Ps. And about the books:
There’s a lot to recommend, but here’s a couple good ones for a starter:
Nah.
From the pragmatic view of The Gatekeeper (which I wear as a badge of honor and not of disgrace as The Social Justice Warrior had intended.):
An energized gym goer seeks a trainer for advice. The trainer asks, “What is your goal?” The subject states his goal.
The trainer customizes a program to address the trainee’s goal. The program could, for example, have components of Powerlifting methodology, bodybuilding methodology, and life extension methodology.
What percent of the program must be Powerlifting methodology to have the trainee consider himself a Powerlifter?
As you can see there is a fluid line of demarcation that is questionable of being a Powerlifter by your standard. Who is the gatekeeper of the minimum percent of a weight training program be Powerlifting specific for the trainee be called a Powerlifter?
The only clear line of demarcation using your philosophy is 100% of the program is Powerlifting specific. If you conducted a comprehensive study, my guess is that only competitive Powerlifters (with very few exceptions) stuck to a 100% Powerlifting specific program.
Pragmatically, the only Powerlifters are those who have competed in Powerlifting meets.
Every session must be a mock meet. Every training session must be roughly 8 hours. You are only to preform lifts to comp rules. If you even look at something outside of a squat, bench, or deadlift, then you are not doing powerlifting training. Lastly, only singles. If you do a double, you get rocks thrown at you.
Only then can you call yourself a powerlifter without doing a powerlifting comp
And only high level PLs, if any.
Not sure how to define 100% specific, if it means doing only singles and every workout is a SBD, nobody does that.
But maybe we could call super specific PL training a training where you only do competition lifts (or maybe super close variations) for 1-4 rep sets. That’s some elite level stuff. A vast majority of powerlifters need hypertrophy work and more movement variation to build sustainable strength levels.
Definitely. It does not fit hardcore PL methodology.
You actually get red lights from repping the weights during the meet on the platform.
That reminds me. You have to get at least 2 white lights each lift in your training sessions. If you don’t own and use lights in training, then you are not a powerlifter
Nope, sources disagree with you. He was a powerlifter in his methodology and your elitist gatekeeping won’t work here.
I guess you don’t know what powerlifting methodology is.
So with very narrow definition of a powerlifting methodology most powerlifters aren’t powerlifters.
Maybe more wider definition then? A training that increases your maximum strength in squat, bench and deadlift?
Well, now almost anyone who does strength training follows powerlifting methodology.
Nah.
But you are a social justice warrior because you depend on the external validation of institutions to define your identity. Jokes on you
By your logic, you’re not a guitarist unless you play in a concert, not a runner unless you enter marathons, and not a painter unless you hang your work in a gallery. That’s absurd. The activity defines the identity, not external validation. If someone trains specifically around the squat, bench, and deadlift, applying the same methodology and progressive overload principles as powerlifters, they are powerlifting. Whether they mix in accessories or bodybuilding work is irrelevant, competitive lifters do the same.
Your “percent composition” argument is also meaningless. No one quantifies how much of a program must be “powerlifting methodology” to count. By that logic, competitive powerlifters doing hypertrophy blocks or general physical prep would temporarily stop being powerlifters which is nonsense.
The real demarcation isn’t competition; it’s practice. You’re a powerlifter if you train like one, with the core goal of increasing your squat, bench, and deadlift. Competing just makes you a competitive powerlifter not the only kind of powerlifter.
Of course they do and they always will. There is such a thing as powerlifting training. What kind of coach doesn’t know that different training styles exist?
Is my hypertrophy training routine the same as powerlifting training?
This means that if somebody does bodybuilding training and increases their strength in SBD via from more muscle mass, he’s a powerlifter?
How powerlifter trains?
If you train around the squat, bench, and deadlift with the goal of getting stronger, congratulations, you’re a powerlifter. Competition just makes you a competitive powerlifter. But sure, let’s keep pretending identity is dictated by some arbitrary checklist you made up.
This is a word salad that is totally void of meaning.
It is the “STANDARDS” guaranteed by judges that means I was stronger or weaker than any of my opponents using an agreed upon definition of a legal lift. This is not close to guaranteed in the gym. If fairness means very little to you, so be it. Proceed in your tiny “pool.”
@T3hPwnisher what was the philosophical principle where we are all more likely to jump in to tell someone they’re wrong than to actually help someone that asks?
“This means that if somebody does bodybuilding training and increases their strength in SBD via from more muscle mass, he’s a powerlifter”
No, increasing your squat, bench, and deadlift as a side effect of bodybuilding doesn’t make you a powerlifter. Powerlifting is defined not by incidental strength gains, but by intent and methodology: a powerlifter trains specifically to maximize their SBD totals, often using structured progressive overload, peaking strategies, and accessory work targeted toward those lifts.
This isn’t hard.
You don’t read your sources 