Weightlifting for Young Athletes

Weightlifting is a competitive sport where the main goal is to lift the heaviest possible weight in the snatch and clean and jerk. As a sport, weightlifting requires athletes to demonstrate high levels of muscular strength, rates of force development, and the ability to produce high power outputs. Due to the very unique force and power characteristics associated with the weightlifting movements, many strength and conditioning programmes, for a variety of sports, utilise the sports training methods in order to enhance sports performance. One of the key aspects of weightlifting is the unique muscle-coactivation strategy that leads to enhanced jumping performance as well as reducing knee injury risk. Even though there are many benefits to weightlifting training, there is often a false perception that young athletes should not participate in or use weightlifting movements in their training. This chapter seeks to present current information on the sport of weightlifting and its benefits for young athletes. Particular attention will be paid to the safety of the sport as well as how to develop training programmes that can capitalise on the benefits of this unique training modality.