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What do you look for in Powerlifting?

Before we get more specific and recommend some powerlifting programs, we need to clarify the fundamentals of powerlifting in order to determine what to look for and what not to look for in powerlifting. It can be summarized in the following:

In Powerifting you do not look for:

• cosmetically improve
• gain muscle mass
• be more functional
• lose fat
• gain speed
• Gain flexibility (although some Bench Press seems to indicate otherwise)
• Gain strength (outside the basics)

In Powerlifting you look for:

• Move more kilos in powerlifting competitions

It may be that we progress peripherally in some or all of these aspects, in fact the strange thing is that we do not gain muscle throughout our progress in the Bench Press, but we have to be clear about what our objective is, since perhaps what we need for our objectives is a mixed strength-hypertrophy routine or Crossfit classes.

On the other hand, we have to put aside the false dichotomy between “good” and “bad” powerlifting routine. That is going to depend more on the athlete than on the routine itself, since for a novice he will progress in his squat by doing sets of 100 squats with body weight, that is to say, it is a good powerlifting routine but, is it the best routine for this? case? The answer is no. It may also be the case that the most optimal program for your progress cannot be executed by the athlete for motivational reasons or lack of time. In this case, the “best” program is the one that adapts to the athlete, even if it is not the most optimal in terms of potential progress.

Fundamentals of Powerlifting

Before we talk about the scientific principles of powerlifting, we need to talk about the process that makes training “work.” Scientific evidence continues to circulate around Hans Seyle’s Theory, the “General Adaptation Syndrome” (GAS). Enunciated in the 50s, it basically describes the adaptation process of our body when receiving some type of physical stress, such as the one it would receive in powerlifting training.

The concept behind this syndrome is that the stress our body receives is “toxic” and when our body receives this stress, it adapts to it and prepares itself to be able to prevent damage from future similar stress. In the case of weight training, our muscles receive stress that results in muscle micro-tears, which are the signal for our body to initiate various hormonal and metabolic responses and “fix” the damage. Through rest and food we repair this damage and obtain the reward of having adapted to this stress. The idea is to use powerlifting principles based on this concept to progress.

• Specificity: in order for our body to adapt to the stress generated by moving high loads in the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift, we must have a powerlifting routine that produces adaptations in this regard. That is, if you do not perform Bench, Squat and Heavy Deadlift on a regular basis, it is likely that we will not achieve the adaptations that we are looking for.
• Progressive overload: to obtain continuous adaptations over time, we have to expose our body to adequate doses of stress. Once the body has adapted to a certain dose of stress, the results we will obtain will decrease over time if the same dose continues to be applied. To avoid this, we will progressively increase the load to achieve new adaptations.
• Fatigue management: in the same way that we mentioned that in your powerlifting training you must subject your body to doses of stress, the recovery and adaptation of said dose is important so as not to fall into overtraining due to resting too little or to lose these adaptations due to rest too much
• Individual differences: everyone needs a different stimulus to achieve the same adaptations. Different people are capable of assimilating different volumes and workloads per session and this is one of the most forgotten principles in powerlifting. The problem is that highly individualized programs are harder to sell en masse, so this factor tends to be ignored.

What powerlifting routines work?

Sheiko 6-week routine for beginners: This routine has been created by the famous Soviet powerlifting coach Boris Sheiko, mentor to several champions of the discipline.

It is very interesting because it is quite reasonable in the specificity of the exercises, since more than half of all the work is powerlifting exercises or variants thereof. The progressive overload, being a powerlifting routine for novices, is done by self-regulation, so it respects individual differences quite well.

If you want to know more about this powerlifting routine (in the language of Shakespeare), enter here.

Madcow 5×5: This method was popularized by the famous weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay. The story goes that when one of his athletes complained about his 5×5 set every day, he proposed that if he managed to make a record, he would let him do only 1 set on Fridays. This routine is divided into a high volume Monday, a lighter Wednesday to recover, and a record breaking Friday. The progression is very simple and consists of adding 2.5kg each week to our Friday record.

For more information about the Madcow 5×5 in English, click here.

Bulgarian Method: This method rose to fame through the success of Ivan Adadjiev’s Bulgarian weightlifting team. We mention it because working works, but it is not a system that can be used in the real world since you are basically eight hours training, which was feasible for athletes in the Soviet sphere with the state apparatus behind it but not for people in the real world. . It is said that his basis was to do an exercise, rest/eat for half an hour, and then move on to the next.

This powerlifting routine is done by working to a maximum (DM) and then doing a set of descending (BO) with 70-80% of the weight. Every day we work two basic exercises and then an assistant exercise.

What powerlifting routines don’t work?

• Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5×5: These are good strength routines, but they are not powerlifting routines.
• Jason Blaha 5×5: it is a routine focused on aesthetics, so it is not a powerlifting routine.

conclusions

Really if what we want is to progress in strength, our training should be quite different from that of a pure powerlifting routine, however if what we want is simply to lift more kilos in competitions, we should not go beyond the basics and that it works. Being strong in Military Press is of no use to us beyond the transfer that there may be in Powerlifting, so it does not make much sense to train this exercise.

On the other hand, we can also try different objectives beyond pure and absolute strength, perhaps a powerbuilding routine is what will make us achieve objectives if we are also concerned about aesthetics. The important thing is to enjoy the process and share it with your Fitenium community.

A powerlifting belt is one of those products that any strength athlete should have. But of course, there are many powerlifting belts on the market and with very different characteristics, so it can be difficult to know which type of powerlifting belt is best for you. Don’t worry, in this article you will know what a lifting belt is for, the best material, measurements, how to use it and ultimately everything you need to know if you want to acquire a quality powerlifting belt that fulfills its function.

What is a powerlifting belt for?

A quality powerlifting belt supports your spine making it more stable under heavy loads. This is achieved by the pressure of the belt with your abdominal muscles, leaving everything as a block. That is why belts that are wider in the back than in the abdomen are not recommended, since where they have to press is on your abdomen.

When to use a powerlifting belt?

There are typically two streams of powerlifting belt users. On the one hand are the athletes who do not squat without their belt because the belt offers them more stability and on the other are those who avoid using the belt as much as possible because according to them the abdomen works more without using a belt.

So where is the middle ground? Well, according to a study by Life College in the United States, they studied 5 athletes to perform series of their 8RM with and without a powerlifting belt and they reached some interesting conclusions. First it is important to note that the athletes moved an average of 125.5kg for 8 repetitions, so we can say that they were advanced athletes.

The main difference between the sets with and without a belt was that the intra-abdominal pressure was reduced between 25 and 40% in the sets with a powerlifting belt, which translates into less stress on our lower back. They also noted some differences in the work on the hamstrings and quadriceps, higher in the series with a belt.

The conclusion we reached with this study is that it is very useful to protect the lumbar region in the heaviest series, but abusing the powerlifting belt in all your series can unbalance our lumbar muscles and generate dependence on the belt to work. For this reason, we recommend using the belt when we go to work with series of 3 or fewer repetitions, since that is when our lower back can be compromised and injure us.

Characteristics of the best powerlifting belts

Measurements: the most important width is that of the abdominal area and not that of the lumbar area, which is why, although it does not affect too much if it is wider in the lumbar area, it does not contribute anything special. For most athletes, a width of 10 centimeters is comfortable so that it fits perfectly between the kidneys and the hip bone. However, there may be cases of very small athletes, particularly women, who may do better with a small belt.

On the other hand is the thickness of the belt. The most common sizes are 10 and 13mm, and we recommend using the 13mm ones as they are more durable and robust. In this case, 13mm is the maximum thickness allowed in most powerlifting federations.

Material: Most belts on the market are made of leather or suede. This is quite simple, leather is stronger and more durable, so the best powerlifting belt is going to be made of leather and not some other material.

Closure: There are three types of closure on powerlifting belts: single-prong closure, double-prong closure, and toggle.

Although a double prong closure may seem more secure a priori, taking into account the materials used and the pressure to which the closure is subjected, one prong is exactly as secure and does not have the disadvantage of having to fit a second. tooth which is quite a cumbersome step.

On the other hand, some higher-end seat belts have a lever system that makes it even easier to fasten the seat belt. Therefore, depending on how much we want to spend, a belt with a simple tooth or lever closure are the best options.

How to wear a powerlifting or weightlifting belt.

Now that you know how to choose the best powerlifting belt, you also have to know how to put it on so that it is not useless or even damages your performance.

There is a very interesting trick to know where to put your seat belt, for this follow the following steps:
– Put on your seatbelt and fasten it just enough so that it stays stable. Don’t overtighten it.
– now get into a squat position and lower down to a full squat. The belt will move to where it is most useful to you.
– If we are going to do deadlifts, we recommend raising the belt slightly with respect to the squat position.

Here we can see Niels Gordjin deadlifting 420kg with a perfectly fitted belt.

Some recommendations

Adidas Leather Weightlifting Belt:

This belt is a good option for novice lifters because of its low price and high-quality material. The downside is that it is only 10mm thick so for more advanced lifters it may be a bit short.

Everlast 4 Padded Weight Lift Belt

With a similar price to the previous model, this powerlifting belt has the advantage of being 13mm thick, but the disadvantage of having a double tooth system which makes it difficult to fasten. Likewise, if you are concerned about quality and durability, this model is hard to beat for value for money.

Venum Hyperlift Leather Weightifting

This belt stands out for the high quality of the leather used and for the lumbar padding that provides extra comfort. It’s a great option for intermediate lifters who also don’t want to spend a million dollars on their powerlifting belt.