There is a big difference between training with weights to increase the amount of muscle that you have and power lifting in order to increase the strength that you have so that you can lift a heavier weight. The mind-set is different and the training is different.
Before starting a power-lifting program you need to spend some time in thinking about what your specific objective is. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, how you lift will determine whether you tone your muscles or build bulk.
Lifting lower weights for more repetitions tones and strengthens muscles while lifting higher weights slowly for fewer reps builds bulk. Power lifters typically shoot for extraordinary amounts of weight and must be in good condition before starting to train.
If you have decided that you want to start power-lifting specifically to be a power lifter then you need to make sure that you are starting correctly and that means is that you have been given the correct guidance and advice on exactly how to perform the three compound exercises required in any and all forms of power lifting.
The three movements are squats, deadlift and bench press and all three weights are added up when you are competing as a power lifter to reach a total. These totals increase over time if you are training correctly as sports science has now conclusively proven with the principle or progressive resistance.
Progressive resistance simply means exactly what it says and that is you are able to progressively lift a heavier weight as you get stronger and your body adapts to the stress that you inflict upon it when you are training. Sports science has also proved something called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)
In a nutshell what this means is that you need to allow time for your muscles to rest between workouts. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, power lifting requires the same amount of rest as lifting for strength, about 48 hours. Practice your lifting every other day.
There are a few other techniques that you need to know along with your specific lifting technique and that is your breathing that needs to be correctly adapted to when you lower the weight or lift the weight against gravity. The next technique that you will need to learn is how to break through a plateau.
A plateau is something that every power-lifer will go through at some time or another during their training. It is when you reach a point where you train hard but you still are unable to increase your maximum lifts and the weights that you reach before you start to fail are simply not getting heavier.
There are various ways to get around this and if you are with a powerlifting club you will certainly get lots of advice and recommended ways to break through these plateaus. It is very strongly advised here that you only try one of these techniques at a time.
The bottom line is that there is a very big difference when training to specifically lift a heavier weight and training in order to increase the amount of muscle that you have. When training to increase the amount of muscle you would isolate muscle groups specifically to get to the point of failure.
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