Your buddy tells you he’s off for some Olympic lifting and you think to yourself:
"Oh he’s OFF alright. Off in fantasy land. Olympic lifting is for athletes qualified for Olympic competitions only. Right?”
Power or Olympic weight-lifting is an Olympic sport and is also performed by competitors in many weight-lifting competitions. Olympic lifting is making its way into the workouts of non-professional or Olympic athletes, more and more these days because of the many benefits that Olympic lifting offers to weight-training programs, and to those who participate in weight-training as a form of exercise.
Olympic lifting transforms your muscles into mighty “powerhouses.” The strength and bulk of muscles has a direct impact on the body’s metabolism rate. Your metabolism is the mechanism that coverts fat in the body into fuel to power the systems of the body. Because Olympic lifting transforms muscles into the strongest they can naturally be without the use of dangerous steroids, those who perform Olympic lifting are able to become the fittest of the fit!
Olympic lifting is good for the health of the heart as well, as performing Olympic lifts gives your heart the “real-deal” exercising it needs to remain at its healthiest. In order for the heart to benefit from exercise it must be consistent movement that causes an increase in heart rate and bigger amounts of oxygen coursing in and out of the heart. Olympic lifting does just that for your heart and your health.
With Olympic lifting your whole body gets a workout. Most exercises concentrate on just one area of the body such as the arms, back, shoulders, abdomen, legs, thighs, and buttocks. You would have to do a number of different individual exercises in order to give your whole body a workout, requiring a lot of time, and the motivation to perform them. Olympic lifting and the all-over workout it gives your body is a no-brainer really. With Olympic lifting you won’t be fretting that you forgot to do an exercise, thus leaving that area of the body without the benefit of a consistent workout.
Olympic lifting significantly increases the body’s agility and ease of movements. This decreases the risks of injury not just while exercising, but also as we perform different movements in our work and home lives.
The time-saving benefit of Olympic lifting versus the time it takes to perform other exercises in order to get an all-over workout is an added bonus to Olympic lifting. This is especially true in the fast, always-on-the-go- pace of society we live in today. Many of us overloaded with obligations to family, work, friends, and our communities, and just finding space in our schedules to get in a workout can be hard to do. The fact that an Olympic lifting routine doesn’t take all that much time to complete makes it an attractive exercise alternative for busy people who might otherwise not be able to fit regular exercise routines into their schedules.
There are books and DVDs on Olympic lifting routines you can do at home or the gym. It is recommended though that you get the advice of a professional on how exactly to perform Olympic lifting before trying it on your own. Letting an expert guide you in performing “lifts” correctly will save you from injuries that could take you away from exercising for health, for long periods, or even cause permanent injuries. You want to get the benefits that Olympic lifting offers you, not side-lining injuries!
Learn more about Olympic lifting and you too can experience the all-over workout and benefits of Olympic lifting.
