Fitness

Olympic weight lifting exercises have grown recently in their popularity. More and more trainers are finally starting to implement a greater percentage of Olympic lifts into their strength weight training. This is one time that a fitness fad got things right.

We’ve been pushing Olympic training exercises since our inception. We don’t just factor them into our routines though, we make them the foundation of our training routines and programs. Before we get to our favorite three weight lifting tips, let us take a brief moment to just explain why they are so beneficial. There are three primary reasons to use these exercises in your weight training schedule:

1) Greater functional strength benefit

2) Greater explosive strength benefit

3) They allow you to more efficiently get in, get done and get out of the gym.

When you train using these exercises that incorporate multiple muscle groups in your weight training programme you are not only working multiple muscle at one time, you are training them to function well together. Some examples of exercises that do this are as follows:

- Squats

- Dead Lifts

- Chin / Pull Ups

- Bench Presses

- Military Presses

- Dips

- Rows

- Clean and Jerks

- Clean and Presses

These kinds of exercises require multiple muscles to work together to complete the lift. Not only does this build muscle in all of the muscles being trained it also builds a much more functional or usable strength in them. By functional strength we mean the kind of strength that you use outside of the gym. Whether you are at work, playing sports, having sex etc. Building functional strength is strength that better allows you to use your body to perform the actions that life brings your way.

When we talk about greater explosive strength what we mean is the ability to burst into an action with greater intensity, speed and control. This is the kind of strength that they train for in Olympic weight lifting competition. To get a bar loaded with plates from off the ground to above your head (clean and press) you are going to need explosive strength.

What about if you need to sprint to first base? Cut into a hanging curve and smoke an HR? Make or Break a Tackle? Check some one into the boards or fire off a wicked slap shot? Jump up and grab a rebound? Increase the distance you get using your driver? What do you do when you need to lift something heavy at home or at work? Pick up your wife and carry her into the bedroom? Pick up the kids and throw them up into the air? Almost all of the activities of life require a certain level of explosive strength.

Increasing your explosive and functional strength while still being able to stack on muscle is what makes Olympic weight training exercises so beneficial. It is the recognition of this benefit that is making these lifts more and more popular. We can’t stress enough the benefit of our motto for the gym; “get in, get done and get out”. We don’t know too many people that just love to spend hours in the gym. Some people seem to but most don’t.

Fact is, it is very unnecessary to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the gym even if your goal is to achieve crazy results. Proper nutrition, intense training and plenty of rest are the keys to building massive amounts of muscle and tremendous strength. We’ve seen so many people take this advice and in a very short time surpass all of their buddies in the gym that spend twice as much time there.

Utilizing the exercises used to train for Olympic competition will help get you out of the gym faster and on to living your life outside of the gym with the benefits of the gym. Isn’t this the whole reason you go to the gym? Not to be there but to be able to be better, faster, stronger or bigger when your not at the gym.

Incorporating multiple muscles into one exercise will take less time than training each one individually. Try combining these exercises into super sets. This will get your done even faster. We recommend that you weight train no more than three days a week with a day of rest in between each day. This will allow for plenty of rest which is what your muscles need to develop and grow. You should spend no more than about 35 minutes to finish your routine. That’s right 35 minutes is all that is necessary!

Okay, so what are the top three? Well, first, this is obviously a bit of a personal preference question right? It will also depend a little bit on what muscle groups you are especially interested in growing and building strength in. If you want bigger legs then squats and dead lifts will rank high on your list. What we will do is give you the three that we think if combined into one workout would best provide your whole body with the greatest benefit. Here they are:

1) Clean and Presses. These are one of the greatest whole body exercises there are. You will work your legs, core, back, arms, shoulders, traps and hands. They definitely rank high on our list.

2) Chin / Pull Ups. These tremendous exercises are often neglected but there multi-muscle group benefit is undeniable.

3) Bench Presses. Because the other exercises don’t directly work the chest we would incorporate the bench press into this routine. It is truly an age old classic.

Okay, so we gotta say this; if we could add just one more exercise into this routine it would be the squat. Working the legs has a tremendous benefit on the whole body. Your legs are your foundation. Strong legs mean significantly increased functional strength. So, there they are. Now it’s time to start putting these tips into action. Get in, get done, get out.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 11:19 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.