On Sunday, June 22nd, my client Sonia Wainberg competed in the novice powerlifting event at Melbourne’s Iron Revolution.
Powerlifting is a strength sport comprising three lifts: Squat, Bench, Deadlift. Done properly, each of these is a total body lift and a true test of barbell strength. The goal is to move the most weight across the three lifts for the biggest overall total. The competitor gets three attempts at each lift, the tactician being someone who opens with something they can manage—to first secure a score—before capitalising on this by venturing into the braver “Personal Best” territory. A score is collected from a compilation of the competitor’s greatest lifts (the most weight moved) from each of the three movements (Squat, Bench, Deadlift).
Iron Revolution is a strength gym with a whole cornucopia of apparatuses for people who love lifting heavy stuff. It was a pretty big deal. And we had a really fun lead up to the event.
Here’s Sonia.
WHAT’S THE APPEAL OF A STRENGTH SPORT LIKE POWERLIFTING?
I’m generally a goal-oriented person. I like watching the numbers go up consistently each week. Or working out an issue if I’m seeing a plateau. I also like that this sport is about how strong you are and not about losing weight per se. It just feels like a more positive way to approach fitness. It’s also amazing for midline stability (that’s your back!).
WHAT WAS YOUR PREP LIKE LEADING INTO YOUR FIRST POWERLIFTING MEET?
I trained in 4-week blocks with 3 sessions per week. I tried to be consistent with my food and sleep. I’m a big believer in not overtraining. I see patients who over train and they could be so much stronger and more resilient if they just did a little less. My aim was slow and steady and I found it very enjoyable.
*Sonia, unlike anyone else I’ve worked with, knows the potential of holding back. Most of our prep was very low volume with a higher intensity. That means low reps at high percentages of her maximal load (heavy lifting and not much of it). We didn’t do any work she couldn’t recover from and there was no ‘fluff’ in the program. Most people need a bit of fluff to feel good about themselves—but Sonia is wise beyond her lifting years, which allowed us to focus on the task at hand: powerlifting. For Sonia, it was mainly about improving the technical quality of the three lifts and building finesse under pressure. Most people think it’s all strength – but strength needs shape and technique to express itself maximally. And with powerlifting, the sport, we only need a single expression of that strength. That means one rep. So it’s all about mastering this one little rep. Over and over and over…
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN LIFTING?
Regularly for about 3 years. Though I’ve been focusing on powerlifting more so in the last 18 months. I did my first squat with a barbell maybe 10 years ago!
WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO NUTRITION?
Eat food to fuel what I’m doing, which isn’t just about what I’m doing in the gym. Life is full of ups and downs and everything in between so I like to apply my nutrition appropriately given my specific context. Generally, I go for pro-metabolic ‘diet’ and listening to my body and how it responds to food is very important to me. There’s a lot of noise in the nutrition world and we’re almost being trained to ignore our responses to what we eat. I try to really listen to how food makes me feel. I sometimes measure my pulse and temperature around meals and waking, especially if I’ve increased/decreased calories or altered my macro ratios. Having said this, I try to not measure everything all the time as that can be stressful and counterproductive! Specifically, I guess I always try to get the powerhouse foods every week: beef liver, oysters, prawns, gelatin.
AND YOUR APPROACH TO LIFE?
Short answer: Laugh as much as I can. Be kind and compassionate to people. I try to be connected and engaged at all times. I recognise that I’m responsible for my life and the situations I find myself in. I consider my future as well as my past while remaining in the present.
WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE GETTING INTO THE SPORT?
The old adage of train smarter, not harder works here I feel. Be consistent with training as well as nutrition. You can’t go and do deadlifts and then not eat properly. You’re just asking for injury. Set realistic goals. Get a great trainer to help you with your mechanics and the program of course!
WHAT WAS YOUR HIGHLIGHT FROM THE DAY?
I’d have to say the ‘easy’ final deadlift was a very satisfying moment for me. The energy in the room and the people competing as well as spectators were all super encouraging and friendly. A memorable day overall!
WHAT’S NEXT?
I’m going into a phase of working on my squat and some of the finer mechanics in that motion so that I can squat heavier in 12 months’ time! I’ll definitely keep working on my powerlifting with assistance from a personal trainer.
