Olympic Weightlifting exercises are a common component in strength programmes. Olympic Weightlifting keeps the body flexible and strong compared to bodybuilding that intends to shorten muscle length with static and isolation exercises (Newmire and Willoughby, 2020), leading to restricted movement, which is why many professional athletes utilise Olympic weightlifting.
Olympic weightlifting is utilised within training programmes due to the biomechanical similarities to many sporting movements, and their manifestation of a large force and power qualities compared to other exercises.
Though there are common disagreements between exercise professionals regarding Olympic Weightlifting's transferability to sports performance (Fotini and Eleftherios, 2012), Fotini and Eleftherios (2012) suggest that Olympic weightlifting can cause knee pain in weightlifters. However, the current substantial body of evidence suggests they are a useful tool for enhancing athleticism (Hackett et al., 2015).
However, to further understanding of Olympic Weightlifting's usefulness for athletic performance, more research is needed. Moreover, the collective of recent studies shows that Olympic Weightlifting can assist in sporting performance.
References:
Hackett, D., Davies, T., Soomro, N. and Halaki, M. (2015). Olympic weightlifting training improves vertical jump height in sportspeople: a systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(14), p.865–872.
Newmire, D.E. and Willoughby, D.S. (2020). Partial Range of Motion Resistance Training. Strength & Conditioning Journal, Publish Ahead of Print. Available at: https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Abstract/2020/10000/Partial_Range_of_Motion_Resistance_Training__A.10.aspx.
Fotini, A and Eleftherios, K. (2012). OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING TRAINING causes different knee muscle–coactivation adaptations compared with traditional weight training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 26 (8), p.2192-2201.
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