Would you rather...

[ottorotvic]

Achieve the pinnacle of the sport, by setting a few records and putting yourself in the ame echelon as the great, but retire from the game after only a short time due to injury, or would you rather lift for many years but never come close to the level of the greats?

To put it more clearly:
1) 8 year lifting career with 2 national records, 1 world record, early retirement due to inury, take up yoga
2) 35 year lifting career at master and elite level, die a powerlifter

[kite]

Re: Would you rather...

#2. For me, simply chasing records is just a matter of stroking your ego. There's nothing wrong with getting records, but lifting for that purpose only will lead, like you said, to injury and shortening your lifing career. IMO, it should be about bettering yourself, lifting for yourself and being proud of yourself and your accomplishments. Take Dave Tate for example, he holds no records yet is wildly successful in the powerlifting world. He's taken what he's learned and uses it along with his experiences to help others and created a booming business at the same time. Dave has said time and time again that when he competed it was for him. To me that's far more important than lifting for attention and recognition.

[supasaiyan99]

Re: Would you rather...

#2 for me! If #1 occurs you become a "has been" and end up on a reality show like "The Surreal Life."

[pigmeat]

Re: Would you rather...

hell, i want to be able to walk when i am 60...

[kite]

Re: Would you rather...

That's a good short term goal ya got there piggy, what about 5 years?

[SpyWizard]

Re: Would you rather...

i used to power lift, not in comps, but for the ego.. it's really hard for me to go the way i am, but my wife really likes the new fitness look and feel, and with age there's always the issue of injury, so it's a new thing for me..

chasing a record.. static training did the trick for me.

[Behemoth]

Re: Would you rather...

Are you kidding me? This many people are willing to settle for mediocrity? Screw that. If I get injured because I'm pushing the envelope of what is possible for the human body then I've done my job as a powerlifter. This compete against yourself bullshit is an excuse. Sure, I lift for myself, but I also WANT to be great. I want to be one of the greatest ever. However, even if there was NO shot at me ever totally 2600-2800 I would still be pushing as hard as I could to the point that injury may happen anyway. Settling for mediocrity means you have no edge left. I don't even want to go through life like that let alone powerlifting. At that point you're just sitting around waiting to die. Screw that. No matter what level I'm at I want to be pushing for more.

[T-Man007]

Re: Would you rather...

I would rather be healthy than a has-been. But, I'm not into powerlifting as in I don't do one rep maxs. I just don't see the point unless you compete, which I don't. I don't go less than 4-5 reps on anything and I increase the weight periodically. And, I could personally care less what people thought of how much I lift, but that's just me. I certainly respect guys who can bench over 600 pounds and all but not if they do it to impress other people. If you are doing it to get attention from others then it's not worth it, IMO.

Let me expand on this...I did all the heavy lifting I ever want to do in HS and my early 20's. I squated and pulled over 600 in HS. My bench was never more than 300 but I did it all raw, no suits, no straps, no nothing but a belt and some chaulk. As I got into my 20's I had guys telling me to use a suit or use this or that I that's when I gave up lifiting for one rep max. It I can't do it unassisted by specialized clothing then I don't want to do it. Now, I don't even wear a belt. The only thing I use is straps for super heavy shrugs, or heavy deads. I don't support any of my joints externally because it compromises the integrity of the joint. I guess for me, I don't see the point in using specialized clothing and then thinking you really lifted the weight on your own, because you didn't. What you lift raw, is what 'you' can lift, what you lift with all the stuff on is an assisted lift. But again, I'm still impressed with the numbers guys put up because the weight is heavy, put the fact is, it's not a raw lift and therefore its an assisted lift and for me it's kinda life a false sense of satisfaction.

I'm just speaking from my perspective so I don't want any of you PWLers to think I trying to piss on your sport, cause I'm not. That's just how I see it.

[kite]

Re: Would you rather...

Well T-man this is a widely debated topic in the pl community and the way you described raw vs equipped is really kinda ignorant. Lot's of folks use the same arguement on steroids and even otc supps. If moving big weight in gear was as easy as many seem to think everyone would be doing it. It takes a tremendous amount of training, working on technique, etc.... to master your gear. Many benchers, myself included use gear not only as a means to move the maximum amount of weight possible but to also avoid injury. My shoulders are shit and my raw bench sucks royal fukking ass and any time I try going heavy full range on the bench raw my shoulders are killing me for weeks. I've had surgery on one and the other prolly won't be too far away. Check out Tommy Fannon's article that I posted, it is a good read on gear.

[T-Man007]

Re: Would you rather...

Well T-man this is a widely debated topic in the pl community and the way you described raw vs equipped is really kinda ignorant. Lot's of folks use the same arguement on steroids and even otc supps. If moving big weight in gear was as easy as many seem to think everyone would be doing it. It takes a tremendous amount of training, working on technique, etc.... to master your gear. Many benchers, myself included use gear not only as a means to move the maximum amount of weight possible but to also avoid injury. My shoulders are shit and my raw bench sucks royal fukking ass and any time I try going heavy full range on the bench raw my shoulders are killing me for weeks. I've had surgery on one and the other prolly won't be too far away. Check out Tommy Fannon's article that I posted, it is a good read on gear.

Point taken...and like you said I do base my comments on ignorance because I really didn't think about it from a perspective like yours. I learned something new today! LOL

I agree with you on the aas side of the argument too. What pisses me off is when they lie about it and say they didn't it all natural. I understand the implications of admitting the use too so it's a sour subject for sure. But when guys at the gym put on 20 pounds in 3 months and then go around bragging about how creatine did it, it pisses me off because I know the truth. As an aas user I'm not saying anything negative about aas use but just don't be a liar. For instance, people at the gym will ask me how I did this or how I did that and I will break out my 2 year old workout journal and say 'see, it's all in how you measure your activity in the gym. If you don't set goals you won't have anything to aim for.' I will also tell them 'you have to realize, I've been lifting for 20 years and I've learned a lot during those years.' If someone asks me if I use I will say 'I used in HS and in my early 20's' and leave it at that.

But anyways, I didn't mean to offend you with what I said. I have a ton of respect for you and I never realized that side of using the gear. I just always thought of it as an assist but I guess it's no different than my straps on heavy shrugs. Without them, I couldn't do it, so that makes me kinda hypocritical. And nobody like to be that. LOL

[kite]

Re: Would you rather...

Not at all brutha, you didn't offend me.

[Behemoth]

Re: Would you rather...

I actually tend to agree with him on some points though. Nowdays it seems like many people want the shortcut and don't work to get strong in AND out of gear. I've benched 505 raw and 705 in single-ply gear. Doing both gives you the maximum benefit. On the other hand, powerlifting as a sport is driven by equipment and you have to use that equipment and get the most out of it possbile. But that leads us back to, get stronger raw, and your equipment should up your numbers even more.

[powerlifter2000]

Re: Would you rather...

I'm with Behemoth on this one...I dont compete to impress anyone, I complete so that I can push my limits to the end...I would rather have 8 great years of pushing my body past the limits most normal people think it can do than to just lift daily for the purpose of lifting for 35 years. Even if I never set a record however, I would still be balls to the wall, training and competing and pushing my body to what I nor anyone else thinks it can do. When my 8 great years are over, there will be other stuff to do when the body cant take it anymore..I refuse to live life and not take chances, not try to do something I never dreamed I could and I refuse to be normal.

[ottorotvic]

Re: Would you rather...

This is the kind of debate I was hoping for. I would rather have 5 minutes of true greatness than 60 years of mediocrity.

[RevTodd]

Re: Would you rather...

This is a tough one... I can see both sides of the issue. My intitial reaction was go all out and acheive greatness, even if for only a short time. But I can also see the down-side of being on the sidelines for the rest of your life re-living and pining for the glory days.

As I think about it, I'd have to go with my first reaction and come down on the side of greatness. Cuz then at least you have something to remember, a moment when you were a star... instead of a long series of mediocre outings that don't rise above the pack.