If you want an answer to this question, ask an Olympic weightlifter and he will tell you … Every muscle!
When you lift, all the muscles and all parts of the body come into play. Olympic weightlifting is not about specific muscles. It’s all about athletic performance, power development, and whole-body strength.
If we were to reduce it, arguably the following muscles play the most important role in the Olympic weightlifting process:
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Hamstrings
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Quads
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Buttocks
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Rear traps
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Back
Olympic weightlifters tend to build muscle strength and size, especially in the legs and back. But, they build strength in their legs through the squats they do during the lifting process. The back muscles are used as stabilizers during the process.
If you consider the training that Olympic weightlifters go through, chances are that most of the muscle will be built there overall. Practicing the snatch and clean and jerk will definitely work some muscle groups. But, a weightlifter at this level will do considerable training in addition to pure lifting.
It’s common for weightlifters in smaller weight classes to be strong, but not huge. Some professional bodybuilders will be bigger than them. On the other hand, at the top of the weight classes, those guys can be huge. But again, consider that size is not the goal here, overall strength is.
Pushing and using your joints are a vital part of completing a lift. These are even more important to Olympic weightlifters than other types of competitive lifting. During the lift, the ankles, knees and hips have to work in conjunction with the muscles or life will fail. Momentum and speed are essential. The heavier the weight, the longer it will take to lift it. It is the lack of speed and momentum that will likely cause the lift to fail.
Trying to use Olympic weightlifting as a means of bodybuilding is a mistake. It just won’t target individual muscles and muscle groups like other types of weight training and lifting will. If you are looking to improve flexibility, speed, and overall strength, you should consider it. It will also strengthen your cardiovascular system.
Many people think that Olympic weightlifting is dangerous and on the sidelines. You must follow safety precautions, just like you do with any other type of training or lifting. But it can be very rewarding as the goals are defined and challenging.