Powerlifting is a weightlifting discipline. It consists of three events: squat, bench press, and deadlift. The maximum weight lifted in each event is totalled for a final score; lifters compete in bodyweight classes.

Powerlifting is open to both men and women.

Existing Olympic weightlifting events such as the Snatch and the Clean and jerk rely on strength as well as technique. Powerlifting relies on pure brute force, and the Cyclops campaign hopes to make Powerlifting an Olympic sport in 2004. [1]

  • In the squat, the athlete stands under a racked barbell which is loaded with weight. Grabbing the bar from behind, the bar is put onto the top of the back just behind the neck. The athlete walks clear of the rack, squats down until thighs are parallel or lower to the floor and stands up again, carefully returning the weight to the rack.

  • In the bench press, the athlete lays back on a bench. Above is a barbell on a rack, approximately level with mid-chest. The athlete removes the bar from the supports, lowers it to the chest and then presses it up to the full extention of the arms and carefully returns the weight to the rack.

  • In the deadlift, a loaded barbell is placed on the floor. The athlete squats down with thighs parallel to the floor, grabbing and lifting the bar until the legs and back are straight. The bar is then carefully returned to the floor. In competition, the top of the movement is finished by 'locking-out', which means to straighten the back into a balanced position.

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