09 Jul Raise the Bar, Benefits of Olympic-style Weightlifting
In recent years, olympic-style weight lifting has been on the rise, spreading from the realms of leotard swathed podiums into high intensity H.I.I.T classes. For this, there’s a reason. Olympic lifting has a plethora of benefits from sports performance to body composition, as it’s a dynamic, full body workout. Let me roll out four key benefits of olympic-style lifting.
It’s All About Core Baby
Just like your garden variety compound movements, olympic-style lifting engages your core stability as one of its main anchors. The core is the foundation to all other movements in the body. If you’re a mountain biker, runner, climber or recovering from injury, core is the one thing which will improve all other aspects of performance and enable for correct body locomotion. The core keeps the body upright and is the major centre for balance. The glutes, obliques, lower back and abdominals are utilised when olympic-style lifting as the complex sequence of movements in the Clean & Jerk require all areas of activation for the production of power.
Power Up
Deadlifts. Squats. These are both important foundational movements which help build a persons power output. The Clean & Jerk (one of two olympic lifts) however, creates a power output that is significantly higher than those basic exercises. The Clean & Jerk requires explosive power within a complex technical and dynamic sequence of movements. The kinesthetic movement in olympic-style lifting develops your ability to discern subtle changes that involve muscle feelings and body motions. It promotes the growth of fast twitch muscle fibres and makes you more efficient in all other movements.
Speed and Jumping Ability
Speaking of power, if you want to get faster, jump higher and potentially do a backflip (check out Shane Hanman, the 300 pound lifter doing that) olympic-style lifting is for you. Since the Clean & Jerk recruits fast twitch muscle fibres, it develops your starting strength, which is the ability to create power against force. Think your zero to one hundred movement, or gravity vs you in a standing jump squat.
Improves Body composition
As mentioned, you can see olympic-style lifts in many a high intensity workout, reason being? It builds lean muscle and burns fat. Lifting weights, and in particular when using full body movements ala the Clean & Jerk, yields the best caloric expenditure to any other comparable activity. In a 30-minute session you get more bang for your buck. Your average olympic weightlifters body composition? They hover around 5% body fat.
Since movements like the Clean & Jerk are at the top of the food chain when it comes to difficulty, complexity in movement and gains in performance, it is one movement which ought to have a look in.
Interested in learning how to lift or want to improve your technique? Jeremy Maher & Graeme Booth, our Joe’s Basecamp coaches are workshoping both the Clean and Clean & Jerk in a hands-on practical session.
Details:
When: Saturday July 13
Time: 9.30am – 11.00am
Where: Joe’s Basecamp, Unit 7, 16-22 Cross St Brookvale 2100
What to bring: Water bottle
Cost: Free for members, $40 for non-members. Please pay on the day.
Spots are limited! Reserve your spot here
Please call the office on 02 8084 5295 for any further information or general enquiries.
No Comments