How to Become a Super Power Lifter?

The Keys to Becoming A Super Power Lifter

             Many people enter the realm of powerlifting with the hopes of reaching a high level of success. Relatively few lifters reach a truly elite level on the competition platform. Most Super Power Lifters enter the sport and compete for a few years. Only to vanish and never be heard from again.

          Powerlifting is truly a physically and mentally tough sport. Most people give up competitively after a few years of sacrifice, hardship, and pain. So, what separates the great who achieve success within the sport apart from those who were merely decent and never reached their full potential?

             I believe it comes down to 3 core elements. Note that this has nothing to do with one’s genetics, body leverages, physical attributes or anything left to a pre-disposition. Mental strength is what truly prevails in the world of powerlifting. Also, I believe that ANYONE can reach an elite total. Though it may take a few more years for some who are not as genetically gifted as those who are innately strong, an elite total can be achieved regardless.

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1) Consistency

            Showing up to the gym is half the battle. During my time training at a few different powerlifting gyms. The best lifters are always the individuals who are not only showing up to the gym the most consistent but were also brutally consistent with the amount of effort they put into each training session.

            You would think that attendance at the gym is no big deal. The fact is that 90% of lifters find excuses as to why they miss a day or take weeks off from hard training without justification. Don’t get me wrong – we all deserve a couple of vacations a year and powerlifting does not necessarily have to completely ruin your life.

            But SHOWING UP from the time when you are 12 weeks out every session until meet day hits is absolutely vital to success. To reach an elite total, do this for a few years and you will eventually make it.

2) Continual Education

            The road to an elite total can be a long one, and for a new lifter, this requires years of patience and ultimately an evolution of one’s knowledge about the basics of powerlifting. Knowledge of technique, understanding of training methodologies, nutrition, restoration, and anabolics have to continually improve throughout the development of one’s lifting career.

           If you can bench press 315, think of how much you know about bench pressing and lifting overall compared to the time when you could only bench 185. Now think of how much more you would know about lifting overall once you’re able to bench 405. Continually educating yourself as an athlete is absolutely important for your future success.

3 ) Perseverance

         From my own observation, people tend to quit powerlifting when the going seems to get tough. Maybe you had a bad meet and after a year or two of trying to improve upon your numbers, you lose confidence in your own abilities and decide to hang it up.

          Perhaps the “grind” of constantly training hard, feeling sore all the time, and showing up to the gym 4-5 days every week for years has finally broken you down, and you want to move on. If powerlifting is your recreational hobby and you decide that it’s perhaps not for you to pursue at a high level, no hard feelings!

"You pursue a recreational hobby to have fun, not to be miserable and lose your enjoyment for it."

           That being said, what separates the good from the great is being able to stay mentally tough. Through the worst of times and persevering through the challenging moments during one’s lifting career. Something as traumatic as a debilitating injury has a likelihood of ending an intermediate’s path to success in powerlifting, but the best lifters always seem to find a way to recover & come back on the platform better than ever.

           This usually entails months or even a couple years of painstaking rehabilitation, not being able to lift previously held personal records and having to watch others surpass your best total while you can only stay patient & recover in the interim.

Bottom line Super Power Lifter

         This is incredibly tough on someone who is competitive by nature. Also, requires an understanding within the game of powerlifting that we are all in this for the long haul. Not every training session in the gym can look like a PR montage. There will be bad days, there will be days when you perform like shit, and there will be a lot of days where you feel like you should be doing something else rather than doing 15 sets of squats & 10 sets of deadlifts on a Friday night.

           If you are able to hang in there and contend with all the challenging moments in your lifting career. You will eventually find the path towards achieving your personal greatness on the platform.

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