Explosive leg power
Weight lifters have a very high percentage of fast twitch fibres in their legs because they are vital for the start of the lift and they begin by lifting from there knees to either bring it up to their waist or to give them momentum to follow through and lift the weight above their head in one movement.
Arm and shoulder strength
Obviously weight lifters need a lot of strength in their arms and shoulders because the second stage of the lift will come predominantly from their shoulders and also their arms, but also from their back (latissimus dorsi), chest (pectorals) and legs (quadriceps, hamstring and gastrocnemius). To be able to achieve in lifting very high weights they require the physical capacity to actual be able to do it, and therefore weight lifters definitely need very good arm and shoulder strength.
Arm and shoulder strength and endurance
Although weight lifters require no endurance in terms of aerobic endurance but in order to be able to lift very heavy weights and then possibly have to repeat this lift with even heavier weights in order to beat the opposing weight lifters they do require endurance in terms of FOG muscle fibres as these have the advantages of slow twitch fibres (good blood supply, myoglobin content) but also have the advantages of FTG muscle fibres (long fast firing motor neurones and ATPase for quire ATP production) so they do give a certain amount of endurance in terms of anaerobic work.
Abdominal strength and endurance
Weight lifters need very good strength and some endurance in their abdominals as they play a part in the in the lift because they must try and bring the weight on their shoulders while they will be bending backwards with one of their legs supporting them, then they must push upwards and forwards to bring the weight above their head. To do this effectively they must have strong abdominal muscles in order to bend backwards without losing balance with such a heavy weight. Also when lifting the weight from the ground they must initially use their abdominals.
Joint mobility/flexibility
Weight lifters necessitate high joint mobility and flexibility because throughout the lift they will be using a lot of the joints in their body, especially their knees and at all times these joints will be under a huge amount of stress. The first stage of the lift is when the weight lifters must lift from their knees and to do this they need very mobile and very strong enduring joints in order to not injure them selves in the process.
Agility
Weight lifters don’t need any agility at all because weight lifting is a static exercise.
Balance
Although weight lifters are taking part in a static event, in order to be able to stay in a stable position while lifting such huge weights they must have very good balance. They also need to control their balance very well as they often have to use their legs and back in order to re balance them selves, especially in the last stage of the lift when they are trying to get the very heavy weight above their head.
Co-ordination
Weight lifters require some co-ordination because they must be able to lift the weight while thinking about how they need to move to counter balance them selves while under the hue stress of the weight. Although this seems simple in terms of co-ordination, without it would be almost impossible to balance while lifting such massive weights.
Reaction Time
Weight lifters don’t need very good reaction times at all in order to be successful because in their event they aren’t actually reacting to a stimulus.
Timing
Although weight lifters don’t need amazing timing they must be able to self pace themselves in their lift, especially if they are doing the lift in two stages. If they try and lift the weight to quickly they may risk injury, yet if they do it to slowly they may not have enough energy left in order to be successful in the lift.
