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Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of
dumbbell The dumbbell, a type of free weight, is a piece of equipment used in weight training. It can be used individually or in pairs, with one in each hand. History The forerunner of the dumbbell, halteres, were used in ancient Greece as lifting w ...
s or
barbell A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end. Barbells range in length from to above , althou ...
s. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promoting health and fitness; developing physical strength; or developing a muscular physique, possibly with the goal of engaging in competitive
bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
. According to an article in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', lifting weights can prevent some disabilities, increase metabolism, and lower body fat. When compared to machines, free weights improve not only strength but muscle function as well. Lifting weights can also improve self-confidence and make people feel better about themselves.


Weightlifting as a sport

The goal of weightlifting competitions is usually the lifting of weights themselves, with the winner being determined by the amount of weight lifted, provided that they employ the correct movements in achieving the lift. Strength competitions pre-date written history. The idea of competitive weightlifting originated in Ancient China and Greece, as men lifted stones to prove their strength and manhood. There are records in many civilizations of feats of strength performed by great heroes, perhaps mythological, such as
Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
,
Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
, Orm Storolfsson and
Milo of Croton Milo or Milon of Croton (late 6th century BC) was a famous ancient Greek athlete. He was most likely a historical person, as he is mentioned by many classical authors, among them Aristotle, Pausanias, Cicero, Herodotus, Vitruvius, Epictetus, and ...
. Competitions on which modern strongman events are modeled, Scottish Highland Gatherings, were formalized around 1820 by
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
. In 1848,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
attended the
Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' prop ...
Highland Games. A sport known as "odd lifts" developed, in which competitors would be allowed three attempts at each of a wide variety of events involving the lifting of heavy weights, akin to a
strongman competition Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully ...
. Eventually odd lifts became standardized to three, constituting one of the primary strength-based sports of lifting weights,
powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...
, consisting of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat,
bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...
, and
deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...
. Another variation of this sport,
Olympic weightlifting Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...
, has been an official sport in the summer
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
since their initiation in 1896. Athletes compete in Olympic weightlifting in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead: these are the snatch and the
clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...
. The ''snatch'' is a wide-grip lift, in which the weighted barbell is lifted overhead in one motion. The ''clean and jerk'' is a combination lift, in which the weight is first taken from the ground to the front of the shoulders (the clean), and then from the shoulders to overhead (the jerk). The
clean and press The clean and press is a two-part weight training exercise whereby a loaded barbell is lifted from the floor to the shoulders (the clean) and pushed overhead (the press). The lift was a component of the sport of Olympic weightlifting from 1928 to 1 ...
, wherein a clean was followed by an
overhead press The overhead press is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight overhead while seated or standing. It is mainly used to develop the anterior deltoid muscles of the shoulder. The standing version was once a compone ...
, was formerly also a competition lift, but was discontinued due to difficulties in judging proper form. The modern sport originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s. Previously, the weightlifting governing bodies in both countries had recognized various "odd lifts" for competition and record purposes. During the 1950s, Olympic weightlifting declined in the United States, while other strength sports gained many new followers, as people did not like the Olympic lifts.


Weightlifting for strength, health, and appearance

Strength training Strength training or resistance training involves the performance of physical exercises that are designed to improve strength and endurance. It is often associated with the lifting of weights. It can also incorporate a variety of training te ...
is also recorded as far back as ancient
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and ancient Persian times. Weightlifting is used as an end to achieve different goals. For example, in
weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Traini ...
, a type of exercise using weights to increase muscle strength, and in bodybuilding, a form of body modification for aesthetic reasons. Strength training, bodybuilding, and
working out Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...
to achieve a general level of physical fitness have all historically been closely associated with weightlifting. Weightlifting is very beneficial for health in countless ways. Weightlifting induces the production of collagen proteins which helps build structure and strength of tendons and ligaments. It also is optimal for promoting and improving joint stability. Weightlifting can also increase metabolism and increases resting metabolic rate. This means the body can burn calories faster and the body uses those calories to increase and build muscle mass. However, it is possible to engage in a training regimen for any of these purpose using exercises or equipment other than weights. Conversely, because the goal of bodybuilding is often to generate a particular appearance, a person who engages in weightlifting only to increase strength, or for competitive purposes, may not achieve the physical appearance sought in bodybuilding. Weight training aims to build muscle by prompting two different types of
hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number.Updated by Linda J ...
: sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy leads to larger muscles and so is favored by bodybuilders more than myofibrillar hypertrophy, which builds athletic strength. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is triggered by increasing repetitions, whereas myofibrillar hypertrophy is triggered by lifting heavier weight. In either case, there is an increase in both size and strength of the muscles (compared to what happens if that same individual does not lift weights at all), however, the emphasis is different. Notably, weightlifting purely to develop physical strength can lead to the development of a very different body type than weightlifting for bodybuilding, with powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters tending to have endo-mesomorphic bodies, and bodybuilders tending to be more mesomorphic. The two main methods of weight lifting to build strength and muscle mass are hypertrophy and overload. Training for muscle size is usually done by achieving hypertrophy which is training with a lighter weight at higher volume or more repetitions. Muscle size increases due to metabolic fibers that result in visible muscle mass growth. Training muscles to build strength is typically achieved by the overload method. Overload involves training with increasing weight at each set. It can also mean increasing volume of repetitions at the same weight for each set. Both overload methods are optimal for building muscle mass and strength, however, lifting heavy weights at a lower volume or less repetitions is very optimal for building strength.


See also

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Bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
*
Powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...
*
Two Hands Anyhow The Two Hands Anyhow is a traditional strongman weightlifting exercise. The goal was to lift as much weight overhead with two hands (two separate weights) in any method. The exercise was popular with lifters such as Arthur Saxon and Thomas Inch ...
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Weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Traini ...


References


External links

*{{wiktionary-inline, weightlifting Weightlifting Broad-concept articles