This is a guest post from Cutty at Cutty Strength. Cutty is a long time fitness industry writer and competes in powerlifting himself.
Powerlifting is a community sport by which I mean everyone wants to see everyone do well and succeed.
From everyone willing to help you out with form and giving you advice to them stopping to cheer you on during your personal record lift, the community is tight-knit and is always open to new competitors; especially women.
The more powerlifting meets I go to, the more women I see competing and it is solid proof that our sport is growing and becoming less of a spectacle instead of some “freak show.” Although I will add watching someone put 1000 pounds on their back and squat is somewhat freaky and I love that aspect of it.
Lifting Heavy Makes You Bulky
A popular YouTuber, ChelseaLifts is an amazing example how lifting heavy will not make you bulky. Check out her channel to learn about powerlifting, nutrition, and anything training related.
She’s very strong, toned, and really knows what she is talking about.
Take it from me, I watch men struggle to build muscle that go to the gym and beat their bodies to death and our bodies produce the hormones to build muscle.
Females don’t produce much testosterone and even worse (for muscle building) is estrogen, which makes it even more difficult to build muscle.
Powerlifting training includes lifting heavy weights which trains your nervous system, not necessarily build muscle.
How Do I Compete?
Competing is fun and can be easy with some preparation.
Female Weight Classes
To make everything fair, there are different weight classes available to compete in. These weight classes are made so that someone who weighs 90 pounds isn’t going up against someone who weighs 150 pounds.
- 97 pounds
- 106 pounds
- 114 pounds
- 123 pounds
- 132 pounds
- 148 pounds
- 165 pounds
- 181 pounds
- 198 pounds
- 198+ pounds
These classes are the most common through every federation and will give you a good idea of which class you will be in.
Federation?
There are different federations in powerlifting each with different rules and regulations including weight classes, whether or not they test you for steroids, or even the types of lifts done at their events.
Without getting into too much detail (and politics), check this link out to see a table of the different federations out there.
The best information on which federations are local to you can be found on forums and on the actual federation’s site.
Do I Need To Train Special?
Regardless if you want to be competitive or go for the sport itself, there is no need to train special for your first event.
The three lifts that you need to be able to complete are the Squat, Bench press, and Deadlift.
It doesn’t matter if you can only do the bar for each exercise as long as you can complete the lift, the community does not make fun of anyone who doesn’t lift as much as them.
I noticed that Byrn doesn’t have any routines that would help you become a better powerlifter so I will make sure to light a fire under her to get some out.
Conclusion
I have a lot of information on powerlifting on my website and I recommend you joining Muscle and Brawn’s forum; they have some elite level powerlifters, strongmen, and female powerlifters.
I am on the forum and it is a great community that helps each other out, motivates others, and is a great place to kick back and relax. Find out what federations are close to you, meet some new friends, and possibly meet a new training partner while you’re there.
If anyone has any questions or comments, leave a message here, on my website, or find me on the forum and I’ll be happy to answer any question you may have.
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