A weighty issue…

With the Olympics presenting a unique opportunity for fitness and sport to join together to create a lasting legacy from London 2012, the Journal looks at the Olympic sport of weightlifting and how (and if) it can be adapted for mainstream clients. Commonwealth Games Gold medal winner, British World Record Holder and guest lecturer at the University of East London Giles Greenwood discusses the sport and its health benefits.

Journal: What is weightlifting? Giles Greenwood: The sport of weightlifting - often called Olympic lifting due to its long association with the Olympic Games - is a test of strength, skill and courage which is contested over two lifts: the snatch, and the clean and jerk. The snatch requires the lifter to take the barbell from the floor to above the head in one movement. The clean and jerk allows the bar to be lifted first to the shoulders and then hoisted above the head, allowing heavier weights to be lifted than for the snatch.

Journal: Traditionally there seems

to have been a divide between weightlifters and other fitness professionals – why do you think this is? GW: Weightlifting is a sport and has never really considered itself part of the fitness industry. Bodybuilding, powerlifting,

strongman and weightlifting used to be the same thing. When bodybuilding came into its own as a sport and broke away from weightlifting, it was very commercially successful and became, I would say, the foundation of the modern fitness industry. Weightlifting remained a minority competitive sport. The recent rise of crossfit and the credibility given to the benefits of the Olympic

lifts by the strength and conditioning

community have brought us blinking into the limelight. I’m not sure if we like it yet!

Giles Greenwood

Journal: Is weightlifting guaranteed to produce bulk? GW: This question misses the point of weightlifting and illustrates the way bodybuilding and training for aesthetic results has dominated the weights side of the fitness industry for decades. The lower rep range used in weightlifting programmes develops strength and power more than size. If you eat correctly, weightlifting will keep you looking fit and well muscled - more like a sprinter or freestyle wrestler than a bodybuilder.

Bodybuilding grew from weightlifting and developed weight training techniques specifically to encourage muscle growth. So if you want bulk up you’re better off using bodybuilding type training.

Journal: What are the health benefits of weightlifting? GW: First, it is an extremely enjoyable, challenging and rewarding sport. The

20 The REps Journal 2012;24(May):20-22