Powerlifting Records: How to Compare Your Lifts to the All-Time Greats

Some individuals had a singular introduction to bodily power. At one level, they could have seen an individual carry a heavy weight — whether or not it was a member of the family shifting an “immovable” piece of furnishings, a muscular athlete finishing a “bench press problem” on tv, or a superhero hoisting a automobile overhead to save lots of the day — and the spark was ignited.

These feats of power left an indelible impression and, ultimately, they discovered their manner into the health club and started growing their very own muscular prowess. Just a few of essentially the most simple avenues for lifters to check themselves is with “the large three” powerlifts — the squat, bench press, and deadlift.

Credit score: Actual Sports activities Pictures / Shutterstock

Aggressive powerlifting provides an opportunity for lifters of any age, measurement, or expertise to check themselves to modern-day friends in addition to legendary lifters of the previous. Right here’s a have a look at what it takes to finish outstanding powerlifting performances.

Powerlifting Information

What’s Powerlifting?

To start on web page one, it’s essential to grasp what “powerlifting” really is. Whereas it’d sound counterintuitive, powerlifting is distinctly completely different from weightlifting. The game of weightlifting, as introduced within the Summer time Olympics, challenges athletes with the snatch and clear & jerk actions. Powerlifting checks athletes with the again squat, flat bench press, and deadlift (both standard stance or sumo) to finish a “complete” weight lifted for the competition.

The game of powerlifting formally started in 1964 with “The Powerlifting Event of America” being the primary organized and acknowledged competitors of the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Maybe not coincidentally, the competition was held in York, Pennsylvania — house of US Olympic weightlifting coach and founding father of York Barbell, Bob Hoffman.

As powerlifting continued to develop, each throughout america and internationally. By the Eighties, it was thought of a full-fledged, albeit area of interest, aggressive sport. From the late Nineteen Seventies till the early 2010s, it garnered sufficient widespread consideration to warrant a devoted print journal, Powerlifting USA, which showcased sport-specific information and coaching options.

As the game of powerlifting grew in recognition, leisure lifters discovered a relatable outlet for testing their power. Whereas Olympic weightlifting is basically thought of to depend on important train method, the large three powerlifts are comparatively extra easy to study, making them extra accessible to the common gym-goer.

Powerlifting, usually, has practically change into synonymous with merely making an attempt to construct sheer power within the health club. Nonetheless, the game itself has at all times revolved round three foundational workout routines carried out beneath particular standards. If lifts are carried out with completely different or “unfastened” method, they’re ineligible for an official file.

Squat

In a powerlifting competitors, the barbell again squat is the primary of three actions examined. Relying on the precise federation and ruleset, the barbell is both supported on squat stands or in a monolift — a hydraulic-assisted machine which permits lifters to arrange in a squat stance with out repositioning their toes.

Powerlifting squats are universally examined by requiring lifters to descend till their hip joint is parallel to their knee joint. That is the place the widespread cue “squat to parallel” comes from. Opposite to some widespread opinions, “parallel” will not be essentially associated to the lifter’s thigh place as a result of closely muscled legs could not seem to succeed in parallel when the hip is at an acceptable depth.

Lifters could use both a low bar or excessive bar setup, relying on their particular person choice. The important thing efficiency issue is reaching the goal depth, and the lifter’s physique kind and mobility will dictate their most effective method.

Bench Press

The flat barbell bench press is the only real take a look at of pure higher physique power in a powerlifting competitors. Nearly all of powerlifting federations have grip requirements, typically sustaining a grip that has at the least one finger involved with the pre-set ring markers on the barbell. Lifters should maintain their head, shoulders, and glutes involved with the bench all through the whole press, whereas additionally maintaining their toes touching the ground.

The barbell is lowered to chest-level and should stay involved with the athlete’s physique till a decide provides the “press” command to start the ascent. This ensures a constant depth marker for every lifter whereas serving to to stop momentum from bouncing the bar off of the chest. The bar is then held within the locked out place till the lifter receives a decide’s command to “rack.”

Controversially, lifters could initially arrange with an arch of their decrease again which can add urgent stability and cut back their vary of movement, making the carry much less difficult. Nonetheless, some federations, such because the Worldwide Powerlifting Federation (IPF), have taken steps to restrict the diploma of arch lifters could use.

Deadlift

“The meet doesn’t begin till the bar hits the ground,” is a standard phrase heard in powerlifting circles to emphasise the significance of the competition’s remaining motion — the deadlift. With the bar starting on the ground, lifters should full a deadlift in a single clean movement. Jerking or “hitching” the bar up the thighs disqualifies the carry. Full lockout is achieved when the lifter’s legs are straight and their shoulders are behind the bar.

In competitors, powerlifters will not be allowed to make use of lifting straps, however can seize the bar with a double-overhand, combined (over/underhand), or hook grip (grabbing the thumbs alongside the underside of the bar).

Web meme tradition appears to take pleasure in claiming that “sumo deadlifts don’t depend,” however no precise powerlifting group has fallen in step with that strategy. Lifters are free to decide on their very own deadlift stance — standard, sumo, or someplace in between — in response to their particular person leverages and optimum energy output.

Complete

The powerlifter’s complete is the sum of their finest efficiency in every of the three lifts. Powerlifters get three makes an attempt for every motion, with solely the best weight being tallied for his or her complete. If a lifter fails all three makes an attempt at an train (aka “bombs out”), they’re unable to publish a complete.

Informally and out of doors of competitions, some lifters acknowledge benchmarks equivalent to “the 1,000-pound membership” (454 kilograms), the place a 1,000-pound/454-kilogram complete is reached within the large three lifts in a leisure health club setting.

In competitors, an elite complete is mostly thought of to be 10-times the lifter’s physique weight. Nonetheless, in males’s heavier weight lessons (typically 220-pounds/100-kilograms), totals approaching 2,000 kilos (907 kilograms) are thought of “elite,” and are the signal of a extremely superior power athlete. Ladies’s opponents have best totals which might be related, however diminished barely.

Powerlifting Divisions and Classes

Rivals within the sport of powerlifting are separated not solely by weight class, however by age group, intercourse assigned at beginning, and the use (or lack) of supportive tools. Every of those variables are related elements to figuring out powerlifting data.

Weight Courses

Within the majority of powerlifting federations, weight lessons are damaged up in roughly 15 to 25-pound (seven to 11 and a half-kilogram) increments. The IPF — the oldest, largest, and arguably most well-known federation — has eight weight lessons for women and men, all utilizing barely adjusted categorizations in comparison with different federations. Probably the most generally discovered weight lessons are as follows:

Males’s weight lessons:

52 kilograms (114 kilos)
56 kilograms (123 kilos)
60 kilograms (132 kilos)
67.5 kilograms (148 kilos)
75 kilograms (165 kilos)
82.5 kilograms (181 kilos)
90 kilograms (198 kilos)
100 kilograms (220 kilos)
110 kilograms (242 kilos)
125 kilograms (275 kilos)
140 kilograms (308 kilos)
140+ kilograms (above 308 kilos)

Ladies’s weight lessons:

44 kilograms (97 kilos)
48 kilograms (105 kilos)
52 kilograms (114 kilos)
56 kilograms (123 kilos)
60 kilograms (132 kilos)
67.5 kilograms (148 kilos)
75 kilograms (165 kilos)
82.5 kilograms (181 kilos)
90 kilograms (198 kilos)
90+ kilograms (above 198 kilos)

At competitions, athletes sometimes weigh-in not more than two hours earlier than the beginning of the competition they usually should weigh beneath the burden cap for his or her class. This helps to make sure that athletes in a given weight class are competing at typically comparable physique sizes.

Age Teams

Equally, age divisions are most frequently categorized by youthful athletes (Sub-Junior and Junior), open opponents (with out particular age tips), and Masters (lifters over 40 years previous).

Sub-Junior lifters are typically 14 to 18 years previous, whereas Junior lifters are 19 to 23 years previous. To extra precisely designate opponents, Masters athletes are sometimes sorted into 5 to 10-year increments. For instance, “Masters I” could incorporate ages 40 to 49; “Masters II,” ages 50 to 59; “Masters III” would come with 60 to 69-year previous opponents, and “Masters IV” collectively compares athletes over 70.

Males and Ladies

Nearly all of powerlifting federations require athletes to compete in response to the gender they have been assigned at beginning. Lately, this has change into an more and more sophisticated state of affairs significantly with regard to transgender power athletes.

The categorization, and whether or not or not the athletes can compete in any capability, typically comes right down to the person powerlifting group. For instance, USA Powerlifting (USAPL) doesn’t allow female-to-male athletes to compete within the Males’s division. The USAPL stands by their constant stance which forbids any athlete from competing when utilizing exterior androgens for therapeutic use, whether or not it’s a transgender athlete sustaining normal-range testosterone ranges or an getting old cisgender males’s competitor sustaining related testosterone ranges.

The USAPL additionally doesn’t enable male-to-female athletes to compete within the Ladies’s division, citing probably lingering physiological advantages the athlete could expertise from the interval earlier than transition. Nonetheless, the info on these advantages is combined, and probably negligible. (1)

The IPF, nonetheless, follows the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) tips concerning transgender athletes. Within the IPF, in addition to a number of different organizations, male-to-female athletes could compete within the Ladies’s division so long as they meet particular standards equivalent to declaring their gender identification and sustaining it for at least 4 years, in addition to documenting decreased testosterone ranges for at the least 12 months previous to competing.

The IPF additionally permits female-to-male powerlifters to compete so long as their testosterone ranges are throughout the regular vary for Males’s opponents.

Uncooked vs. Geared up

Uncooked lifting and geared up lifting are two of essentially the most important forks within the highway in relation to aggressive powerlifting. The differentiation is constructed round whether or not or not the powerlifting wears specialised clothes to help and help every motion.

In uncooked powerlifting, athletes sometimes use a weightlifting belt to help their core, knee sleeves to stabilize their knee joints throughout the squat, and wrist wraps for joint stability throughout the bench press. Knee wraps, which differ from sleeves and supply extra direct profit to growing squat power, are typically thought of a slight variation of uncooked lifting — typically designated “uncooked with wraps.”

With geared up lifting, opponents are allowed to make use of specifically designed shirts and/or briefs (shorts) which assist within the completion of the lifts. The distinctive gear is basically designed to be extraordinarily stiff, which resists bending or flexing. Whereas this may be a bonus in locking out the burden on a given train, it additionally makes the descent more difficult.

Geared up gear is designed in quite a lot of “ranges” — single-ply or multi-ply — relying on the quantity of help supplied, as decided by the thickness and development of the gear. Geared up lifting typically permits the usage of heavier weights in competitors.

Nonetheless, geared up data within the deadlift are, apparently, hardly ever increased than uncooked deadlifts. Possible as a consequence of commonplace deadlift method, beginning within the backside place, which doesn’t enable briefs to offer important help.

Present Powerlifting Information

For some normal context, right here’s a quick snapshot of a number of powerlifting data which at present stand (as of the time of this writing).

Squat

305 kilograms (672.4 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Austin Perkins — 74.9 kilograms (165 kilos)

342.5 kilograms (755 kilos) Males’s Multi-Ply — Gerard McNamara — 60 kilograms (132 kilos)

366 kilograms (806.9 kilos) Uncooked with Wraps — Chris Pugh — 82.1 kilograms (181 kilos)
471 kilograms (1,038.3 kilos) Males’s Single-Ply — Ed Coan 109.8 kilograms (242 kilos)
490 kilograms (1,080.2 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Ray Williams — 140+ kilograms (308+ kilos)
162 kilograms (354.9 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Tiffany Chapon — 47.6 kilograms (105 kilos)
263 kilograms (578.7 kilos) Ladies’s Single-Ply — Carola Garra — 67.1 kilograms (148 kilos)
305 kilograms (672.4 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked with Wraps — Hunter Henderson — 82.1 kilograms (181 kilos)
285.5 kilograms (629.4 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Sonita Muluh — 90+ kilograms (198+ kilos)
367.5 kilograms (810.2 kilos) Ladies’s Multi-Ply — Amber Hanson — 90 kilograms (198 kilos)

Bench Press

205.5 kilograms (453 kilos) Males’s Masters II Uncooked — David Ricks — 93 kilograms (205 kilos)
213.4 kilograms (470.7 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Eddie Berglund — 67.1 kilograms (148 kilos)
272.8 kilograms (600.7 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — John Haack — 99.8 kilograms (220 kilos)
351.5 kilograms (774.9 kilos) Males’s Single-Ply — Kostiantyn Musiienko — 99.8 kilograms (220 Kilos)
408.3 kilograms (900 kilos) Males’s Multi-Ply — Jason Coker — 89.8 kilograms (198 kilos)
142.9 kilograms (315 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Cosette Neely — 44 kilograms (97 Kilos)
146 kilograms (321.8 kilos) Ladies’s Masters I Uncooked — Jennifer Thompson — 67.1 kilograms (148 kilos)
182.5 kilograms (402.3 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Emily Hu — 59.8 kilograms (132 kilos)
225 kilograms (496 kilos) Ladies’s Single-Ply — Rhaea Stinn — 82.1 kilograms (181 kilos)
240.4 kilograms (530 kilos) Ladies’s Multi-Ply — Laura Phelps-Stackhouse — 74.8 kilograms (165 kilos)

Deadlift

408.7 kilograms (901 kilos) Males’s Single-Ply — Ed Coan — 99.8 kilograms (220 kilos)
410 kilograms (903.9 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — John Haack — 89.8 kilograms (198 kilos)
440 kilograms (970 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Benedikt Magnusson — 140+ kilograms (308+ kilos)
457.5 kilograms (1,008.6 kilos) Males’s Multi-Ply — Andy Bolton — 140+ kilograms (308+ kilos)
487.5 kilograms (1,074.7 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Danny Grigsby — 124.7 kilograms (275 kilos)
200 kilograms (440.9 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Heather Connor — 47.6 kilograms (105 kilos)
222.5 kilograms (490.5 kilos) Ladies’s Single-Ply — Carrie Boudreau 55.8 kilograms (123 kilos)
275 kilograms (606.2 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Kristy Hawkins — 74.8 kilograms (165 kilos)
290 kilograms (639.3 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Tamara Walcott — 89.8+ kilograms (198+ kilos)
315 kilograms (694.4 kilos) Ladies’s Multi-Ply — Becca Swanson 89.8+ kilograms (198+ kilos)

Complete

838.4 kilograms (1,848.5 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Taylor Atwood — 74.8 kilograms (165 kilos)
985 kilograms (2,171.5 kilos) Males’s Single-Ply — Oleksandr Kutcher — 74.8 kilograms (165 kilos)
1,033.5 kilograms (2,254.2 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — John Haack — 89.8 kilograms (198 kilos)
1,152.5 kilograms (2,540.9 kilos) Males’s Uncooked — Jesus Olivares — 140+ kilograms (308+ kilos)
1,360.8 kilograms (3,000 kilos) Males’s Multi-Ply — Donnie Thompson — 140+ kilograms (308+ kilos)
428.5 kilograms (944.6 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Tiffany Chapon — 47.6 kilograms (105 kilos)
687.5 kilograms (1,515.6 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Kristy Hawkins — 74.8 kilograms (165 kilos)
726 kilograms (1600.5 kilos) Ladies’s Single-Ply — Agata Sitko — 82.1 kilograms (181 kilos)
725 kilograms (1,620.4 kilos) Ladies’s Uncooked — Tamara Walcott — 89.8+ kilograms (198+ kilos)
816.5 kilograms (1,800 kilos) Ladies’s Multi-Ply — Laura Phelps-Stackhouse — 74.8 kilograms (165 kilos)

References

Roberts TA, Smalley J, Ahrendt DEffect of gender affirming hormones on athletic efficiency in transwomen and transmen: implications for sporting organisations and legislatorsBritish Journal of Sports activities Drugs 2021;55:577-583.

Featured Picture:Actual Sports activities Pictures / Shutterstock

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