Once the domain of big burly men as wide as they are tall, the recent CrossFit explosion has seen Olympic-style weightlifting go mainstream.

Wollongong's The Warehouse Gym will on Saturday host the biggest Olympic weightlifting competition held in the Illawarra, with local CrossFit and lifting clubs battling for club bragging rights.

Excel Fitness trainer Jason Chin said he now trains more clients who do not fit the traditional weightlifting mould.

"It's a very doable sport," Chin said. "It's a huge misconception that you have to be big and muscular.

"You'll see guys who look like male models and not hugely muscular that can throw up massive amounts of weight.

"It's also excellent for a lot of other sports and a lot of countries around the world use Olympic weightlifting to train athletes but in Australia it's very under utilised."

Chin said the CrossFit phenomenon had seen a dramatic increase in the number of people practising Olympic lifting.

"A lot of crossfitters become weightlifters," he said.

"That's been the biggest influence for weightlifting.

"People who never would've done it start doing it because it's part of their training. They realise that they really like the sport and continue to take it on."

While CrossFit has seen an explosion in participantion, chances to practise lifts in a competition setting are rare. That's what prompted Chin to host the competition at The Warehouse on Saturday.

"The idea of this comp is to lift the profile of weightlifting in the Illawarra."

Weigh-ins are at 9am for a 10am start.