What is Powerlifting?
Powerlifting is a sport in which you are judged on 3 lifts that are completed in the following order; the squat, the bench press and the deadlift. For each lift you have 3 attempts and your best successful attempt counts towards your total which is the combined weight of your best successful attempts for each lift.
What can I expect?
We will cover each of the lifts in more detail in the near future; but for now, I want you to understand a little bit more about what you can expect from being involved in the sport. Whilst powerlifting is an individual sport, the comradery and friendships that you build along the way are second to none. The powerlifting community is quite a tight knit and supportive community that feeds off of seeing others achieve their goals. Luckily for us there’s more and more powerlifting specific gyms opening their doors all over the world which means we can train with likeminded people.
Can I actually do it?
The great thing about powerlifting is that it doesn’t matter whether you’re in the gym just to beat your own PB’s or if you’re on the platform battling it out for a world record, just about anybody can do it! Within competitive powerlifting there are many different federations, all of which have their own specific rulings and differences in what equipment is and isn’t allowed as well as female/male divisions and weight/age categories.
Why should I powerlift?
Haven’t convinced you yet… OK so why powerlifting? Well after working with hundreds of clients over the years (specifically women), I have found that most people want fairly similar results and you know what… We all struggle with similar obstacles along the way. Getting women to focus on strength and performance has not only helped to empower and get my clients to rethink what they previously thought was possible, but it has also helped them to achieve some of the best improvements in body composition that I have seen to date! So, I guess if you don’t want to get stronger, leaner and more confident then powerlifting isn’t for you.
In conclusion, it doesn’t matter if you’ve never stepped foot in the gym before or whether you’re a regular gym goer looking for a new challenge, powerlifting is an amazing sport to be involved in that will not only help to improve your health, body composition, performance and confidence but you’ll be sure to build some amazing friendships along the way also!
Author,
Sean Bartle – Sean is an approved Powerlifting 4 Women Coach, certified Recomp Coach, Sports Nutrition Specialist with the ISSN and currently studying his BSc double majoring in Biochemistry/Biotechnology and Physiology.