To clear the air. Many people use the term “weightlift” to refer to any style of lifting weights. This is dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, odd objects and anything else that can be considered an act of lifting something weighted. Weightlifting, like Powerlifting, is a specific term used to describe a strength sport. You’ll often hear people will use the term “Olympic Weightlifting” to refer to Weightlifting.
How Powerlifting differs from Weightlifting
Weightlifting uses two lifts: Snatch and Clean and Jerk. In the same manner as powerlifting the lifter is taking a loaded barbell and trying to secure a weight displaying complete control in a fully locked out position. The lifter picks up a weight from the floor and secure it overhead. This cannot be done slowly. A more advanced an athlete is the quicker than a less experienced athlete at maximum attempts.
Powerlifting uses three lifts: Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. A completed lift requires the lifter to overcoming a weighted barbell, through a specific range of motion displaying complete control in a fully locked out position. Usually it’s a maximum effort attempt, and with a more experienced lifter the heavy weight will move slowly.
A Powerlifter will lift a heavy weight slowly with maximum intention meanwhile a Weightlifter will lift a moderate weight fast with maximum intention.
These two strength sports are foundationally applicable to most sports because strength and power output are the forefront of sports performance.
Take baseball, football, basketball, sprinting, jumping, strongman, throwing, CrossFit, boxing and wrestling all these sports require quick fast movements in short bursts. Being strong and then honing the ability to express force rapidly builds the physical attribute of power output. Powerlifting develops the underlying strength while weightlifting refines the ability to produce force at a rapid rate.
Strength is typically defined by how much weight you can move through a range of motion. To make a barbell momentarily air born the amount of force needed will depend on how heavy the weight is (relative to their maximum strength) and how quickly it can be moved. The required force required needs to happen in a split second’s worth of time. This type of force production is referred to as instantaneous power.
THAT is the component that separates Weightlifting from Powerlifting.
YOU GOT THE POWER?
The quicker you can accelerate an object the more power you will produce.
The heavier the object is with the same acceleration, the more power you are producing.
Power = (Force *Distance) ÷ Time
The example below is a comparison of power between a heavy deadlift (powerlifting) and a power clean (weightlifting).
For simplicity’s sake I’ll define FORCE as weight on the bar and convert units of measurement as needed
Lifter A Deadlifts 405lbs taking 3 seconds, moving the bar 20”to lockout
First I’ll convert…
-405lbs to newtons (1800 newtons)
-20” to meters (0.5meters)
Second, I’ll plug it into the equation
(1800 NEWTONS * 0.5M) ÷ 3 SECONDS = 300 WATTS
Lifter B Power Cleans 225lbs, takes ½ second to move the bar 40” to the rack position
Convert…
-225lbs to newtons (1000 newtons)
-40” to meters (1 meter)
Then plug it in
(1000 NEWTONS * 1M) ÷ 0.5 SECONDS = 2000 WATTS
In these two examples although the deadlift is 180lbs heavier the power clean produced 1700 more watts of power than the deadlift.
Maximum Force Output
The faster you can move an object the more instantaneous power you are producing. It is important to note that the stronger you are the potentially quicker you can be. Force production peaks at 50-75% of your 1 rep max. So, if you have two people deadlifting, lifter A has a 600lbs deadlift and lifter B has a 300lb deadlift. Who do you think has the capability to have a heavier clean and jerk?
Like Powerlifting, Weightlifting is an expression of strength, and because the barbell can be loaded in as little increments as needed you can develop the ability to progressively increase the resistance to match your rate of progression.
Unlike the Powerlifting, a Snatch or Clean and Jerk is done within 1/5th the time a heavy Deadlift. In Weightlifting to express one’s strength quickly and effectively there is a much higher technique development requirement than powerlifting.
In Weightlifting enough force is applied to the bar making it momentarily weightless. If enough instantaneous power is produced this will allow the lifter space to pull or press themselves under the barbell to secure it either overhead or in the front rack position. It is this manipulation allows us to train the quality of power that gives someone more potential at their sport.