Weightlifting is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two specific ways of lifting the barbell overhead. 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, and then from the shoulders to over the head. The sport formerly included a third lift/event known as clean and press.
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 effort of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as "odd lifts", which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events, akin to strongman competition. Eventually, odd lifts became standardized to the current three.
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 resting fully on the clavicles. During the jerk, the lifter raises the barbell to a stationary position above the head, finishing with straight arms and legs, and the feet in the same plane as the torso and barbell.
The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a compound movement, with the primary muscles involved being the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps brachii. Other muscles located in the back, legs and core are involved for stabilization. A barbell is generally used to hold the weight, but a pair of dumbbells can also be used.
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.
The Smith machine is a weight machine used for weight training. It consists of a barbell that is fixed within steel rails allowing only vertical or near-vertical movement. Some Smith machines have the barbell counterbalanced. The machine can be used for a wide variety of exercises though it is most commonly used to perform "Smith machine squats".
A squat is a strength exercise in which the trainee lowers their hips from a standing position and then stands back up. During the descent, the hip and knee joints flex while the ankle joint dorsiflexes; conversely the hip and knee joints extend and the ankle joint plantarflexes when standing up. Squats also help the hip muscles.
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, along with the squat and bench press, as well as a frequent lift in strongman. It is also occasionally used in armlifting.
In weight training, a kettlebell is a cast-iron or cast-steel ball with a handle attached to the top. It is used to perform many types of exercises, including ballistic exercises that combine cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. Kettlebells are the primary equipment used in the weight-lifting sport of kettlebell lifting.
The good-morning is a weight training exercise. It is known as a good morning because of the movement in the erector spinae which resembles the bow that traditionally begins a schoolday in some East-Asian countries. The erector spinae muscles of the lower back work isometrically to keep the spine in an extended position while the hamstrings and gluteus maximus work isotonically to perform hip extension. Other muscles are involved in stabilizing weight on the back and maintaining balance.
One-repetition maximum in weight training is the maximum amount of weight that a person can possibly lift for one repetition. It may also be considered as the maximum amount of force that can be generated in one maximal contraction.
Exercise equipment is any apparatus or device used during physical activity to enhance the strength or conditioning effects of that exercise by providing either fixed or adjustable amounts of resistance, or to otherwise enhance the experience or outcome of an exercise routine.
Spotting in weight or resistance training is the act of supporting another person during a particular exercise, with an emphasis on allowing the participant to lift or push more than they could normally do safely. Correct spotting involves knowing when to intervene and assist with a lift, and encouraging a training partner to push beyond the point in which they would normally 'rack' the weight.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to exercise:
Rebecca 'Becca' Swanson is an American powerlifter, strongwoman and former professional wrestler. She broke multiple powerlifting world records, including the heaviest squat, bench press, deadlift and the total. Due to her many accomplishments including unbeaten strength world records to-date, she is regarded as "the strongest woman to have ever lived".
Ballistic training, also known as compensatory acceleration training, uses exercises which accelerate a force through the entire range of motion. It is a form of power training which can involve throwing weights, jumping with weights, or swinging weights in order to increase explosive power. The intention in ballistic exercises is to maximise the acceleration phase of an object's movement and minimise the deceleration phase. For instance, throwing a medicine ball maximises the acceleration of the ball. This can be contrasted with a standard weight training exercise where there would be a pronounced deceleration phase at the end of the repetition i.e. at the end of a bench press exercise the barbell is decelerated and brought to a halt. Similarly, an athlete jumping whilst holding a trap bar maximises the acceleration of the weight through the process of holding it whilst they jump- where as they would decelerate it at the end of a standard trap bar deadlift.
Louie Simmons was an American powerlifter and strength coach. He was active as a powerlifter and coach for more than fifty years. Simmons was the founder of Westside Barbell and has developed several training protocols, including the "Conjugate Method". He is also credited with inventing training machines for reverse hyper-extensions and belt squats. In the US powerlifting community he was referred to as the "Godfather of powerlifting".
The hang clean is a weightlifting exercise involving the use of a barbell to do a compound series of strength-building movements.
Velocity based training (VBT) is a modern approach to strength training and power training which utilises velocity tracking technology to provide rich objective data as a means to motivate and support real-time adjustments in an athlete's training plan. Typical strength and power programming and periodisation plans rely on the manipulation of reps, sets and loads as a means to calibrate training stressors in the pursuit of specific adaptations. Since the late 1990s, innovations in bar speed monitoring technology has brought velocity based training closer to the mainstream as the range of hardware and software solutions for measuring exercise velocities have become easier to use and more affordable. Velocity based training has a wide range of use cases and applications in strength and conditioning. These include barbell sports such as powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting and Crossfit, as well as rock climbing.Velocity based training is widely adopted across professional sporting clubs, with the data supporting many periodisation decisions for coaches in the weight room and on the field.
