Why powerlifting is awesome
It just is. If you don’t believe me ask your five-year-old son after showing him a video of Eddie Hall lifting a car. More details in this post.
What is your why
Before we go into the details of why powerlifting is awesome, let me ask you a couple of questions:
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Why do you want to powerlift
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Why do you want to change your body
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What happens when you do
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What happens if you don’t
These four questions are essential to your success and failure. Research shows that people who write down their goals and reflect on them are more likely to achieve them. When was the last time you did this? Many people go about their lives like this:
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What do I want
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How do I get it
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Why do I want it
This is a great way to get your mind confused. What you want changes hundreds of times a day. It depends highly on who you are with, where you are and what you do. Making this the center of attention will spread your resources thin and scatter your time between too many activities. Something interesting happens when you flip the running order of these questions on their head:
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Why do you want something
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How do you get it
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What needs to be done
This way your innermost desires and dreams will steer your life. Your thoughts and actions will become more connected. Happiness and success will be the result. If you want to know how this works on a psychological basis 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 being more deliberate with your time. Keeping a journal helped me to improve my marriage and increase my salary. The best one I found is the self journal from best self.
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is the sport of the total. Your total is the sum of three lifts. These three lifts are the squat, bench press and the deadlift. For each lift, you get three attempts. The best attempt will be counted towards your total. Based on your total you will be ranked against the other competitors.
A big difference to lifting in the gym is that you will get judged. Three referees observe your lifts and decide whether you performed according to the standards of the federation you are lifting in. Two out of three have to approve for your lift to qualify. You need at least one qualifying attempt for each lift to make it on the board.
Your total usually splits 40/40/20. The deadlift and squat contribute 40% each while the bench press contributes 20%. Powerlifting is really the sport of the strong legs.
Why powerlifting is awesome
Well, of course, this is my personal opinion. What you do with that is yours to decide.
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Pick up heavy stuff
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Stay strong where others get crushed
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Lift your wife
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You will become persistent
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You will learn how to deal with setbacks
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It teaches discipline
What is not awesome about picking up heavy stuff. “So what do you do in your free Time” “i pick up 200kg on a regular basis with my bare hands” is definitely the more awesome answer than “I drink beer” or “I play PlayStation.
For me, there is also something awesome about having more than 150kg on my back without getting crushed. Some powerlifters even push this number to 400kg. I don’t know what is not awesome about that. If a five-year-old thinks it’s cool, it is cool. You never heard a five-year scream in excitement when daddy files his tax report.
A cool side effect of powerlifting is that you can lift your wife unless she weighs a ton. You can end every argument by lifting her in the air and giving her a spin. Even though your marriage won’t last that long if you overstressed this skill.
Powerlifting is awesome because it teaches you to stay persistent to reach something worthwhile. Almost no one walks into the gym and pulls 200kg off the ground right away. This needs grit and stamina which is a transferable skill to other areas of your life.
You will get injured or sidetracked from time. This will warrant a deload and start back from where you were half a year ago. This will teach you how to deal with setbacks.
All of the points above will lead to discipline and trusting in the process of continuous work. A little more each day will build a mountain one day.
