Signs to go up a powerlifting weight class
Are you anything less than absolutely jacked? Are you always taller than the other lifters in your weight class? Then stop limiting your potential by staying in your weight class. Grow more muscle and pick up the fork.
All too often with young or new powerlifters I see them making a huge mistake with their long-term progress. And that is being in the wrong weight class. I don’t mean that they bribed the weigh in people and snuck into a different weight class. I mean people limiting themselves to a specific weight class so that they can be “competitive” when they’re in their early days of lifting and haven’t built any real size yet. Unless you’re actually on track to win a national competition for your age and weight then I wouldn’t worry about being “competitive”. You just need to focus on getting as strong as possible. Being “competitive” for your local meet doesn’t really matter. The people that win nationals are all packed full of muscle.
Weight classes are just height classes. The graph below shows Boris Sheiko's ideal heights for different weight classes. As you can see, if you're nearing 6 foot as a male. You should not be limiting yourself to the 74kg or 83kg weight class. Which I see all too often. Improving your technique is of course a must for powerlifting. But in short, you need to get more jacked, and your bodyweight will have to go up to achieve that.
Mass moves mass. As much as you should be working to refine your technique with every single rep you do. Muscle is what moves the weight. Bigger muscles = more strength potential.
Think of it this way, 2 people with the exact same amount of skill and technique and leverages on bench press. 1 of them has a pigeon chest and 8-inch arms flexed. The other has a huge chest that bulges out of their top and 18-inch arms relaxed. Which one do you think is going to be able to bench more? Obviously, the guy with more muscle. So, in order to be the strongest powerlifter you can be, you’re going to have to put on more muscle.
So, I recommend you to have a look on the chart and see what weight class you should be in for your height. I’m not saying you have to try to jump up to that weight as soon as possible and get fat. Because that won’t be competitive either. But you should be trying to steadily gain weight and gain muscle.
Best way to do this is to actually eat. Eat more than you burn in a day, along with a high amount of protein. Keep track weekly of your weight. If its steadily increasing each week then keep doing the same thing. If it’s staying the same or going down, then you need more calories. If its drastically increasing, then you need to reduce the calories a little bit, so you don’t gain too much excess fat.
On top of this, stop sandbagging your accessory work. I know they aren’t as fun as the main SBD lifts. But they’re important to building muscle. Stop skipping them and giving low effort. Find accessories you enjoy and can push hard on. It doesn’t matter if it’s the most optimal accessory ever if you hate it and struggle to push hard and do it each week.
Once you start eating more and smashing accessories you will start filling out your frame and you’ll find your numbers will start going through the roof. That is the best thing you can do at the start of your powerlifting journey. When you hit your genetic potential for muscle growth (which is often a lot more than people think) that’s when the gains purely come from technical and neurological adaptations. But imagine if you can work on all 3 aspects from the start. You total will shoot up.
On the flip side, if you look at that graph and see you’re a higher weight than the recommended weight class for your height, then you’ve got some questions to ask yourself. Are you a genetically gifted god with more muscle than Arnold? If so, fair play, but you probably don’t need to read this blog. If not, then I’m guessing that means you’ve got a high amount of fat on you. Then it’s up to you what to do. But for your overall health you should probably be looking at slowly cutting down. Doesn’t have to be a crazy diet. Throw in some kind of cardio or sport you might enjoy that’ll get your heart rate and calorie expenditure up. If that doesn’t help, then look at reducing your calories. Make sure you keep smashing your accessories hard during this period.
Overall, I can honestly say most of you reading this don’t need to worry about weight classes and being “competitive” as much as you are. Especially if you haven’t done a competition yet. Don’t bother water or gut cutting or restricting your weight to a certain weight class (unless you have a lot of extra fat, then it’s a trickier decision). The thing you need to focus on is building as much muscle as you can and just going and doing your first meet.
If you’re unsure of what to do and need some help, then send me a message on my contact form.
