Powerlifting Balance Of SBD Disciplines (Squat, Bench Press And Deadlift) Ratio To Total Score

Abstract

This research studied the powerlifting balance of squat, bench press and deadlift (SBD) disciplines ratio to the total score. The data set was from Powerlifting Championships recognized by the International Powerlifting Federation, compiled by the Open Powerlifting project. The records were 65,867 men’s and 35,679 women’s samples from classic powerlifting and 19,295 men’s and 7,426 women’s samples from equipped powerlifting, all with ages from 24 to 39 years from 2012 to November 2022. For each record, the SBD ratios were calculated by the mean of the formula (SBD discipline / Total score) by one hundred. Dispersion plots of Good Lift Points (GLP) score versus the SBD ratios and Bar plots of mean and variance of SBD ratios were done, highlighted by quantiles of GLP score. The Mean and Standard Deviation from Elite Powerlifters (90-100th quantiles) of each weight class were used to calculate the SBD ratio ranges. An algorithm with twenty-six permutations, where the addition and subtraction from 0.5 to 3 standard deviation to the mean marked the ranges' Upper and Lower borders. The best permutation by each weight class was selected when the athletes' group inside the optimal ratio ranges (ORR) showed the highest Impact Factor (GLP mean by frequency) and the shortest ORR. To evaluate the effectiveness of the ORR for each weight class in sexes and events were analyzed lower levels of Powerlifters, inside 0-50th and 50th-90th quantiles of GLP score. For these sets, was applied One Way ANOVA to evaluate the meaning differences between IN and OUT groups from ORR, using post-hoc test of Tukey's HSD or Games-Howell. From sixty-four evaluations, forty-eight were higher in GLP mean score for the IN group, meaning differences regarding the OUT group. At the same time, fifteen were only the highest but not statistically different, and only one was rejected for both. Regardless of the quantile level, for Classic Powerlifting, four Women’s (57, 63, 69 and +84) and five Men’s (66, 74, 93, 105 and +120) classes presented ORR supported; while for Equipped Powerlifting were four Men’s (74, 83, 93 and 105) and six Women’s (57, 63, 69, 76, 84 and +84) classes. These findings support the theory of Powerlifting balance in SBD disciplines, which influences performance.