There are many benefits of Olympic lifting discovered by athletes all over the world. These exercises boost athletic performance in different ways for various types of sports, ranging from hockey and football to alpine skiing, across all levels of competition (recreational, college/university, elite) or doing a simple task in our daily lives!

Below are 5 reasons why athletes should train Olympic Lifting.

1. Increases your force capability to do push and pull exercises.

The greatest benefit of weightlifting is to help an athlete to develop strength, speed, and power to the specific sport. Strength training in general builds strength, which propels the most basic capability for athletes,  but nothing develops strength, speed and power as effectively as Snatch (one of the lifts of Olympic weightlifting) does. Snatch is a lift that includes lifting the weight with speed, balance, power, and strength from the ground to overhead in one movement. Snatch is a tough yet aggressive movement which will increase your capability to lift heavy weights for push and pull exercises.

2. Increases running start force for runners.

Weightlifting is an excellent way to improve your starting speed, which can be critical for athletes who specialize in races like cross-country running and sprinting.

In 2004 researchers found that Olympic weightlifters had better start speed than Powerlifter’s did—and these advantages were seen frequently enough. Hence, it is worth adding weightlifting sessions into your training regimen for running if you’re looking to get ahead early in the competition!

3. Improves your stability and mobility.

When it comes to improving stability and mobility, there’s no better way than incorporating stretching into your exercise routine. However, research has found that weightlifting is even more effective than just doing the general stretching because weightlifting training helps to increase joint range of motion. A classic Olympic lift such as Snatch requires lifting and squatting deep with heavy weight overhead in one movement — this type of movement really gets all muscle groups and joints working together perfectly, which helps the athlete to develop great mobility & stability.

4. Improve your vertical jump for basketball players.

The rapid improvements in jumping ability that Olympic weightlifters experience are significant for basketball players. The increased flexibility and force development can help them reach higher, which will increase their efficiency when shooting or dunking compared to power lifters who don’t have these benefits from such intense muscular activity.

With an increased ability to jump higher, basketball players can earn more points on the court. This is because of the explosive power, speed, balance, and strength benefit that a person gets from training Olympic weightlifting.

5. Burns fat and building muscle as a bonus/ by-product.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about Olympic Weightlifting and what it can do to your physical appearance. Women worry that lifting will make them look bulky, men might be worried they’ll lose flexibility, etc., but all these anxieties are not true; because Olympic weightlifting helps with building muscles while also burning fat and helps improve mobility and stability.

Luckily, that is what we do here at liftwithmobility.ca in Langley.

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