How To Tell What Strength Sport Is Right For You?
Are you interested in lifting some impressive weights and developing strength? There are many popular strength sports out there. Initially, I thought powerlifting was too repetitive, and so I decided to try strongman. I told my wife, ‘I’ll just try it for the summer’. Several years later, here I am, still training strongman. However, throughout my journey, I found joy in powerlifting and bodybuilding style training. I’ve also ventured out to a few crossfit classes to see if it was for me. It wasn’t. But don’t let someone else’s opinion turn you off from trying any of these sports.
Where should you start? Hopefully, I can give some insight as to what some of the major strength sports are and help you get started!
What Is A Strength Sport?
First off, strength training is the process of using your body against a resistive force (weights) with the objective to lift more over a period of time. A strength sport utilizes specific movements in a number of ways to ultimately decide who is the strongest individual. Many people participate in these sports to challenge themselves or keep themselves accountable, while others may participate to break records. Always remember that competing is optional. You can have just as much fun sticking to a strength sport program without signing up for a competition.
The Benefits Of Strength Sports
Some individuals may prefer not to compete; however, participating in a strength sport can be an incredible experience. We have several members who compete in powerlifting and strongman. Some really enjoy the training and use the competitions as a benchmark to gauge how their progress has been. Others really enjoy the camaraderie within each training session, or even at a competition. Either way, no one has complained about getting stronger and making friends in the process.
How To Tell What Strength Sport Is Right For You?
One sport is not better than the other; except for strongman. Strongman is pretty awesome. But where should you start?
Take out your phone, or computer, and search gyms in your area. You can get specific and search ‘powerlifting gym’, or ‘strongman gym’. Check out each gyms’ social media account to see what the vibe is. Does it correlate with what you’re interested in? Feel free to reach out to the owner if you have any questions. Most of these gyms are privately owned, and the owner would be happy to answer your questions or concerns. Then, it’s up to you to check out the space.
You stepped inside, but you don’t know where to start. Lucky you, most smaller gyms, like ours, are excited to have you come check us out. Pull us for a chat. Ask questions. We appreciate the fact that you put in the effort to show up. We’ll help you out!
Try out a few gyms. Your first experience might be perfect, but if it’s not, there’s always another. You want the training to be fun and the environment to be positive so that you stick with it and get excited to keep coming back.
Powerlifting
Powerlifting tests three movements: squat, bench press, and deadlift. Athletes train to improve their one rep max. As long as you have access to a barbell and weights, you’ll be set. There are specific gyms that have calibrated plates and barbells used at competitions. But if you’re just starting these aren’t necessary. There are many programs available online. If you’re still unsure, look for a coach to guide you. Come check us out if you’re in Colorado and we’ll get you started on the right foot!
Bodybuilding
It’s pretty safe to say that everyone knows who Arnold is. One of the most iconic bodybuilders. Bodybuilding is in its name; you’re building your body. The goal is to grow your muscles and keep your body fat down so that all those muscles are observable. This may not be exactly strength oriented, more muscle growth based. But most individuals have some amount of bodybuilding built into their program. You can find all the equipment you’d need at most gyms in your area.
Functional Fitness
Functional fitness has found its way into most gyms. You’ll work on various movements that complement your career or lifestyle. One of the biggest conveniences with functional training is that you can rely on bodyweight work, resistance bands or minimal equipment. This means that you can perform a workout almost whenever or wherever.
Strongman
Strongman is slowly becoming more mainstream and accessible. Each strongman competition normally consists of 5 events: overhead, deadlift, 2 carry events, and a loading event. One great quality to the sport is that the parameters for these 5 events are always changing. Although more equipment can be found at most gyms, due to the variability, you might want to find strongman specific gyms to have access to everything.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting is a combination of strength and power. There are two main movements: the clean and jerk, and the snatch. Both of which involve taking a bar with weight from the ground to over one’s head. Some individuals may quickly grasp the technique, meanwhile others may have to work with a coach to learn.
Final Thoughts on Finding a Strength Sport
Remember any of these strength sports would be lucky to have you. You shouldn’t feel pressured to dive head first into one over the other, unless you have a stronger interest. But if you do enough research, you’ll be able to find the environment and training style that you find joy in. It may also be very useful to work with a coach along the way to ensure that you are learning the correct technique, following an appropriate program structure, and improving over time. We’ve successfully introduced strongman to many members, who have really enjoyed the training aspect and the competitiveness.
