10 Problems with High School/College Powerlifting

Muscular guys with their shirts off straining at 300-pound barbells.  What's not to like?  It would seem that high school/college weightlifting, aka powerlifting, would be an ideal sport for physique-watching. 

But unfortunately, the ideal is far different from the reality.

1. It's not a very common sport.  Only a few high schools and colleges offer it.

2. Both boys and girls participate.  Sometimes it seems to be mostly girls.

3. The athletes don't compete shirtless, or in tight singlets.  Loose-fitting t-shirts and shorts are more common.

4. Weightlifting is not bodybuilding.  Muscle size and definition are irrelevant.  Being a little chunky is an asset.

5. And since they are evaluated in weight classes, many of the athletes are a bit skinny.

More after the break.

6. It doesn't take very long.  A clean-and-jerk is over in seconds.

7.  Not much ethnic diversity.  Most participants are white.

8.  There aren't a lot of spectators except for the family and friends of the athletes, making it difficult for you to go undercover as a fan of the sport.  You might as well be carrying a sign saying  "I'm here to look at muscles"

9. That might be an advantage, if one of the athletes is flattered by your interest.

10.  But you'd be better off trying to pick up guys at the gym, which is set up for that sort of thing.