Weightlifting rules, explain please.

[dessiato]

I’ve started watching weightlifting. I think I might be misunderstanding the rules. Actually I am not understanding the rules.

It seems that there’s effectively 3 competitions in one according to the way you lift the weights, and how well you lift them.

Yesterday a woman lifted the heaviest weight, quite cleanly to my eyes, held it the given time, but didn’t win because her arm wobbled. The person who took the gold also had an arm wobble. Another had an arm wobble but had been given the sign to drop the weight, but this was given before the statutory time for the lift.

When/if I get back to the gym I fancy giving it a go.

 

[girasol]

I don't know, seems to be the sort of thing that once you've seen one person do it there wouldn't be much novelty in it? Unless you put money on someone... I've watched weight lifting before during the Olympics, and was always fascinated by the enormous leather belts they always seem to wear. I often wondered if they would just explode if they didn't wear them...

 

[dessiato]

It is strangely fascinating.

Last week I was watching it with two friends in the U.K. who couldn’t get it on tv so we turned our camera round so they could watch it on our tv.

Very international. Weightlifting from Moscow, being watched on tv in Spain, which was being Skype to people watching in U.K.

 

[Mattym]

On Eurosport?

 

[CNT36]

I don't know, seems to be the sort of thing that once you've seen one person do it there wouldn't be much novelty in it? Unless you put money on someone... I've watched weight lifting before during the Olympics, and was always fascinated by the enormous leather belts they always seem to wear. I often wondered if they would just explode if they didn't wear them...

Some old guy at the gym told me its for lower back support. I think he just likes pretending to be a wrestler.

 

[hash tag]

In competitive weight lifting, you have to lock your arms (and legs) and hold it for a few seconds (3?).

 

[Argonia]

When I lived in Japan for a year from 1999 to 2000 the university I was at gave us free tokens for food in the canteens but for some reason gave us far too many. I used to go to the canteen and then the gym and back to the canteen again. I was fucking buff for the first (and, sadly, only) time in my life.

 

[dessiato]

Watching the 87kg women, I can't help but giggle every time the commentators say things like "let's look at her snatch," or "she has a lovely snatch." I'm regressing to a pre-teen schoolboy.

 

[LDC]

I think weight lifting is divided into Olympic lifting and power lifting, both are very different, sounds like it was Olympic lifting which is the sport most on TV?

 

[stavros]

I've only ever watched World's Strongest Man, where they usually do the deadlift at some point. I've no idea if they use the same criteria as regular weightlifting.

 

[petee]

Watching the 87kg women, I can't help but giggle every time the commentators say things like "let's look at her snatch," or "she has a lovely snatch." I'm regressing to a pre-teen schoolboy.

but seriously, weightlifting is fantastic, the strength, the balance, the co-ordination.
(also, ime the weight peeps are the nicest peeps in the gym.)

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Precious McKenzie is still alive, you could ask him

 

[hash tag]

It's a bit of a strain

 

[weltweit]

I think the critical aspect, like tennis, is the placement of the grunt!