from ten to one thousand muscle fibres, depending on the muscle size. A motor neuron and all of the muscle fibres it innervates is called a motor unit. However, a muscle isn’t composed of just one motor unit....there are hundreds. How many of these motor units you recruit during a movement varies and this is the fundamental basis of strength training. INTENSITY FOR STRENGTH. Imagine that you’re doing a bicep curl. Your CNS sends a message to your muscle to contract. Only a few motor units are recruited because the intensity or load is low. However, when your body is faced with a 4 x Body Weight (BW) deadlift, it recruits more motor units to help out. The more motor units you recruit, the greater the force you can produce and therefore the greater the load (or weight) you can lift. Badically, you are shocking your Central Nervous System into asking for as much help as it can muster to respond to such a strong stimulus. As you progressively overload the CNS by lifting heavy loads (typically in the 80%+ range of your 1RM) your neuromuscular system adapts by recruiting more motor units in order to complete the lifts. Essentially, you are training your nervous system to work more effectively. This is why you might find yourself yawning during a strength session rather than “feeling the burn” as you would with a body-building style (6-12 rep range, moderate weight) workout. BODYBUILDING BURNS. Strength training doesn’t invoke much hypertrophy* directly, as muscle growth is mostly reliant on microtears of muscle tissue** that are repaired through the process of protein synthesis. Microtears form as a result of repetitive stress put on the muscle tissue by load and time under tension.....in other words, when you’re grinding out those last few reps. As long as the body is sufficiently nourished it will repair the muscle fibres and also stimulate growth of muscle fibres. The fibres will be thicker and stronger in order to withstand expected future stress and this is the fundamental basis of bodybuilding. EVERYBODY’S CONNECTED. Although strength training doesn’t have much direct impact on hypertrophy for the intermediate to advanced lifter, it most definitely impacts hypertrophy indirectly. By training the neuromuscular system to recruit more motor units during a movement, more muscle fibres will be trained and therefore a greater amount of microtears will occur. The more fibre damage, the more fibre repair and in turn, muscle growth. It’s important to point out here that it is possible to cause too much fibre damage and this is when we hit that place that is “overtraining”. So be sure to keep rest days in check. GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS To summarize, strength training is more of a neuromuscular adaptation and does not cause as much microtrauma*** to muscle tissue as bodybuilding does. So while you may indeed be getting stronger, you might not be getting bigger. However, it does have an impact on your potential gains in muscle size once you’ve taught your neuromuscular system to work as efficiently as it can by recruiting as many motor units as possible. A combination of both strength training and hypertrophy based work will lead to solid strength and muscle gains and and the chance to reach your maximum potential. * increase of muscle size ** “the burn” *** a main player in hypertrophy Strength is the foundation of everyday acts of athleticism. and is not limited to muscle size and capacity. When you get stronger, you're better able to lose weight, run faster, and hit harder.Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. I'm about to give you some great tips, but if you want even more advice, I highly recommend you check out this book. These guys are pros on this topic, and this book is superb. 1. Think four. The squat, deadlift, bench press, and shoulder press are the best strength-building exercises, end of. The chinup and row are great moves too, but don't make them the focus of your workout. 2. Use barbells. The barbell is king, the dumbbell is queen. Start your workouts with barbell exercises. Barbells let you load a lot of weight, and lifting heavy is the first step toward getting stronger. 3. Keep it simple. Simply focus on raising and lowering your weights in a controlled manner, Pausing for a one-second count at the top of the lift. The only way to be sure you're getting stronger is if your loads consistently increase. 4. Keep a diary log. Write down your exercises, sets, reps for each workout. Constantly strive to improve those numbers. 5. Don't overdo it. Try to stick to three or four lifts per workout. When you do too many exercises in a session, at least some of them get done half-assed. One main lift per workout one or Two assistance lifts + Core or specialty work at the end (ab exercises, forearm, calf moves) 6. Think five. Sets of five seem to offer the best blend of muscle size and strength gains. If you're pushing through one of the big four moves, you'll find that your form often breaks down after five. Sets of x 5 7. Add weights slowly. The main reason people plateau and stop gaining strength is that they go too heavy for too long. Use 10% less than the most weight you can lift for the given rep range. Increase the weight each session by no more than 10 pounds. Max weight - 10% Increase by 10 lbs each session 8. Cardio. To get stronger while getting leaner, do cardio in short, intense bursts.
9. Balance your training. Whatever you do for one side of the body, you must do for the other side. - Balance squats with Romanian deadlifts (which hit the hamstrings hard). -Balance your chest exercises with back-training lifts. You don't necessarily have to do your balance work in the same session, but it should be done in the same week. In general, follow a ratio of two-to-one between your pulling-and-pushing movements. Example Monday bench-press (and most of the world seems to) Tuesday chinups Thursday bent-over lateral raises 10. Do it right. Form is key. Quick pointers for each one. Squat 1 Begin the squat by pushing your hips back as far as you can. 2 Keep your lower back arched and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. 3 When your hips are bent, begin bending your knees and squatting low. 4 This is what you need to squat maximal weight. Deadlift Use the same stance you would to perform a jump — your legs should be narrowly placed. When you bend down to grab the bar, keep your hips down and your back straight, with your shoulders directly over your knees. Bench Press Start with your head off the bench. Keeping your feet steady, grab the bar and pull your body up off the bench and forward, so that when your butt comes down on the bench your lower back is very arched. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Your range of motion should be significantly shorter for stronger pressing. Shoulder press Flare your lats when the bar is at shoulder level. It will allow you to use more weight. These are just a few pointers, but if you really want to make some serious progress, I'd recommend this book. - the all natural drug-free 8 week course to strength bodybuilding.
Hannah Powell, the current holder of the British weightlifting women's Under-23 records in the 48kg class, explains the difference between the two disciplines, the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. She also explains the basic rules of the sport, the importance of stance for lifters, and how to tell when a lifter is really on form
Have you ever wondered what is the difference between weight lifting, strength training or bodybuilding? If so, you'll know that weightlifting takes on many forms, namely Weight Lifting Sport, Strength Training and Bodybuilding. So which is best for you? Maximum Strength Many athletes have had successful careers in both disciplines. Weightlifting creates a different kind of physique than does bodybuilding. But there are a few things you should know before you choose your discipline and implement a training strategy to ensure your future success. This post will tell you what you need to know to make sure you select the right sport that will let you successfully continue your healthy lifestyle. If you're looking for creating maximum strength, then weightlifting is the best option to ensure you end up performing like Jack Oliver - however consider these things: Weightlifting creates a different kind of physique than does bodybuilding. and they generally concentrate on training with the heaviest weights possible for very low reps—triples (three reps), doubles (two reps) and singles (one all-out rep). Definition If you're looking for creating shapely, defined and well-proportioned muscle , then bodybuilding is the best option to ensure you end up looking like Andy Turner This kind of body physic development results from using moderate to heavy weight and higher repetitions (somewhere between 8 and 15 reps typically), as well as a program that focuses on all the major muscle groups and specific areas within these groups Weightlifting Sport. The sport of Weightlifting is part of the Olympic Games. It consists of 2 lifts: the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. The goal is to lift more weight than competitors in the same weight class. Strength Training. Lifting weights to increase your physical strength. More muscle and a lower body fat are byproducts of strength training. Bodybuilding. Weight lifting with the goal of increasing your muscle mass. Strength increases too, but isn’t the primary goal. Now that you know the differences, you're ready to make informed choices. 9 Exercises
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