Powerlifting: Why do it?

Powerlifting is a great sport to train patience and persistence at minimal injury risk. The movements are also relatively easy to learn and you can do it indoors.

What is your why

Before we go into the details of why you might want to do powerlifting, let me ask you a couple of questions:

Why do you want to change your body
Why do you want to get stronger
What happens when you do
What happens if you don’t

These questions will make the difference between your success and failure. Research shows that successful people write their goals down and reflect on them. When was the last time you did this? If you don’t run your life someone else will run it for you. So sit down and get going. Most people approach their lives this way:

What do I want
How do I get it
Why do I want it

This is a good way to become insane. If you make what you want the center of attention you will spread your resources thin and scatter your time between too many activities. What you want changes hundreds of times a day. If you chase all rabbits you will catch none. Something interesting happens when you flip this dynamic on its head:

Why do you want something
How do you get it
What needs to be done

This way of thinking puts your innermost desires center stage. Your thoughts and actions will become more connected and success will be the result. If you want to know how this works on a psychological level read Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Simon Sinek's TED talk on the golden circle will change your life.

It all starts with daily habits and little changes. I found that the self journal from best-self had a huge impact on my life. My marriage never has been better and I increased my salary by 30% within a year. Check it out via this link.

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is the sport of the total. Your total is the sum of three lifts. These three lifts are the bench press, squat, and deadlift. For each lift, you get three attempts to establish the most weight lifted. The best attempts for each lift get counted towards your total.

A big difference to lifting in the gym is that you get judged. Three referees observe your lifts from different angles. They decide whether your lift was performed according to the standards of the federation you compete in. If two out of three agree, the lift counts.

Your total will most likely split into roughly 40/40/20. The squat and deadlift will each contribute roughly 40% while the bench press will add 20%. You can see from this that powerlifting is mainly about strong legs and less about strong arms.

But why pick a sport that is not even Olympic to compete in?

Low risk of injury

All three lifts are relatively safe and the injury risk is low. Compared to team sports it is a lot lower as there are no other people trying to hit you. Compared to gymnastics it is less likely that you will from up there onto something when you fail. Overall it is very safe when done with a sane brain. That is why many injured athletes choose to go into powerlifting.

Relatively easy

The movement patterns for the squat, deadlift and bench press are relatively easy to learn. The hardest is possibly the squat as many people lack the mobility in the hips to do it properly at the start. Compared to weightlifting or other Olympic sports that is a lot easier. Endurance sports are not for everyone so powerlifting can be an interesting alternative.

Indoors

You can do powerlifting all year around without a lot of hassle. You do not need to be outdoors. A membership at a local gym will usually be enough. This makes it great to get away and get a break from everything hectic in your life.

Steady progress

Strength is obtained over a decade while endurance can be obtained in two months. Strength is the continuous pursuit of improving yourself day to day. And you can do it to relatively old age. This mindset will seek through to other areas of your life and make you stay persistent when things get hard. You will learn to appreciate the grind and learn from it.

Less risk of getting addicted to supplements

As the sport of powerlifting is less about aesthetics and more about performance with the bar. This makes it less likely to feel the urge to use illegal supplements. Steroids are present in all kinds of sports, however, compared to bodybuilding you are less likely with powerlifting to seek them out to see results.