General

Ten things you should avoid in a powerlifting gym (part 3)

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Ten things you should avoid in a powerlifting gym (part 3)

8. Be Loud and Obnoxious

It might be understandable that a powerlifting gym sometimes has some grunting, yelling, which is even necessary in some case. So, it’s no need to complain about the noise. However, be reasonable since there are many other people who are training at the same room and there are also those that might take craziness to the next level.

9. Stink

Whether it is the body funk that makes you smell like you reside in an onion patch, or bad breath that would make anyone nauseous, the people around you are going to notice. So make sure not to be oblivious to the fact that your hygiene is something inconvenient to everybody around you.

Remember to brush, floss, gargle, and shower every day. Apply deodorant and even one or two sprits of cologne (don’t do it too much as this isn’t pleasant either).

Avoid wearing the same clothes more than once without washing and keep your gear clean and smelling fresh.

10. Be Rude

This is one of the most important rules in gym. It is annoying to see someone’s stuff on a machine while they are not in your sight. So just leave it exactly where it is and wait until that person comes back and ask them how many more sets they have.

You might not be too happy if someone else moved your stuff and used the equipment you planned to use.

Being rude by any way is unacceptable and there is a huge difference between standing up for yourself and just being rude. The gym should be a place to encourage and offer help to other people who are on the same path with you.

So, understand that you should be an example no matter the circumstance, no matter how bad someone’s actions may tick you off. Your attitude should reflect the discipline and self-control of your own.

General

Ten things you should avoid in a powerlifting gym (part 2)

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Ten things you should avoid in a powerlifting gym (part 2)

5. Walk-In Front of somebody During Their Set

Is it really an excessive amount of to ask? If you see someone who is noticeably employing a mirror to make sure they’re maintaining proper form then the polite thing to try to would be to steer around. It doesn’t matter if you walk by fast it’s just good etiquette to not roll in the hay.

6. Leave Your Weights On The Equipment/ Not Rerack

This one might even be worse than not wiping down your equipment after use (also on our list) and it’s one among the most important ways to point out a scarcity of respect for the opposite people within the gym. Nobody wants to unload 10 plates on a barbell or shop around for dumbbells across the gym.

Can it just be that they weren’t taught this once they first started lifting? Maybe these people think that others won’t mind putting their weights back or they only can’t be bothered to try to to it themselves…

Surely though, everyone has seen the signs in just about every gym that requests all gym-goers put their weights back whether plates or dumbbells and from experience we all know that in many gyms, the front staff makes this known when someone signs up.

Don’t be that one that leaves the load on the equipment because this is often not only very rude and inconsiderate but who wants to be exhausted before they even begin their set.

7. Attempt to Be The Gym Coach

Every gym has that one guy who feels the necessity to correct everyone’s form. Although, every now then it’s going to be warranted because you never want to ascertain anyone gets hurt doing reckless movements. But repeatedly, the one handing out tips isn’t an expert and is simply trying to offer out advice supported bro-science which is basically annoying, to be quite honest.

Sensible advice is usually good under the proper circumstances but doesn’t go around trying to correct everyone’s form as you’ll not even be conversant in the exercise or the modification that somebody is trying out.

General

Ten things you should avoid in a powerlifting gym (part 1)

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Ten things you should avoid in a powerlifting gym (part 1)

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With the increasing popularity of the fitness lifestyle, it has become more and more relevant to revisit the fundamentals of fitness. Here is some helpful advice about things that you should avoid in a powerlifting gym in order to not only maximize your success in the gym but also tick off as few people as you can.

1. Use a bar but do not know its purpose

Remember that not all weightlifting bars are created equally. You don’t want to bench or squat with a deadlift bar for instance and there are bars of various quality which shouldn’t be used with chains or for other things. So make certain to ask someone who works there or somebody else who doesn’t seem too busy to elucidate which bar is that purpose as there are usually many various bars.

2. Get Too Close To Someone Lifting

Keep a couple of feet faraway from anyone who is lifting heavy weight or any weight for that matter. Be observant and conscious of the space around you because accidents can and do happen, and you don’t want to be the cause. Not keeping your distance is additionally an honest thanks to getting yelled at.

3. Talk Someone’s Ear Off

Some people like to talk while others don’t. It is normal because we are all different.  But remember that a lot of people within the powerlifting gym try to urge in their workout so that they can leave soon and keep it up with the rest of their day. Not everyone wants too or has the time to speak for an hour between exercises but sometimes the person being held hostage doesn’t want to return off as rude by cutting that person off or telling them that they’d like better to train without interruption.

4. Complain If Someone Is Taking Longer Between Sets

It’s a powerlifting gym and powerlifting usually involves longer rest periods since the main target tends to get on strength. So, thereupon being said, don’t complain and if anything you’ll probably even ask to figure in if you’ll hang with the person lifting as it’d be annoying to require off and replace the weights counting on the strength differences.

But in many cases, there should be several different areas open with the equipment you would like.

General

Top Tips for Weight Lifting Beginners

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Top Tips for Weight Lifting Beginners

Want to make the best use of weightlifting gear that is gathering dust in your basement and obtain in better shape? Here are seven top tips for weight lifting beginners.

1. Choose a goal

Firstly, you must make clear that what you want to achieve through weight lifting. Do you want to slim down, bulk up, or get more defined? Once having known well your goal, set a time-frame and attempt to achieve it as specific as possible.

2. Keep the proper attitude

Once you’ve set up a goal, keep focused thereon. Post it on your wall or set it on your phone alarm to assist you retain your goal in mind. Try to find someone to figure out with to assist keep you focused and accountable.

3. Know your limits

Start light. Remember, even Arnold Schwarzenegger had to start out somewhere! Lifting heavy weights with fewer repetitions helps you build muscle size and mass, whereas lifting lighter weights with more reps tones muscles.

4. Keep increasing the load

Although you’ll need to begin with lighter weights, don’t grind to a halt during a routine where you retain lifting an equivalent amount. Gradually increase the quantity you lift. Try working towards adding 10 pounds every month to your bench presses.

5. Don’t overdo it

Don’t lift a day. You would like a minimum of two days of rest to permit your muscles to heal. Beginners should try lifting every other day. Also, confirm to urge enough sleep, because without adequate rest you won’t build muscle.

6. Keep proper posture

If you’re doing many lifting, but using poor technique, you’re wasting some time. Ask your training partner to critique your technique, or compute ahead of a mirror.

7. Practice proper nutrition

Remember the GIGO principle: Garbage in, garbage out! Drinking a whey protein shake right after understanding helps your body build muscle (without enough protein you can’t build muscle mass) but nutritional supplements won’t replace eating right and doing the diligence of doing the lifting itself.

News

Powerlifters boycott camp before 2020 Olympics Qualifiers

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Powerlifters boycott camp before 2020 Olympics Qualifiers

The camp of Powerlifters is in disarray since some athletes have sworn to not report back to camp before the Powerlifting World Cup billed for Abuja that is qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The hope of Nigeria winning medals at the 2020 Olympics has gone on to dwindle every day with the crisis rocking the Powelifting Federation of Nigeria when some board members are at daggers drawn with the President of PFN, Queen Oboh.

The Technical Director, Joy Mayaki in the company of some board members on Tuesday who met and appealed to the athletes were told in clear terms that they’re going to not move to Abuja if their grouses aren’t addressed by the board.

Reeling out reasons for his or her decision to boycott training and pack up their training center located inside the National Stadium in Lagos, the protesting powerlifters said the selection of Abuja for the training camp wasn’t well thought out by the board as all the equipment needed for training are situated in Lagos.

They described the selection of Abuja as an effort to be penny-wise and pounds foolish as all the facilities like accommodations and training equipment are readily available in Lagos.

The athletes who were visibly angry wondered why former Nigerian International and Head Coach of the team, Aare Feyisetan who has been with the team for quite 11 years was unceremoniously replaced on the eve of a serious tournament.

According to them, some members of the federation are trying to sow seeds of discord amongst athletes. They wondered why junior athletes who were invited for trials before the competition were exempted from participating at the planet Championship.

They queried why these junior athletes who are meant to require over when the aging athletes retire were invited for trials if the federation had no decide to feature them within the competition.

In her response, the board through the Technical Director, Joy Mayaki said provisions for the young athletes weren’t captured within the allow the competition, hence the choice to drop all.

She also said some junior athletes are presently camped in Abuja and catered for by the federation in spite of her stance that no provisions were made for them since the athletes queried her about the fate of these stranded in Lagos.

On Monday, during a bid to force the athletes to abandon the camp in Lagos, equipment in Lagos were removed in the dark and brought to Abuja.

Despite directives from the Federal Ministry of Sports through the Secretary of the federation, Dapo Akinyele, to report back to camp on Monday for preparation for the planet championship, the athletes expected to take part in the competition billed for Feb 5th to 7th in Abuja have resolved to boycott the camp.

The Secretary advised them to report back to camp with immediate effect or risk being overlooked of the championship.

General

The history of powerlifting

Posted by Marie Curtis on
The history of powerlifting

It all started with the International Powerlifting Federation. the game originated from Weightlifting where the “odd lifts” then became recognized and put into a special format.

The first “genuine” National meet for powerlifting was held in 1964 at the York Barbell Company within the US and therefore the progression began from there within the USA and UK then began to develop in other countries.

In the UK, the first powerlifting federation was BAWLA – British Amateur Weightlifting Association and from that emerged one man to start out the start of the powerlifting revolution within the UK. David Carter.

David Carter left BAWLA and started a replacement federation named British Powerlifting Organization – an “equipped” federation that allowed lifters to wear single-ply equipment and was connected with the planet Powerlifting Congress – who we are affiliated with in the present. He transformed powerlifting within the UK taking it new levels and provided lifts with choice of which federation they lifted in and decided to make a supportive and inspiring environment which is what we learned from him. During this point, other UK federations began to emerge from Davis Carter’s first steps.

The British Powerlifting Organization then made a choice to maneuver far-away from the WPC and that they joined the planet Powerlifting Federation. Thereupon move, the lifters who wanted to remain with the BPC formed a replacement federation by the name of the BPC – British Powerlifting Congress.

The sport had another great breakthrough with the couple Brian and Vanessa Batcheldor heading to make the competitions spectacular and hosted in venues like the NEC and the BIC in Bournemouth. Vanessa Batcheldor was one of the simplest female powerlifters we had squatting more than 200kg at 60kg in bodyweight which remains a record nowadays.

Since then British Powerlifting Union was formed, along with the planet Powerlifting Congress as our administration. It had the stress of bringing back the element of “run by powerlifters, for powerlifters” and the element of support that might be lost at elite levels. Our aim is to progress the game and supply opportunity at the amateur level during structured thanks to encouraging new lifters to the game and supply a grass roots platform in order to develop from to national and international competition at the elite level.

News

World Para Powerlifting to Use Panasonic’s Power Assist Suit

Posted by Marie Curtis on
World Para Powerlifting to Use Panasonic’s Power Assist Suit

World Para Powerlifting has announced that power assist suits created by technology giants Panasonic, a Worldwide Paralympic Partner, will be used at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and during World Para Powerlifting events.

Support staff will use the suits at powerlifting competitions to help them attach and remove weights from barbells. The decision to deploy them follows that Panasonic has become a Official Supplier of WPPO, agreed in September between WPPO and Panasonic.

About World Para Powerlifting

World Para Powerlifting, under the governance of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), is the International Federation for the sport and is based in Bonn, Germany.

Para powerlifting is open to male and female athletes with eight eligible physical impairments. Major competitions include the Paralympic Games, biennial World Championships, regional Championships and annual World Cups.

As you can see, the Para powerlifting competitions can witness athletes lifting more than 3 times their own body weight.

To help the athletes stay focused, it is the support  staff  that will need to lift multiple weights for over 180 contestants at the World Para Powerlifting events and at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Assistants will need to carry an absolute minimum of 8,650kg of weight being lifted across male and female competitions.

Panasonic is proud to support the Paralympic Games

Panasonic Corporation has been an Official Worldwide Partner of the IPC since 2014.

Panasonic is committed to provide accessible products and services to various people including those with disabilities and the elderly and continue to support the Paralympic Movement. Promotion by the Paralympic Games enables the realisation of a more peaceful world through sport and corresponds to Panasonic’s philosophy of ‘A Better Life, A Better World.’

Panasonic Corporation is a leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies in the consumer electronics, automotive, housing, and B2B sectors.

The company has expanded globally and presently operates 582 subsidiaries and 87 associated companies worldwide.

News

Japanese weightlifter set a new world record on the bench press

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Japanese weightlifter set a new world record on the bench press

Daiki Kodama, a Japanese powerlifter weighing just 11 stone, lifted 225 kilograms on the bench press and set a new world record for his weight class.

The amount he lifted is three times over his bodyweight, and as a result, he was assisted by his teammates who acted as spotters due to the elevated risk of injury.

The Japanese powerlifter competes in the International Powerlifting Federation. IPF competitions are drug-tested, and supportive equipment is kept to a minimum, however, in Kodama’s case, he could use wrist straps and a singlet.

The 40-year-old was the previous record-holder too when he set a 211.5kg deadlift, while he also has a best squat record of 170kg.

This new world record will add to the 2017 world record set by Kodama at the Asian Powerlifting & Bench Press Expo, where he benched 210.5kg in the Open 83kg class.

A study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that bench pressing like Kodama did (with the assistance of spotters) boosts how much a person can lift.

Either way, without spotters, the risk of injury would have been significantly higher, due to the big amount the 11 stone athlete was lifting. Last month, for example, a French weightlifter broke her arm in two places at the European Weightlifting Championship.

31-year-old Gaelle Nayo Ketchanke was attempting to lift her career personal best 110kg in the women’s 76kg category in Batumi, Georgia. She failed to complete her lift the first two times, and on her third attempt her left arm buckled and gave away. She was rushed to the hospital for surgery but incredibly still walked away with the bronze medal.

And let’s not forget the Russian powerlifter who broke his leg in three places while trying to squat 250kg recently. The perils of weightlifting can be extremely severe!

News

15-year-old Byrne creates world powerlifting history

Posted by Marie Curtis on
15-year-old Byrne creates world powerlifting history

WOODBROOK GLEN native Megan Byrne made history last month when she became the youngest-ever female athlete to win a world title in powerlifting at the age of just 15.

The transition year student came first in the T1 (14-15-year-old) category at the World Drug-Free Powerlifting Championships in Halle, Germany in late October. The full powerlift category in which Megan competes consists of three separate disciplines: squat, benchpress and deadlift.

Byrne was part of a 17-strong Irish team that travelled to the championships and what makes her story all the more remarkable, is that she only started out weightlifting a year ago.

She took up the sport as a means of keeping feet but, under the tutelage of her father and coach Reg, has flourished in her short time competing. She was crowned national full power champion in Belfast earlier this year, which earned her a spot on the Irish team that competed at world level.

Megan recently released a book entitled Healthy Eating Without Training, and she’s also a talented singer with a number of performances available online.

Reg runs the Angels Boxing Club at St Benildus College in Stillorgan, where the European Drug Free Championships will take place next April.

He’s also the vice-president of the Irish Drug-Free Powerlifting Association, which is affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Association, WADA.

Megan has already qualified for the European Championships, and the next worlds, by virtue of her performance in Germany, and will continue to defend her national title in 2020.

The hope is that drug-free powerlifting will become an Olympic event in the not-too-distant future, however at the moment there exists no kind of funding to help athletes compete.

Reg says, “It is definitely in contention to be an Olympic sport. In three or four years time, if it becomes an Olympic sport, hell yeah she’ll be in contention to represent her country.

“She eats, sleeps and drinks her powerlifting and her singing. Any young kid starting out in sport, whether it be football or rugby, they always strive to be at the top.”

News

Kāpiti club produces three world champions

Posted by Marie Curtis on
Kāpiti club produces three world champions

Weightlifting is the glory sport, the Olympic sport where all you have to do is lift one weight above your head. The heaviest one you can. Powerlifting is its forgotten cousin.

Requiring not one, but three lifts – the squat, bench press and deadlift totals are added together to find a powerlifting champion.

Despite its lesser-known status, the Kāpiti Powerlifting Club is churning out success with three members attending the World Powerlifting Championships in Calgary, Canada, earlier this month, coming away as world champions.

Attending was Alison Fitzmaurice who won gold in the masters 50-55 100+kg women’s and won silver in the open class 100+kg, Graeme Boyce who won gold in the M4 55-59 105+kg, and Riria Ropata who won gold in open division 100+kg category.

Riria also won the best overall female lifter in 109+kg category and biggest squat, bench and deadlift lift.

Attending their third international competition together all three world champions credited Kāpiti Powerlifting Club at 318 Fitness in Paraparaumu with inspiring them in the sport.

“We are blessed to train in a great environment with a community who backs you all the way,” Alison said.

“318 is more of a family than a gym and we are very grateful for that. We are also lucky to have a lot of friends and family who help us fundraise to get to our events as this sport is totally self-funded.

“I am a two-times Oceania champion but this was far more nerve-racking. I was hoping to win as if you don’t want to win there’s no point competing.

“I feel ecstatic and blessed about the win. I do it for the camaraderie and buzz but also to try and be healthy.”

“It’s a great, very supportive community,” Riria said.

“I enjoy the training, it always pushes me and I’m always setting new goals.”

Lifting 212kg in the squat, 103kg in the bench press and 220kg in the deadlift, Riria won gold for the highest score and also lifted the most in each lift, winning best squat, best bench press, and best deadlift.

“It’s still sinking in, this is my first international win.

“Powerlifting is not an Olympic sport so this is it, the world championships.

“It’s awesome that I managed to come away with the win, with the title.”

Originally going to the competition in a coach/manager role, Graeme decided to enter, winning gold in the masters 55-59 age group category.

“I returned to the sport in 2013 after a long break and was happy with the win as I have been injured most of this year.

“It was a pretty good showing all-round.”

“Our local community board has been fantastic in always helping us with community grants and I just want to thank the Paraparaumu/Raumati community board for their belief in us,” Alison said.

“We have three world champions now in our club and that is a very big thing that we are very proud of.”