My true passion lies in powerlifting. It s an extraordinary sport in that each com petition is a true measure of one s progress.

There isn t any lying, cheating, or bl aming it on someone else. There isn t any wondering about whether or not you ve impr oved. You either lift the weight or you don t. It s as simple as that. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to compete. Unfortunately, many l ifters are completely misinformed, overwhelmed, and totally clueless in regards to where they should begin. What Federation should I join? How do I choose my opening attempts? wear that silly looking one-piece? Why do I have to

These are all common and valid questions that need to be answered prior to compe ting. Therefore, in an attempt to simplify the process and encourage everyone to enter into a competition, I ve written this article that answers damn near every question a beginner lifter could possibly have. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to leave them at the end . First and foremost, what is powerlifting? Powerlifting, often confused with Olympic lifting, is an individualized sport in which competitors attempt to lift as much weight as possible for one repetition in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Each lifter is placed into a specific division and classified by several variables including weight class, age group, and experience level. Further subdivisions are made between what is known as raw a nd geared powerlifters, indicating whether or not the individual is wearing suppor tive equipment during the competition. Competitions are generally all-day events that begin with the squat, progress to the bench press, and conclude with the deadlift. Every lifter is allowed three attempts at each lift, making for a total of nine competition lifts throughout t he day. Three officials serve as judges and collectively decide whether or not a lift is considered good or bad. Each judge s decision is represented by a panel of red and wh ite lights (white indicating a good lift and red indicating a bad lift) displayed af ter each attempt. Two or three white lights are sufficient for a good lift while o ne or less is disqualified. At the end of the day, awards are presented to the lifters with the highest squa t, bench press, deadlift, and total within their division. A lifter s total is det ermined by the sum of his/her best lifts, and the individual with the highest to tal is considered the all-around strongest lifter in his division. Powerlifting equipment essentials The sheer number of products advertised as absolutely essential to boosting your total is mind blowing to say the least. While in theory, they all sound great ( and the jacked dudes on the advertisements certainly seem to enjoy them), the un fortunate reality is that most of them are crap. As such, to help you sort the g ood from the bad, the fundamentals from the gimmicks, I ve provided a complete lis t of what I consider to be the essentials of powerlifting equipment. Flat shoes: Go to any powerlifting meet and you ll inevitably see a majority of li fters squatting and deadlifting in Chuck Taylors (i.e. Converse All Stars). Unli ke running sneakers or other footwear with a raised heel, flat shoes such as Chu ck Taylors allow the lifter to distribute weight through the backside of the foo t and effectively spread the floor apart. Additionally, the bottoms of Chuck Taylo rs tend to be stickier than most shoes, which help to grip the floor and prevent

the lifter from slipping. In regards to the bench press, flat shoes aren t as advantageous, and many lifters (especially shorter ones) prefer sneakers with a raised heel in order to get mo re leg drive throughout the lift. High socks: As those who regularly deadlift are undoubtedly aware, bloody shins are a common occurrence. Regardless of whether or not you re a bleeder, it would b e wise to bring long socks to the competition and wear them during the deadlift. Not only have numerous federations already made this a requirement, but that guy (it s usually me) will inevitably show up and spurt blood all over the bar. Needle ss to say, the last thing you want to do is worry about smearing his blood into your cut-up shins while trying to break a deadlift record.

Lifting belt: There has always been a great deal of controversy in regards to th e use of lifting belts. Are they safe? Are they effective? Will they impede progress?

Personally, I m of the opinion that if used correctly, they can drastically improv e strength and performance and decrease the risk of injury. However, when abused , lifters can become dependent on the belt and may inadvertently neglect importa nt components of their training. Having said all that, most lifters can lift sig nificantly more weight with a belt on than they can without one. As such, if you r e going to compete in powerlifting, I strongly encourage you to invest in a nice belt, use it appropriately, and wear it while competing. elitefts pick: P2 Power Belt (pictured above) Wrist wraps: Wrist wraps are most commonly used during the bench press, but many lifters opt to wear them during the squat as well. Simply, wrist wraps help to stabilize the wrist (a relatively unstable joint), allowing lifters to safely (a nd somewhat more comfortably) handle heavier weight. elitefts pick: EFS Normal Wrist Wrap

Singlet: Singlets make you stronger. I lied. The only things singlets do are acc entuate the true size of your crotch and provide self-induced atomic wedgies. Re gardless, singlets are required in every federation, and if you aren t wearing a s inglet, you aren t competing. Occasionally, singlets will be sold at the competition, but don t count on it. You r e much better off buying one online. elitefts pick: Metal Bench Singlet

Finding a competition How do you find a competition? How do you know which federation to join? How do you know which weight class to compete in? I ll answer each of these questions and more below. PowerliftingWatch.com is a great website that details everything from upcoming m eets and lifter rankings to general powerlifting information. If you re searching

for a competition, PowerliftingWatch.com is going to be your most valuable resou rce. Choosing a federation: So how do you know which federation to compete in? If you peruse the forums, you ll inevitably find lengthy arguments over which federation s are supposedly the best or worst. Of course, everyone on the internet is a self-pr oclaimed expert, so no one can agree on anything. Unavoidably, this just brings us right back to where we started, and we re still clueless as to which federation is best. In my opinion, it doesn t matter. Find a federation or two that host regular compe titions in your area and start competing. As you gain more experience, you ll prob ably begin to favor some federations over others, but at least initially, it s inc onsequential. I should note that throughout my career, I ve competed in five diffe rent federations and, in no particular order, the SPF, IPA, and IPF are my top t hree. Choosing a weight class: This should be the least of your worries. Unless you re g oing to set a new world record, I don t see the point in cutting weight. If you co uld stand to lose some fat, by all means clean up your diet and drop the extra p ounds, but don t cut weight and dehydrate yourself just because you think you ll be more competitive at a lower weight. The great thing about powerlifting is that each competition is, first and foremo st, a competition against yourself. It s an accurate way to gauge how much you ve im proved since the previous competition and to see if your training routine was ac tually effective. Regardless of whether you place first or twelfth, if you don t m ake progress from your previous competition, something isn t right. Choose a weigh t class in which you feel most comfortable and focus on breaking your own person al records. Geared or raw: What s better geared or raw? Is geared cheating? Is raw for pansies? Is geared lifting the only way to succeed in powerlifting? Do raw lifters train harder? You name it, and I ve heard it. Every lifter and their mother has an opini on on geared versus raw powerlifting and neither side wants to give the other th e time of day. Well, I say malarkey. As a competitive powerlifter in both raw and geared divisi ons, each has pros and cons. Neither option is inherently better than the other, and what works for one person might not work for someone else. That being said, in the early stages of training, I think it s important to stick to raw lifting. Spen d time developing form/technique, take advantage of newbie gains, and get used t o the competition atmosphere. Then, after two to three years of consistent train ing, if gear is something you re interested in trying, go for it. Even if you deci de not to use it in competition, it can be a great tool to incorporate within yo ur training.

Sign up: Once you ve chosen a federation, competition, and weight class, all you n eed to do is sign up. Head over to the federation s website, search for their upco ming competitions, find the one you want to compete in, and send in the applicat ion form. Initially, you will need to pay for the competition as well as a membe rship fee, but once you re a member, you won t have to worry about renewing for a ye ar. Preparing for competition training Contrary to popular belief, signing up for a powerlifting competition doesn t requ ire you to make drastic changes in your current training program. In fact, assum

ing you re making consistent progress while following a well designed routine, the re isn t any reason to change much, if anything at all. That being said, when you have a deadline on which you need to be at your strongest, there are several com ponents that need to be taken into account. Establish your one-repetition maximum (1RM): If you ve never competed or haven t rec ently worked up to a 1RM in the squat, bench press, and/or deadlift, it would be wise to do so as far away from the meet as possible. By establishing a 1RM, you l l be able to see exactly how much progress you made throughout the training cycl e as well as determine appropriate opening attempts for each respective lift. Do not test your 1RM for all three lifts on the exact same day. Rather, take your time and do it over the course of one or two weeks. Establish your opening attempts: Once you know your current 1RM, it s time to esta blish your opening attempts for the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Despite be ing a relatively simple process, many lifters have trouble with this component a nd either open way too light or entirely too heavy. Below I ve outlined the method that I use to establish my opening attempts. This w as taught to me by Louie of Westside:

First attempt : Your first attempt should be easy! Louie always told me that you should be able to wake up at 2:00 a.m. and hit your opener. Generally speaking, this attempt should be 87 93 percent of your 1RM. Stronger individuals should go with the lower end of the percentage range while weaker lifters should go with t he higher end. Second attempt: Assuming you hit your opener, go for a five- to ten-pound person al record (PR) on your second attempt. Don t get overzealous and attempt a 30-poun d record. Remember, a five-pound PR is still a PR. If you miss your first attemp t, the choice is yours. You can either take your opener again or move directly t o your second attempt. It depends on how you feel. Third attempt: Assuming you hit your second attempt for a five- to ten-pound PR, it s time to go for broke and push the boundaries a bit. Be smart, listen to your body, and gauge how easy (or difficult) your previous attempt felt, but challen ge yourself and see what you can do. Take your openers two to three weeks out from competition: As the training cycle comes to a close, work up to your opening attempts roughly two to three weeks o ut from competition. Again, don t test all three lifts on the same day. Take your time and make it a process over the course of one to two weeks. One Week Out deload: Because powerlifting competitions are almost always held on w eekends, initiate your deload on the Saturday or Sunday prior to the meet. This allows for roughly six to seven days to relax, recover, and get in the competiti on mindset. Keep in mind, a deload doesn t involve sitting on your ass the entire week leading up to the meet. Go to the gym, foam roll, hit your mobility drills, and do some light glute ham raises, chin-ups, push-ups, cable pull thrus, and other core wo rk. Just keep it light and easy. Don t do anything too intense. Nutrition Similar to training, your nutritional habits prior to competing shouldn t drastica lly change. Keep them simple, easy to follow, and in line with your current goal s. Below I ve outlined my pre-meet nutrition guidelines: Eat sufficient calories to lose/maintain/gain weight, depending on your individu al needs and goals.

Keep protein at approximately 1 g/lb of body weight every single day unless you re cutting weight, in which case increase it to 1.3 1.5 g/lb/day. When in doubt, eat lean meats and veggies. Eat a variety of colors, flavors, textures, and scents. Supplement with creatine, Vitamin D, and calcium (if you don t get enough through your diet). After weighing in, stick to a normal diet, but make it a point to rehydrate. Also, feel free to eat a little bit more than usual, but stick to foods that you eat on a regular basis so as to avoid an upset stomach. What to bring to the meet Meet day is stressful enough as is, and the last thing you need is to be worried about little things that can easily be avoided. Having been through all of this myself, below I ve made up a brief list of items that you should consider prepari ng beforehand and bringing to the meet: Light, simple, and easily digestible food (These should be foods that you eat on a regular basis without gastrointestinal problems.) Coffee (Sometimes they sell it at the competition and sometimes they don t. If you drink coffee every day, make sure to bring it with you.) Lean protein such as chicken, turkey, and tuna Whole grain bread, brown rice, quinoa, and other carbohydrate sources that aren t overly filling or difficult to transport Apples, bananas, and pre-cut melon are my fruits of choice Peanut butter and jelly with natural peanut butter and sugar-free jelly on whole grain bread All essential powerlifting equipment needed for the meet (This should be packed in a duffle bag the night before.) Cash, cash, cash (because you never know) Music player, book, and/or friends to keep you company (You ll have a while betwee n attempts, so it s good to relax, hang out, and give your mind a rest.) Competing Finally, we ve made it to the competition so now what? Check your rack height and pin position: After you ve registered and found a place to keep all your food and equipment, you need to go to the platform and check y our rack height for the squat. Some federations use a walk out rack, in which case you only need to check your height and report it back to the appropriate meet d irector. However, if your federation uses a monolift, you ll need to check your he ight as well as pin position. Get this taken care of immediately so that you don t have to worry about it later on. Warm up: One of the most common mistakes among new competitors is the tendency t o start warming up too late. Remember, there are only going to be a few extra sq uat racks, bench presses, bars, and plates to warm up with (not to mention you a ren t the only person competing). I suggest beginning a general warm up roughly si xty minutes prior to the start of the competition and start taking weights for e ach respective lift approximately 30 45 minutes before your first attempt. As a ge neral rule of thumb, your final warm up should be about 90 percent of your first attempt. Between attempts: Between each attempt, you ll have anywhere between ten and thirt y minutes. Needless to say, this isn t ideal. Regardless, try to relax and hang ou t with your friends and family. Keep your mind focused on the task at hand, but don t stay riled up for hours on end. It s a long day and mentally tiring yourself o ut early on is going to screw you over as the day progresses.

Between lifts: Between each lift, you ll have anywhere between sixty minutes and t wo hours. Take this time to relax, eat, and get your mind away from the competit ion. While I personally don t suggest napping, I think that it s important to joke a round, unwind, and have fun with everyone at the meet. Keep in mind that you ll wa nt to start your general warm up roughly sixty minutes prior to your first attem pt, so don t doze off and leave yourself with only fifteen minutes to prepare for the next lift. Have fun, meet new people, and keep getting strong! The powerlifting community as a whole is one of the most generous, kind, and sup portive groups of individuals in the world. While it s obviously important to focu s on the meet and set new personal records, don t forget to enjoy the moment and l augh with the people around you. Introduce yourself to someone new, cheer for a complete stranger, and have the time of your life. Once the meet is over, relax, eat, and evaluate your next plan of attack. What d id you do well? What needs improvement? What are your new goals and how will you achieve them? Welcome to the world of powerlifting. We re glad you decided to join the party. Bu t now the question becomes do you have what it takes to stay? Never minimal. Nev er maximal. Always optimal.