Mystery lifted off different sports
IT is a common mistake.
Powerlifting and weightlifting is the same thing, just with a different name, right?
That, it seems, is the assumption that most have.
Although to an untrained eye they look similar, ask the competitors of each style and they will tell you they are both very different.
And they will quickly explain that they spend a lot of time describing to novices the difference between the two.
Jacqueline Feher, from Iron Strength Power and Performance gym in Bungalow, says she meets people often who believe powerlifting and weightlifting are one in the same.
“When I tell people I compete in powerlifting, they immediately think it’s the sport in the Olympics, which is weightlifting,” Feher said. “I used to roll my eyes and give a nice loud exasperated sigh, but we encounter this so often now that it doesn’t phase us.”
Elias Wright, a Cairnsbased Powerlifting Australia Level 1 coach, said powerlifting has received an upwards trend in momentum in recent years.
“It is becoming more accessible, back in the day powerlifting used to be known as a sport with big guys just lifting big weights,” Wright said.
“It is quite the opposite, we have weight classes for women at 47kg, all the way up to men that are 120kg and over.
“It is in weight classes so it is achievable for people instead of competing against people a lot heavier than them.
“It is not big giant men lifting weights, it is not that at all.
“It is not all about being massive and muscles, it is about how much weight you can lift.”
Cairns Green Ants Weightlifting Club head coach David De Rose has spent time in both sports.
“Weightlifting is a very challenging sport because it is so technical,” De Rose said.
“You never quite master it but I enjoyed my time doing both.”
CrossFit Trainer and Dungeon Barbell Club Head Coach Bec Jakubovsky enjoys the mental side of weightlifting.
“There is so much to think about, so many intricate details to lift,” Jakubovsky said. “You can never perfect it. “I guess you can never get it completely right, there is always that challenge to think about each different aspect of each lift.
“There is always room for improvement.
“There is a real personal and mental battle.”
Feher is competing at the Powerlifting Australia National Championships this weekend.
The competition is invite only and based on athlete’s performances over the past year.
Feher will compete with the ‘best of the best’ athletes in Australia at the Australian Fitness and Health Expo in Brisbane over Saturday and Sunday.