Weightlifting is a well-known Olympic sport. In this type of sport the main objective is to lift a bar from the ground to pass over the head. Athletes who practice this type of sport are called halterophiles. It includes great mental and physical strength from athletes who practice it, a lot of technique, speed and precision. The body must be trained in a functional way to achieve movements with an explosive force that helps them lift large amounts of weight with an excellent technique.
Rings, bar and discs
Weightlifting is a sport that consists of lifting as much weight as possible on a bar at the ends of which several discs or weights are attached, which are the ones that determine the final weight to be lifted. This whole set is called barbell and needs mental and physical strength to do it.
Giving an answer to the question of when man began to practice weightlifting is almost impossible to provide, because weightlifting is as ancient as mankind. It is considered that Hellenic people, in their sporting splendor, regulated the first exercises with weights, although many evidences have been found that prove that ancient peoples like Chinese and Sumerians also practiced this sport in the same way since several centuries ago. It developed more boom in Europe during the nineteenth century and in 1905 was created the International Federation of Weightlifting, which is the entity responsible for regulating the sport. Weightlifting was incorporated into Olympic sports in 1896, in Athens Olympians, and in 1904 in Saint Louis. During 1908 it stopped being practiced but was again reintroduced in the 1920 during the Antwerp Games. Women’s category entered the program of Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Weightlifting training primarily seeks to work and increase athlete’s physical and mental strength, as well as speed and weightlifting technique. To train strength, the athlete must do a strength routine based primarily on low repetition compound exercises with large breaks in order to move the greatest amount of weight in each repetition and series. Training should focus on the grip as it is key to lifting weights correctly, with a good grip can mobilize a greater weight.
There are two types of categories in this sport and are male and female and these, at the same time, are divided into other types depending on the participants’ weight. Male category has 8 different types: 56 kg, 62 kg, 69 kg, 77 kg, 85 kg, 94 kg, 105 kg and more than 105 kg; and female category has 7 different types: 48 kg, 53 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg and more than 75 kg.
Briceño V., Gabriela. (2019). Weightlifting. Recovered on 22 September, 2022, de Euston96: https://www.euston96.com/en/weightlifting/