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weightlifting

 
Dictionary: weight·lift·ing   (wāt'lĭf'tĭng) pronunciation
 
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n.

The lifting of heavy weights in a prescribed manner as an exercise or in athletic competition.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: weight lifting
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Sport in which barbells are lifted competitively or as an exercise. The two main events are (1) the snatch, in which the barbell is lifted from the floor to arm's length overhead in a single, continuous motion; and (2) the clean and jerk, in which it is lifted first to the shoulders and then, after a pause, to arm's length overhead. Contestants are divided into 10 body-weight categories ranging from flyweight to superheavyweight. Lifts may range to over 1,000 lbs (455 kg) in the heavyweight divisions. The origins of modern competition are to be found in 18th- and 19th-century strongman contests. The first three Olympic Games (1896, 1900, 1904) included weight lifting, as have all games after 1920.

For more information on weight lifting, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: weight lifting
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weight lifting, international sport, also a training technique for athletes in other sports. From the earliest times men have lifted weights as a test of strength. Long popular as a competitive sport in Europe, Egypt, Turkey, and Japan, weight lifting became increasingly popular in the United States after 1900.

Weight classes govern competition, which is won by the lifter with the greatest total of weight for two standard lifts—the clean-and-jerk, in which the lifter hoists the bar temporarily to the shoulders, pauses, and then thrusts it overhead, and the snatch, in which the lifter squats, then draws the bar overhead in a single motion. These Olympic lifts require delicate technique as well as great strength. A world championship for women was first held in 1987, and female lifters competed in the Olympics for the first time in 2000.

In recent decades, the use of illegal strength-building drugs—anabolic steroids—by some competitors has marred the sport's reputation. Their use is also widespread among power lifters who compete in a less technically demanding variation in which the dead lift, bench press, and squat determine weight totals. Bodybuilders, although not competitive lifters, rely almost solely upon weight training to shape their bodies. The number of women bodybuilders, like women weight lifters, rose dramatically in the late 20th cent.

 
Wikipedia: Weightlifting
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This article is about the sport of weightlifting. For the muscle-building activity involving weights, see weight training. For using weights to develop physique, see bodybuilding.
Greek commemorative coin featuring modern and ancient weightlifting (latter picture taken from Grecian vase).

Weightlifting, also called Olympic weightlifting or Olympic-style weightlifting, is a sport in which participants attempt a maximum weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates.

The two lifts competed are the clean and jerk and the snatch. Clean and press was another weightlifting technique, discontinued due to difficulties in judging proper form.

The compound word "weightlifting" is also often used to refer to weight training.

In comparison with powerlifting which tests limit strength (with or without lifting aids), weightlifting tests ballistic limits (explosive strength) with smaller weights, such that the lifts must be executed faster and with more mobility, because of a greater range of motion during the lifts.

While there are relatively few competitive Olympic lifters, the lifts and their components are commonly used by elite athletes to train for explosive and functional strength.

Contents

Requirements of weightlifting

Weightlifting requires a combination of power (strength and speed), technique, flexibility and consistency. A weightlifter's strength comes primarily from the legs, specifically the muscles of the quadriceps and posterior chain, and secondarily the back, anterior core, and shoulders as well as all round ratio development.

Weightlifting is a full body activity including even the minor muscles, but these aforementioned muscles are the special focus of the effective weightlifter. Weightlifters need not necessarily be heavy, as they compete by weight classes.

Competition

The competitive sport is controlled by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). Based in Budapest, it was founded in 1905.

Competitors compete in one of eight (seven for women) divisions determined by their body mass. These classes are currently: men's: 56 kg (123 lb), 62 kg (137 lb), 69 kg (152 lb), 77 kg (170 lb), 85 kg (187 lb), 94 kg (207 lb), 105 kg (231 lb), and over 105 kg; and women's: 48 kg (106 lb), 53 kg (117 lb), 58 kg (128 lb), 63 kg (139 lb), 69 kg (152 lb), 75 kg (165 lb), and over 75 kg.[1] In each weight division, competitors compete in both the snatch and clean and jerk, and prizes are usually given for the heaviest weights lifted in the snatch, clean and jerk, and the two combined.

The order of the competition is up to the lifters—the competitor who chooses to attempt the lowest weight goes first. If they are unsuccessful at that weight, they have the option of reattempting that lift or trying a heavier weight later (after any other competitors have made attempts at that weight or any intermediate weights). Weights are set in 1 kilogram increments (previously 2.5 kg increments), and each lifter can have a maximum of three lifts, regardless of whether lifts are successful or not.

The title "best lifter" is commonly awarded at local competitions. The award is based on the lifters' Sinclair Coefficients, which calculate strength-to-weight ratio of the lifters.[2] Typically, the winner of the heaviest weight class will have lifted the most weight, but a lifter in a lighter weight class will have lifted more in proportion to his bodyweight.

Records

The total record in the men's 56 kg class is 305 kg; in the 105+ kg class it is 472.0 kg.[3]

The official record for the snatch in the men's 105+ kg class is held by Hossein Rezazadeh of Iran, who snatched 213.0 kilograms (470 lb) in September 2003 at Qinhuangdao. He lifted 263.0 kilograms (580 lb) in the clean and jerk at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Rezazadeh scored a record total of 472.0 kilograms (1,041 lb) in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The current record for the clean and jerk in the women's 75+ kg class is held by Jang Mi-Ran of South Korea, who lifted 186.0 kilograms (410 lb) at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.[3]

Due to the restructuring of the competitive weight classes that took place in 1993 and 1998, the following lifts are no longer recognized as the official world records. However, these remain the highest figures ever posted in competition. Yevgeny Sypko lifted in the Druzhba Cup Meet, on March 4, 1990, 216.5 kilograms (477 lb) in the snatch, the highest competitive snatch in history, although it is not recognized as a world record because the meet wasn't officially drug tested. However, it did count as a Soviet Record. The heaviest official snatch of all time is 216.0 kilograms (476 lb), lifted by Antonio Krastev of Bulgaria in 1987. The heaviest clean and jerk of all time is 266.0 kilograms (586 lb) lifted by Leonid Taranenko in Canberra, Australia on November 26, 1988. In the same event, Taranenko set a world record of 475.0 kilograms (1,047 lb) in the total.

Notable weightlifters

See also

References

  1. ^ "IWF Technical Rules" (PDF). International Weightlifting Federation. http://www.iwf.net/iwf/doc/technical.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-09. 
  2. ^ "The Sinclair Coefficients for the Olympiad". International Weightlifting Federation. http://www.iwf.net/iwf/sport_org/weightlifting_sport/sinclair.php. Retrieved on 2007-01-09. 
  3. ^ a b "IWF World Records". International Weightlifting Federation. http://www.iwf.net/results/record_cur.php. Retrieved on 2009-07-03. 

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Weightlifting

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Translations: Weightlifting
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - vægtløfting

Nederlands (Dutch)
gewichtheffen

Français (French)
n. - haltérophilie

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gewichtheben

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (αθλητ.) άρση βαρών

Italiano (Italian)
sollevamento pesi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - levantamento de pesos (m)

Русский (Russian)
тяжелая атлетика

Español (Spanish)
n. - levantamiento de pesas

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tyngdlyftning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
举重

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 舉重

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 역도

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 重量挙げ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) رفع الأثقال‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הרמת-משקולות‬

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Weightlifting".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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