Powerlifting

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The bench press is one of the three events of powerlifting.
The bench press is one of the three events of powerlifting.

Powerlifting is a strength event, consisting of three events: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. The maximum weight lifted in each event is totalled for a final score; lifters compete in bodyweight classes. Powerlifting is of relatively modern origin, with the first formal competitions occurring in the mid 1960s. It is open to both men and women. Powerlifting, like weightlifting, offers weight categories allowing athletes to display relative strength. This is why accomplished powerlifters vary in size- from the massive Scot Mendelson who can bench press more than anyone else in the world, to the diminutive Lamar Gant who could deadlift over five times his own body weight.

In contrast to classical Olympic weightlifting events, where an athlete raises a barbell from the floor to over his head, powerlifting movements are shorter. While both disciplines demand high levels of force production, weightlifting actually focuses more directly on the rapid force produced by dynamic efforts, meaning that "powerlifting" is really something of a misnomer. The two sports are largely separated by geography, with Olympic weightlifting being more popular in Eastern Europe and Asia (Russia, Turkey, Iran, China, and others), while powerlifting is more popular in Western Europe and North America. However, support for powerlifting is growing worldwide, with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Indonesia, and Taiwan producing World Champions and World Record holders.

Contents

[edit] Events

[edit] Squat

The athlete stands under a racked barbell which is loaded with weight. Grabbing the bar from behind, the bar is put onto the top of the back, resting on the trapezius muscles. The athlete walks clear of the rack (unless competing in a federation using a "monolift", a device which supports the bar in place until the lifter is ready), and squats down until the top of the thigh at the hip joint is lower than the top of the knee. Although the bottom position is sometimes described as having the thigh "below parallel" to the floor, the lower thigh may not necessarily appear to be beneath parallel. The lifter then stands up again, and carefully returns the weight to the rack. Disqualification results from the bar making any downward movement after the lifter has started upwards, if the spotters touch the bar in any way, if the lifter does not descend far enough, or if the lifter makes no effort to re-rack the weight under his or her own power.

[edit] Bench press

The athlete lies on a bench. A loaded barbell rests on stands built into the bench above the eye level of the lifter when lying supine on the bench. The athlete removes the bar from the supports with the aid of one or more spotters, lowers it to the chest, pauses, and then presses it up to the full extension of the arms, then carefully returns the weight to the rack. Disqualification results if the bar is placed too low on the body (varies by federation), if the bar does not pause on the chest before being lifted upward (in some federations, an explicit "press" command is given, and the athlete cannot lift upwards until it is given), if the bar fails to touch the chest, if the bar hits the uprights of the rack on the ascent, or if the bar makes any downward motion during the ascent. In addition, the lift is nullified if the feet move during the lift, if the buttocks lift off the bench, or if the body makes any extraneous movement during the lift.

Powerlifter Scot Mendelson on the cover of Powerlifting USA
Powerlifter Scot Mendelson on the cover of Powerlifting USA

[edit] Deadlift

A loaded barbell is placed on the floor. The athlete reaches down, grasps the bar, and lifts it until the legs and back are straight and upright, and the chest proud. The bar is then returned to the floor in a controlled manner. The end of the lift is referred to as 'locking out', which means to straighten the back and lock the knees into a balanced position. Disqualification results from the athlete failing to stand completely upright, or if the bar makes any downward motion during the ascent, or for using the thighs to assist the lift (hitching). Many judges have been known to disqualify lifters who drop the bar to the floor after the lift is finished, due to the danger involved in dropping such a heavy amount of weight and the fact that it damages the floor of the gyms that meets are commonly held in.

[edit] Organizations

Although powerlifting always uses the squat, bench press and deadlift as events, different federations have different rules and different interpretations of the rules, leading to a myriad of variations. Some federations, such as the ADAU and 100% Raw Federation, allow no protective gear to be worn by the lifter. Some, such as the IPF and AAU, only allow a single-ply tight polyester squat suit, deadlift suit and bench shirt, wraps for knees and wrists, and a belt. Other federations, such as the IPA and WPO allow opened or closed back bench shirts, multi-ply gear, and a wide array of gear materials such as canvas, denim, polyester etc.

In an IPF bench press, the barbell can go as low as the xiphoid process and no further in the lift, whereas in other federations, the barbell can touch the abdomen. (This shortens the distance in which the barbell is moved and is an advantage to the lifter.)

With the advent of the latest high-tech gear, powerlifting gear usage has become somewhat controversial. For instance, equipment has enabled some gargantuan lifts such as Scot Mendelson's 1015 lb/458 kg bench press and Jeff Lewis's 1201.5 lb/540 kg squat, both of which are not really possible with out gear. Some argue that allowing equipment that can give 220 lb/100 kg+ of assistance to the lift lessens the point of a purely limit strength sport.

[edit] Powerlifting and the Olympics

The multiplicity of federations and rules, the behind the scenes politics of Olympic certification, and the use and/or abuse of competition gear makes the inclusion of the sport in the Olympics unlikely. However, powerlifting is a part of the World Games, which is patronized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) runs worldwide events and aims to standardise an international competition, and is at the forefront of these kinds of efforts.

[edit] United States Federations

  • USA Powerlifting (USAPL) (http://www.usapowerlifting.com)
  • 100% Raw Powerlifting
  • Amateur Athletic Union Powerlifting (AAU)
  • American Drug-Free Powerlifting Federation (ADFPF)
  • American Powerlifting Association (APA)
  • American Powerlifting Committee (APC)
  • American Powerlifting Federation (APF)
  • Anti Drug Athletes United (ADAU)
  • International Powerlifting Association (IPA)
  • National Alliance of Powerlifters (NAP)
  • Natural Athlete Strength Association (NASA)
  • Sunny D Power (SDP)
  • Southern Powerlifting Federation (SPF) (http://www.southernpowerlifting.com)
  • United States Powerlifting Federation (USPF)(http://www.uspf.com)
  • World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters (WABDL) (http://www.wabdl.org)
  • World Natural Powerlifting Federation (WNPF)

[edit] Canadian Federations

[edit] Australian Federations

[edit] International Federations

[edit] Controversy and recognition

There have been many controversies in the sport of powerlifting, creating division into the different organizations and limiting the sports mainstream involvement as a widespread standardized sport or being an Olympic event. One of the greatest controversies is over the use of assistance clothing/gear. Many purists believe that assistance equipment reduces powerlifting as a pure limit strength sport. Furthering the complication is not only the use of gear itself, but the stance the main powerlifting organizations take on its use. For example, some federations such as the IPF allow the use of single ply polyester squat and deadlift suits, and single ply polyester bench shirts, while the WPO allows multi ply squat and deadlift suits and multi ply bench shirts made from anything from canvas to denim. Another is over the growing use of performance enhancing drugs and the inconsistencies between federations testing for them. In addition to these larger problems are small issues with technique such as how long the bar should pause at the bottom of the bench press or the depth that a lifter must squat a weight.

[edit] External links

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