In Olympic weightlifting, a single kilogram plate can be the difference between gold and silver. As much as possible, elite athletes must use everything they can to their advantage.

One of these variables is known as the barbell’s “whip,” the bouncy bendiness of a bar under dynamic movements. Joshua Langlois, a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University, presented his work studying these Olympic barbell vibrations at the 190th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running May 11–15.

“Weightlifters use the bar’s whip to assist in the upward acceleration by timing the oscillation of the bar so that they drive upwards into the bar when the vibration in the bar is already moving the weight upwards,” Langlois said.