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PA introducing raw division?

Pro's of Capo

Unbelievable atmosphere.
Administrators there for the lifters.
Very friendly lifters.

Negatives of Capo

The minority make most decisions.
The worst records updating of any lifting federation in the world. Ever.
Closed minded old timers.
No presence in Sydney or Adelaide or Tassie.
Slack judging ( please dont call me out on this, videos may embarrass you)

Pros of PA

Raw Nationals
More comps
Presence in most cities
The best record keeping I have witnessed
Very good judging standards

Negatives of PA

There comps atmosphere is that of a library or church
Run by dictatorship
Lifter comes second

I took Max along to the PA Nats. There is no way he could lift in that atmosphere, it was dreadful. I went to see friends lift, and left as the BP started, I couldnt take anymore. Its that bad.

That is the worst thing about PA for me, my opinion.

The worst thing about CAPO is the judging. Lifters that I consider friends get some unbelievably favourable calls. No wild accusations, I have the States and Nats on video for proof. One of my lifters banged a bar into an upright on BP, 3 white lights lol

I saw another lifter stumble and take steps on a squat, 3 white lights.

I saw a touch and go bench press get 3 white lights at the Nats. It was so bad, that a female lifter of mine made her way to me, beside the judge, and asked very seriously whether we have to pause on the BP. She wasnt being smart, it was a genuine question.

I think PTC lifters will stay with CAPO for now, purely because of the atmosphere, but if PA do have a raw nats and CAPO dont, I'm not sure how long it will last.

They make their own minds up, and I will coach/help them no matter which way they go. The same applies to an interstate lifter that needs help at a PA meet, I would gladly help.

Remember, I'm not a member of either federation.
 
Paul, if I had the money, I would do everything I could to implement your ideas.

In a heart beat.

This topic gets discussed at my place every single day.

As far as knee sleeves go, and this may shock some of you, I believe knee wraps should be included in raw. Raw should simply eliminate suit/shirt, thats it.

This would allow a greater number of lifters to cross over from equipped to raw.
 
Awesome!!!!

I don't want to confuse matters further, but I would like to see knee wraps included as ROAR.

The reason being, I like the feel of something on my knees to keep heat into them when squatting heavy (even if they are loose) and buying yet another piece of equipment (neoprene sleeves) fills me with dismay.

All knee wrapping to be done on seating beside platform, done.
gold!
 
Can i ask a stupid question, Do Knee raps make much of a difference in the weight you can move or is it more to do with stopping possible injurys or both?
 
the ASC/ASADA sanctioning meaning that average gym joe wont be able to take his BSN megaJack3dNoXplodeTesticularoidBeffcake 4000 (which makes him heaps more stronger as FLEX says so)

Not doing it then.....LOL....
I'd lift in both if I could, competing is so much fun and for me the best motivator.
 
Raw definition is going to be Wrist wraps, belt and knee sleeves, confirmed by email from Robert this morning

Knee wraps are out, for a couple of reasons,
1) is that if PA chooses a different Raw standard than the rest of the IPF world then we can't compare results.

Great Britain have had raw for 10 odd years, definition is wrist wraps and belt

USAPL have had raw for about 3 years, definition is wrist wraps, belt and neoprene knee sleeves. I understand that the North American Powerlifting federation will use this definition on a regional basis

2) is that we'd never hear the end of it from all the absolute raw zealots ( half of whom don't even compete raw ) if we allowed knee wraps.

PS. Good knee sleeves like the Rehbands last forever, and unlike wraps don't need replacing. I've had mine for 4 years now, worn and washed hundreds of times.

Solid reasoning there MM.

Hobart Open is going to be raw, but this is more due to equipment limitations, however, furthering the raw cause still has its merits.
 
Is PA going raw because of CAPO's huge success of raw lifters at the nationals?
 
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I think whether or not knee wraps prevent injury may depend on the way one squats...

for me personally my hips tend to become sore when I get up around the 280 mark but knees are ok and this has to do with my wideish stance which requires strong hips and glutes...to date I've never gone over 280 raw so cant comment beyond that.
 
It's good that PA is introducing a raw div. The more options available for competitive lifters, the better. A number of lifters I've spoken to in gyms have expressed an interest in competition, all of them said they were not interested in equipment - though of course this might change as they become more experienced.

Only one I think has the drive and talent to become genuinely strong and competitive, she is not interested in anything but raw. But perhaps she's just influenced by me, I even took her gloves off her.

I don't claim to know much about equipment, knee wraps and so on. I do know that with the lifts most achieve in mainstream gyms, they can safely do without those things for a while yet. I took the belt off a lifter the other day, he was 75kg and deadlifting 90kg after, he said, five years of training. Unfortunately the 62kg young woman lifting 90kg after ten months was not around for comparison. I told him to sell his belt and use the money to buy some milk.
 
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