Who are the W.A.N.I. ?

The weightlifting Association of Northern Ireland, or W.A.N.I. was formally created by Northern Ireland's olympic weightlifting community in 2006 following a constitutional breach by the administrators of the previous governing association, the N.I.W.L.A.

The W.A.N.I. was formed to mend the bridges between the Irish and British Weightlifting Associations damaged by the actions of the administrators of the N.I.W.L.A, concluding in a resounding and unanimous withdrawal from the N.I.W.L.A. by the entire weightlifting community at the time.

Since it's inception, the W.A.N.I. has gone from strength to strength, producing lifters ranked amongst the highest in both GB and Ireland. James Small is top in both GB and Ireland in his age group, and currently ranked number 5 in the commonwealth, Neil Dougan is N.I.'s only internationally ranked senior competitor, currently just outside the top 150 in the world, while at the other end of the scale comes Laurence McConnell, a World Record holder in the mens 60-65 age category, showing that age is no barrier to achieving every success.

What Exactly is Olympic Weightlifting ?

Olympic weightlifting is one of the few remaining original olympic sports, it is a true test of power, moving tremendous weights great distances in a short space of time.

There are two main exercises in Olympic Weightlifting, the "clean and Jerk" and the "snatch"

Clean and Jerk

In the Clean and Jerk while one fluid movement, is made up of two exercises in one lift, the "clean" and the "jerk". in the clean, the lifter starts with the loaded bar on the floor, and grasping the bar with a shoulder width grip, pulls the bar from the floor, past the knees, accelerating it and pulling it higher until it comes to rest on the shoulders, when the lifter becomes comfortable with this movement, they start to duck under the bar, lower and lower to catch it, eventually winding up in a fully squatted position to achieve their heaviest weights. It's not finished there though, to complete the clean you have to finish standing, so if you can get up with it , it's all yours and you've successfully cleaned the bar. After the bar has come to rest on the shoulders, and the lifter is up again, the lifter can then follow this with the second exercise, the jerk. From the shoulders, the lifter unlocks the knees, crouches slightly and then extends their entire body, jumping into the air, and throwing the bar into the air, before dropping under it an catching it overhead. Again once you are back standing tall, you have successfully jerked the bar. This exercise, has earned the little known name - The king of lifts - due to the enormous weight that professional lifters can achieve overhead. (sometimes over a quarter of a tonne), and is widely acknowledged as the method for getting the greatest weight possible overhead (without the use of heavy machinery).

The Snatch

The snatch, much like the clean and jerk, involves getting the bar overhead, only this time there's no rest in between. The lifter starts with a wide grip, and in one swift movement, pulls the bar from the floor, straight up and overhead all in one fluid progression. Again, lifters get their heaviest weights by dropping under the bar half way through the lift, catching the bar overhead while in a fully squat position before standing to complete the lift. This is an exercise loved and adored by strength and conditioning professionals everywhere, as it is the single greatest way to generate and increase potential and useful explosive energy within any individual.

What can Weightlifting do for me?

Olympic Weightlifting is the best way to increase explosive strength and power. It is the one sport that every senior athlete in a performance sport does whether they know it or not. From rugby to Football, Basketball to Athletics, every athlete who wants to improve their performance by increasing their strength and power does the olympic lifts, and the aesthetic effects aren't bad either. Olympic lifting offers different things to different people, the following short section shows the difference olympic lifting can have for professional Athletes but also for those who are just interested in doing some form of exercise or getting in shape.

The Athletes among us

The Olympic exercises are done explosively, lifters move the bar great distances in short times, which means two things, lots of force and lots of speed. That is why the olympic lifter generates the greatest levels of power of any athlete. (power = Force x Velocity). Anyone interested, or involved in a sport that involves explosive power, such as sprinters, throwers, rugby players, footballers etc, and even those already doing weights orientated sports can benefit from the increased response time and athletic edge that training with olympic lifters can offer. It will help you run faster, jump higher and avoid injury longer and hit harder during all your matches, events and training.

Weightlifting is an injury preventative sport, and as such can lower your chance of injury through training in the disciplines when you are competing, training, or even just enjoying a day at the beach. Add to this that olympic lifters have some of the highest degrees of flexibility in sport, you're definitely onto a winner. Check out Eeamon Byrne snatching in our gallery to see the flexibility that this training can offer.

The rest of us mere mortals

Ok, that's all well and good for the high flyers and people with too much time on their hands, but what about me you say, well if you are just looking to get in shape then our coaches and trainers can offer you loads of help, advice and even design programs to help you reach the goals you want. We specialise with weights, we do what we do because it's the hardest exercises to do with weights, so we know what we're talking about. So we can always help you increase your knowledge, as well as increase your strength by showing the correct way to do loads of other exercises, and when you know how to do them right, along with how many to do, then you will really see the improvements. We have partners in the fitness world who would be happy to help increase all round fitness levels, couple that with the strengthening, toning and all round warm fuzzy feeling you're going to get when those clothes start fitting you like they used to, what's your excuse for not giving it a go?

Whether your just looking for an excuse to go to the gym, you want to tone up, get in shape or even go the whole way and excel at a challenging sport, we can help, all you need to do is visit our contacts section and ask someone where you need to be and when you need to be there.

But isn't weightlifting dangerous?

Welcome to Myth 1 about weightlifting; you may hear people telling you that you shouldn't be doing weights or that it's too dangerous, go have a kick about down the park with your mates, but i bet these are the same people who have never done weights or read any of the literature surrounding them. Here's a few interesting facts you may like to read.

1. Olympic weightlifting is one of, if not the safest sport you can do when you read the academic studies that have been carried out. Article such as (stone, Injuries),(stone, muscle),(olympic weightlifting resource) etc. they show that that kick about down the park is about 400 times more likely to cause an injury than weightlifting, never mind the 600 for rugby.

2. Studies carried out show that the most severe cause of muscular or skeletal problems in both male and female adults is actually reduced by olympic lifting. The average male who experiences back pain makes up about 31% of the population, roughly one in 3, compared to the same number of men involved in olympic lifting who were tested, which showed that only 23% experienced any pain, a reduction to roughly one in 4.

3. "Another benefit of weightlifting is the amount of muscles used in the lifts. The Olympic lifts involve basically every muscle in the human body and this entails a great workout. Olympic weightlifting also forces stabilizer muscles to activate to secure the weight overhead in the lifts. For a recreational lifter Olympic weightlifting will cut down on the exercise time, allowing them to get done in 45 minutes to 1 hour what they used to do in "traditional splits" for 1.5 hours or more! In an 8 week Olympic weightlifting program study, participants lowered their resting heart rate by 8%, lean body weight increased by 4%, fat dropped 6%, and systolic blood pressure decreased by 4% (Stone, Cardiovascular). Not only is Olympic weightlifting safe it is a great way to stay in shape too!" .... Olympic Weightlifting Resource

4. Weightlifting can help prevent many common health problems seen in the UK and Ireland. From Arthritis to Osteoporosis, obesity to back problems, doing olympic lifting is an all body workout that reduces a multitude of health problems that plague our society.

Does weightlifting stunt your growth?

Welcome to Myth 2, the simple answer is No, weightlifting does not stunt your growth. You will always be roughly what your DNA tries to make you with or without weightlifting. The reason this came about is most likely due to the vast number of short people that you see on TV doing the sport, however as with all old wives tales you can never be sure who first made it up.

The greatest weightlifters in the world are usually short, simply because of body weight and leverage. Like boxing, in weightlifting you are put in weight classes, so If you weigh 69kg and you are 5"4, then you probably have a lot more muscle mass, and therefore usually strength than somebody who is 69kg and 6"2. Also the shorter arms and legs mean that physics is on your side.

Sorry people but if you are short and looking for an excuse, then it's time to blame your parents, unfortunately, it's genetic. But look on the bright side, you've just stumbled into a sport you're made for.

Do I have to wait until I'm 18?

Welcome to Myth 3, one of the most common myths to ever haunt the sport. Simply, NO, everyone can do weights and from any age. Olympic weightlifting is taught in primary school throughout most of Asia, and in some of Europe as part of P. E. It will not stunt your growth, damage your epithelial growth plates or cause you any harm whatsoever. When you read through the literature above, it makes you wonder where the stigma came from in the first place.

Starting weights young is actually beneficial for everyone. The best sporting and academic studies carried out show that people who started weightlifting at a young age have fewer health problems when they get older. They have a lower chance of suffering from osteoporosis, joint pains, back pains and loads of other ailments that you'd probably rather live without. If anyone ever tells you that you need to wait till you are 18, ask them where they read it, you'll seldom get an answer, it is usually that somebody told them once when they were young.

So to the positives, doing weights from a young age means better muscular development through resistance work, stronger and denser bones which are less likely to fracture and give you stronger support throughout your life, making you less likely to get injured doing any other sport or activity.

Most importantly, the younger you start the more chance you have of getting to an internationally competitive level, keeping up with the countries who don't still rely on superstition to make informed decisions about exercise.

So when your mum or teacher tells you no because you are too young, just tell them to talk to us, we'll give them some food for thought, and from and informed perspective.

If you are still unconvinced, and would like some further reading, why not check out this article entitled "Misconceptions about training Youth"

And the "information for parents page" from Queensland Weightlifting Association. Or simply email us and we'll be happy to answer any questions

Where do i start?

OK, so you like what you've read and now you want to know how to get involved. We cater for all individuals, clubs and sporting organisations, so check out our clubs page, see who is near to you and drop in or email anyone on the contacts page and we will be more than happy to help.

It doesn't matter what level you are at, we cater for all abilities, and look forward to helping you achieve your goals and ambitions, and if you really like what you're doing, and want to compete, so much the better, we know the how's and where's to get you there.