How Powerlifting Explains The World

I. In the Beginning…

I have been a competitive powerlifter for more than 30 years now. I started while I was still in middle school in the early 1980’s. Information on training specifically to get stronger in the three powerlifting movements- the back squat, bench press and deadlift was pretty hard to come by in a pre- internet world. The only real sources of information I could find were a book by Terry Todd called “Inside Powerlifting” and later the magazine that all powerlifters read back then, Powerlifting USA. While these were a good start, powerlifting back then and really still today is very much like some Native American cultures. The only real history is the oral history that has been passed down for many generations by people trying to become as strong as humanly possible. If you were really going to learn, you had to find some powerlifters who could teach you the techniques of each lift, the best training programs to help you get stronger and the rules of lifting in a competition. Like any oral history there are certain themes that are repeated over and over until they become part of the traditions and rituals taught to all. Powerlifting has many such themes but the most often recited are things I have used both in powerlifting and in every other part of my life since I first started picking things up and putting them down at age 13.

II. The Meet Don’t Start Until the Bar Hits the Floor!

Believed to have been first uttered by Don Blue, a world champion powerlifter back in the 1970’s who got his start in the sport while incarcerated in the Kansas State Penitentiary. Don was famous for his ability to “come from behind” in the deadlift to win contests by large margins. In the sport of powerlifting you perform the three disciplines in this order, back squat then bench press and finally the deadlift. You get three attempts to register your best lift in each discipline. Don could fall behind after the squat, be further behind after the bench press and still pull so much more weight in the deadlift that he would have the highest total weight lifted. Most weight lifted in the total is exactly how you win a powerlifting contest. So whenever other lifters would trash talk Don after beating him in the squat he would reply with “The meet don’t start until the bar hits the floor!”. Basically, this is powerlifting’s version of Yogi Berra saying “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!”. Now it has been my experience in life that things are never out of the realm of possibility if you are willing to work hard enough, sacrifice often enough and be willing enough to put yourself out there. Don Blue knew this to be true and his words have inspired many a lifter to keep going even when things looked pretty bleak. Plus, powerlifters love good trash talk.

III. Big Is Not Strong, Strong is Strong

Perhaps the most influential voice in the powerlifting world belongs to Louie Simmons. Louie’s West Side Barbell is probably the most famous gym in the sport and his training methods have been used by many professional sports teams, Olympic athletes and MMA fighters. Louie used to tell all of his athletes the above phrase. What he was reminding them is that if you are training for strength there is no use doing anything that does not result in strength gains. So, don’t worry if your quads got bigger if it didn’t result in a bigger squat. I find this to be true in all areas of my life. When you simplify your efforts and hone in on the results you want to achieve you will get there a lot faster than if you try to do too many things at once. I once had a manager who introduced me to the idea of the “vital few”. The “vital few” was the idea that in any endeavor you should find the 2 or 3 things that matter for success and discard the “useless many” things that don’t matter. This idea has informed both my training and my sales plans for years. It is also a good explanation for people who look at me and don’t believe I can still bench press close to 500lbs!

IV. If You Want to Bench Press More, You’ve got to Bench Press More

I’m really not sure who said this one first, but I have heard it repeated many times by an entire generation of lifers. The meaning behind it is actually best summed up by a quote from an athlete in an entirely different sport: “I don't fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who practiced one kick 10,000 times."- Bruce Lee. In order to improve in any lift, be it bench press, squat or deadlift you have to practice the technique over and over. And that means practicing the same technique you use during a competition. Spending too much time on lifts that aren’t part of a competition or practicing variations of lifts is a fairly good way to waste your training time. It isn't just the practice that matters, it is also the intention. I believe it was famous Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi who said, "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect". So if you want to get better at anything- lifting, sales, management, relationships, parenting, etc. you not only have to practice but you have to do it with the intention of doing it great.

V. So Let it Be Written?

There are plenty more examples of good life advice gleaned from my 30 years in heavy metal gyms around the world. But I am not going to give it all away. Like I said at the start, the history of powerlifting is really an oral history. You have to go hang around by a power rack and look for the guy (or girl) with the chalked up and calloused hands, a wide back and scarred up shins. Trust me you can learn more from him (or her) in a couple of hours than you will in a couple of years in the classroom. All you have to do is listen. Well that and learn to squat. Deep. But that seems like a small price to pay.