A Return To Respectful Powerlifting?

Training Powerlifting
21

[quote]Dirty_Bulk wrote:
Matt wrote:
Power GnP wrote:
I wonder if the regular “convention goer” will be able to distinguish the multi-ply, untested, above paralell squat from the single pl, tested, deep squats? or will they see it as–where’d all the strong lifters go?

I think the second most likely (this is not a knock on USAPL, but against the average moronic human). Most regular gym-goers consider tandem ass off the bench bench-pressing no different from a competition bench so I can’t fathom they would understand the difference in multiply vs single.

If powerlifting were ever to become an olympic sport, I’d assume that gear would have to be kept to a minimum, just to unite everyone on the same playing field. How much less would the olympic 100m mean if there was another division for those wearing special shoes let you run 20% faster? I’m not anti-shirts or anything, but I think that the concept of multi-ply vs. single ply vs. raw is a little much for a pedestrian spectator to think about.[/quote]

It’s a flawed comparison. Spikes and the newer faster tracks are spriting’s bench shirts. Throw the guys on some grass or a dirt track in their bare feet and they wouldn’t run as fast. Every Joe on the street knows they still couldn’t touch them tho. It seems that if it wasn’t for the gear every average punter thinks he’d have a shot at powerlifting greatness tho. That’s just my take on this whole topic.

22

[quote]Hanley wrote:
Dirty_Bulk wrote:
Matt wrote:
Power GnP wrote:
I wonder if the regular “convention goer” will be able to distinguish the multi-ply, untested, above paralell squat from the single pl, tested, deep squats? or will they see it as–where’d all the strong lifters go?

I think the second most likely (this is not a knock on USAPL, but against the average moronic human). Most regular gym-goers consider tandem ass off the bench bench-pressing no different from a competition bench so I can’t fathom they would understand the difference in multiply vs single.

If powerlifting were ever to become an olympic sport, I’d assume that gear would have to be kept to a minimum, just to unite everyone on the same playing field. How much less would the olympic 100m mean if there was another division for those wearing special shoes let you run 20% faster? I’m not anti-shirts or anything, but I think that the concept of multi-ply vs. single ply vs. raw is a little much for a pedestrian spectator to think about.

It’s a flawed comparison. Spikes and the newer faster tracks are spriting’s bench shirts. Throw the guys on some grass or a dirt track in their bare feet and they wouldn’t run as fast. Every Joe on the street knows they still couldn’t touch them tho. It seems that if it wasn’t for the gear every average punter thinks he’d have a shot at powerlifting greatness tho. That’s just my take on this whole topic.

[/quote]

You’ve both got valid points, and we’ve been through discussions like this on powerliftingwatch, the cpu/usapl boards. I think the general agreement is that gear evolution would have to be stopped, the IPF has actually done some tests comparing different companies fabric thickness etc. and did have a rule in place to stop fabric progression by 08’ but have since abandoned the idea.

The IOC’s main concern would be trying to explain to the general populus why the average squat went up 50lbs in 5 years.

23

[quote]Power GnP wrote:
Hanley wrote:
Dirty_Bulk wrote:
Matt wrote:
Power GnP wrote:
I wonder if the regular “convention goer” will be able to distinguish the multi-ply, untested, above paralell squat from the single pl, tested, deep squats? or will they see it as–where’d all the strong lifters go?

I think the second most likely (this is not a knock on USAPL, but against the average moronic human). Most regular gym-goers consider tandem ass off the bench bench-pressing no different from a competition bench so I can’t fathom they would understand the difference in multiply vs single.

If powerlifting were ever to become an olympic sport, I’d assume that gear would have to be kept to a minimum, just to unite everyone on the same playing field. How much less would the olympic 100m mean if there was another division for those wearing special shoes let you run 20% faster? I’m not anti-shirts or anything, but I think that the concept of multi-ply vs. single ply vs. raw is a little much for a pedestrian spectator to think about.

It’s a flawed comparison. Spikes and the newer faster tracks are spriting’s bench shirts. Throw the guys on some grass or a dirt track in their bare feet and they wouldn’t run as fast. Every Joe on the street knows they still couldn’t touch them tho. It seems that if it wasn’t for the gear every average punter thinks he’d have a shot at powerlifting greatness tho. That’s just my take on this whole topic.

You’ve both got valid points, and we’ve been through discussions like this on powerliftingwatch, the cpu/usapl boards. I think the general agreement is that gear evolution would have to be stopped, the IPF has actually done some tests comparing different companies fabric thickness etc. and did have a rule in place to stop fabric progression by 08’ but have since abandoned the idea.

The IOC’s main concern would be trying to explain to the general populus why the average squat went up 50lbs in 5 years.[/quote]

Again the general population doesn’t give a rat’s ass about powerlifting. Here are some sports that are more popular in the states. Bowling. Professional bull riding. Snowboarding.

while I don’t really care about poker and don’t call it asport, but Texas holdum will get more viewers on espn than powerlifting ever could. Or Olympic lifting. Strongman might beat it.

NASCAR mighjt get 150000 at a race. It’s big time obviously. but the local drag races and dirt track races get more fans than any power meet I’ve seen.

So who really cares about what outsiders think? I think the gear whores are a little more realistic than the we might get in the Olympics crowd. they want to lift more and figure out how to achieve it. I know it’s not raw or pure or whatever, but they seem to have fun with it.