INTRODUCING POWERLIFTING
Figure 1. From left to right are posing Terry Todd, Jan Todd, Doug Young, and Robert Young. The photo was captured by Mike Graham at the Texas Athletic Club.
There is no doubt that Powerlifting is a sport that is here to stay for a long time. As a relatively new sport, it attracted many followers and became widespread. However, there is a twist in the plot.
Even though Powerlifting is a modern or just an alternative type of lifting weights, chances are that it is one of the most ancient forms of competitive sport. Examining this statement with pure logic makes sense. Primal instincts have always indicated that exhibiting superhuman strength was:
An admirable accomplishment that no one could deny.
A manhood meter.
A strong motive that habitually led others to enter a "competition," only to prove who is the most muscular man alive.
Still, it remains a maybe biased conclusion based on an assumption.
Luckily, historians came to validate this hypothesis many years ago. Particular findings in sites where ancient civilizations thrived (Greece, Rome, Egypt) shed light on this. More specifically, inscriptions on rocks and marbles testify that someone powerful once could lift a significant load of mass heavily, relying only on his raw strength. It is safe to assume that this performance also acted as a hobby, while the lifting objects of that time consisted of stones, logs, rocks, and boulders.
Taking all these facts into account, historians realized that Powerlifting was indeed a valid form of sport, almost identical to what it is nowadays since to move those objects, someone had to elaborate the same muscle groups we use today in the exact same way. In other words, these people were deadlifting.
In modern times, Powerlifting as we know it started to thrive in the mids of the 20th century. Since its first appearance and for the following 15 consecutive years, Powerlifting has gained solid ground, constantly captivating much attention and hype.
During that period, the only weight-related sports were Olympic Lifting and Bodybuilding. These sports were well-established and with many admirers around the globe. Shortly after the emergence of the new weight-lifting sport, both Olympic lifters and Powerlifters got into a pointless argumental spiral: which of the two strength-relating sports would prevail? The Olympic lifting that is respected and being around for many years already, or the newly formed, up-and-coming Powerlifting?
In reality, these two sports were quite different; Olympic Lifting required lifting weights above the head, which was nowhere to be found in Powerlifting. The common denominator was their reliance on strength, the bone of contention which ignited this rivalry.
If we look deeper, there is no such thing as which of the two sports is better. It is ultimately a choice based on what someone likes or not when training. It all comes down to what gives someone joy.
On the one hand, there is Olympic Lifting, a sport of high complexity requiring precision in technique, a great degree of flexibility, balance, and, the most challenging of all, coordination. It is a demanding sport, but let's face it, this is the beauty of it; hard work and training can lead to truly remarkable results.
On the other hand, there is Powerlifting, a sport that comes down to absolute simplicity. There are no specific prerequisites to lift. The emphasis is solely on raw strength and how to build it progressively. Plus, there is more flexibility in the training schedule. By this comparison, we can only understand one thing. Powerlifting comes more naturally. Thus, training for the sport mimics everyday movements, which is easier for an individual to relate to.
At this point, it is time to clarify that this is not only an informative post to define what the sport has to offer and what it demands but a profoundly appreciating one of the essence of Powerlifting.
The two universal traits of world-class athletes of any sport are sacrifice and singlemindedness. By binding these together, you get "excellence." This particular excellence is what the ten most influential people on the field have shown in their Powerlifting careers, which shifted and molded what the sport is today. Terry and Jan Todd, Larry Pacifico, Marvin Phillips, Rickey Crain, Doug Young, Mike MacDonald, Vince Anello, Don Reinhoudt, and Ron Collins form the Powerlifting Hall of Fame. Their experiences and insights gave the theoretical basis to the sport, alongside their secret routines, psychological tactics, particular habits, and strategies. Terry Todd once said,
"There is a sense in which this total dedication to a sport tends to blur the clarity and diminish the importance of everything else in a person's life."
That's what Powerlifting truly means.
References
Todd, T. (1978). Inside Powerlifting. Contemporary Books, Inc.
