Perspective: powerlifting is both a team and individual sport

On meet day, you’re obviously competing with those around you. It’s part of any competitive sport you’ll find yourself in.

Yet, Powerlifting is different from the others. It’s both about yourself and the team behind your back. It’s about how great you can become-yet also building the strongest army you've ever seen.

This article explores the unique athlete mentality in this strength modality, and how it affects us as lifters. 

1. Powerlifting is about being your best self.

The barbell is a vessel for uncovering your capabilities. It allows you to find your true strength and channel that right before your eyes.

In your strength journey, each pound you lift is earned. You cannot cheat a 200, 300, 400 lb deadlift (anabolic steroids aside)-and that’s one of the most empowering aspects.

Every accomplishment you reach is because you worked for it. This process is a metaphor for wanting something badly enough and doing whatever it takes to get there. In turn, your perspective and confidence begin to transform. You start to realize that there are layers of potential inside you, each PR uncovering another. That potential bleeds into every aspect of life. 

This is a very individualistic aspect of the sport. It’s you now vs. you yesterday. You this meet vs. you the meet prior. Accomplishments build upon each other as you continue to progress and work harder than before. No one can take that from you. 

No one can give it to you, either. You build your own successes in this sport-revealing your inner power.

This is a journey of seeing how great you can become. One PR only leaves you hungrier for the next. Every day, you’re working toward a better, stronger version of yourself-with no true “end.” Improvement is the only possible destiny. 

2. Everyone’s strength journey is drastically different-and strength is for everybody.

On that same note, in this sport, all wins are individual. There are many different forms of progress-and each one has a domino effect, progressing you from where you once were. 

A 135-lb squat may be a warm-up for one person and an all-time PR for another. That idea is very intriguing: every win is significant to the unique individual who earned it. 

Not only do lifters come in different ages, genders, sizes, etc, but humans are also just different in general. 

Strength is for everyone. It’s not just for washed-up meatheads or gym bros. It’s not all middle-aged men with power bellies. 

Strength is for women and theys.

Strength embraces all sexualities and genders.

Strength is for 12-year-olds and 90-year-olds.

Strength is for all backgrounds, all genetic makeups, all athletic histories-

No matter who you are, you can get stronger than you are right now. You can unleash the inner badassery emerging inside of you.

Celebrate each success as your own. 

For one lifter, that may be the ability to squat with a barbell after rehabbing a knee injury.

Another’s progress may be hitting an all-time PR of a 500-lb deadlift.

Or simply picking up a barbell for the first time in your life. 

Strength is not only measured in pounds. It’s measured in moving forward.

Each one of these markers is another step toward something better. That’s the direction that we’re all headed in, and that’s what matters. 

Lifters progress at different rates. Some may have injuries along the way, and others may struggle with confidence. One lifter might feel better with squats, and another may find them very foreign. 

You know how far you’ve come. You know where you started and the achievements since then. That’s what counts. 

Don’t tie yourself to only the numbers you lift. Look back at how far you've come. Each step forward leads toward something more-and the journey is what those PRs represent in the first place. The frustrations, the “small wins,” the days you didn’t want to show up, the tenacity, grit, and character built go into every number you achieve. 

Strength highlights that. It’s for everyone & looks different ON everyone. That’s part of its magic. 

3. Powerlifting unites you with like-minded individuals, creating bonds thicker than blood.

“The lifting is great, but THIS is why I love the sport. Because people rally around each other in a way I’ve never seen.”-(Chelsea Linge)

Barbell lifting provides camaraderie, community, and support.

Every lifter has this sense of empathy and experience for one another. When the “outside world” doesn’t understand the struggle, the discipline, the discomfort we put ourselves through, you find comfort in those who do.

The training partners who see every meaningful PR, every breakdown, every sacrifice, and pitfall understand all that each platform lift means. We’re better because of those we train with.

Through this sport, people build their character. As the number on the bar goes up, your hunger, your drive, fire, and discipline expand insurmountably. You find a sense of “grounding” and have a place to express yourself freely. Those who see it, and resonate with it, create a unique relationship with you. The barbell can provide a safe space for those who typically feel different, misunderstood, or unsupported. It welcomes everyone and makes us all better humans. 

The iron acts as a superglue between souls. A forever-growing, expanding energy among people, as each one is strengthened. With greater strength, comes greater togetherness, companionship, and culture. 

In this sport, you’ll find your tribe. People who are on the same journey as you-toward forging their highest selves. Individuals that treat your wins as their own; who want to see you succeed more than you do yourself, who “get it.”

That can change a person’s life. We’ve seen it firsthand. Those people are the ones you can rely on to hold you accountable and provide security during dark storms. Who let you come as you are-and witness your growth throughout the entire journey.

Iron sharpens iron, and your results will only be multiplied when you’ve got an army willing to fight for you.

4. Your team provides friendly competition, not comparison.

I’m a firm believer that no matter what, there’s always some presence of ego in the sport of Powerlifting. It’s not a bad thing, inherently. Ego allows us to go for those big weights. To continue reaching for more. It’s the little voice in the back of your head, reminding you that you are capable.

However, your ego can just as quickly become your enemy. Especially when it comes to the trap of comparison.

When you’re surrounded by a group of strong people, they can either be viewed as sources of self-discouragement, crushing your confidence; or sources of strength, opportunities to learn, and kindle to the fire for your own athletic career.

There will always be someone stronger than you.

Someone who started before you. Someone who’s got better technique, better leverages, better mechanics than you.

Can you control this? No. 

As cliche as it sounds, what you CAN control is your perception of it.

Instead of viewing those around you as reasons to discount your own wins, use them as examples of success stories. Everyone else's victories are just proof that hard work leads to greatness.

You can only do so much on your own. When you’re surrounded by people who know more than you, who have more experience than you, that should be exciting. This is a quest to become a better version of yourself, right? Outsourcing information and inspiration will only make you better. Talk to other athletes. Watch what they do. Listen to new perspectives. Tweaking the small things, hearing different viewpoints, and perfecting your craft will provide a path to self-improvement. It’s impossible to do that on your own.

Athletes view teammates to help propel themselves forward as sources of inspiration.

Mediocres view teammates as comparison- a chamber for excuses and complaints.

Which mentality will make you better? Which one will strengthen you as a lifter, part of your team, and a human in general?

In this sport, every book is different. You’re not only comparing your chapter 12 to someone else’s chapter 20, they’re entirely different books written in different languages. It’s not a fair playing field.

When you can draw from others’ experiences, you address faults in your own.

When you witness others’ successes, fire blazes in your soul.

When an unbiased perspective sheds light on your struggles- you’re humbled and strengthened.

When your team grows in support, your heart and passion are illuminated as a candle that ceases to burn out. 

When you find someone in a similar spot, you both work harder and tear down barriers together.

This journey is more fun with friends-it holds true every time.

Take advantage of that. Don’t be one of the people that believe teams are “unnecessary” or other lifters “get in your way.” You’ll hit a wall and wonder why you can’t break past it. 

We all struggle with comparison. But you can either address it and figure out how to use it to your advantage; or suffer through it, adding to the list of reasons why you “can’t make any progress.”

This sport is communal and it’s personal.

It’s about yourself, and it’s about the people you surround yourself with.

You fight to be the best version you can be. You recognize your own wins, how far you’ve come, and the work you put in for yourself.

Yet your team strengthens you, surges behind you, and pushes you-providing a reason to keep going.

The truth is, we need both. Each aspect is integral and sharpens the other.

Chase accomplishments, and do it with your tribe. It’s as simple as that, and you’ll never lose pursuing it.