Comparing the Olympic and powerlifting
squats, Wretenberg et al. (1996) found that powerlifters performing the powerlifting
squat lifted heavier loads that Olympic weightlifters using the Olympic -
style back squat.
The relationship between an athlete personal best in competition and
back squat, bench press and power clean 1RM was determined via general linear model polynomial contrast analysis and regression for a group of 53 collegiate elite level throwers (24 males and 29 females); data analysis showed significant linear and quadratic trends for distance and 1RM power clean for both male (linear: p ≤ 0.001, quadratic: p ≤ 0.003) and female (linear: p ≤ 0.001, quadratic: p = 0.001) suggesting how the use of Olympic -
style weightlifting movements — the clean, in this particular case, but more in general explosive, fast, athletic - like movements — can be a much better alternative for sport - specific testing for shot putters (Judge, et al, 2013).