27 Apr Five Things I Love About Powerlifting

By Jonathan Byrd

The sport of powerlifting has exploded over the past few years. A lot of that is specifically tied to the growth of Crossfit. I really don’t care for the reason, or if anyone even likes Crossfit, but it has helped.  Of course with that has come a lot of things that I truly dislike in the sport.  If you own donut socks, I’m talking to you.  Still, there is so much to love about our sport.

[wa-wps]

First, large money meets are back! Yeah, I said BACK, people have forgotten that the WPO had events that paid out several thousand per weight class over a decade ago. Money will crossover from other sports and athletes. Gracie Davis did an amazing job putting huge money up for the US Open and got most of the best lifters on the planet to show up. If you dislike the federation, promoter, venue, whatever, she put on a top notch event.  Events of that caliber can only help the sport. If you truly love this sport, then the idea of making some actual  money has to give you a hard-on!

With the explosion of the sport, the meets now are massive. This is a blessing and a curse! More people means longer meets, which can be a challenge for the lifters and handlers. The advantage to that is that meet promoters make more money and often put that money back into more events. You don’t see as many events in tiny gyms, or cheap hotels like I dealt with when I started out. Jesse Rogers has been putting on meets for years where he takes part of the entry fees and adds it to a prize purse. Again, love or hate the federation, this is a great idea and good for the sport. The more people that enter, the more money to be won. Another great example is the XPC meet at the Arnold. It is massive now! Two days of none stop lifting, from elite to pro level lifters. Who can forget the main stage events that are being held at the expo again. Powerlifting is growing and these bigger meets are a big benefit.

Now that the sport has exploded, the level of quality information has exploded as well. I will never say there is only one way to train, I just think some are better than others. I was a good lifter before I ever got to know Brian Carroll, but with the knowledge I have gained from him, I am a better lifter. The days of everyone being secretive about their training are over. In the past, the only way to learn anything was to talk to someone at a meet, but you had to be lucky for them to share anything. Your other option was to travel and train at their gym. Today, there are quality gyms all over the country, and lots of people who can help you.

I love the closeness of the sport. I trade messages with other lifters weekly, from all over the country. We train at different gyms, use different styles of training, and mostly compete in different styles (raw v.  multi-ply gear). This still doesn’t change quality advice and the friendships that I have made. The internet, specifically social media, will lead you to believe that because we are associated with different companies and brands that we are suppose to dislike each other. Honestly, that’s as about dumb as it gets. When push comes to shove, we are all just lifting weights. The people in the upper half of the strength world could care less about what brand you represent.  They only care what your total looks like.

The last and most important thing I love about powerlifting are the women! There are a lot of crazy strong and extremely good looking women in powerlifting. Hell, I met my girlfriend at the Arnold in 2016! As the sport grew, so did the number of women who were willing to give it a try. Watching the ladies at the US Open and then the SPF Women’s Pro/Am really threw a spotlight on the amazing lifting and numbers they are accomplishing. It really puts the gym bros in check and makes it great for me when I show my teenage students how weak they really are. Don’t worry though, I still hate your donut socks.

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Jonathan Byrd

Jonathan Byrd is a competitive powerlifter, with over 16 years of training experience. Byrd has been ranked nationally for the past 6 years under multiple categories. His total has ranked as high as second nationally in the 275 class. He currently has a best total of 2500lbs. Best individual lifts include a 1040lb squat, a 750lb bench press, and 735lb deadlift. His 1040lb squat ranks him 26th all-time squats at the 308 class. Jonathan currently trains out of Team Samson Gym in Jacksonville, FL. Before powerlifting Jonathan was a college athlete at Methodist University as both an all-conference football player and track athlete. Following graduation he played four years of arena football in various leagues.

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