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Powerlifting: The Beginners Guide

First and foremost, in its most simple form, what is powerlifting?

Ultimately powerlifting is a strength sport where men and woman train and complete in three disciplines; Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift. With each discipline, each person has three attempts to lift the selected weight before they fail or are eliminated.

Focusing on raw strength over body conditioning, powerlifting athletes although don’t always look “conditioned” are extremely powerful and have a very high level of core strength as the squat and deadlift movement rely on the body being strong enough to maintain and good form otherwise the lift is not recorded or accepted.

Body Stress

Due to the amount of stress put on the human body when powerlifting there are some key items or clothing or rather equipment that any power lifter should have; a tight supportive bench shirt or squat / deadlift suit and a powerlifting belt.

In some powerlifting divisions, knees wraps are permitted as there is extreme pressure placed on the knee joints during both the squat and the deadlift as they both include lifting with your legs whilst keeping your back as straight as possible.

Powerlifting History

The modern sport as we know it, originated in the United States and United Kingdom back in 19650, however the origins of powerlifting or rather strength training and strength contest can be tracked back to the Romans and Greek times and are somewhat linked to the great gymnasiums and coliseums that are etched into our history books as hosts of the “Great Games”.

The reason why powerlifting emerged was due to the decline in popularity of Olympic Weightlifting in the 1950’s. Strength training and strength sports starting to rapidly increase in popularity acquired more and more followers when in 1958 powerlifting started to be recognised National Weightlifting Committee.

Whilst powerlifting was still emerging and becoming recognised in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s there were a number of lifts being carried out which were often called “odd lifts”, however as the sport developed and became more mainstream, the lifts soon developed or expanded into the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift that we all know of and practise today.

Powerlifting Injuries

When performed correctly and with the right equipment powerlifting isn’t dangerous. The danger arises when steps are missed or lifters push themselves beyond their limits too soon. Due to the nature of the lifts involved with powerlifting the common injuries occur in shoulders from excessive repetitions, lower back from extending and flexing movements, in the knees due to the weight and pressure that is placed on them and in the upper back which can result in poor posture.

About the Author

The man behind https://crazygain.com/ is Kevin Hodges who has set himself a mission to educate the world to become fitter, stronger, healthier and overall more aware of the impact training can have on their lifestyles.

Wanting to be stronger is one thing, going to a gym to workout is another, but actually knowing what your need to do to achieve your desired result is something else. Have a goal, live your dreams and be healthy!

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