Weightlifting: respect in numbers

In the sport of powerlifting, lifters will talk big, call out other lifters, and do their best to be the biggest and strongest dog on the block, but in this sport it’s the numbers that really count. This also applies when it comes to respect. Many of the younger and inexperienced lifters enter the sport with a lack of respect for other lifters. Perhaps due to their inexperience or perhaps their age or the drive they have to make a name for themselves.

In August 2007, I was preparing for a meeting when I was asked to come and help out with the second annual Byrd Memorial Bench Press and Weightlifting Competition held in Lake City. I told the competition coordinator that I would help, but that I needed to do my last day of squatting before my own competition. He said it would be fine for me to squat with his competitors while they warmed up for their flights, as long as I helped him out after finishing. I agreed and did just that.

The Byrd Memorial competition was a competition sanctioned by the American Powerlifting Federation (APF), which meant they were using a mono-lift for squatting and the use of multi-layer lifting equipment was allowed. Even though the use of multi-layer equipment and a mono-lift was allowed, Buddy Duke, a trainer and owner of a gym in Adel, Georgia, assembled a team that was comprised of all single-layer lifters, most of them them in their 20s and new. to sport. Buddy is the Georgia state president for the United States Weightlifting Federation (USPF) and hosts the Southeast Cup in Adel each year. The USPF is a single layer arts federation that does not use a monelevator, but instead lowers the weight in the squat. My team and I had competed at Buddy’s for years until we started with the multi-layered team. Even though the Byrd Memorial match was an APF match, he brought in his team to gain some experience in the competition. All of their life jackets came off their weight and they wore their single layer gear.

In the warm-up room, we had some lifters wearing overalls and others lowering the weights. As for me, I was lifting raw (not with equipment) just working up to a medium weight because it was my last day of squatting before my next competition. All the other lifters were running and competing, so I squeezed my squats between each of their warm-ups and when I wasn’t squatting, I was working on the monolift to help them out. It became too difficult to tell who was doing what, so I asked each lifter as they went up to warm up if they were coming out or needed me to pull the level on the monolift.

One of Buddy’s younger lifters stepped up to the bar for his last warm-up, around 365 pounds, when I said, “Do you need me to pull …” I stopped and looked at him realizing he was one of the of Buddy and quickly said, “… no, it’s true, you’re losing weight.” His answer to me, with the biggest chip anyone could have on his shoulder, was “I’m a single layer lifter, I walk with my weight.” I was about to reply, but luckily I was calm enough to stop myself: “You guys! #T, who do you think you’re talking to? My lightest squat days are heavier than any weight you can imagine on your back. “Most of Adel’s lifters had the same chips on their shoulders. For whatever reason, single-layer lifters, especially younger ones, have this more powerful attitude when it comes to multi-layer lifters. What they don’t realize is that most multi-layer and more experienced lifters started out just like them with single-layer gear.

I told my friends what had happened and the attitudes Buddy’s lifters had. Rather than having words with their lifters, my friends said there was a better way to get the chips off these guys. We decided to go to Adel for the Southeast Cup and let our numbers knock on the door. It was decided that three of us would put on the single layer gear again and prepare for the match. It was the first single-layer meeting we had done in at least four years. It was actually a nice change of pace from what we had been doing. Sure our numbers wouldn’t be the same, but the point of the match was to show these guys a thing or two.

At Buddy’s meet, his team was there and our guys were ready. We hit numbers these guys had never seen in the gym or at the competition. At the end of the meeting, we had achieved what we had set out to do. They should have said the least humbly, but to our surprise, we did a little more than just hit chips and straighten egos. We had done something that we did not expect, WE INSPIRED! The guys who had their most powerful attitudes, just two months earlier, were so impressed with our uprising that they started congratulating us, asking us questions, shaking hands, and in some cases wanting photos with us. I should add, I was the youngest and least experienced of our three lifters at 39 with nine years competing in the sport.

Funny how your numbers can speak for you. That day, the numbers of some experienced lifters showed a group of younger and inexperienced lifters the meaning of respect.

Too all the younger inexperienced lifters out there; don’t be disrespectful to others just because they don’t compete with the same team or federation as you. You don’t know his background in the sport and you might be surprised how the Adel team did. For all seasoned lifters, their job is to help develop, inspire and motivate younger and less experienced lifters to be their best.

And for everyone, being good at what you do also means being humble and respectful. That is the only way to earn respect in this sport.