More Effective than Anticipated

It is not uncommon for the average individual to fall victim to the rumors and blatant incorrect connotations tied to certain activities. Some sports are notorious for their aggression, some for their athleticism, and some for their benefits and lack thereof. It is very important for people to do their own research when they hear the rumors tied to certain sports, because many of them are not true. Powerlifting is one of the sports that is not looked at as highly as it should be, and that is due to many people misunderstanding the sport and what it brings to its athletes.

One big misconception tied to the sport of powerlifting is how it is a very dangerous sport to participate in, especially as a child. People believe that just because the sport is tied to an athlete pushing their bodies to lift heavy weights that it has to be detrimental to their overall health. This concept is plainly incorrect and ignorant, as it shows the ones who believe that have not done their thorough research into the sport. The European Journal of Physics is one area of knowledge that made the safety of powerlifting crystal clear, as it debunked this very rumor. Powerlifting might be a sport of lifting as much weight as possible at the least bodyweight, but it is still statistically safer than some of the most popular sports in the world, such as football and soccer. It’s also not just a little bit safer – it’s 4 times as safe to participate in than them. It’s also unknown to many that powerlifting is statistically as safe as dancing, which is known to be one of the least dangerous sports.

The competition itself is also not what causes injuries to powerlifters, meaning that the activity of lifting heavy weights isn’t necessarily dangerous to the lifters. Specifically in young lifters, which are the age group that are known to be looked down upon for lifting so early in their lives, most injuries present themselves when a lift with a heavy load is executed or attempted with poor technique. Technique is essential when prioritizing safety in any sport, such as executing a tackle in football or soccer.

Effective strength training programs, which are the basis of powerlifting, have a very long list of benefits associated with active participation, increased strength within the trained lift and the athlete as a whole, have one of the lowest rate of sports-related injuries, increases the bone strength index of the athletes, and just an overall enhanced self-esteem and fitness-level.

Another misconception associated with the sport of powerlifting is how other team sports, such as football, rugby, and soccer, are associated with more benefits for the athletes. Before even approaching the comparison of benefits among these varying sports, it’s important to note the vast difference in injury rates among them. When comparing benefits between different activities, it is wise to understand that most benefits are rendered ineffective when completely injured and unable to even participate and continue receiving said benefits. It is without a doubt that, among the three sports above, powerlifting gives the most bang for its buck when it comes down to benefits associated with it and risk of injury with consistent participation.

There was a study conducted of one hundred and eighty five rugby players, in which injuries were recorded throughout the season. In a single season, ninety eight of the one hundred and eighty five players were recorded to have had an injury. Out of the ninety eight players, one hundred and fifty one injuries were recorded. It was concluded that a complete eradication of deliberate dangerous play would drastically reduce the injuries in rugby. When considering the benefits of such a popular sport, understand that it is not uncommon for over half of the players of the season to receive injuries, and some of them receive multiple. As stated above, football and soccer have literally four times the injury rate as powerlifting. One of the main reasons that this is the case is due to the high nature of aggression of these sports. Sports such as rugby, soccer, and football have very high contact between players and most of the injuries experienced are due to the actions of other players around them, such as a tackle or collision.

Before beginning to demonstrate the endless benefits associated with constant participation of powerlifting, it is important to reiterate that it is not only a fourth as dangerous as football and soccer, but equally as safe as dancing. Powerlifting has a multitude of benefits, including improved motor skills and body composition. Improved body composition in a more defined way means that the subject being studied has a decreased percentage of body fat percentage, which is in turn an increased amount of fat free mass. Muscle gain is also one of the components of an improved body composition, as it helps decrease body fat percentage. Lastly, there is evidence of enhanced bone health in powerlifting athletes, especially when the lifter begins at a young age.

To reiterate, it is far from uncommon for the average person to become influenced by others’ rumors and beliefs about certain activities. It would be beneficial to the greater knowledge of everybody for people to do their own research before contributing to the ongoing rumors and incorrect beliefs, as it would put an end to many of them. Powerlifting is not exactly looked up upon as the sport to pursue, regardless of the benefits it gives to its participants. It is not praised because of the common misconception of the sport in general – how it is believed to be extremely dangerous to lift heavy weights, especially as a child. It should now be clear that not only is powerlifting safer than almost every well known and popular sport available to participate in today, but it is also more beneficial than those sports. Powerlifting should be praised as one of the best activities for every man, woman, and child to learn, participate, and compete in.

References

Davies, J. E., & Gibson, T. (1978, December 23). Injuries in rugby union football. The BMJ. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.bmj.com/content/2/6154/1759

Myers, A. M., Beam, N. W., & Fakhoury, J. D. (2017, July). Resistance training for children and adolescents. Translational pediatrics. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532191/

The physics of powerlifting – iopscience.iop.org. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6404/aaa90e/meta

Srce. (n.d.). Portal hrvatskih znanstvenih I stručnih časopisa. Hrčak portal hrvatskih znanstvenih i stručnih časopisa – Hrčak. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?id_clanak_jezik=150931&show=clanak