Have you ever wondered how you could become a better athlete? Well I have the answer - Olympic weightlifting. Olympic weightlifting improves strength, speed, flexibility, and body awareness. It teaches self-disciple, can boost self-esteem, and helps release stress in a constructive way. Most weightlifting gyms have a positive and welcoming atmosphere that is great for kids to be introduced to at a young age. It is an individual sport, but you get the option to train with a team. Also Olympic weightlifting is an inexpensive sport with minimum equipment required to perform the movements safely.
First of all most sports require strength to dominate. In football you must have strength to tackle people and to throw the football. In soccer you must have strength to kick the ball down the field, and in gymnastics you need strength to tumble six feet in the air. So why not get stronger during the off-season? Weightlifting builds strength through muscle hypertrophy. This happens when the muscle is broken down then increases in size and strength after recovery. Having stronger muscles results in a leaner body mass and a faster metabolism. Strength is even good for runners. Studies have shown that over a two-week period the athletes who trained the Olympic lifts had faster sprint times than the athletes who trained using specific exercises for sprinting. It makes sense that if you can exert more force to the ground in each stride you will be able to get farther in a shorter amount of time.
Another reason weightlifting is good for any athlete is that it teaches self-discipline. Weightlifting is an individual sport; which means that you get direct results of how much work and effort you put in. If you fall it is your fault, but if you win a medal it is all yours. You can’t blame anyone for your mistakes. Self-discipline is an important characteristic to have in life, and is imperative to learn at a young age.
You may not think of the word “flexible” when someone mentions a weightlifter, but you would be surprised to find that it takes a good amount of flexibility to get into a comfortable squat position. To be efficient in the Olympic lifts you must have flexible shoulders, ankles, and hips. Working the Olympic lifts daily or even just a couple times a week can dramatically increase your flexibility.
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| Young Girl About to Clean and Jerk |
You may think that it is too expensive to get a membership at a weightlifting gym, but the truth is that weightlifting costs much less than most traditional sports. You do not need any special clothing: just shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. If you decide you really like weightlifting and want to commit to it you may want to buy Olympic weightlifting shoes in the future (which cost anywhere from $40-$300). All that is needed to perform the lifts is a good weightlifting or crossfit gym. There they will have bars and plates ready to use.
Many professional and elite athletes use weightlifting to give them that extra “umph” that they need to be the best. If you are an athlete that values strength, flexibility, and mental toughness then you should give weightlifting a shot.
The word diet means “the kinds of foods that a personally habitually eats” (wiki). It doesn’t matter what sport you are in, or even if you aren’t in a sport, your diet should be as close to clean as possible. Our bodies are not meant to consume all this processed junk that is part of the SAD (Standard American Diet). Our minds are more productive when we intake proper nutrition and our bodies provenly perform better when nourished.