It is so easy in this world to get lost in the maze of high tech gadgetry and newfangled inventions. Anymore it seems like unless you buy a new television or computer every week you are left behind in the race of technology. I am not even sure if I know the difference between an Ipod, Ipad, PDA,Kindle, E-reader, or any other assortment of high tech gadgets used now. Hell is PDA even cutting edge anymore or is it now in the techno graveyard alongside VCRs and fleshlights?
I feel like a dinosaur anymore. Where as at one time I tried to keep up in the techno race with all the latest cutting edge stuff, I have now accepted that my time has passed. I prefer a good old fashioned desktop computer or laptop to the fancy nancy tablet bullshit I see metro-sexual looking guys with painted fingernails using. I remember back in the days of the world wide web when only the super dorks and geeks used the thing and if you were chatting with people there was zero chance you would ever meet them.
Now a days you can go online and strike up a conversation and be fucking that person later that night. It is a crazy world we live in I guess.
That is the reason why I love powerlifting. No matter how fancy the world gets there is just something so primal and beastly about lifting heavy ass weights. There is no complicated equations or fancy gadgets that will make you strong, only hard ass work and dedication.
I know some people might take exception to that. You see several decades back someone came up with the concept of gear for powerlifting, squat suits, bench shirts, etc. While at the beginning these were mostly just extremely tight fitting polyester or canvas shirts or suits that protected the lifters from injury when lifting heavy weights, it was quickly found that their tightness provided a certain amount of rebound for the lifter allowing them to lift heavier weights. Of course this turned into a race to see who could make shirts and suits that provided the most amount of carryover in the lift.
So powerlifting gear makers started experimenting by making multiple layers (multiply) and making the shirts open back so you could jack them tighter and also using newer and better material. While at one time you would be lucky to be able to lift 20 more pounds in a bench shirt now a days 200 lbs. or more is quite common. To give you an idea, the current unequiped (raw) bench press world record is 715 lbs and the current equiped is 1075 lbs. That equates to over 300 lbs. of carryover at the least.
You will find about the same numbers in regards to the squat. There is the famous example of a guy squatting 1200 pounds in a multiply meet and then in a raw meet barely hitting over 600.
This has created a big divide in the sport of powerlifting as some people believe in using all the gear they can, while some believe in a moderate amount of gear (like single ply divisions that allow only suits and shirts made of certain materials and only one layer in thickness) and those in raw divisions. Even the raw brigade is divided over whether you should be allowed to wear a belt or knee wraps to be considered raw. And then there is the whole debate over using a monolift for squats verses having to use squat stands and walking the squats out. It is enough to make one's head spin.
But honestly fuck all that debate. No bench shirt or squat suit has ever lifted a goddamn pound of weight. At the end of the day it is human strength and power that does the lifting. I could care less how someone powerlifts I respect anyone out on the platform making personal records. While I think gear has gotten out of hand it is not going to change anytime soon. Most of the strongest men in the world (especially from the USA) lift in multiply gear and it is here to stay.
Back to the topic at hand and that is the simplicity and beauty of powerlifting. At its core it involves the BIG THREE lifts, that is Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift. Although it is no longer a contested lift at major events some people like myself like to lump in the Overhead Press. While it does not contribute to one's total I like having two upper body strength lifts as well as two lower body strength lifts, plus I think it is just goddamn awesome to lift something over your head like some goddamn caveman.
Powerlifting allows me to channel my anger at the world into something. I am pissed off a lot quite frankly. I feel like this world looked at me on day one and shook its head no and from then on I just never fit in. I have always felt like I walked alone in this world and things would never really make sense for me. I feel like when things finally started to make sense and I started to feel some happiness the world decided to steal my father away from me in revenge.
Underneath it all I am a ticking time bomb of rage and anger. I want to lash out at the person who cuts me off in traffic or the idiot who blocks the lane in the grocery store. I want to unleash my fury on every motherfucker who has ever gotten in my way. I am so full of hatred inside of me I feel it boiling over any minute now.
Powerlifting keeps that hatred in check. I channel that raw emotion into each lift and put it all on the platform. I know every time that I train I leave a little bit of my life behind. It is not healthy to push your body to its physical limits and beyond but I do it because otherwise my hatred would of consumed me long ago. I was a moody and angry child and grew up to be a moody and angry adult and I need my outlet before I go off the deep end. I have it in me but I keep it down but only barely.
Powerlifting needs not to be complicated. Its beauty is the raw simplicity that it beholds. Men have been picking things up off the ground or lifting things over their heads since prehistoric times. Signs of strength and power meant that you were the one who bred with the beautiful women and passed on your seed. Now all kinds of weak people bred and we have a weak society.
Don't get caught up in the fads of strength training. Kettlebells, barbell complexes, hand stand pushups, and other things are nice but never forget what has made man strong for thousands of years. Squat, deadlift, overhead press, and bench press (if only so you can throw out some big ass number anytime someone asks what you can bench).
Oh and keep in mind if you ask me what I can bench it just lets me know you don't train. Anyone worth a damn knows that deadlifting or squatting are much better representations of strength than benching is. In fact bench pressing is the least functional of all the big lifts. If someone tells me what they deadlift or squat I know exactly how strong that individual is, bench pressing tells me nothing.
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