Weight Training and Nutrition Mistakes: Optimizing the Benefits of Powerlifting

Today, weight training in the form of powerlifting is a popular individual sport in which athletes can compete in organized events or individually to achieve personal fitness goals, but an important part of this type of training regimen is proper nutrition. Given the significant energy demands that are placed on the human body in preparation for and during powerlifting meets and the overarching goal of powerlifters to increase their strength, it is easy for these athletes to make mistakes in their nutritional intake. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the relevant literature to explain, from physiological standpoint, some of the common training mistakes that are associated with nutrition and physical training for athletes performing the three powerlifting events and how can those mistakes can be mitigated. Following this review, a summary of the research and important findings about weight training and nutrition are presented in the papers conclusion.

Review and Discussion

At present, powerlifting is gaining in popularity among American men and women as well as children and adults. In fact, during the competition period between January 2012 and June 2016, there were nearly 22,000 individual powerlifting competitors in the United States, with about 16,000 men and 6,000 women actively training for and competing in these events (Yannone, 2016). The highly competitive sport of individual powerlifting is comprised of three individual weightlifting events: 1) the squat, 2) the bench press and 3) the deadlift, which are performed in that order as depicted in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Powerlifting events: squat, bench and deadlift

Source: https://www.powerlifting-ipl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/aboutpower.jpg

As can be seen from the events depicted in Figure 1 above, powerlifting lives up to its name and each event requires athletes to overcome the forces of gravity for a specified period of time (signaled by a white light) two out of three attempts in order to quality. According to Yannone (2016), Each lift, and its many variations, are trained throughout different training cycles: a volume phase, strength phase, and peaking phase (if the lifter is approaching a competition) (para. 4). In sum, the sport of powerlifting involves the significant expenditure of muscular energy for a sustained period of time during competitions as well as during the various training phases that are involved.

Given this diversity in training and performance requirements (Tovstonoh & Roztorhui, 2015) as well as the various event types that are involved in this strength-intensive sport, it is not surprising that many powerlifting athletes fail to obtain...

For instance, according to one experienced sports nutritionist and coach, As a powerlifter, you require very different nutrition than the average Joe. Ive seen way too many powerlifters leave nutrition behind only to find their performance and recovery decline (Booth, 2019, para. 2).

Every powerlifting competitors nutritional needs are unique due to individual differences in metabolism (Tovstonoh & Roztorhui, 2015). In addition, there have also been some gender-related differences identified in the nutritional needs of powerlifting athletes, and many female competitors make the mistake of limiting their fat consumption to modify their body composition but this practice has been determined to be counterproductive for powerlifting competition (Volek, Forsythe & Kraemer, 2006). Regardless of individual differences, though, there are some common requirements that can help powerlifting athletes assess the adequacy of their current nutritional choices. As a general rule of thumb, powerlifters should ensure they receive a minimum macronutrient intake of between 5 to 8 gram per kilogram of their body weight in carbohydrates, between 1.4 and2 grams per kilogram of body weight of...

…you were pushing your volume well above your baseline, a deload would require a reduction in volume. In this example, you want to keep your intensities similar, including the relative intensity zones previously trained.

- Intensity deload: If you were training with moderate volumes but higher intensities, a deload would require a reduction in intensity, and possibly relative intensity too.

Source: Adapted from Silverberg (2018)

Beyond the foregoing nutritional considerations, one powerlifting trainer emphasizes that athletes should avoid including any substances in their dietary regimen that elevates their testosterone or epitestosterone ratios which can trigger positive test results for anabolic steroids, potentially resulting in disqualification for future organized meets. In this regard, Hartle (1998) reports that:

One of the recent trends I have observed is a lot of lifters are taking substances that can or will elevate their testosterone/epitestosterone [TE] ratio and could also test the athlete positive for various anabolic steroids. Taking substances/supplements that elevate your T/E ratio above 6 to 1 and/or test positive for anabolic steroids is illegal and will result in a suspension from USA Powerlifting. (para. 4)

Furthermore, artificially manipulating testosterone levels is a dangerous practice that can lead to unexpected changes and problems in other parts of the body (Hartle, 1999).

Conclusion

Today, powerlifting is gaining in popularity among men and women of all ages, and current signs indicate this popularity will continue to increase well into the foreseeable future. The research consistently showed that powerlifters have discrete nutritional needs compared to other athletes but many competitors fail to achieve optimal outcomes from their nutritional choices due to mistakes made during the different phases of training and competition. In addition, the research was also consistent in showing that male and female powerlifting athletes should make consistently healthy nutritional choices that correspond to their phase of training and competition, while assiduously avoiding any…