Dignified CrossFit Barbell club

 Olympic-style weightlifting, or officially “Weightlifting”, is the style of weightlifting contested at the Olympic Games. The events of weightlifting, or “lifts”, test virtually all of the muscles in an athlete’s body (including but not limited to, the legs, back, shoulders, arms, grip and core) - more muscles than any other sport. Because the lifts are performed more widely than any other strength and power testing events in the world with standardized rules, with no assistive equipment, the World and Olympic Champions in the sport of Weightlifting have earned the right to the title of the strongest men and women in the world. 

-USAW website

 Snatches and clean and jerks produce some of the highest power outputs in all of sport. Power, the product of strength and speed, is the key ingredient to helping people run faster and jump higher. Incorporating the Olympic lifts into workouts is the most effective way to build power and speed. 

 Olympic lifts are versatile, causing a range of positive changes to your body depending on how you program them into your workouts. Olympic lifts can be used to improve strength, speed, and power as well as enhance high-intensity exercise endurance, produce quicker recovery, and handle higher amounts of training. With greater work capacity, you can do more exercise each session and reach your health and fitness goals faster.  

 Olympic lifts are full-body movements that target the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles and help promote flexibility and stability across joints. Controlling a load throughout the range of motion of all these joints is key to preparing the body for the high forces encountered in sport and in some activities of daily living. A major predictor of future injury is having endured a prior injury, so utilizing the Olympic lifts in training and improving flexibility, strength, and stability can greatly reduce susceptibility to injury.
 

 Especially for women, strengthening bones is critical to preventing osteoporosis and protecting against bone fractures. Olympic lifts produce large forces on the legs, spine, and arms, precisely what is needed to stimulate the body to lay down new bone and improve bone density.
 

 In sport and in life, people are rarely in need of strength when stationary so it’s important to stress the body in the gym to reflect that. Olympic lifts provide strength and stability around major joints at a fast speed of movement, which is what enables the body to be stable in activities of daily life as well as sport. Weightlifting movements are truly functional exercises.