One Sentence On Why Powerlifting

People powerlift in competition not only with other lifters but also with themselves in terms of mental strength because the sport is more of a mental challenge then anything else.

The Deadlift

The deadlift is the simplest event in all of powerlifting. When you set up you put your feet in place, squat down to grab the bar, position your hands correctly, and lift the weight when you are ready. When the weight is completely lifted up, around the waist, if must be held up for a second and a judge will give you a signal to lower weight back down to the ground. If the weight is dropped on the ground the lift will not count. A big issue with the deadlift is that sometimes people will try to hitch or shake the weight up. During the lift if the hitch occurs the judge will hit the red lights and the lift will not count. This is the last and final event so on the third attempt everyone has to go all out because it can make the difference of placing first or fifth. Most of the top placers finish all within 5lbs or 10lbs away from the next place so the last attempt on the deadlift is crucial.

The Bench Press

The Bench Press is my favorite lift. You must keep your feet on the ground in the same place at all times. If your foot moves just one inch you will get red lighted. There are spotters behind the bench and on the sides of where the weight is located. The spotter will assist you in lifting the weight off the bench. When you hold the weight up without shaking a judge will tell you to start allowing you to come down with the weight, after you come down you must pause it on your chest without any shaking or movement, a judge will tell you to press allowing you to come back up with the weight, and when you complete the lift a jusge will tell you to rack putting the weight up on the bench. If you shake at the top, shake with the weight on your chest, hit the posts with weight or move your feet at all it will be no good. Just like the squat you only get three attempts for bench press.

The Squat

The squat is the first event at a powerlifting competition because it takes the most energy. For the squat event everyone gets three attempts. For every attempt two of the three judges must give you a green light which means it is a good lift and if you don't get at least two green lights the lift does not count. At the beginning of the lift the bar and weights is on a monolift. You go under the monolift and put the bar on your traps. As soon as the weight is unhooked you must stand straight up, nodd your head, a judge will give you a sign to begin, you come down with the wieght so that your butt is below the back of your knees, a judge will you an up call when your low enough, and when you come back up a judge will give you rack call which allows you to put the weight back on the monolift. I think this is the toughest event and it involves the most work. If you do not follow any of the calls of the judges or you don't go down low enough you will get red lighted and your lift will not count. These rules are part of World Natural Powerliftng Federation. There are different rules for every federation.

Powerlifting

When I was in high school I joined a powerlifting team and we went to various competitions to compete. Powerlifting is a unique sport that puts people in competition with themselves. Many people start powerlifting to increase their strength and better themselves in other sports or for some people powerlifting is their only sport. There were about 15 members on my team and almost everyone held some kind of record, either state or national, in their age and weight class. There are several federations in the sport of powerlifting like WNPF, IPA, USAPL, and many more around the country. Powerlifting is a growing sport that is popular is some places but unknown in others. The weight classes were 114, 123, 132, 148, 165, 181, 198, 220, 242, 275, 308, and unlimited. There are also more weight classes in different federations of the sport. Powerlifting has three exercises that portray overall body strength; the squat, bench press, and dead lift. Most powerlifters compete in all events but there are specials where some lifters only compete in one or two of the three events. There are state, national, and world records for all of the events. After the events are completed by everyone at a competition the total of all of the three events are added up and you are given a trophy if you place in the top three. In team competitions the individuals that come in the higher places receive the most points and the team with the most points wins. Teams can participate in the raw division or the equipped division. The equipped division is when you where safety equipment for your lifts like a squat suit for the squat event, a bench shirt for the bench press event, and the dead lift suit for the dead lift event. These suits and shirts are very tight and keep your muscles tight and in place to prevent injury, but there are techniques to use with this equipment to move higher amounts of weight. The raw division is where people just wear regular clothes for their events.

Steroid Abuse

Many of my friends have used steroids to better themselves in sports. I know kids as young as 15 years old that have used anabolic steroids. These drugs can be injected with needle, taken orally with pills, or rubbed on skin. There are many different types of steroids that do a variety of things and people mix them together to get massive results. Sometimes steroids are taken in 8 or 12 week cycles where you change certain types and certain amounts to get the best results. Most people get steroids from online websites. Aggression is altered by steroids because the drugs increase your testerone levels. The aggression of steroids are usually refered to as roid rages. I believe roid rages are a much more psychological issue than physical, I believe that when someone is on anabolic steriods their anger is increased. Some of the health hazards steroids can cause are liver cancer, heart attacks, kidney damage, and disturbances of growth. Steroids are also known to be addictive because when people see the dramatic results that they obtain when they are on the drugs they can not stop and if they do they return back to their normal size again. There are plenty of withdrawal symtoms that are hard to deal with like mood swings, sleepiness, listlessness, depressed, change in sleep patterns, no sex drive, and loss of taste.

Health Benefits

There are several health benefits that people can obtain by lifting weights just as little as two or three days a week. One of the most important health benefits is the more muscle someone gains equals a much faster and efficient metabolism. Having a faster metabolism will burn more calories throughout the day; when more calories are burnt throughout the day it makes your body fat percentage decrease, which makes people look better.
Weight training and resistance exercise reduces bone deterioration, preventing osteoporosis, not allowing injury. Osteoporosis is a serious problem which makes peoples bones weak causing them to break in some cases. Some risk factors include smoking, genetics, taking certain medications, low bone mass, and being small or thin.
Uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, or kidney failure. There are no symptoms of high blood pressure; the only way to know if your blood pressure is high is getting checked which is why high blood pressure is dangerous. Any type of physical exercise can help lower someone’s blood pressure. Other ways to reduce high blood pressure are to quit smoking, lose weight, lower alcohol intake, and eat healthy. Weightlifting can also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and diabetes.
Some important benefits lifting does for me is it reduces colds, illnesses, stress, pulling muscles, but it increases flexibility. Weight lifting builds a stronger better immune system making it harder to get sick. Going to gym leaving your life problems behind will decrease stress levels. Stress affects everyone and is caused by hundreds of factors; personal relationships, not enough sleep, making low money, paying bills, too much money, death in the family, too much homework, poor weather, divorce and there are many more factors.