Powerlifting For Seniors [Fountain Of Youth?]

In this article, you will learn about powerlifting for seniors. Powerlifting is a great sport for senior athletes and active senior citizens who want to challenge their bodies and gain some serious strength.

Powerlifting is an official sport with several federations with different rules. Unlike Olympic weightlifting, it’s not an Olympic sport but there are national leagues in virtually every country in the world.

Most leagues have a master’s series for older athletes and seniors. Usually, the highest master’s age group is 70+.

You don’t have to have a history in strength training to become a powerlifter. If you have any kind of athletic background and have full mobility in your limbs you are good to go.

Of course, you need lots of practice in the three movements that powerlifting consists of. If you have no prior lifting background it’s practically mandatory to find a competent coach, who has experience in coaching senior athletes.

The great thing about powerlifting is that you can actually compete and have success in the masters series. This can be a great motivator for the competitive types who might find exercising for health just boring.

Powerlifting will improve your strength, mobility, and general health immensely compared to being sedentary and it’s a great way to meet new interesting people.

But before we talk more about powerlifting for seniors, let’s look at what powerlifting actually is!

What Is Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three main lifts: The squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. The lifts are performed with a barbell that is loaded with weight plates.

To the untrained eye, powerlifting might seem very similar to Olympic weightlifting. But they are actually very different. Generally speaking, weightlifting is more technical and tests explosive strength. Powerlifting tests maximal strength. You can learn more about weightlifting in the article Weightlifting For Seniors.

In most federations, you get three tries for each lift before moving to the next lift. There are federation-specific strict rules on how the lift has to be performed and what equipment is allowed. We will talk about them more when looking at the lifts.

Competitors are split into classes according to gender, weight class, and age. After all the lifts are performed, the best lift of each exercise is summed for a total. The lifter with the highest total wins.

You can also compete in powerlifting with only one or two disciplines. For example only bench press or bench and deadlift.

There are many people who only compete in one lift to break the world record in that lift. This is because you can become better in a single lift if you focus all your effort on mastering it.

Your individual proportions also affect significantly which lifts are more suitable for you. Someone with long arms is typically good in deadlifting but bench press will be much harder.

Federations And Performance Enhancing Drugs

The largest and best-known organization is the International Powerlifting Federation or IPF. IPF is the original powerlifting federation and one of the rare that uses drug testing.

Like most strength sports, powerlifting is riddled with performance-enhancing drug use. This is because drugs like anabolic steroids and growth hormones offer an immense advantage in building strength and muscle mass. I talked more about this in the articles Bodybuilding Workouts For Men Over 50, Bodybuilding For Women Over 40 and how to increase testosterone after 60.

That’s why there are several powerlifting federations that don’t test for PEDs and downright encourage their use because you can’t simply win as a natural athlete.

performance enhancing drugs are common in powerlifting

Many of these federations are a bit extreme also in the sense that besides encouraging drug use they practice equipped lifts to absolutely maximize the weights being lifted.

Equipped powerlifting means there are special suits and shirts for all the lifts that give support to the lifter. And allow larger weights to be lifted. In reality of course it’s not the lifter that does all the work, but some of the energy is stored in the elastic suits at the beginning of the lift.

In the most extreme form, this kind of powerlifting simply can’t be considered healthy because the lifters are often obese, suffering long-term side effects from drugs, and lifting heavier loads than their skeletal structure can handle.

But it’s entertaining and unfortunately, that’s what people want to watch. Just like in NHL or NFL, drugs make everything bigger, faster, and more exciting to watch.

It’s All About Records

In the case of powerlifting, it’s also about breaking new records. There are many lifters that are willing to risk their long-term health to break the world record in their weight class.

On the other extreme, there are drug-tested federations like the IPF in which all lifts are performed without special lifting equipment, except for a belt. This is also referred to as raw or classic powerlifting.

Usually, the raw natural lifters are much healthier but unfortunately much weaker than the PED using counterparts. This doesn’t they are weak by any normal standards. Practically all lifts are in the 100kg to 300kg (220lbs to 660lbs) range in most weight classes.

I cannot recommend anything else but drug-free classic powerlifting for seniors. In reality, seniors might get a much larger strength boost from PEDs due to the lowered amount of natural hormones. But the risks are also likely much higher.

When practiced correctly powerlifting is an extremely safe sport that improves overall health. So there is no need to be afraid of injuries or becoming a bulging bodybuilder.

Beginners will often gain significant strength during the few first months of training but after that, you have to fight for every added pound. Especially as a senior.

You will also build significant muscle, but not the kind you see on young bodybuilders. Building that kind of muscle mass virtually always requires steroids. Think of a healthy and strong farmer or a construction worker and you are closer to the reality of a natural powerlifter.

Powerlifting For Seniors: The Lifts

The squat

The squat is the first lift in a powerlifting contest. It is a movement that specifically tests the maximum strength of the legs but requires immense strength of the whole upper body as well as it supports the bar.

Before the actual lift, the lifter positions him/herself under a barbell that is stationary in a rack. The lifter then lifts the weight of the rack and takes a step backward and stabilizes in an upright position with fully locked knees and hips.

Once the referee gives the command to commence the lift the lifter begins to squat into a parallel position. The hip crease needs to go below the top of the knee for an accepted lift.

Once the lifter is at the bottom of the squat position they will begin the actual hard part, standing up. The upward motion needs to happen with the first try and in a continuous upward movement.

Once the lifter reaches a completely upright position where they must lock their hips and knees. On the referee’s command, the bar is returned to the rack and the lift is completed.

Here’s a great example by European Powerlifting Federation  (YouTube embed, content not owned or created by ElderStrength.com):

The squat is a relatively simple lift with few technical rules. Here are the most important ones:

  • The bar can’t be lower than 3 cm below the top of the anterior deltoids.
  • The squat has to start and stop with locked out knees and hips
  • The recovery from the “hole” (bottom of the squat) has to happen in a single continuous movement
  • You can’t reset or move your feet after the lift has begun.

You can learn more about the squat in the article Squats for seniors [Technique and progression].

The Bench Press

The bench press is an upper-body lift where you lie on a bench and press a barbell to straight arms.

The lift begins by lifting the bar from the rack to a full lockout over your sternum. Once the referee gives the command to start, you lower the bar until it touches the chest.

The upward lift begins after the referee gives the cue to “press”. The lift is completed when your arms are in full extension and the bar stationary. The lift will end when the referee gives the cue “rack” and the lifter returns the weight to the rack.

Here’s a great example by European Powerlifting Federation  (YouTube embed, content not owned or created by ElderStrength.com):

Bench press is a true test of the upper body pressing strength. It is the most dangerous lift in powerlifting because there is a possibility of catastrophic failure with the bar falling on your face or neck. That’s why it’s important to always have spotters or if practicing alone, safety pins.

Here are the most important rules of bench pressing:

  • Your butt needs to stay on the bench at all times. Any rising of the pelvis will lead to a failed lift
  • The referee cues must be followed strictly
  • The bar can not sink into your chest after the cue to press
  • Any downward movement of the bar at the pressing portion of the lift is not allowed

The Deadlift

The deadlift is seemingly the most simple lift of the three and usually the heaviest. Rarely a lifter can squat more than deadlift.

In the deadlift, you pull a barbell from the platform to a standing position. The knees and hips need to be fully extended and the arms straight and shoulders back.

There is no referee cue for the deadlift. At the end of the lift the referee will cue “down” for permission to lower the bar. Besides the full extension of the end position there are couple simple rules:

  • Your feet cannot move once the lift starts
  • Any movement of the bar will count as an attempt. So no “pulling the slack out”.
  • There can’t be any downward movement of the bar before the lift is completed.
  • The lift must be completed in a continuous manner, no “resting” on the thighs

Here’s another great example by European Powerlifting Federation  (YouTube embed, content not owned or created by ElderStrength.com):

Deadlift Technique

There are a couple of things that you can vary in the deadlift. Mainly the lifting technique and the grip. The two ways you can lift the bar off the ground are the conventional deadlift where your legs are between your arms and the sumo deadlift where your legs are outside your arms in a much wider stance.

The conventional deadlift is more leg and back dominant while the sumo is a bit more hip dominant. Which one is better for you depends on your individual leverages and preference. The only way to find out which one is your stronger position is by trying.

There are three ways you can grip the bar. Only two of them are really used in competitions because the double overhand grip is too weak and the grip is many times the limiting factor of a deadlift. In the double overhand grip both of your hands go over the bar palms facing you. The problem with this grip is that it allows the bar to roll out of your palms, limiting the maximum load.

The most used grip is the mixed grip where one hand is overhand and the other underhand. This prevents the bar from rolling and makes the lift much easier than the double overhand grip.

The last option is the hook grip. It’s a double overhand grip where you wrap your thumbs all to way over the bar and grip your finger over them. The thumbs create a hook “lock” between the finger and the barbell that prevents rolling and losing grip.

The hook grip is the strongest of the grips if done with the correct technique. Unfortunately, it can be painful at first because your thumb will be pinned under a heavy load.

You can learn more about the deadlift in the article Deadlift For Seniors.

Powerlifting For Seniors: Considerations

For seniors, there are a few important considerations in powerlifting. The first thing is to realize there are always risks involved when you are lifting seriously heavy barbells.

Even if you are one of the fortunate ones that have never had lower back pain. And have maintained full mobility in all your joints to old age. It’s possible to injure yourself doing powerlifting even if you do everything perfectly.

On the other hand, it’s quite possible to injure yourself doing everyday stuff. And your overall health will surely deteriorate without exercise as you grow older. So it’s really a choose your poison situation. Or more importantly about balance.

There are safer forms of exercise that offer the same benefits as powerlifting with less risk. Like doing strength training in the gym and combining that with low impact cardio. You can learn more about this in the article Low Impact Cardio For Seniors.

This will likely offer all the same health benefits. But might not be as motivating if you are a very competitive person.

Progress Will Be Slower In Powerlifting For Seniors

The second thing to take into account is that your progress can be very slow. Strength training and powerlifting is as much about the mind as it is about the body. As we get older our bodies become less strong and adaptations happen much slower than before. This is a natural effect of the aging process.

A teenager who has stopped growing in length is in the optimal position for training in powerlifting and other strength sports. This is because they have very high testosterone and growth hormone levels, which will support fast adaptations (strength) to stress like weight training.

Fortunately, strength will increase even without these hormones due to neural adaptations but the increase in muscle mass will be minimal.

 

Unfortunately, these key hormones are very low in senior people and these adaptations will happen much slower. But this doesn’t mean you should give up. You should just accept the facts and do your best.

The adaptations will happen, you just need to give rest and diet a bit more priority and be consistent.

How To Get Started In Powerlifting For Seniors

If you are interested in powerlifting the best place to get started is your local powerlifting association or organization. Most cities and even smaller towns in America and in many other countries will have some sort of organization for powerlifting.

It’s very likely there are already several seniors that compete in the masters series and are willing to share their knowledge and get you started. Most organizations also organize courses for beginners which is a great way to try the sport.

If there really isn’t any organization in your town you might try to find an experienced trainer or coach that knows how to teach you the lifts.

Powerlifting is completely possible to train even at a home gym but because of the technicality and high weights used in the lifts it’s extremely important you learn the proper technique with a qualified coach.

Preferably one that has taught powerlifting to seniors before as there are likely certain mobility issues that need work. A good place to look for coaches is Starting Strength gyms and Crossfit boxes. You can learn more about these in the articles Starting Strength For Seniors  and Crossfit For Seniors Over 60.

The important thing is to take your time and be safe. Powerlifting is not for everyone and there is no shame in giving up if you come to the conclusion it’s too hard or uncomfortable for you.

You should still incorporate some form of strength training in your routine to reap all the great benefits it offers to seniors. You can download a free strength training program that’s designed for seniors from the form below. It can also be used for priming your body for powerlifting, because it teaches the necessary movement patterns for the squat, the deadlift and the bench press.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading about powerlifting for seniors and got excited about the sport! Powerlifting is a great sport for all ages as it builds strength, mobility, balance and resilience. When you start powerlifting, you will soon be surprised how strong you actually are.

It’s quite the feeling to realize the weight that felt crushing and painful on your back just a few months ago is now a light warm up weight. It builds confidence in your abilities and in what you can complete with consistent hard work.

If you have any questions about powerlifting, please leave them in the comments section below. I’ll do my best to provide you with an answer.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

24 thoughts on “Powerlifting For Seniors [Fountain Of Youth?]”

  1. Congrats! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article, as I am interested in seniors and my background is in physical education.
    Your paragraphs were informational and concise and the media used was on point and followed your subject very well.
    I am new to this, so I may be easily impressed, but so what? Good content and presentation!

    Reply
      • What did I miss? I see no reference to whether or not the 70+ age and less than 200 lbs, body weight 300+lbs bench was EQUIPED or RAW! Thanks

        Reply
        • Bill, I had to think for a while what you a referring to. I think you mean the comment of one of my readers on the bench press records article. The commenter actually sent a video to me, it’s raw and it’s real. Maybe not a full competition lift due to no pause, but the strength is definitely there to make it into a competition lift.

          Reply
  2. What frequency of a particular workout do you recommend?
    In other words, how many times a week to dead lift for max gains?

    (I am 74 yrs, 5’6″ and recently deadlifted 320 and want to improve.)

    Reply
    • Great question Scott! You are at a level at your age that makes training requirements highly individual. I actually think your best bet would be to get a powerlifting coach with lots of experience in training older athletes.

      What kind of program did you follow to get to your current level and how long have you been lifting? A couple of general tips I would give is that if you want to specifically improve the deadlift, train it at least twice a week as strength is exercise specific so you need to hone the skill. Once light, one heavy workout. Both will remain well below maximum weight to reduce the risk of injury and to reduce central nervous system fatigue. So for example on Monday, (after warm-up sets) do 5 sets of 5 at 50-60% of your max and on Friday 3 sets of 3 at 75-85% of your max. Start light and increase the weight with the smallest possible increment each week if you can complete the sets with good form.

      Anything that allows you to increase workload and intensity (weight) over time without compromising your recovery will work reasonably well. Also, you didn’t mention your bodyweight. Deadlift benefits greatly from increased body weight to an extent so you can try eating more, including plenty of protein in your diet. Also, remember to listen to your body. Heavy deadlifts are taxing on the body and the older you get, the more you have to pay attention to recovery. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Thanks for the response. I am at 185 lbs. And lift once a week per body part. Change programs often.

    I eat carnivore. and that seems to be helping several things.

    Reply
    • Not a problem Scott! Two things came to mind immediately. For optimal strength gains, you shouldn’t constantly change your program. At your level, considering your age you could try an intermediate powerlifting/strength training program that incorporates periodization but keeps all the movements the same so you build movement specific strength. Check out Texas Method and 5/3/1 for example. Once again I would recommend talking to a qualified coach to check there are no issues with your deadlift and other compound lift forms, as the risk of injury increases as the weight goes up.

      While I’m not completely against the carnivore diet, I suspect the reason it works for so many people’s health and digestion wise is that they have unresolved food allergies/intolerances. Meat is easy to digest and has pretty much everything our body needs to survive. Remove any irritants like certain grains, dairy, salicylates, FODMAPs etc. and your digestion will miraculously improve with simply eating meat. BUT, and this is a huge but, there is VERY strong scientific evidence for negative health effects of especially red meat (inflammation, negative metabolic effects, colon cancer etc.). While meat has almost everything needed for survival, it’s not optimal. You need certain nutrients (especially Vitamin C) for optimal health and they are found abundantly only in vegetable sources.

      But I don’t want to preach to people what they should eat. If it works for you, it’s at least worth exploring. But for improving your strength levels and exercise perofmenace there is one crucial thing missing in the carnivore diet. Carbs. While you can improve your physical performance on a low carb or ketogenic diet, it’s far from optimal. Carbs are the preferred source of energy for high demand work for our bodies and there is a strong body of scientific evidence to back up the benefits of carbs for improving strength and muscle mass. I suspect this effect is even more pronounced in seniors due to the less optimal hormonal environment for muscle growth.

      So if I was in your situation and my main goal was to gain strength, I would check my form with a professional, get on an actual intermediate/novice (depending on your overall strength) strength training program and include some carbs from healthy whole food sources and see where it goes. If you have digestion issues with a regular whole food diets, try adding one carb source at a time to your carnivore diet for a week or two, to see what causes problems.

      Reply
  4. The Carnivore has resolved many food allergy problems (along with a meticulous food log).
    There is no evidence of red meat causing colon cancer. I have researched this pretty thoroughly. It does turn out that if you eat red meat, lots of carbs and take cancer inducing drugs, you will frequently get cancer. I have read the studies, not just the propaganda.

    Thanks for the advice on not changing programs and getting overall feedback from a professional.

    Reply
    • Glad to hear you have found a diet that helped with your food allergies Scott! I’m more inclined to trust “the propaganda” i.e. the opinion of the global scientific community than anecdotal experiences. There’s nothing wrong with doing your own research but depending on your own expertise, it’s easy to draw the wrong conclusions. The Dunning-Krueger effect and confirmation bias are extremely hard to avoid, it’s part of being a human. All that said, I’m not questioning your results, I’ve heard many people have positive results with the carnivore diet. My understanding is that meat allergy is extremely rare and meat has pretty much all the nutrients you need to survive, so this makes perfect sense. Just keep in mind that there probably aren’t large long-term studies about feeding only meat to people. Yes, I know about indigenous tribes that survive on meat only, but the thing is that they have adapted over thousands of years to that diet due to extreme conditions. Good luck with lifting and your diet, and thanks for the feedback!

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  5. I am 82 years old and have competed in two organizations Bench Press ONLY competition in the 148 weight class. I have benched 160 lbs. consistently in the organization that has the short hesitation count and 155 in the organization with a long count. Trying to Break the next level. Found I need to do chest (bench) twice a week to maintain. Because of a Bad Shoulder I can only do Single Reps over 80% of my RPM. When I get to the 155 lb level I do three sets of one Rep, then I come back down doing 150 lbs 3 sets of 1, then 150 lbs 3 sets of 1, then 3 sets of one at 145 lbs and at 135 I can do two sets of Four Reps. Then I drop down to 125 and do two sets of as many as possible (around 7-8-9). I don’t have much arch but I’m told my technique is good. On that same day I have another 8 exercises I do for chest and bicep and on the other two days I work out I do four sets of about 8 reps on four tricel and four back exercises. Any Suggestions for Improving Bench. Next competition in Late May 2022.

    Reply
    • Good job Len! As you’ve found out, aging will cause all sorts of problems and issues with training but if you work around them, it’s possible to improve and maintain your strength levels. Good luck with your training and competitions!

      Reply
      • I started a different 12 week workout that reduces the number of Single Reps from a dozen (like I had been doing) to only 3 per workout. My shoulder has No Pain now and my consistency of lifting 160, 165, & even 170 (without a hesitation) has greatly improved. Next meet coming up in October, 2022 and hope to hit that 160 lb., Long Hesitation, new State Record lift on that day!

        Reply
        • Great numbers Len! I’m glad to hear you found a better program. Heavy pressing can definitely put a strain on your shoulders. I’m actually healing a nagging shoulder injury for several months already. I broke a bench press record in December. It was main focus for the whole winter and I didn’t do much overhead work. So for the spring I decided to switch to overhead press as the main press. I was too ambitious considering my lack of practice and just a few workouts in I felt a little tweak on my shoulder. Being stubborn I tried to work around the injury, prolonging healing before finally allowing the shoulder to heal. I’m just slowly starting to build up pressing strength now after 8 long months. So definitely keep your shoulder in check and injury free!

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  6. Hello, I am 70 years old, 5ft 6, and weigh 148_151lbs. with the following: 315lbs deadlift, 265lbs front squat, and 165lbs bench. I train each 2 times per week with every 4th week as a deload. I want to increase my strength in the future and my question is this: what accessory exercises do you suggest? Thanks

    Reply
    • Those are some pretty great lifts Mike! Considering your age and weight they are very good. Realistically if you want to improve your lifts significantly, you will likely benefit from finding a powerlifting coach with experience in training your age group. Accessory lifts can definitely help, but in powerlifting, the overall programming relative to your experience and ability to recover is more important. It’s very possible you’ve reached your max lifts at your current body weight so gaining a bit of weight can help, but it’s more important to keep it in a healthy range. You should also consider if it’s worth the effort and risk to pursue even heavier weights as aging will, unfortunately, affect your ability to recover significantly. Good luck with the training!

      Reply
      • I am not an “expert” but here are the supplimentary exercises I do. You can see I am just a Bench Pressor (see previous post for info) so that is all I am training for. On my Two Bench days (Monday & Thursday), after a warm up I do 145 lb and a 155 lb. press with a Long Competition Hesitation. Then I do my “Goal BP” at 160lb. with a Medium Hesitation. After that I do 165 With NO Hesitation, come back and do 160 with NO hesitation and I’m through with bench. I also do Incline bench, Decline bench, and Chest Press Machine. On the Chest Press Machine I do medium weight with Long Hesitations. On Tuesday & Friday (Tricep day) I do Narrow grip Bench Press, Dips (full body weight only), Tricep Press Down machine, and Chest press (again, just like on M & Fri) using 3 Sets of 8 Reps.

        Reply
        • That’s a great amount of supplementary work. See my previous reply about the importance of shoulder strength though. I would add direct shoulder work and rotator cuff warm ups to make sure to keep the shoulders strong. Back strength is also very important for bench press in my experience. Especially horizontal pulls helped me to put up bigger numbers as my back became more stable. They are also great for the rear deltoids. Seated cable rows and barbell rows are great for this in my opinion. Too much pressing without enough compensatory pulling movements can lead to problems along the way so train smart and stay safe!

          Reply
    • Hi Dennis! I think you should contact Carolina Powerlifting at www.carolinapowerlifting.com. They surely know the local powerlifting scene.

      Reply

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