The Oly Encyclopedia 10

Fallacy #4: Weightlifting "stunts" your growth and has a very high injury rate.

Long years of experience have proven that weightlifting is for safer than most people believe. There are fewer injuries in the sport of weightlifting than in most major sports, probably fewer than in casual weight training where the number of "do-it-yourselfers" is high and the instruction one is likely to receive in many gyms is extremely variable in terms of its quality. In addition, in the sport of weightlifting the injuries that do occur tend to be far milder than in many other sports. For example, head and spinal chord injuries are practically nonexistent in weightlifting Serious contusions, ligament damage and broken bones are also quite unusual.

Contrary to popular belief, hernias are relatively rare among weightlifters, and, when they do occur, they are almost uniformly the result of non-weightlifting activities. There are several reasons for this. First, weightlifters carefully condition themselves for maximum effort. Well conditioned athletes are unlikely to be injured by their activities. Second, proper technique is of vital importance in weightlifting and it is the first thing taught by qualified coaches. When an athlete uses proper technique, injuries like hernias are unlikely to occur. Finally, the apparatus used in weightlifting the barbell-has been meticulously designed and carefully balanced to facilitate safe lifting. That design, developed and refined over the course of more than a century, helps to assure safety.

The same general rules apply to bad backs, knees and other kinds of injuries. Proper conditioning, proper technique and safe equipment minimize the risk of injury and the proof of this is in the relatively low rate of injuries suffered by weightlifters. Therefore, the need for proper conditioning proper coaching and using good equipment cannot be overemphasized.

While no amount of skill, care in training and proper equipment can eliminate the risk of injury in a strenuous sport like weightlifting, the situation in weightlifting is not different from that in other sports, and in many ways it tends to be better.