olympic weightlifting

I took up the sport of Olympic weightlifting recently, and I decided that I will give a brief description of the sport in an attempt to introduce it and attract new participants.

Not having produced any dominant athletes in the sport, weightlifting remains a relatively obscure sport in America. The sport is generally dominated by eastern bloc nations. Nonetheless, the sport is enjoyed by people all over the world, and even in the states there are small pockets of dedicated weightlifters scattered all over the country.

Olympic weightlifting is composed of two lifts – the snatch and the clean & jerk.

The snatch involves taking a weight from the ground to overhead in one motion. This lift is technically demanding and places great stress on the joints, with a minor risk of joint dislocation.

The clean involves taking the weight from the ground to the shoulders, and the jerk finishes the movement from shoulder to overhead. Due to the heavier weights able to be lifted in the clean & jerk, it causes intra-abdominal pressure to be significantly elevated, increasing the risk of urinary incontinence and hernias.

Generally, by the time you are able to successfully finish a heavy clean, your ego will be crushed, you will feel puny, you will feel weak, and you may just want to die. However, if you are able to complete the entire lift and hoist the weight over your cranium, it will be a triumphant and majestic moment. In fact it is scientifically proven that a heavy clean & jerk is the second best feeling in the world. A nice snatch being the first.

the climax

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