What is crossfit weightlifting ?
Crossfit weightlifting is performing a certain exercise including free weights usually for a higher amount of repetitions at a predetermined weight for time incorporated in a workout of the day or WOD.
What is weightlifting ?
Weightlifting in itself can have many forms and usually includes moving challenging weights over a certain distance. Depending on who you ask, they will have a different picture in their head when they think about weightlifting.
All of them will most liekly think of some sort of moving the plates, barbells and dumbbells provided in a free weight section of a gym in some kind of way. The interesting question is how these weights are being moved.
Some will think of bulked up men like Arnold Schwarzenegger or CT Fletcher doing a lotf of repetitions to get pumped. Than we are on the range of bodybuilding, with the purpose to put on as much muscle mass as possible and thew weight being moved as just an means to an end, which is growing muscle.
Another form of weightlifting would be powerlifting. Here the weight being moved as on three specific lifts, the bench press, the deadlift & the squat. These movements to not involve bringing the weight overhead and are usually done with more weight than the load being moved in olympic weightlifting.
If you have watched a lot of eurosport in the late nineties you might thing of weightlifting as pulling trucks, moving atlas stones, throwing beer kegs as a high as possible or walking as far as possible while having a small car attached to your body (also known as a form of farmer's walk).
What is olympic weightlifting ?
Olympic weightlifting is the kind of lifting that you see at the olympics. In different weight classes competitors measure their strength on how much they can lift in total in the snatch and the clean and jerk.
The snatch is a movement where the barbell is accelerated from the ground overhead directly, without loading it to the chest first. The clean and jerk involves bringing the weight to your chest from the ground and pushing it overhead from there.
Generally more weight is lifted for the clean and jerk as the snatch is being considered the more challenging movement to master and is therefore usually less loaded.
Each athlete has three attempts for each lift to establish a maximum. The best snatch and the best clean and jerk are combined for a total which is the final result for the lifter. In competition lifters are ranked based on their weight class and the total that they have lifted to determine the winner. Each lift is being observed by three judges to validate whether the lift has been fully completed and counts. The lift counts if two out of three judges determine it to be according to the rules.
What is crossfit weightlifting ?
Crossfit weightlifting can incorporate all of movements that have been mentioned before, but it is usually done within a "workout of the day" or short "WOD". The main difference is that the repetitions per lift are higher and that they are being timed.
So in crossfit you would weightlift 30xsnatch of a certain weight weight for time. Usually this weight is being prescribed due to structure of the workout of the day that you perform. Novices should consider to start with lower weights as the prescribed ones to get used to the movement.
Crossfitters are usually not specialised in olympic weightlifting as this is only a subportion of the overall spectrum of exercises which they comepte in. It takes however a big proportion of the performed movements and it is therefore key to master the olympic lifts to become a good crossfitter.
The approach of doing high repetition work on the snatch and clean and jerk is unique to crossfit and debated amongst experts due to injury risk, as heavy loaded multi joint movements are being perceived as risky in some circles. Also, if you do crossfit, you will get introduced to these complex movements quite early and chellenged on them.
Further reading
On the deadlift
- 7 simple ways to gain on the deadlift
- 72 deadlift dynamite quotes which will make you pull more
- Best deadlift dynamite review which will make you pull more
- Can kettlebell swings replace deadlifts?
- Can you use
smolov for the deadlift? - Try this deadlift thing to get strong like bull
- Selected quotes from deadlift dynamite that will make you stronger
- Which is harder bench press
oder deadlift? - Why are there only 1x5 deadlifts in Stronglifts 5x5
On the squat
- Are you sure about wearing the right shoes for squatting
- Bench press or squat first
- Bench press in a squat rack
- Better breathing makes your squat stronger
- Breathing Squat
- Can kettlebells swings replace squats
- Can you squat and deadlift on the same day
- Challenge, Sore
toda , Strong tomorrow - Confidential: Get rid of the machines and hire the squat
- Detailed Smolov squat routine review
- Eager to know about wearing the right suit for squatting
- How to perform a back squat for
crossfit for beginners - How years of quality cossack squats easily help your fitness
- Overcome these sins of the squat
- Squat: How many reps
- Squat: How to improve
- Squat: When to inhale and exhale
- Squat without pads
- Squat Calculator [Free Downloads]
- The Truth squat or lunges?
- Ultimate 30 day squat challenge that
tighten and tone - What squat is best
- Why are there so many squats in Stronglifts 5x5
On the bench press
- 6 common mistakes when you bench press for strength
- An easy guide to bench press like a powerlifter for any age
- Bench press or floor press
- Bench Press or Military Press
- Eliminate these mistakes with the bench press
- How accurate are bench press calculators
- How to bench press 300 pounds or 140kg
- How to bench press for Stronglifts
- How to bench press more weight quick
- How to do the bench press properly
- How to increase your bench press
- The reasons why you need to bench press
- What are bench press boards
- What does the bench press target
- When you should bench press with dumbbells
- Which bench press is best for chest
- Who can bench press 1000 pounds
- Why bench press with bands
- Why bench press with chains
- Why is the bench press so popular
- Why use a bench press shirt