Persuasive Essay On Olympic Lifting

Athletes and coaches everywhere have always been searching for any kind of edge on the competition that they can get. What if that edge has already been found? Olympic lifting has proven to produce some of the top athletes in the world in many sports. It is a tool that can and should be utilized by all athletic coaches and athletes. Athletes should choose Olympic lifting because of the ability to create explosion and power, how safe it is compared to other training methods, and the benefits that it has on the body.
Strength and power are often mistaken as the same word but in fact have very different meanings. The definition of power is “the time rate at which work is being done”(Merriam). If you then look at the definition of work it says
It does have a risk of injuries as does every other training method. When you look at the numbers though, Olympic lifting can be safer than many training methods. A study by Gregg Calhoon and Andrew Fry took injury records of Olympic lifters over six years from training camps and competitions. They found that “ the most commonly injured sites include the back knee and shoulder and that most of the injuries can be described as either acute or chronic rather than recurring or due to complications and consisted primarily of strains, tendonitis, and sprains. In addition the recommended training time missed was less than 1 day”(Calhoon 236). They concluded that “These injury patterns and rates are similar to those reported for other sports and activities” (Calhoon). Olympic lifting is not much different in injury rate than any other sport. There are also many more studies that come to the same
It is a great way to build muscle and get in shape. The Olympic Lifting Resource says that “ In an 8 week Olympic weightlifting program study, participants lowered their resting heart rate by 8%, lean body weight increased by 4%, fat dropped 6%, and systolic blood pressure decreased by 4%”(OWR). Olympic lifting also has neurological benefits. It teaches the body how to recruit more motor neurons at a time and helps with coordination. Amber Larson says “motor units (or neurons) are part of the neurological system. The ability to vary or graduate force is essential for performance of smooth, coordinated patterns of movement” (Breaking). For some people even these benefits are not enough to switch to Olympic lifting. Some people say that Olympic lifting has no carryover to sports besides Olympic lifting. This argument is extremely naive and close minded. The people who use this excuse are looking for one magic thing to increase performance. In reality it is a multiple little things that add to an athlete's performance. Lifting is supposed to be a tool used to increase an athlete's strength and power. Olympic lifting is not meant to be the only tool used when preparing for a sport. If power can be increased in an athlete then inevitably so will