How powerlifting could make the olympics

[bthom65]

If we would wanna keep all three lifts then heres how it could be done

Equipment- Knee wraps for squat, Wrist wraps for bench, belt

1. Squat- I would change squat to a box squat and have the box heighth be a certain percentage of the lifters height. Having it be a box squat would eliminate the problem with making sure the lifter is deep enough.

2. Bench- It would be basically touch n go, I have a feeling that if people were trying 700 pounds if they were lucky enough to bounce it and get the lift without killing themselves then they can have it.

3.Deadlift- No change really needed

We would also have to have someone create a unified organization


Another option would be to make it just push/pull but i dont think a lot of people would like that.

[gobbles]

What about belts? I doubt Bolton would want to pull 1000 without a belt.

For squats, just put the box at just a tad below parallel for the lifters, depending on height will determine how high the box is.

Bench and deadlift should be kept the same.

[bthom65]

What about belts? I doubt Bolton would want to pull 1000 without a belt.

For squats, just put the box at just a tad below parallel for the lifters, depending on height will determine how high the box is.

Bench and deadlift should be kept the same.

true forgot about belts

[Bodysteele]

Im so confused as to why people cant TnG in powerlifting.

Im not talking about BOUNCING, im talking about a touch then a go like a natural repetition would be.

I know it makes judging harder but judging this stuff is always subjective anyway./

Id also like to see a maximum width for a squat...some of this stuff is getting ridiculous...when a lay person cant recognize the exercise anymore some line has been crossed.

As for the benching shirts...how did you PLers let it come to this point...I mean honestly its getting kinda funny with the shirts where some guys CANT lower their arms to a normal relaxed point...I mean who is kidding who???

Rant over...no need to neg im not bashing PLing just giving an outsiders perspective from someone who would love to see a fixed brand of PLing in the Olympics but only if the changes were made bc now alot of the lifts are unrecognizable from what I perform in the gym...

I mean who squats with a 8 inch ROM..? And considers it a proper squaT>?

[GoJu]

I would think something like the IPF rules and regulations (including gear) would be perfect for an international powerlifting fed in the olympics, or perhaps a geared competition and a raw competition.

[bthom65]

I would think something like the IPF rules and regulations (including gear) would be perfect for an international powerlifting fed in the olympics, or perhaps a geared competition and a raw competition.

i dont think it will make it if people want all the gear

[Arlecchino]

I do not think it will make it due to the fact that there is already one sport involving lifting, and most non-lifting types have trouble differntiating between the two.

The other main reason, which is ridiculous, IMO, is the stigma of drug use. So many sports have athletes popping positive, including things like figure skating, but it is always the power-type sports that are commonly viewed as the 'steroid sports' for lack of a better term.

As any event making into the Olympics is something of a popularity contest, public perception plays an incredible role, even when that perception is wrong, or at least unfair.

[tatortotajigalo]

the olympics have stated in the passed that they would love to allow powerlifting in the olympics, but gear has to be taken out of the sport first.

i just dont see why they cant do raw powerlifting, i dont see why it would have to be taken out of the sport all together, thats stupid.

[LockOut]

When PL broke away from the AAU and started the USPF that really was the begining of the end for PL as an Olympic sport. There was a better chance of PL lifts making it as the other lifts of olympic lifting, rememeber Oly lifting used to have an overhead press.

Orginizations like the WPO turning PL into exhibition lifting for entertainment is another blow against our sport. We would have to really grow raw lifting worldwide to create excitement in the type of lifting the Olympics would reguire.

[Doc Iron]

1) I agree that the Olympics will never accept PL unless knee wraps, wrist wraps and belts are the only gear allowed.

2) Changing a traditional squat to a box squat also sounds like a good idea to me. I know some will argue that this will "slow the sport down" but I really don't think it would be a big idea. Just have a "height in" along with the "weigh in" and program each lifter's stats into a computer. The "box" could automatically adjust prior to each lifter stepping on to the platform.

3) I'm not so hot with the "touch and go" idea. The trouble is, that makes judging harder, not easier. What is the boundary between "touch and go" and "bouncing"? People will try to push that as far as the rules will allow and there will be constant argument over whether a lift should have counted or not. On the other hand, allowing basically unlimited bouncing is a safety issue. The more you bounce, the more you can lift, but also the greater the chance of injury. Basically, the winners will be those people willing to subject themselves to the greatest risk of injury ... exactly what you DON'T want. In my humble opinion bench should be left as is ... with a clear stipulation that the bar must be touched to the chest, not the belly (which would cut down on ridiculous arching).

4) Deadlift is pretty much fine as is.

5) Gotta clean up the drugs if you're going to think about being part of Olympic competition. PLers would have to accept the same degree of oversight as Olympic lifters.

[enforcer237]

Years ago PLUSA published a fantasy article about powerlifting in the Olympics. I don't remember it clearly but it basically had the best oly lifters and best pl'ers of the day lifting in a combined event of squat, dl, c&j, and snatch. The article actually did a very good job of combining the two disciplines into one sport. Maybe someone here has a copy and can repost it or give better highlights.

I also like the idea of using a box to judge competition squat depth.

[raffiki]

The box squat wouldn't fly. That is just more equipment and something that lifters can abuse to get a few extra kilos with. Also the stance wouldn't be a problem since it would be a walkout. If you want to waste the energy trying to get 6ft apart after the walkout, then go for it.

Touch and go would never work.

Deadlift is straight forward enough.

I agree with Goju that IPF would be the best bet, as that is the world standard. Be prepared for a 2hr weigh-in though.

[PeonLover]

I think that in order for it to be in the olympics the gear would have to be limited to just those things.

Changing the box to a box squat would be very interesting, but I'd have to say that bench would still have to be paused. And with people going absurdly wide, that is entirely a gearned technique and would basically be eliminated by forcing lifters to go unequipped.

[knowles.ja]

Im so confused as to why people cant TnG in powerlifting.

Im not talking about BOUNCING, im talking about a touch then a go like a natural repetition would be.

I know it makes judging harder but judging this stuff is always subjective anyway./

Id also like to see a maximum width for a squat...some of this stuff is getting ridiculous...when a lay person cant recognize the exercise anymore some line has been crossed.

As for the benching shirts...how did you PLers let it come to this point...I mean honestly its getting kinda funny with the shirts where some guys CANT lower their arms to a normal relaxed point...I mean who is kidding who???

Rant over...no need to neg im not bashing PLing just giving an outsiders perspective from someone who would love to see a fixed brand of PLing in the Olympics but only if the changes were made bc now alot of the lifts are unrecognizable from what I perform in the gym...

I mean who squats with a 8 inch ROM..? And considers it a proper squaT>?

The reason a pause is required for bench, is because they want you to demonstrate control of the weight you're lifting. For most people, a touch and go is pretty sloppy. That's why a pause is necessary.

[jgreystoke]

Hi guys.
I'm not a powerlifter, but i admire strength. Here's an enthusiastic outsider's perspective.

1.The box squat is a fantastic idea. But some lifters would corrupt the lift by using dangerous levering against the box to gain a few extra kilos. A better possibility is something like ironminds pillars of power, adjusted to the correct height for each lifter. This would take care of safety and look better(less cluttered for judging etc) than a power rack. It also leads to:

2.Get rid of all spotters. Honestly, anyone who has done the schoolyard trick of four kids lifting their pal with one finger each justs laughs at a lift that has about a dozen meaty hands on the plates.

3.No gear except belt. Not even wraps. Only slip on sleeves that keep the joint warm should be acceptable. Gear only bring the sport into disrepute. Scott Mendelson's shirted bench is more than 300lbs greater than his raw bench. The latter is obviously the only one that means anything. Next generation of shirts will bring 400+ and more, without anyone bothering to get stronger.

To put his wonderful 715lb bench into perspective, it is only 10lbs more than big Jim Williams put up decades ago but didn't get ratifed. Scott is the greatest, but there has been minimal improvement over tha last 30 years.

When an 800lb raw squat becomes 1200, and a 700 raw bench becomes 1000 because of the gear, something is rotten.

4.The lifter should have to do everything. I mean it. Unrack, step back if squatting, lift, rack.

5.No sumo squats, these are really only half, or even quarter squats. I set my rack to only 31" high for heavy squats. I pull them down and touch before driving back up. The range of motion is over 27". Ok this is atg, but you can imagine what I think of most squats on youtube.

6. No sumo deads likewise. In the really old days, foot spacing was limited. It should be again for squats and deads. At the moment, only the conventional deadlift means anything. Very little benefit from gear, just strength.

btw, with all due respect, Andy Bolton's 1003 dead, while fantastic, was not locked out.

7.One last thing. Gear is not safer! It just encourages you to put up weights you are not strong enough to lift, that are far heavier than your structure can handle. A poor fit of the suit, shirt, caused by you leaning, or bulking(or even just the adjustment of the gear itself), or just a change of brand, and you are hurt.

You can all get a laugh if you look at the numbers posted on my profile. But I really value strength, and respect all who pursue it, including everyone with the guts to post here.

[Arlecchino]

Allow me to play devil's advocate and wonder why powerlifting needs to be in the Olympics, or what the Olympics would gain from the addition of powerlifting?

[bthom65]

Allow me to play devil's advocate and wonder why powerlifting needs to be in the Olympics, or what the Olympics would gain from the addition of powerlifting?

i know i would want a chance to compete in the olympics

[James456]

Allow me to play devil's advocate and wonder why powerlifting needs to be in the Olympics, or what the Olympics would gain from the addition of powerlifting?

Well i think Olympics wouldnt gain much from powerlifting. But I think Powerlifting would gain loads from being in the Olympics. Heres what i think anyway

What powerlifting would offer the Olympics

1. I suppose a very minor increase in viewing. I reckon powerlifting might actullay be more popular to watch than Olympic Lifting to genral public anyway. Why the weights in powerlifting are heavier i suppose to the average joe it might seem more impressive. The main reason i think it would be more popular to watch is the it has bench press. I think the average joe will be able to relate to this more becuase practically any Gym user has probably done this exercise at some point. So imagine they be mightly impressesd to see somone like Scott Mendalson lifting over 300kgs above his chest.

2.Powerlifting would be a unique sport in that it would be the only sport at Olympics that test an individuals max limit strenght.

Ok thats all i can be bothered to type for now.

However i dont really get your first post about people getting confused between Olympic lifting and Powerlifting? I mean iam not a runner or a thrower but ive never had a problem telling the differene between all the different track and field events which i think are more similar than powerlifting and Olympicl lifting are

[jgreystoke]

Allow me to play devil's advocate and wonder why powerlifting needs to be in the Olympics, or what the Olympics would gain from the addition of powerlifting?

Hi Arlecchino, good question.

If RAW powerlifting(with the changes I suggested regarding foot spacing and spotters) got into the Olympics, it would definitely benefit both.

1.All the dime a dozen federations would tend to coalesce, as the prestige of the Olympics is so attractive.

2.Bogus feds that pass squats that are clearly above parallel would be history.

3.A 600 bench would MEAN SOMETHING, and could be compared to the records for that weight division since '71. Hell, we could go back to the historical record of greats like Doug Hepburn. Kids into lifting would get into the history of it all.

4.The number of 500+ benchers, and 800+ squatters would drop off a cliff. We'd know how many are actually this strong.

5.Westside would be trashed for pioneering the gear to boost their posted numbers. This was a terrible idea, and has done much harm. History will judge whether all their great ideas put together can make up for it.

6.Gear manufacturers would take a loss on lots of useless equipment they could'nt sell. It is useless now, but people still buy it. This will discourage them from trying to sell this kind of virtual strength to the next generation of gullible kids.

7.Young lifters would stop worrying about the illusion of strength. That's for bodybuilders! They would stop arguing about brands, plys, and feds.

8.To lift more, you would have to get stronger, not change to 3ply, nor put your feet 2" inside the plates and pull the bar 4".

9.Powerlifting would be seen live by over a billion people! It would attract lots of business. It would attract lots of great kids who give it a miss today. It has a low profile and they are put off by multiple feds and laughable gear.

10.The Oympics would gain an awesome strength sport that'd have everyone screaming in the aisles.

11.There'd be a lot more strength in the powerlifting world. Nothing would be fake.

12. Even bodybuilders would become enthusiastic about strength, just like long ago. The old quip, "great arm...... how much do you bench" would again become current.

13.The VERY SIGHT of Benedikt Magnusson in action would have every teenage superman saving up for an olympic bar!

14. With Olympic profile, Benni would do more for powerlifting and strength than almost anything else!

Rosie O'Donnel would have a hissy fit. Powerlifting would be condemned from the pulpit. Everybody would be giving out about it. Mothers would warn their sons "you CAN'T POSSIBLY want to be like THAT MONSTER!"....... Actually do, Mom....... "EEK! HERBERT, COME IN AND LISTEN TO YOUR SON!"

The result of all this would be wonderful, the following would be far more common:

15.Tiny girls would pull huge deads. They'd tell their abusive(failed gymnast, with eating disorder) moms to back off.

16.Boys with bad legs would bench more than the biggest guys on the football team.

17.Big akward kids at the back of the class become deadlift kings instead of dead. Who needs booze and drugs when you can do this!

18.World Peace!.....well maybe not.

Lift on.

[James456]

Hi Arlecchino, good question.

If RAW powerlifting(with the changes I suggested regarding foot spacing and spotters) got into the Olympics, it would definitely benefit both.

1.All the dime a dozen federations would tend to coalesce, as the prestige of the Olympics is so attractive.

2.Bogus feds that pass squats that are clearly above parallel would be history.

3.A 600 bench would MEAN SOMETHING, and could be compared to the records for that weight division since '71. Hell, we could go back to the historical record of greats like Doug Hepburn. Kids into lifting would get into the history of it all.

4.The number of 500+ benchers, and 800+ squatters would drop off a cliff. We'd know how many are actually this strong.

5.Westside would be trashed for pioneering the gear to boost their posted numbers. This was a terrible idea, and has done much harm. History will judge whether all their great ideas put together can make up for it.

6.Gear manufacturers would take a loss on lots of useless equipment they could'nt sell. It is useless now, but people still buy it. This will discourage them from trying to sell this kind of virtual strength to the next generation of gullible kids.

7.Young lifters would stop worrying about the illusion of strength. That's for bodybuilders! They would stop arguing about brands, plys, and feds.

8.To lift more, you would have to get stronger, not change to 3ply, nor put your feet 2" inside the plates and pull the bar 4".

9.Powerlifting would be seen live by over a billion people! It would attract lots of business. It would attract lots of great kids who give it a miss today. It has a low profile and they are put off by multiple feds and laughable gear.

10.The Oympics would gain an awesome strength sport that'd have everyone screaming in the aisles.

11.There'd be a lot more strength in the powerlifting world. Nothing would be fake.

12. Even bodybuilders would become enthusiastic about strength, just like long ago. The old quip, "great arm...... how much do you bench" would again become current.

13.The VERY SIGHT of Benedikt Magnusson in action would have every teenage superman saving up for an olympic bar!

14. With Olympic profile, Benni would do more for powerlifting and strength than almost anything else!

Rosie O'Donnel would have a hissy fit. Powerlifting would be condemned from the pulpit. Everybody would be giving out about it. Mothers would warn their sons "you CAN'T POSSIBLY want to be like THAT MONSTER!"....... Actually do, Mom....... "EEK! HERBERT, COME IN AND LISTEN TO YOUR SON!"

The result of all this would be wonderful, the following would be far more common:

15.Tiny girls would pull huge deads. They'd tell their abusive(failed gymnast, with eating disorder) moms to back off.

16.Boys with bad legs would bench more than the biggest guys on the football team.

17.Big akward kids at the back of the class become deadlift kings instead of dead. Who needs booze and drugs when you can do this!

18.World Peace!.....well maybe not.

Lift on.

Number 9 is the key point for me. Until about 3 to 4 years ago i didnt even no powerlifting as sport existed. And nothing in my oppinion would boost its Publishability more than joining Olympics

[ZachG85]

PL will hit the olympics if one thing happens: it goes raw. Raw meaning belt and mayyyyybe wrist wraps. No equipment which aids in joint flexion. Thin knee sleeves may be acceptable a la the kind used at NERB.

Squat would have to be sunk deep as well, the judging would have to be monumentally strict because the whole world would be watching.

[Mike Zero]

I disagree about the box for the squat.
Bench should be touch and go, no bounce.
Deadlift is perfect the way it is.

[Arlecchino]

Hi Arlecchino, good question.

If RAW powerlifting(with the changes I suggested regarding foot spacing and spotters) got into the Olympics, it would definitely benefit both.

1.All the dime a dozen federations would tend to coalesce, as the prestige of the Olympics is so attractive.

This has been passed around for more than ten years. See the IPF cyclops program. Yet we have more, not less, federations. Need to keep the trophy whores happy.

2.Bogus feds that pass squats that are clearly above parallel would be history.

See response to number one. If you have back issues of PL USA, read old interviews with Kirk and Coan, articles where Glossbrenner slams entire feds at National level meets, etc. This has been a consistent problem as well.

3.A 600 bench would MEAN SOMETHING, and could be compared to the records for that weight division since '71. Hell, we could go back to the historical record of greats like Doug Hepburn. Kids into lifting would get into the history of it all.

Agree here, although not sure how much most kids would get into the history. Having coached quite a few, their interest in anything beyond the immediate. (Note, I realize this is a variant of the standard Guy Getting Gripe #3 (Kids Today)).

4.The number of 500+ benchers, and 800+ squatters would drop off a cliff. We'd know how many are actually this strong.

True, although this is currently possible as well. If people truly wanted to avoid using gear, they could. I do.

5.Westside would be trashed for pioneering the gear to boost their posted numbers. This was a terrible idea, and has done much harm. History will judge whether all their great ideas put together can make up for it.

See response to number 4. Also, Westside did not pioneer gear, just capitalized on it. And Westside works quite well for raw athletes, including me.

6.Gear manufacturers would take a loss on lots of useless equipment they couldn't sell. It is useless now, but people still buy it. This will discourage them from trying to sell this kind of virtual strength to the next generation of gullible kids.

Biggest PL sponsors are gear manufacturers.

7.Young lifters would stop worrying about the illusion of strength. That's for bodybuilders! They would stop arguing about brands, plys, and feds.

Agree to a point.

8.To lift more, you would have to get stronger, not change to 3ply, nor put your feet 2" inside the plates and pull the bar 4".

Agree to a point. The majority of DL records are conventional stance, though.

9.Powerlifting would be seen live by over a billion people! It would attract lots of business. It would attract lots of great kids who give it a miss today. It has a low profile and they are put off by multiple feds and laughable gear.

Kind of like the Olympics do for weightlifting here in the US? PL is a fringe sport as far as the US is concerned, rather like weightlifting, or fencing. All are exceptional sports, requiring incredible discipline and dedication to compete at the world level regardless of genetics, however, being an OL sport is no guarantee of popularity.

10.The Oympics would gain an awesome strength sport that'd have everyone screaming in the aisles.

Having been at more than 100 PL meets, I am going to flatly disagree with this statement. Most meets are more of a family reunion type of atmosphere. I am obviously not knocking PL meets, as if I had anything against them, I would have quit going after my first more than 20 years ago. It is just not that popular a sport. Note: I have participated as an athlete, coach, spotter/loader, meet official (scorer, jury, etc.), so please no one accuse me of bashing a sport I have put more than 15 years of work into as someone who supports it.

11.There'd be a lot more strength in the powerlifting world. Nothing would be fake.

Agreed, but still possible.

12. Even bodybuilders would become enthusiastic about strength, just like long ago. The old quip, "great arm...... how much do you bench" would again become current.

Personal gripe here. I hate hearing this, but then it is my worst lift.

13.The VERY SIGHT of Benedikt Magnusson in action would have every teenage superman saving up for an olympic bar!

Again, being in the Olympics is no degree of popularity.

14. With Olympic profile, Benni would do more for powerlifting and strength than almost anything else!

Rosie O'Donnel would have a hissy fit. Powerlifting would be condemned from the pulpit. Everybody would be giving out about it. Mothers would warn their sons "you CAN'T POSSIBLY want to be like THAT MONSTER!"....... Actually do, Mom....... "EEK! HERBERT, COME IN AND LISTEN TO YOUR SON!"

This would be wonderful. Do not see it happening, though.

The result of all this would be wonderful, the following would be far more common:

15.Tiny girls would pull huge deads. They'd tell their abusive(failed gymnast, with eating disorder) moms to back off.

Instead we would have failed athlete dad's who never really lifted crap pushing their kids to take 4th attempts to make records they did not have a chance at, increasing the risk of injury and serving no purpose other than to achieve a degree of 'success' vicariously by using athletics to compensate for their own past failures. I have seen this happen already.

16.Boys with bad legs would bench more than the biggest guys on the football team.

Not too difficult. Most football players are taught by their 'coach' to bench like they were dry-humping a camel.

17.Big akward kids at the back of the class become deadlift kings instead of dead. Who needs booze and drugs when you can do this!

Do not knock booze. I have been a part of some great local meets that were held at bars. Nothing like a deadlift meet on a long summer day where the first thing after the third attempt the lifter was usually handed a fresh beer in an ice cold glass. Your statement should probably read 'With beer, who needs a trophy?'

18.World Peace!.....well maybe not.

This may occur before federations unite. I am not sure if I am joking here or not.

Lift on.

You too, sir.

My basic point is that the Olympics is no guarantee of unity, or popularity, at least here in the US. There are probably at least 100 events that I cannot tell you who won a gold medal, or even who competed. This is true of many others as well. The other major difficulty is that the biggest PL sponsors are gear manufacturers, and I cannot really see them spending extra money to sponsor a federation that refuses to use their products.

Also, RAW meets are available to all, yet the biggest meets all utilize gear. If people wished to quit using it, there is an alternative.

I have some thoughts on what strength sports may need to accomplish (among other things) which I will try to put together in some form of coherent post either tonight or tomorrow, and everyone can pick it apart when I am done.

[fr0stbyte]

I don't think Powerlifting needs the Olympics. Common people will not watch it, the networks wouldn't even cover it. You may see 2 mins of powerlifting and then back to 2 hours of Gymnastic warm-ups. IMO, if you want to compete on an international level, join and compete in a federation that has representation in all major countries. For example, the IPF offers an incredible worlds every year. They have an opening ceremony, often covered by the countries television network.

[Perceptionist]

LOL @ box squat and people agreeing with a box squat... hahahaahahahaha!

why take away the pause in a bench? no need.

deadlift is cool as is obviously.

sorry but none of that will work. I say screw the olympics anyway. i'd rather see it on television.

[James456]

LOL @ box squat and people agreeing with a box squat... hahahaahahahaha!

why take away the pause in a bench? no need.

deadlift is cool as is obviously.

sorry but none of that will work. I say screw the olympics anyway. i'd rather see it on television.

Why wouldnt the box squat work? The only problem I see with it is that it would be alot of fathing about measuring each lifter and suppose it might be a bit more dangerous incase the lifter failed the rep

From a judging standpoint through i can only imagine it being more easier through hell you could even put motion dectors on box or really close up cameras.

[Lager1]

Im so confused as to why people cant TnG in powerlifting.

Im not talking about BOUNCING, im talking about a touch then a go like a natural repetition would be.

I know it makes judging harder but judging this stuff is always subjective anyway./

Id also like to see a maximum width for a squat...some of this stuff is getting ridiculous...when a lay person cant recognize the exercise anymore some line has been crossed.

As for the benching shirts...how did you PLers let it come to this point...I mean honestly its getting kinda funny with the shirts where some guys CANT lower their arms to a normal relaxed point...I mean who is kidding who???

Rant over...no need to neg im not bashing PLing just giving an outsiders perspective from someone who would love to see a fixed brand of PLing in the Olympics but only if the changes were made bc now alot of the lifts are unrecognizable from what I perform in the gym...

I mean who squats with a 8 inch ROM..? And considers it a proper squaT>?

I gotta tell you, if powerlifting like this would go into the olympics, it would be laughed at.

[Arlecchino]

Why wouldnt the box squat work? The only problem I see with it is that it would be alot of fathing about measuring each lifter and suppose it might be a bit more dangerous incase the lifter failed the rep

From a judging standpoint through i can only imagine it being more easier through hell you could even put motion dectors on box or really close up cameras.

Well, the hight of the box with respect to parallel for each lifter will vary. Would be a fairly simple thing to get measured for a box with a narrow stance, then widen the stance as much as possible thereby decreasing squat depth.

So then 'stance width' rules would have to evolve, making everything a bigger pain in the ass. I know if I were squatting and some idiot was moving around my feet or something to see if I had widened my stance from what it was previously while I was setting up to squat, I would probably drop the bar on him as an object lesson. And I am by and large a fairly mellow sort of guy.

[ZachG85]

Why wouldnt the box squat work? The only problem I see with it is that it would be alot of fathing about measuring each lifter and suppose it might be a bit more dangerous incase the lifter failed the rep

From a judging standpoint through i can only imagine it being more easier through hell you could even put motion dectors on box or really close up cameras.

Because it's off a damn box! It would look absolutely stupid to have box squatting as an olympic event. Great assistance exercise, positively retarded looking lift to compete with.

[Bodysteele]

I don't think Powerlifting needs the Olympics. Common people will not watch it, the networks wouldn't even cover it. You may see 2 mins of powerlifting and then back to 2 hours of Gymnastic warm-ups. IMO, if you want to compete on an international level, join and compete in a federation that has representation in all major countries. For example, the IPF offers an incredible worlds every year. They have an opening ceremony, often covered by the countries television network.

Wow, ive watched hundreds of hours of sports every year for overe a decade....been in Canada the USA as well as Europe at times....lived all over the Eastern part of N.A. and MAYBE seen PL on T.V. 2 times...if that.

Some of the PL folks on here are kinda in denial.

And for those criticizing T&G benching Id ask why dont those squatting need to pause to display control at the bottom of the movement just like benching then.

Pause or dont pause but please be consistent.

On the width of squatting...I guess those talking about forcing a walkout are right that that would regulate the sumo squats out of the sport basically.....I dont see why sumo Deadlifting should be outlawed though....hard for alot of large guys to pull conventionally if they arent long armed...I mean even at low weights....so it isnt a weight thing really its a natually movement to some degree for some body types/.