PURSUIT OF STRENGTH
  • Home
  • About
  • Programming
  • Seminars
  • Schools
  • Podcast
  • Contact

Summary of Powerlifting Workshop

8/5/2013

3 Comments

 
Picture
This past weekend I held a powerlifting workshop entitled “The Ins and Outs of Competing for the First Time”.   The workshop was held at CrossFit Taranis in Victoria, BC, and turned up 15 enthusiastic athletes who are registered or thinking about registering for their first powerlifting competition.  Most athletes found their way to powerlifting through CrossFit, but there were also a few Olympic weightlifters, as well as powerlifters.  The first half of the workshop covered all of the nit-picky details of the sport structure, rules, and sequence of events.  The second half of the workshop gave the athletes an opportunity to try out the movement standards and learn about what causes a no-rep. 

I started the workshop by telling a story of my experiences competing for the first-time.  When I began in powerlifting there were very little resources to find out how to get involved.  As well, there weren’t many local competitions and traveling for your first competition was very much part of the process.  If you waited until a competition came to your hometown you might be waiting a couple years.  So while I was living in Calgary, AB, I booked a flight to Winnipeg, MB to compete for the first time.  When I arrived at the competition venue it was like walking into a different universe.  Nothing was familiar.  I didn’t know where I had to be and when.  I had no idea how the sequences of a competition panned out, the protocols for weigh-ins or warm-ups, or what the movement standards were for the lifts.  While I managed to get two out of three of my squat attempts, I wasn’t able to complete any successful bench press attempts.  In powerlifting, if you don’t successfully lift at least one attempt in each of the three movements you get disqualified.  As powerlifters say, you “bomb out”.  Needless to say, flying to a new city and bombing out is not the way you want to start your powerlifting career.  However, through trial and error, I persevered and was able to find success in many subsequent competitions. 


I believe the value in hosting a workshop on competing for the first time is that athletes can walk into a competitive powerlifting environment and feel confident and comfortable in their abilities.  The sad fact is that many first-time powerlifters “bomb out” in their first competition because of a lack of sport knowledge, not because they lack strength.  Often these athletes decide to hang up their singlet way too early, and as a result, the sport of powerlifting loses many potential future champions.    

I am very grateful to be able to give back what I’ve learned over the years through my mistakes and blunders so that others can reach success in their athletic pursuits.  

Please CONTACT me for more information on our workshops. 

3 Comments
Aaron Bergland
8/5/2013 02:50:19 am

Thanks for the great seminar Avi, you are a great ambassador for the sport!

Reply
Sara Stamm Bergland
8/5/2013 03:04:44 am

I agree with what Aaron said! Thanks for giving us curious newbies an opportunity to pick the brain of somebody with so much experience. It really does take some of the fear and intimidation of the unknown out of the prospect of doing a competition for the first time.

Reply
Avi
8/5/2013 05:57:16 am

Thanks Aaron and Sara - It was a pleasure meeting you both. I'm sure I will see you around in September for the Taranis Powerlifting Challenge!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    articles on a variety of strength topics

    author

    Avi Silverberg

    Picture

    Archives

    March 2014
    February 2014
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    2013 Junior National Team
    Athlete Recognition
    Bench Press
    Blog Series: "WHO IS"
    Coaching & Training Philosophy
    Motivational
    Powerlifting Competitions
    Preventing Injury
    Strength Application Outside Of Gym
    Training Videos
    Workshops

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.