Why powerlifting is good
It forms persistence, patience, and strength. Strength is never a weakness and will serve you well in your everyday life.
What is your why
Before we go into the details of why
powerlifting is good, 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 questions matter. They will make the difference between your success and failure. Research shows that people who write down their goals and reflect on them are more likely to achieve them. So get a pen and paper and get going. 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
If you make what you want the center of attention you will go nowhere. What you want changes hundreds of times a day. If you chase every rabbit you will catch none. Your resources will be spread thin and your time scattered between too many activities. Something interesting happens when you flip the running order of these questions on their head:
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is the sport of the total. Your goal is to move the most of weight among three different lifts. These lifts are the
bench press,
squat, and
deadlift. For each lift, you have three attempts. For each lift, the best attempt will be added to your total.
A big difference to lifting in the gym is that you will be judged by three referees. These judges observe your lifts from three different angles and decide whether they were performed according to the rules of your federation. You need two out of three referees to agree that your lift was good. Otherwise, it does not count.
Your total usually splits into 40/40/20. The
deadlift and
squat contribute 40% each while the
bench press usually adds 20% to your total. You will do good to get yourself a strong pair of legs for
powerlifting.
All of this makes
powerlifting a sport of persistence, patience, and hard work. All qualities which will help you to be more successful in everyday life.
Persistence
You will fail. Many times. Building strength is a process which takes decades and consistent work. If you go too fast you will injure yourself. If you make it too easy on yourself you won’t progress. This will teach you to push when you are not motivated and stop when you are about to get injured.
Patience
Powerlifting will teach you patience. You will rest for a long time between sets. The progression takes time and does not happen overnight. You might not even notice when you grow and get stronger as it happens in small increments. This will enable you to sit things out and give good things some time.
Indoors
For nerds like me, it also comes at a bonus that
powerlifting can be done inside. So you don’t have to run around in the rain, cold or heat. Some people like me would consider this a good thing.
Hard work pays
If you put in the time and effort you will get bigger and stronger. This is something no one else can take this from you. So keep grinding and post some great lifts.
Why powerlifting is good
Powerlifting forms character and steadily progresses if you keep at it. No one else is responsible for success than you. What is not to like about that.