Articles written by Roger Broeg

A powerlifting Primer
Powerlifting Equipment 101
For Those Considering Running Thier Own Meets
The Master Lifter
How to put a poly shirt on
Getting into that $%#@ Squat Suit

A PowerLifting Primer

I have been asked several questions about powerlifting by people
interested in starting out recently. Although I do not consider myself
an expert, or even good at it, I have  been involved with powerlifting
competition since 1978. And I feel competent to give some beginning
advice.
  First thing I see people wanting to start out do is try to find out
the records. Be they state or be they national don't do this. When you
are looking up the records you are looking for the very best lifts in
the sport. You are not looking for what your actual competition will
probably do. Although there are some out there who will set records in
thier fist competition this is rare. And can be
discouraging. It would be better to get your hands on the results of
competition in the area where you are able to compete. This could be
thru Powerlifting USA or it could be on a website. Deepsquatter
probably knows where you could find such a site if he does not have
this info on his own.
  Second comes equipment. A belt, as far as I am concerned, is a must.
And wraps are a good idea, if you don't go RAW. But don't concern
yourself with a shirt or suit for your first competition. It would be
a shame to drop the cash on that stuff and then find out you really
don't like competition. Get your feet wet. If you like competing then
look into purchasing your assistance gear.
  Third be ready for anything. Competition is NOT like what you do in
the gym. First comes the crowded warmup room. You will wait in line
between warmups. Using the 10s and 5s during a warmup will slow this
process down even more. Get used to warming up using only 45s and 25s.
After your warmup it may be a half hour before your first lift. You
must be ready for that. Then it may be an hour or more between your
attempts. You simply are NOT lifting under ideal conditions.
  Fourth get the rules of lifting. The way you are benching in the gym
is probably not what the judges want. You must pause on your chest in
competition. This will take anywhere from 15 to 25 lbs off of what you
can do. In the squat the tops of your hips must go below the tops of
your knees. I keep hearing guys tell each other "yeah that was
parralel" Parallel is NO GOOD! The deadlift must be done without the
bar riding on your quads or hitching.
  Fifth chosing your first attempt. You don't want go as heavy as you
can from the offset. I like to use the best weight I have been able to
do for 3 reps on my first attempt. My second attempt is what I believe
my max to be. My 3rd attempt is a personal record. Here is the reason
why. If you miss an attempt, the weight will not go back down. You
must use the same weight or more on your next attempt. So if you try
to much your first attempt and miss it on your next 2 attempts you are
disqualified from the competition. This is called bombing out.
  I figure what ever I can do for 3 reps is probably about 90% of my
best. So if I miss my next 2 attempts my score will not be overly
pathetic. Yet if I can do it 3 reps it is a pretty sure thing I will
get it for one in the competition. Provided I have been doing my lifts
LEGALLY in the gym. That is one of the reasons it is important to
train the way you will compete.
  Finally if you have already purchased a suit or shirt, the meet is
NOT the place to try them out. They change your form drastically. You
should be practicing with your equipment at least 3 workouts before
you competition.
  Overall if you are at all interested in competing. COMPETE. Don't
wait until you think you are ready. You must compete to learn what I
have just told you. To learn how to be ready todo your best. I recall
one individual concerned that better lifters would not like beginners
jumping in because meets are overcrowded. I can tell you from
experience that since we have all these new federations now, they
rarely are. Other concerns are that someone will not lift much weight
and make a fool of themselves. I have seen nothing but respect for
other lifters at these meets. Regardless of what they lift. In fact
often the better lifters will aproach the less endowed lifters and
offer training advice. The grass roots lifters are the ones supporting
the sport so the elite lifters can go to the world championships and
make us proud. So become one of them.
  I believe this covers all the little pearls I wanted to drop at this
point. Hope it has been some help to somebody. It has been good typing
practice for me.
Good Luck

  What is with all the suits, shirts, and wraps? Isn’t using all that equipment cheating? In this article I will endeavor to answer the above questions.
  First there is the RAW vs. Equipped debates. Among those outside the powerlifting world there is the misconception that RAW is the old way of powerlifting.  I can tell you, as someone who has been around the sport of powerlifting since 1978, that this simply is not true. There has always been some kind of performance enhancing equipment involved in the sport. Anything from tight jeans for squatting, to elbow wraps for benching, to wrapping tennis balls to the backs of the knees.
  RAW is a term that was coined in 1995. This was the first time in 35 years of powerlifting history that the rules only allowed a belt to be used as equipment.
  As powerlifting became more refined the equipment improved. Along with improved equipment came suppliers. The Suppliers have been the number 1 sponsors of the sport. Those who would seek to abolish equipment are simply biting the hand that feeds them.
  Is equipment cheating? Why is this asked of powerlifters yet not asked of athletes in any other sport? Let me draw an analogy. I raced bicycles for a few years. I started out on an old used Schwinn Traveler (low end 10 speed). I had a hard time keeping up with the team I trained with. They all started selling me their old parts as they upgraded their machines. Guess what, with a pair of clipless pedals, and a good set of racing wheels, I was staying right with those guys. As I progressed in the sport I got an aerodynamic helmet and skin suit for time trialing. I also upgraded to a decent racing bike with specially shaped wheels to cheat the wind. All made me a little faster with the same physical abilities.
  As a racing official, I was often asked questions by spectators, about the equipment the riders were using. They would be in awe and amazement as I explained the advances in bicycle technology. And how it made the races faster. Nobody EVER asked me “but isn’t that cheating?”
  Now imagine a bicycle race, where all the riders were forced to ride old heavy single speed fat tired bicycles. The riders would be working just as hard, not harder, than they do right now. But the race would be very slow, dangerous (cornering would be cumbersome), and certainly boring. When I say they would not be working any harder than racers do now, here is an explanation; I put forth just as much effort riding my racing bike 30mph as I do riding my mountain bike 22mph.
  Now lets compare this analogy to powerlifting. Powerlifting is safer with equipment, because a byproduct if the equipment is a reduced risk of injury. Powerlifting is more fun to watch with equipment because larger loads are moved. Equipped lifters have to work just as hard as RAW lifters do. They just move more weight doing it.
  Is the sport still all about strength? Let me put it this way. I can bench about 15lbs more with my shirt than without it. If I am benching 260 with my shirt, I must still get stronger to bench 265 with it do I not? So yes, the sport is still all about strength.
  OK so equipment has improved the sport, by generating sponsors, and by making it more spectator friendly. So would you please explain this equipment to me, what it is, and how it works? I thought I would never ask. The following is a list of items and a short explanation of them.
  Shirts. A shirt made of heavy material so tight it takes at least one helper to get it on. Generally leaves bruises around the pec and armpit area. The shirt makes it very difficult to bring your arms back. With a properly fitting shirt you will find it impossible to get low enough to do a pushup.
  The shirt makes it difficult to get the bar to touch the chest, but makes it very easy to launch the bar off of the chest. It enables you to launch the bar hard enough for momentum to aid you through any sticking points you may have.
  In addition the shirt relieves your shoulders and pecs from the stress of maximum attempts.
  Squat and Deadlift suits. Again, very heavy material, very tight. Will generally leave bruises around the hips and tops of the quads where the leg seems ride.
The suit holds everything tight, makes it difficult to get into the hole, much easier to launch out of the hole. Some federations allow groove briefs under the suit. These exaggerate the workings of the suit.
  Knee Wraps. A very heavy set of wraps with a certain amount of elasticity. These make it very hard to bend the leg. But again give a rebound effect out of the hole. The knee wraps help keep the muscle above the knee from tearing off it’s insertion during single Max rep attempts.
  There are of course different degrees of equipment. And debates on just how much equipment is too much. But that is for another article. For now support your local powerlifting meet. You will be doing yourself a favor. If you are reading this article you are already interested in weight training. What could be more exciting than seeing people move extraordinary amounts of weight? Lets make powerlifting so popular you can sit back and watch the best on television on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

  I am writing this to be a help to anybody thinking about running his or her first meet. First of all, I am by no means a top-notch promoter. But I have run 6 small local meets and will be sharing from my experiences with these.
  The first consideration is the federation you choose to run your meet under, if any. The advantages to running meets for a federation are records to set, and national, and world meets to qualify for.
  There are around 30 federations out there. So here is what you should look at. Is your venue going to be insured? If you are running your meets in a gym it probably is. If you are not you better pick someone who offers liability protection.
  The federations I am aware of, who offer liability insurance, are AAU, USAPL, APA, and ADAU.
  Next it helps a LOT to run a meet for a federation already active in your area. This is because there will already be trained referees around, and lifters who have membership cards they want to use. But if there is some reason that is not your federation of preference you can still struggle through. Though it will be more difficult. If you are establishing a federation in a new area your first concern will be judges. Contact someone from that federation and find out how to go about getting judges trained. Now you need to find people who are willing to be judges. At our gym, I have a few judges who have never been to a meet. They went through a 4 hour seminar by the president of the AAU and his wife (both National referees), followed by on the job training the next day as I ran my first meet. On top of that we constantly practice with each other as we train. I watch my referees each meet, looking for weaknesses I can work on, they get a little bit better with every meet. This is a definite advantage to having people from your local gym serve as your referees.
  The referees must be members of your chosen federation to hold their cards. The AAU gave a membership discount for referees. However the APA sponsors my referees into their organization for free. Check with your chosen federation to see how they are willing to help you out in this area.
  Now, how to chose a federation. It is a matter of personal preference. The two big issues are equipment and drug testing. On equipment, do you want RAW (only a belt is allowed for supportive equipment)? Are you a single ply poly person? Or do you think any equipment should be allowed?
  If you like RAW or single ply poly equipment only, the choices would be AAU, ADAU, or USAPL. Incidentally, these are all federations that require drug testing. The USAPL and ADAU require that at LEAST 10% of lifters be tested at the meet. Plus they have out of meet testing. By “at least 10%” I mean that if you have 11 lifters you test 2. If you have 21 you test 3, etc. These tests cost $65 each so be prepared to jack up your entry fee by $10. Lifters who are staunch on the drug free stuff will think it is worth it.
  AAU drug testing is different; it is all out of meet by a third party. Each lifter is charged a $5 surcharge per meet to cover the expense. However the testing does not occur in every area. So if you are isolated from the mainstream locations, your lifters will be paying for testing that goes on elsewhere, while themselves lifting in untested meets. And those lifters, who are competing in tested areas, may have to take their own time to drive hours to get their test.
  If you think all equipment should be allowed you would want to check into the APF or IPA. An advantage to APF is you can run either tested (AAPF) or non tested (APF) meets. Or both concurrently. But you have to buy your own insurance. The WPA/APA is the same way on drug testing, but they offer meet insurance at a very reasonable rate, however the drug testing procedures are not insured.
  WPA/APA is more middle of the road on equipment. They allow double ply poly or denim, but no triple ply or canvas. They also do not allow patches.
  The rest of the federations fit somewhere in between the above.
  The next consideration is how do you feel about categories. These days there are so many categories offered by some federations, that everybody, who enters the meet, is assured a first place win. My personal preference is to see some competition. When I ran AAU meets, I only offered Teen, Novice, Open, and Masters categories. The problem with this was when the lifters were going for records; they kept seeing all these other categories they could set records in. So I was compelled to keep adding new categories to my meets. If you want to make a lot of money out of your meet this can be a good way to do it. But that is not the reason I chose to run my meets. For me all these categories did nothing but water down the competition at my meets, and create a headache keeping track of. So if you choose to encourage competition over just getting numbers for the sake of numbers, go with a federation that does not offer these categories to begin with.
If you are after shear numbers, and a little extra profit, choose the federations that offer something for everybody.
  OK, so now you have chosen your federation, you have your judges lined up, what are the expenses? There are a lot of hidden costs to running a meet. We will start with sanction fees.
  Sanction fees vary from one federation to another. AAU runs $50 for sanction fees and insurance for a one-day event. However, once a year you must buy a club membership, which is another $50. So once a year it is going to cost you $100 to sanction a meet. Another consideration here is ALL AAU cards expire on August 31, regardless of when they were purchased. Be prepared to sell memberships that can only be used once at your late summer meets.
  USAPL runs $35 for sanction fees and insurance. The insurance not only covers your meet, but it also covers drug-testing. They also have some kind of drug testing reimbursement program. Contact someone from the USAPL for further details.
  WPA/APA charges $20 for sanction fees. Insurance is $3 per lifter. The memberships you sell are good for 1 year from date of purchase.
  ADAU charges $50 for sanction fees and insurance. There is no club membership to purchase. And drug testing is insured. Memberships are good for 1 year from date of purchase.
  NASA does not charge any sanction fees. Last time I talked to the NASA president meet directors were responsible for their own insurance. NASA is very obliging in helping to get referees trained. And their memberships are good for 1 year from date of purchase.
  The next hidden cost is advertising. Fortunately a LOT of people can be reached via the Internet. However you will still need to print up flyers, mail them out, and drive around dropping them off. This means paper, ink, copying costs, gas, and postage. You will end up making long distance phone calls to various lifters (I buy a phone card just for this).
You better set aside at least $5 per lifter to cover these costs.
   Then there is your venue. I am fortunate enough to get mine for free. But where you hold your meet can be very expensive. Especially if you have to travel to run it.
  The biggest cost should be your awards. I really splurge on these. I want to give away something nice.
  Final considerations. Don’t take for granted that your weights are accurate. I weighed ours out on a freshly certified scale. Out of 30 45lb plates I got numbers ranging from 42lbs to 51lbs. Two of our 100s were actually 103, and two were 100. I always warn the lifters ahead of time about the 103s, then credit them for an extra 5lbs on their final results. I will soon be purchasing some new 100s to make up for this.
  Computer scoring REALLY speeds things up. I am providing a sample score sheet. Please feel free to use it. It does everything but figure formulas. And it can be programmed to do that. There are various softwares out there just for this purpose. But they are very expensive.
  If possible set up your venue the night before the event. And have your help show up at least an hour early. All kinds of things tend to come up at the last minute. You will need at least 3 spotter/loaders, 5 would be better, 3 refs, someone to keep track of the cards, someone to operate the computer, and someone to do the announcing.
  This is all I can think of at this time, but as I come up with things I will revise this article. I find that I learn something from every meet I run. I hope this has been some help to you and good luck.

This link will take you to a downloadable excel sheet. This Excel sheet is the one I use to score my meets.
As you are running the meet, and the attempts come in, highlight the area you are working with, click the "data" pulldown menu, then click on "sort". You will have three feilds come up. The first feild should be the lift you are working with, in ascending order, the second should be "Lot" in ascending order. This will set up your round in a split second. At the end of the meet,  highlight the whole score sheet, Then click on "Div" in ascending order, and "total" in descending order, and you will have your final results in a split second. Notice that as you plug the numbers in your subtotal and total are automatically figured. You can literally have your results tallied by the time the last lifter gets off of the platform.
 
 

  This article will be my attempt to address a question I see asked a lot. “How is training different for the master lifter?”
  Because of the fitness boom in the late 70s to early 80s, America, actually the world, is now enjoying a large number of middle aged exercise enthusiasts. I think this is a good thing and I will attempt to briefly address some of their concerns.
  I have been training since 1977 (the date of this writing is March 17, 2002). So I have trained through my 20s, 30s, and am now entering my later 40s. This gives me a unique view of the changes the athlete goes through as he/she ages. By the way I have trained for both powerlifting and endurance sports.
  In a nutshell the biggest differences I have noticed are slower recovery, slower healing from injuries, and getting injured easier.
  Slower recovery means I need to either spread my workouts farther apart or cut back on the intensity I use to train. I find cutting back on the intensity seems to work the best. I am currently on a wave-training program. The intensity I use varies not only on my powerlifts, but on all of my assistance work as well. I should add, the routine I am using now, will work for the younger athlete as well as the older athlete. It would be to the younger athlete’s advantage to start training this way now to avoid injuries that will haunt him/her when they reach my age.
  Slower healing from injuries, and getting injured easier, should be discussed hand in hand. As older athletes we need to be more concerned with keeping the risks low as we train. Because getting hurt no longer means being out of commission for a week. It now means it could be months before we are back in the gym. And we atrophy somewhat faster.
  My strategy now is the following; first I weigh the benefit to risk ratio on every exercise I do. All weight training is going to carry some risk with it. But why take more risk than absolutely necessary to accomplish our objectives or goals?
  I no longer do overhead presses. I feel I can build all the size and or strength I need in my delts with the benchpresses I do, coupled with front and side raises. I feel overhead pressing puts me at risk of shoulder impingements. Possibly the overhead presses could be a faster way to build size or strength, but to me they are not worth the risk, when my goals can be achieved by a safer method. For this reason I also never do behind the neck pulldowns for my lats. And if you do overhead presses I HIGHLY recommend they not be behind the necks. What little benefit you might get is very minute when you compare it to how much your risk of injury goes up.
  Applying the principle I laid out in the previous paragraph here are some exercises I avoid like the plague. Straight legged deadlifts. I think these are a bad idea for another reason also. I practice, practice, and practice good form in the deadlift. I try to practice it till it becomes second nature so that I will pull correctly when lifting in a meet. In my mind’s eye it does not make sense to do all that practice then turn around and deliberately deadlift wrong.
  Any type of good mornings. I feel these and SLDLs are both high risk to our aging lower backs. The body is a machine. It wears out. Most back injuries are accumulative. The lower back takes hit after hit like marbles in a jar. Then one day you bend down to pick up a pencil and sneeze and BOOM! There it goes. Just because you have gotten away with something for years does not mean you can continue to do so and everything will be fine.
  I avoid upright rows as these really put stress on the shoulders. Plus when benchpressing I keep my elbows “tucked”, flaring them as we were taught by the magazines in the early 80s is very hard on the shoulders.
  Finally, I own equipment, and I use it! I never benchpress 90% of my max or more without my shirt. I never squat 225 or more without my knee wraps. I use my suit when squatting double bodyweight or more. And I ALWAYS train with my belt on.
  For those reading this article, thinking, “bodybuilders never use equipment” please read Dave Drapers article on this subject.
  There is no reason we cannot continue to make progress well into our golden years. We just need to train smart to do so. I hope this article has equipped it’s readers to do so.

STEP 1: Roll the shirt up a little at the bottom from inside out.

STEP 2: Put your arms through the sleeves.

STEP 3: Have your helper pull the sleeves up into place. Hole your arms straight but crossed as he does so.

STEP 4: Have your partner pull the shirt over your head

STEP 5: Have your partner pull one armpit into place as you make a forward "swimming" motion with your arm to seat the shoulder.

STEP 6: Repeat this process for the other arm

STEP 7: Have your partner pull the shirt down into place

STEP 8: Hold your arms up and lean sideways toward your partner so he can help you seat the shoulder once again

STEP 9: repeat step 8 for the other side

STEP 10: Have your partner pull the shirt down into place all over.

STEP 11: take a light warmup weight to stretch the shirt out

STEP 12: Repeat steps 8 through 10

One VERY important nuance. Always pull on the material as close to the area you are trying to seat as you possibly can. The farther away from the area you are trying to seat you pull, the more you fight the material instead of seat the shirt.

To get the shirt back off, pull the bottom up a little bit so your partner has something to get ahold of. Then lean toward your partner, put your hands on thier quad, and have them peel you like skinning a catfish...just make sure the neck comes over the back of the head first as it comes off.
 
 

  So you just got your squat suit and you find it absolutely impossible to get into. Do not despair within this article you may find just the secret you are looking for.
  Begin with a pair of "slickers" from Crains Muscle World. These make it, oh so easy, to slide the suit up the legs. Also go to your local Home Depot, or Lowes, and purchase a pair of latex covered knit gloves. These will aid your partner.
  Start by turning the suit inside out and pull the legs up into place. Once the seems around your legs are where you want them (approx 4" below the crotch) you will begin turning the suit right side out as you pull it up. Note: when putting on any poly equipment always pull the material as close to what you are trying to seat as you possibly can. In other words the less material you stretch with a given effort the more effective your efforts will be.
  It will take some doing to get the suit past your hips but it can be done. Once you have rolled the suit just to the top of the hips reach around and give yourself a wedgie. For a really effective wedgie find someone in the gym to help you. You would be surprised at how many people are willing to put themselves out to help you with this aspect of getting into the suit. Personally I have been surprised at how many people are really good at it, as if they have had practice, and for some reason, it seems to help to talk a bit about my recent chess game as they work.
  Once the wedgie has been accomplished begin working the suit up little by little. Again pull the material as close to what you are trying to seat as you possibly can. Once the suit is up just high enough to afford modesty do a light set of squats to stretch it into place. After that begin working it up little by little again. Continue this process until the suit is about chest high. Now you are ready to get your partner to help you into your straps.
  Hopefully this has been some help and good lifting.