Olympic weightlifting would seem like a way to become huge and land on a magazine cover. Confusing bodybuilding and Olympic weightlifting is an easy mistake to make, but the two sports are very different.

“It looks easy in concept but, until you get to a certain point, your brute strength doesn’t really take you anywhere,” said Eric Fong, senior kinesiology major. “It’s all about technique and how you do things, not what you can do.

The Olympic weightlifting team comes together four times a week not just to lift, but to train and enjoy the company of fellow teammates. “Everybody in the club, we’re all just really, really good friends,” Fong said. “We do have a certified coach that does come and will give us advice and stuff like that. But for the most part we pretty much support and train each other.”

Anyone is welcome to stop by the Free Weight Room and join, men and women alike. “There’s generally more guys, it’s hard to get girls in here, but once they’re in they tend to like it,” said Arlette Marenco, sophomore geology major. “I mean there’s a misconception that weightlifting will get you bigger, so a lot of girls don’t like it. But it just gets you toned, you don’t get bigger.”

Those who become involved in Olympic weightlifting often find the sport through other sports. Training and conditioning for just about any sport serves as an introduction to some of the basics of weightlifting. “I got done playing football in high school and I was looking for something else to do,” said Ben Claridad, senior kinesiology major.

“I went to school at Davis, I lifted over there for the track team,” said Kevin Golden, junior kinesiology major. “Once track ended, I started doing this.”

Junior business major Donte Morris found the team after a disappointment early at Sacramento State. “Initially when I first came to Sac State my whole dream was to play baseball, and I found out I wasn’t playing baseball,” Morris said. “I needed something to do to stay active. I needed something to fill that void.”

Morris is now the vice president and treasurer of the club. His brother Dominic Morris has recently become the president.

Besides the friendly atmosphere of training comes the highly competitive side of the sport. The team travels all over California and takes trips out of state. “I’ve had five competitions in the past three months,” Marenco said.

Numerous local competitions help prepare the team for the major events across the country.

“I’m going to Louisiana in April for the collegiate nationals,” Claridad said.

Despite the nature of the sport involving lifting hundreds of pounds overhead, injuries are an uncommon accident in the sport. Golden had once suffered a hyperextension to his elbow. His rare injury took six to eight weeks to heal and left no permanent damage.

“I dropped one (bar with weights on it) on my head one time but I was OK,” Marenco said. “I walked away; it was 65 kilos (143 pounds).”

The team members are gaining invaluable knowledge not only about Olympic weightlifting, but human physiology as well. “I’m going to be a chiropractor, but I guess coaching probably inevitably,” Golden said. “I think weightlifting will definitely play a role in the rest of my life.”

“I have considered it. I haven’t really made any definite plans yet. But coaching in the sport has definitely crossed my mind,” Fong said.

Those who join the club have a tendency to stick around, as many of the members have been on the team for years. “I saw something on TV one time, it was weightlifting versus bodybuilding and how just any regular looking person can be so strong,” Marenco said. She has been on the team for two years since.

“Been into weightlifting three and half years,” Claridad said. He has seen the team achieve a lot of success over the years and spends a lot of time helping the team train. “We compete all the time. We’re pretty good around here,” Claridad said.

The closeness of the team isn’t surprising since many members join because they already have a friend on the team. “Arlette got me into this. She convinced me to come,” said Vanessa Ortiz, freshman political science major. “It’s like we’re all family,” Marenco said.

Many of the members have blood relatives who are involved in sports other than Olympic weightlifting. While it keeps athletes in great shape, the sport hasn’t quite become mainstream. “My brother used to be a wrestler; my sister was in tennis. My other brother was in rowing, so we all do different things,” Marenco said.

Until the next tournament comes, the Olympic weightlifting team will continue to hit the weights. Overhead lifts, squats, curls and technique refinements will practiced like clockwork.

To some it may appear as physically grueling, miserable labor. The Olympic weightlifting team knows it is much more than just picking up iron repeatedly for hours. “It’s a full body workout, it requires a lot of coordination,” Fong said.

“Weightlifting is awesome,” Claridad said.

Mitchell Wilson can be reached at [email protected]