Woman and powerlifting

1. Find a Program or Coach

If you’re a newbie to the gym or a beginner powerlifter, start by finding a training program or a coach—or both. Online coaching is becoming more available, but you’re better off asking around and seeing if you can find someone local who can train you face to face. Once you get your feet on the ground, you can transition to an online coaching or training program, and maybe even organize your own women’s powerlifting group so you can train together.

To supplement your training program, I recommend “Jailhouse Strong” by Josh Bryant, “5/3/1 For Powerlifting Simple and Effective Training for Maximal Strength” by Jim Wendell, and the Westside Barbell website.

2. Master the Basic Lifts

Learn the proper form and technique for the three main power lifts: squat, bench, and deadlift. Mastering these lifts requires experience, which is why you should do your best to find a local coach. For more information on how to do each of these lifts, review Layne Norton’s articles “How to Squat,” “How to Bench Press,” and “How to Deadlift.”

Women's Powerlifting: What's The Best Way To Get Started

3. Schedule Your Training Sessions

Just like you schedule your work and the rest of your life, set up specific times when you will go to the gym to train. As you probably know by now, if you don’t set time aside to do something, you’ll find something else to fill that time—and it probably won’t be something as challenging as powerlifting practice.

Schedule your workout time—and your rests—so you can stay on track and work slowly but surely toward nailing your powerlifting skills. You’ll be lifting some heavy weights as part of your powerlifting training. That means you need more rest than you would with a typical bodybuilding split.

Warming up is also a critical part of powerlifting training. Make sure you make it part of your daily training, including on recovery days.

4. Attend A Local Powerlifting Meet

It’s fun and exciting to watch people lift heavy weights and smash records. It can also be highly motivating and a great way to network with other women new to the sport, as well as with the pros. There’s no better way to learn how a meet is run, how lifters train for contests over time, what they do in the runup to the event, and how the judges make their decisions.

Many powerlifting events are live streamed on powerliftingwatch.com and YouTube if you can’t attend a meet in person.

5. Set Realistic Goal Numbers

At first, your coach can help you set reasonable, attainable goals. As you progress, they can then help you identify records and rankings for each weight class and division that might be within your reach. Bookmark powerliftingwatch.com so you can start getting to know the culture.

6. Choose Your First Meet!

For your very first event, start with a local gym meet or a push-pull event. These kinds of meets are usually laid-back, fun events that won’t overwhelm you. Shoot for an event that’s at least 8-12 weeks away so you have ample time to prepare for it.

Before you start to train for a specific event, make sure you understand the rules and regulations of the federation sponsoring the meet. Your coach can help you with this, too!

7. Start Training!

You can get all your ducks in order, but you have to push them in the water so they’ll learn to swim! Once you have your coach or program lined up and have your gym clothes and gear ready, it’s time to hit the gym and start training! And when you hit it, hit it with energy and consistency!

SourcE: https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/womens-powerlifting-whats-the-best-way-to-get-started.html

Side effects of powerlifting

Powerlifting can quickly develop strength through increased muscle mass, but both the competitive and recreational versions of the activity may come with some negative consequences.

For competitive powerlifters, many of the most serious negative effects occur during powerlifting competitions. Pushing too much to increase the point score for any or all of the three exercises can lead serious injury, such as muscle tears, joint dislocations, broken bones and injuries suffered from an inability to control the weight during either the lift or the control phase of a particular exercise. The deadlift and squat portions of competition are especially fraught with risk when too much weight is used.

Another area of powerlifting that might result in negative consequences is by training too often. Hitting the gym too many times each week, foregoing your rest days or even working out too frequently in the weeks leading up to a competition can lead to diminished muscle mass, muscle strains, joint pain and fatigue. A solid powerlifting training schedule should include no more than three workouts each week.

Years of powerlifitng exercises may impact the muscles and discs in the back, especially if you don’t execute proper form each and every time. This also might occur if you do not wear a suitable weightlifting back brace during your squats, deadlifts and supplemental exercises. The result of back pain related to powerlifting can make bending, walking and twisting difficult and painful, and it may ultimately inhibit your ability to perform even light weight training over time.

Proper execution of form for each of the three main powerlifting exercises will go a long way toward mitigating most, if not all, of the most common negative effects of such a program. Also, incorporating supplemental exercises into your weightlifting program will improve the strength and resiliency of crucial stabilizing muscles throughout the body that will increase performance and reduce risk of injury. Also, training under the guidance of an experienced coach or instructor can help reduce the risk of injury as well.

What is strong? How can you measure it?

BenchPress: 1.5 x BW

Squat: 2.0 x BW

Deadlift: 2.5 x BW

Can you beat this?

10 reasons to start powerlifting

Are you on the fence about beginning powerlifting? Well, listen up!

Whether you want to improve athletic performance, compete in powerlifting, or just get strong, there may be a reason for you to begin powerlifting.

Here are my top 10 reasons to start powerlifting today:

#1 – Powerlifting Is The Safest Style of Weight Lifting

While all weight lifting (and exercise for that matter) has an element of danger, powerlifting is relatively safe.* Why? Because it rewards proper form. If you are powerlifting with the goal to set a personal best, your form absolutely must be spot-on. In bodybuilding, with the goal to fatigue muscles so they grow bigger (rather than focusing on the weight itself,) proper form isn’t essential and is sometimes thrown out the window.

With that ideal form, you are less likely to get injured.

*Obviously the safety part is up to you. Talk to your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen, and make sure you are under the supervision of a good coach if you’re new to the sport.

#2 – Increase Bone Density

All resistance training will increase your bone density. Stronger bones means you avoid osteoporosis when you’re older. Also, you’re less likely to break a bone during a pile-up in a corner or just during daily life.

Powerlifting, with its focus on heavier weights, should theoretically be the best training to improve your bone health.

#3 – Develop Full-Body Strength

When you do powerlifting exercises properly, each one is a full-body exercise. Each exercise requires you to drive power from your lower body through your upper body. Learning this technique is very useful for lifting heavy objects in real life (that you’d never be able to lift using your muscles in isolation.)

It’s no secret that most endurance sports do not develop full-body strength…

#4 – Improve Athletic Performance

Unlike in bodybuilding, the strength and power gains from powerlifting will actually help you in sports. For starters, you’ll end up running faster and jumping higher. With some on-bike work, you’ll be pushing those big gears easier than ever.

Play football? You’ll be able to tackle bigger players and/or run through anyone in your way. Play basketball? You’ll jump high enough for any rebound.

#5 – It’s Simple

There are three lifts. You learn those lifts, then do them. That’s it. While there are plenty of finer details for each lift, it’s easy to get the basics down quickly.

This is essential for anyone who already participates in skill-intensive sports (mountain biking, for instance) that take up a lot of time and energy.

#6 – It’s Rewarding

It feels great to see your weight totals go up every single week! It’s actually common to see steady gains if you’re on a good program.

With every little gain, you’re motivated to keep training. You don’t have to wait months or years to see progress – it’s almost instant gratification!

#7 – Build Muscle

Though you aren’t doing a plethora of exercises, each designed to enhance a certain body part, you’re still going to build some muscles and look good. While some of the popular 250+ lb powerlifters are just plain big, check out the guys weighing under 200lb and you’ll see some ripped, athletic physiques.

It’s no problem to maintain a 160lb body weight for bike racing and still have some fun and success with powerlifting.

#8 – Build Self-Confidence

Confidence in yourself is essential for so many things in life. Being more confident will bring you more success in life.

As a powerlifter, there’s something empowering about grabbing hold of a heavy, loaded barbell and ripping it off the ground or heaving it into the air! You just don’t get that with running or cycling.

#9 – Practically Everyone Can Do It

If you get a gym membership or put together a home gym, you can do it. No fancy machines are necessary! You don’t have to be able to run a marathon or anything like that.

You can even compete in your weight class amongst others with the same goals – 130lb skinny guys and 300lb massive men are both welcome. Women are, too!

#10 – It’s Fun to Be Strong

Being strong is just plain fun. You can always open bottles and jars for weak people, move furniture yourself, hoist people onto your shoulder and carry them out of a burning building, etc. You can do all sorts of neat stuff that you normally wouldn’t be able to do if your only training was for endurance sports.

Source: https://coachlevi.com/powerlifting/reasons-you-should-start-powerlifting/

What is powerlifting?

Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single lift of a barbellloaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as “odd lifts”, which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events, akin to strongman competition. Eventually odd lifts became standardized to the current three.

In competition, lifts may be performed equipped or un-equipped (typically referred to as ‘raw’ lifting or ‘classic’ in the IPF specifically). Equipment in this context refers to a supportive bench shirt or squat/deadlift suit or briefs. In some federations, knee wraps are permitted in the equipped but not un-equipped division; in others, they may be used in both equipped and un-equipped lifting. Weight belts, knee sleeves, wrist wraps and special footwear may also be used, but are not considered when distinguishing equipped from un-equipped lifting.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerlifting

“WPC-WPO Latvia” powerlifting team

“WPC-WPO Latvia” in past few years organised three major WPC events. In 2008, we organised WPC European championship, which was held in Talsi, Latvia.

In 2011 WPC World championship was held in Riga, Latvia. Proudly we can say, that it was one of the best WPC World championships so far.

In the december of 2012 a major event with serious competitiors was held in Dobele, Latvia. It was 2nd S.P.S.S championship qualifying finale for the tournament “Battle of Champions 2013”.

In June of 2015 a WPC European championship was held in Riga, Latvia.

“WPC-WPO Latvia” powerlifting team takes part in the major WPC competitions (World and European championships). More than that, our sportists alsways take part in the battle for highest prizes.

"WPC – WPO Latvija"