Olympic weight lifting is likely the best kept secret when it comes to fitness. Walk into any gym these days and you will be hard pressed to find anyone doing a clean or a snatch. Nothing compares to Olympic lifts in terms of speed development, flexibility, total body strength and muscle gains. As an Olympic lifter, performing this lift for almost 15 years helped lay the foundation for my muscular developments and athletic abilities.
So what is it about these lifts that have mystical effects on the body? They engage nearly all of your muscles to move the weight faster and farther than traditional bodybuilding movements. Actually, each repetition only takes a couple of seconds from start to finish targeting fast twitch muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscles offer the greatest potential for size and strength gains. These are also the muscles that are most often overlooked in the typical weight lifting routine.
If Olympic weightlifting is so superior, why is it you seldom see anyone performing these lifts in the local gyms? The primary reason is they are technically difficult to perform. A bicep curl or a triceps press are relatively easy movements and require very little instruction. A snatch or clean and jerk require a qualified instructor to teach the movements, otherwise, you risk injury or at the very least, incorrect execution. There are many resources to learn Olympic weight lifting. I would suggest you learn the moves and watch your athletic performance take off. The Clean and Jerk is the combination of dead lift, upright rows, front squats and push press. So if you want to improve your symmetry, muscle size and athletic abilities include Olympic Weightlifting in your training.
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