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Weight Lifting Terms

Weight lifting is considered as the one of the oldest and yet simplest sports of human survival. As the name rightly designates, the weight lifting is all about the amount of weight the person is able to lift. With great attentiveness regarding the physical fitness in the current world, training with weight is gradually gaining immense popularity. Often the terms of weight training and weight lifting are being used interchangeably but this is totally unfair as both of them are completely different entities.

In the weight lifting events the contender who actually lifts the heaviest weight in conformation with the specified rules and regulations is declared the winner. But weight training at the other end is consistent physical exercise performed with weights. Weight lifters are supposed to cultivate various skills such as patience, power, determination, specific techniques and so on. As like in any other sports, the weight lifting aficionados put in some years of practice and stick to the stringent regulations regarding diets and exercises.

Weight lifting as the sport has been most popular for centuries now and has also been one of the basic means of labeling human strength and stamina. The records in the available history reveal the examples of weight lifting during the very first Olympic Games held in Greece many years back. The weight lifting used to be the crowd pleasing event especially at the circus places and fair grounds, during the nineteenth century. The first ever world championship for the weight lifting was however held during the year 1891, but anyway the weight lifting for the women started only during the 1980s and was incorporated in the Olympic Games during the year 2000.

The weight lifting sport seems to be simple one at a glance. But all it entails is the slip proof surface and necessary weights. These weights manufactured conforming to the International Standard Specification. Steel barbells with weight mounted at each ends are lifted by the participants turn by turn during the events. Such events are specifically classified based on the weights to be lifted at a time. The contenders usually specialize in their specific category and train accordingly. The different colored rubber coatings are applied on the weights that are mounted on the barbell ends. Each of the colors signifies the specific weight as set by the international authorities and is strictly used accordingly.

Weight lifting events have two major categories of which one is referred to as the snatch and it entails just single clear movement over the head. The other category is clean and jerk comprising of a couple of steps. First the weight is held in front of the neck just for a moment and then it is moved or raised over the head. There are diverse divisions within each of the categories based on the body mass of the contender. The controlling authority of this sport is the International Weight Lifting Federation, based in Budapest . Championship contests for weight lifting sports are regularly organized and held in different countries of the world on regular basis and even the international events are held at regular intervals.