Zoe Smith and female Olympic lifting by Tony Riddle A.K.A @theprepdoctor

Abbye Stockton (1917-2006),
professional strongwoman
who trained Marilyn Monroe.
Could lift more weight than most men.

 by Tony Riddle, Gloves Club founder

To those not in the know, Olympic lifting requires a huge amount of skill - skill that is often overlooked as “just lifting a weight above your head”.

The power needed in the two main lifts – the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk – require explosive action in the legs, bum and arms from a deep squat position. This is no sport for posers, nor does it require the focus on crazy reps and little technique like a Cross Fit round. It demands flexibility, technique, coordination, strength and fluidity - a great all round athletic discipline, one that is not to be confused with bodybuilding. In my opinion body building creates false tempos, faulty movement patterns and excessive levers to develop inefficient and injury prone athletes.

Zoe Smith, recently selected to represent Great Britain in Olympic lifting, has certainly put the hours in and has already been involved in many a photo shoot for sponsors. She's also been subjected to a barrage of abuse from cyber bullies, calling her a "butch dyke" that looks like man, and that she'll never get a boyfriend. Nothing could be further from the truth, and she’s trying to raise the profile of the sport by changing the perception of the sport that it is something only men should be doing, or that women who do it are somehow not feminine. She added: "We're getting weightlifting out there and drawing attention to the fact that we're not all actually big. We're making it a normal sport rather the manly thing as people often perceive it.”

Chemical cost = metabolic cost = burn fat, burn and hey presto, strong is the new skinny!

It didn't exactly do
Marilyn Monroe any harm!

For those that have any misconceptions, Olympic lifting is a great athletic conditioning sport; it's great for the all important athletic figure, hitting all the areas that women spend hours trying to tone in the latest glorified Bums and Tums class, or on the latest fad diet. It won’t “bulk” you up, or make you look like a man.

As there is a huge chemical cost in lifting that weight at such great speed and accuracy, it’s the best way to target your legs and bum in a way an aerobics class could only ever dream to do!

So come on ladies. Support Zoe Smith and all the other women getting into lifting, and while you’re at it, why not give it a try yourselves. If it’s good enough for Marilyn Monroe, it's good enough for you….