Olympic Lifts Question

Tim Pinkerton wrote: Complaining that the Olympic lifts are to hard on your joints while also competing in the highland games seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle rusty... The shear and rotational forces we put on our spines doing this sport would make most chiropractors cringe. Or smile with greed. Its not all the friendly to our other joints either. Nobody comes out on the other side of any athletic endevour with out some kind of injuries a.k.a. Battle scars. (If they do then they probably sucked) You just have to choose if it's worth it to you. Your born weak and your die weak. You really only get a short time to be strong/great. I say lay it on the line and go for it. Just don't do it wearing gardening gloves for shoes...

Everybody's macho until the damage starts to pile up.

Ask Kerry Overfelt :)

These guys have no injuries from throwing? Throwing is easier on your body but it's still not nice to it. What I'm saying is it all has its costs. You have to decide if it's worth it.

CHAD wrote: Quick, name 3 elite weightlifters over 40.   It's just plain harder on the body.  There''s plenty of thrower's who have success in their 40's and 50's.

Not really fair, especially when you use the tag "elite".  There aren't near as many venues for older weightlifters to lift, esp when things start to decline. 

As a older Highland Games thrower you can just flat out suck, and still compete all the time and even in "championship" games. 

That's definitely true, but I think it's more of a competing age/training age thing than a chronological age thing.

Good oly lifters, for the most part, have been training and competing a hell of a lot longer than the HG guys in their 40's who are "good"...all 3 or 5 of them.  

You guys type much faster than I do.

Jeff Ingram wrote: You guys type much faster than I do.

I'm still waiting for my Shakespeare.  The man does an excellent dirty limerick, though.

Hey, I'm a firm believer in the olifts. But I don't think they're as NECESSARY as many point them out to be.

Sammy68123 wrote:   Also, no need to muddy the thread by bashing Vibram shoes.

I think there is a difference between full olympic movements and power and hang variations, as far as how hard they are on your body.  I personally have never hurt myself doing a snatch or a clean.  I don't know the cumulative effect of everything.  Who really does.  I have hurt myself squatting 3 or 4 times and bench pressing at least 5 times.  If you watch someone doing a pull, clean or snatch you have to be fairly balanced to achieve the lift.  I think it definitely builds balanced development in and throughout the back, hips, and hamstrings. Watch people squat and bench press and you see all kinds of imbalances.  Take 80-90% of your max, the weights that start to make you strong, and tell me what is more dangerous to perform an olympic type pull or a squat or press.  Both will definitely make you strong, but I think you can get away with the pulls more often. 

Sounds like someone's getting his back walked on in my sexy shoes this summer.

You know I keep seeing and hearing this same old tired line about the Olympic lifts in regards to catching the lifts....all you need is the pull that's the only part that matters.  So my question is that at no point in the spin for weights and open stone do you ever re-bend your knees?? At no point during the caber do you bend your knees before you try and produce enough power against the ground to turn the caber or release the weights and stones??  The catch in regards to the lifts is important in preparing the body to absorb force and stabilize that force and then produce force again.  If you look at the spin you can clearly see the body produce force then reduce force/stabilize only to do it again getting to the trig and exploding into the implement you are throwing....that is unless you are throwing off straight legs!!!

Edited by Big Ed - 3/09/12 at 8:48am