26 Mar Powerlifting: Then and Now
By Danny Bellmore
Training – When I first made a go at powerlifting back in the early 90’s, there was a mere fraction of the incredible amount of training knowledge readily available today. Back then, we worked from a training program written by Russ Barlow. The program was basically the same routine for everyone, with a different number, based on training percentage, for each member. The training was rooted in the big three lifts and established a well-rounded base. The only sources of training knowledge at the time were Powerlifting USA magazines or going to a big meet. Even at the big meet, we would have to first hope to find someone that would even converse with you, let alone share some knowledge from experience.
[wa-wps]
Fast forward to 2017 and there are a myriad of options for programming. There have been several published books and a seemingly endless supply of ‘information’ (good and bad!) on the internet today. You can literally hire a coach from anywhere in the world and do all programming and communication via emails and/or text. The top programs place an emphasis on weak point training in lieu of the one size fits all “cookie cutter” programs. I caution you to be very mindful and particular about the program and coach that you buy into because you don’t need any credentials to be a coach, or write a program these days.
Gear – This has been a widely-debated topic over the years. Single ply gear was all the rage when I first started. We basically wiggled our asses into a suit that was about three sizes to small and hoped to hell it didn’t blow out. There was no type of suit slipper’s back then, so we used ultra-sheer pantyhose to get into the suits. We used a closed back style shirt and being choked out by the shirt collar was not all that uncommon. For the deadlift, we wore a squat suit that was looser than the one we used to squat with.
Now we have single ply and multi ply gear that comes in many different fabrics – from poly to canvas and even some hybrid stuff. The industry has come a long way and now there is gear for any type of lifting that you are interested in.
Federations – In 1994 there were 4 major players in the game USPF, ADFPA, APF and the IPA. You had some little players in the game including, but not limited to the APA. The USPF and ADFPA were IPF affiliated. The APF was – and still is – affiliated with the WPC. Lastly, the IPA has no affiliation with any other world organization to the best of my knowledge. The USPF and ADFPA is now what we know as the USAPL.
The powerlifting world is now watered down with so many different organizations and federations that it has become almost comical. One ‘world record’ after another is being broken or a new record number is being set. In the end, it is the validity of lifting that has really taken a hit. This is especially due to all the different organizations and the judges not adhering to the rules of said organizations.
Social Media – This has been as much a curse as it has been a blessing. There is so much knowledge out there with a couple of keystrokes and a mouse click or two. In order to remain top of who is legit and who is a complete fraud, you must take the time to learn and validate who is and who is not an expert. Just because a person has X number of followers does not indicate a damn thing about ability, knowledge or application. Do your (own!) research. The information is out there for you, all you need to do is take the time to look and read.
The current and evolving technology trend means there are videos of almost everyone’s lifts. Nothing will get social media buzzing more than a high squat that gets a pass, even though the static camera angles are not a good replacement for being there to witness (and potentially judge) the lift. The added benefit of high resolution video and photography we have today allows a lot more to be captured. Don’t think for one minute that high squats were not passed in the yesteryears before video because they were. I was always told that there are times that you must let stuff go, to draw in the people and grow the sport and business.
Equipment – The main piece of equipment that has changed over the years is the monolift. From their inception, the only time we saw a mono was when we attended the national level meets. Here in Maine, we were fortunate to have one for our state meets. We backed out of jack stands to warm up, and then used the monolift on the platform. The Texas power bar was the only bar used in meets. There was no special squat bar, bench bar or deadlift bar. The Squat bars are now up to 1 3/8 thick and that is a considerable difference over the 1 inch used before. These squat bars can handle great plate loads with plenty of collar room for more. Now they have a specialty bench bar that is 5 to 10lbs heavier than the Texas power bar. The collars are longer for heavier loads and easier side spotting. Deadlift bars are a smaller diameter bar with more spring to them giving more whip to the bar. There is an advantage to this bar no matter if you pull sumo or conventional.
At the end of the day, everything, including powerlifting is ever-evolving. In ways – powerlifting is better and worse at the same time. Don’t buy into the hype that everything was just kosher back in the ‘old days.’ It sure as hell was NOT.
There will be and always have been issues, rivalries and contempt in powerlifting. I didn’t even get into the days of the rise of the APF with Ernie Frantz and the backlash this brought! Maybe we leave this for another article!
Just remember, though I’ve named quite a few changes/differences in lifting: the BIGGEST difference between now and then would be – everyone didn’t come off as an expert, most newbies knew their place and everything was not analyzed 100x over, discussed, debated and posted on the internet!
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