Questions on powerlifting + uni

[u/rezadashti]

For context, I (M17, 87kg) live in England and am in my last year of school before med university. Been going gym very on and off for about 4 years. Never trained specifically for SBD. Despite big inconsistencies, I do consider myself somewhat strong (bench 120kg, 50kg weighted dips for 2, deadlift haven’t done in years but 160kg)

Essentially my question is - how demanding in terms of time and commitment can casual powerlifting be? And in comparison to casual powerlifting, how would competitive powerlifting be on those same terms?
I am unfamiliar with the actual lifestyle of powerlifters and how much of their life goes to it, so I’d greatly appreciate some insight on that. It’s clear the schedules for uni can be very oppressive at times with hospital placements + intensive studying

In addition to that, I was also wondering whether there even is a point to uni powerlifting - I.e. is there a reason to pick uni powerlifting over independent clubs out of uni?

[u/9th_hennepin]

Serious powerlifters who are now MD’s.

https://youtu.be/4mxC1HGoQig?is=kzN3DrD2gogIicCx

[u/rezadashti → u/9th_hennepin]

This is great thank you !! Gone in the saved videos ill be watching it soon 😊

[u/viewtifulhd]

• You can definitely find the time for Powerlifting while at University. There have been plenty of medicine students competing at a high level internationally while they were at uni, through the years. 

• British Powerlifting doesn't have a formal club structure whereby you need to join a club to compete. That being said, you should definitely join your university powerlifting club. It's a fantastic way to make friends and it allows you to represent your university at BUCS and potentially internationally. 

[u/rezadashti → u/viewtifulhd]

Thank you vm for the reply ! Joining the uni club sounds like a good idea then
In terms of finding time is it the same as finding time for, say, gym on its own? Or is it more demanding than that? Are there other significant things I’d have to do that a regular gym goer wouldn’t?

[u/viewtifulhd → u/rezadashti]

In general it's just like going to the gym.

There will probably be team training session that you can attend. You should definitely attend them, as it's fun to train with friends. 

It will all be a great experience. You are going to have a fantastic time!

[u/rezadashti → u/viewtifulhd]

That sounds lovely ! If it really is as you say it is then I see basically no reason not to join. Thank you very much 😊😊

[u/tanks4dmammories]

I worked in tech for 20 years, a lot hybrid even before Covid and managed to train 4x a week without fail. I now cannot commit 4x a week working in the city with small kids I want to see before bed, and a commute. So I am parking it until I get some WFH days when I pass probation.

For me personally powerlifting cannot be half assed and you have to commit and never miss a session, eat enough, sleep enough and give 100%. I could dedicate 6-8 hours a week to it previously. As I currently can't, I won't. I am doing a rolling PPL whenever I can get to the gym.

[u/rezadashti → u/tanks4dmammories]

You’re a big inspiration and I can appreciate the circumstances now with your life being even more busy😅
6-8 hours a week seems doable now. It seems to an extent I’ll just have to see how it’ll fit into my routine in uni though , I have a feeling I’ll be more exhausted in uni than I already am. But of course there is that element of ‘if you want it you’ll go do it’.. so there’s that. Will have to see if I actually enjoy it too
May I ask did you ever compete? And if so, how was that?

[u/Titanspaladin]

Can't comment on your specific circumstances. But some thoughts:

• Uni life can be both more demanding and less demanding than you anticipate. Study requirements are high, you will try other extracurriculars and join societies that expand your horizons, you will make new mates on different timelines than you. enjoy the process and be flexible with your training schedule. But conversely you will find that you end up having downtime in odd ways, like 3 hours between classes. Those times can be good for studying but are also great for fitting in a gym sesh, which also gives you a mental break.

• Powerlifting does require gym time but the amount of time could vary significantly depending on your goals and where you are at in your training block. Like if you just want to lift weights but incorporate SBD, vs focus on SBD with the aim of trying a meet, vs taking the sport quite seriously. To that end, you may want to actually see if you enjoy compating before trying to set up a lifestyle that accomodates training.

• If training is a priority you will make it work. I did law and was working multiple jobs including night shifts. I joined a 24 hour gym and lifted 3x/week after work from midnight to 1:30am. Or my whole schedule would change in a new semester and I would go in the morning. You will need to be flexible but if you enjoy lifting its easy to find the time because you look forward to it.

[u/rezadashti → u/Titanspaladin]

Thank you vm for the lengthy reply 😊
Did you come around to find powerlifting as a mental break, or was it ‘soothing’ from the start ? And why powerlifting in particular, why not just gym? Did/do you compete? Your point on the downtimes is smth I didn’t really consider.. I still view education as a whole as a sort of 9-5 thing. On the flexibility thing you’re absolutely right - I think I’ll have to see if I actually enjoy it first of course. Gym for me right now isn’t anywhere near as exciting as it once was for me when I was 14/15.. it’s more sort of trying to stay healthy (and for rugby I need to be conditioned) than being something I can’t wait for

I get ur point on goals. My feelings on the former (just incorporating SBD) - I can just do that myself in gym on my own. I’d rather compete or train for something concrete , because I am one to lose drive if I don’t clearly see ‘the point’ of something. I’d likely try to go for meets if I pursue it but you’re right I’ll have to see if I actually enjoy competing. How would I see that I enjoy competing first though?
Ah also.. this’ll sound silly but I’m dead serious - a thing slightly putting me off powerlifting is the tight ass clothes. I don’t really want randoms to see my pickle outline and crease. At meets or training do you tend to wear your singlet or can you just go with normal clothes? Does it depend on how strict they are because I seriously don’t think gun to my head I’ll wear that

[u/Titanspaladin → u/rezadashti]

Hmm a few things in here.

Best kind of exercise is the one you are happy to do consistently. That can change over time and is different for everyone. If getting stronger is your goal or interest you don't have to do SBD, and if you do like SBD you don't have to train for expression of strength as 1rm, and even if you do like that you don't have to compete! Ultimately competing is what separates powerlifters from people who like training SBD. Plenty of weak people love powerlifting and plenty of strong people never compete. 

I did compete and liked it in the rugby off-season. But I also enjoyed strongman and highland games. These days I still go to the gym but I do triathlons because that is the kind if consistent exercise I prefer at this point in life. 

For meet clothing all I can say is that noone gives a damn. its the same in the gym generally, everyone is too focused on their own experience to care about what other people are doing or wearing. There is a reason for standardized clothing based on information the judges need to determine if a lift is good or not. you only spend a maximum of 9 minutes on the platform across a day that takes hours, and everyone is wearing the same thing. You are allowed underwear too as long as they are briefs so it's not particularly revealing.

On the timing thing - yeah your schedule as a uni student will be different than your schedule in high school. I would just say that you have a lot of lifestyle changes coming up and you don't have to map out your schedule for the next several years right now. Just aim to get in the gym 3 days/week for at least an hour, learn basic principles like progressive overload and deloads without getting too caught up in the details, learn about anatomy and biomechanics, try to get decent sleep, and once you have settled into a routine where that is all achievable take a punt on a random local low stakes meet just to see if you like competing. Then assess from there!

[u/rezadashti → u/Titanspaladin]

All sounds great! Im very familiar with deloading and all the gym stuff, I think biggest shift for me in terms of gym will maybe be changing the focus of my routine. The low stakes meet plan sounds great too hah
Putting the clothing situation like that - it doesnt sound near as bad as I visualised it. I just see some videos of these guys for example deadlifting on insta and the comments are filled with 'Someone was excited' you know what I mean? If I ever do decide going to any meets I'll likely wear underwear as you mentioned - thank you though I apologise for the silly questions your insights invaluable 😁

[u/sinaners]

I am in a US medical school and hoping to do my first competition this year, maybe after Step 1. I didn't even think about competing until my second year because I wanted to make sure I held up during first year. I am okay being an "average" medical student though to prioritize other things in my life.

I don't really have any advice, but good luck!!

[u/rezadashti → u/sinaners]

I don’t mind being an average med student either man. There’s definitely gonna be a lot of smart people and if I’m average within that cohort then I think I’ll be more than happy, getting into meds tough enough. Skipping first year doesn’t sound like a bad plan, I’ll have to see how bad the curriculum really is at first 🤷‍♂️but again, there are people saying here that it’s only like 1-2 hour sessions 4x a week and surely that’s quite manageable
Thank you vm for the kind words mate wishing you the best in PL🙏

[u/Arteam90]

As hard as medical school can be (latter years especially), life doesn't really get any easier.

I've known plenty of medical students (now doctors) who make it work. Which is generally the case for anything - if you care, you'll make it work/find a way.

Nowadays the cool thing is that a lot of universities have powerlifting groups, so it's a great way to make friends and form a group.

Typically you might train 2-3 hours a session, 4x a week. I know students at my gym who are there for 4+ hours because they can and enjoy yapping.

I also have friends who are bankers and lawyers that work stupid hours and still make it work (training at 2am after work, for example).

[u/rezadashti → u/Arteam90]

2-3 hours 4x a week seems completely manageable, and reading through the other replies it’s apparent that it seems like a pretty good time in general too with all the stuff about making friends and whatnot
But how is it actually different to just going gym normally ? Would it be with a trainer or a specific routine or group ?

[u/Arteam90 → u/rezadashti]

It varies, but I've seen it that there might be one or two sessions per week where you all get together to train, and otherwise you train whenever makes sense. But if your university has a good gym for it, then likely you'd be seeing the same faces often and training around the same people.

Also there might be a coach your club hires who might offer some relatively cheap or free programming/coaching.

Often these groups will have a mix of beginners/newbies and more intermediate/advanced.

[u/rezadashti → u/Arteam90]

That sounds awesome thank you loads I seriously appreciate it 🙏🙏🙏

[u/uhohthatwontdo]

You can make what you want of it the biggest positive for me of doing PL at uni was the community and easier opportunity to compete a lot of uni societies put together varsity comps and are often (not always) cheaper than other regional or divisional comps.
Some uni societies also run weekly training sessions in gyms it’s a chance to train with other people in the society for great for making friends and also a nice way to get to train in a gym that might be more for PL.

If you did plan on competing it also gives you a chance to try for BUCS which is great fun and you can also be a part of committee too which is rewarding and looks good on applications lol.

If you’re worried about it being busy on top of being med I would say that you can always try it out in your first year and if it’s too much you can tone it down. I will say my PL society at uni had a lot of medics and they compete and are very active in the club some even being in the committee.

[u/rezadashti → u/uhohthatwontdo]

That actually sounds good fun , ty for the insight 😊had no ideas lots of medics show up to these things. I don’t personally know many ‘active’ or sporty medics..
And of course you’re right I could tone it down if it’s too much. A few questions though if you don’t mind 😅
What does being in the committee mean? A part of the BUCS committee?
Would I be able to compete through the uni with my clubmates too?
One more question - did you train in your unis campus gym? You mentioned training in a gym more for PL, is that any different to the one in uni

[u/deadlifting94]

I was at university for a long time (did a PhD). Powerlifting can easily fit into the lifestyle. Of course, it depends on how intense your course is.

You might have to make some social sacrifices for recovery ie not drinking too much, getting enough sleep.

Happy to chat with you if you want to talk about it!

[u/rezadashti → u/deadlifting94]

Oh wow a Dr 👀 I’d greatly appreciate a chat 😄
I figured if I’m studying something intensive like medicine it’ll in some ways force me into an early night anyways - as in, I’ll be exhausted from all the work and studying, independent of gym. I don’t know if it was like that for you though (?)
I don’t and won’t drink anyways (personal, not religous reasons..) so that won’t be an issue. It’s just probably wanting to spend time with my friends though and living a full life that worries me most when it comes to big commitments. But it seems like it’s really just gym with only a bit more commitment? Is that fair to say?
In what ways is it different to gym actually?
Also in terms of diet did you or others meal prep ? Could I just wing it

[u/uncreativelefty]

The best way of learning is just by doing, honestly.

When I went to school for mechanical engineering, I trained 4x/week, around 1.5-2 hours per workout when applying Sheiko style programming methodology.

maintaining consistency was fairly easy, but I was usually on the campus from about 8AM~10PM, and also involved with various campus clubs (engineering design). The engineering work itself usually took 50-60 hours each week, and I worked on Saturday as well, sometimes Sunday, but I tried to take Sunday's off for the most part.

A big part of university is that everything you need is on the campus. So long as you can plan your day out and make sure you have food prepped/ready, you can get a hell of a lot accomplished.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably actually train Olympic weightlifting instead tbh which takes even more time out of one's day. But powerlifting was an excellent way for me to get in shape, get very very strong, and start competing.

Nowadays, I'm married, work as an engineer, and currently train for oly weightlifting.

Good luck with your goals!

[u/rezadashti → u/uncreativelefty]

Thank you! I greatly appreciate the reply.Seems like your life’s worked out quite well 😴
In terms of meal prep, would you cook a big portion and like contain it ? Is meal prepping really that important for powerlifting? What I say may sound a bit daft, but it may be because I’ve gone gym young that I can eat almost whatver and not put on much fat / I’ll even lose fat, and simultaneously get stronger. I’m guessing it won’t be as effective as I age - but is it actually that important? Surely just having healthy foods high protein etc. is what matters most?
Also, why would you do Olympic over powerlifting though?
Sorry for the bombard of questions

[u/uncreativelefty → u/rezadashti]

Haha no worries!

I did cook big portions, yeah. Prepping isnt that important for powerlifting, but eating enough is, and spending lots of money on uni food gets pretty expensive really quick unless you can afford it. Depends on your situation. High enough protein is what matters, but its pretty easy to burn through money quick when youre on campus all day, lol.

Id pick oly weightlifting because its more well rounded and is more suited to general athleticism and longevity. You won't get as muscular most likely, but you'll still get quite strong, have mobility, flexibility, fairly decent muscle mass, and essentially all the traits you need going into old age. I still love powerlifting, but i also love doing a super clean and crisp clean and jerk, snatch, swinging my kettlebells around, playing sports, etc. Hell even a 3 month training cycle of running+ maintenance strength work can be fun.

Its honestly not that important choosing powerlifting vs oly lifting vs bodybuilding vs. Whatever, but consistency is. Find what you love to do and what gets you into the gym, and dont be afraid to change it up if you want. Want those big biceps? Go for it!!!

Good luck with your journey bro 🙏

[u/rezadashti → u/uncreativelefty]

Thank you so much this all sounds wonderful 😁 I greatly appreciate all the advice. I've never properly looked into olympic weightlifting.. tbh I see people doing snatches and thought 'whats the point', but it must be true that its good for longevity. Ill look into it for sure !! Again thank you loads. Im going to refer back to this entire post and replies shortly before uni starts (ive left a reminder) so I may say what's up if it comes down to it