Can Power lifters do math? : I think the formulas are wrong

[RicPhoenix]

As one of this forums wannabe scientist and fake bodybuilders with too much time on his hands...I decided to watch some power lifting and a friend of mine told me that this smaller guy won the overall title based on his body weight , well ....if you have read my theorem on how to determine a person's real stats from their cyber stats (as found in the bodybuilding section of this forum) you will under stand my thinking here:


Why is it that in power lifting they do not take in consideration how far a person has to move the weight when doing the calculations to determine the over all winner? (unless I am not aware that they measure the distance a weight is moved or how long a persons arms/legs are)

I think the formula is Power = Work / time

and Work = Force/displacement

and Force = mass x acceleration

Anyway before I confuse myself (and if equations above are right)....the distance the weight has to be displaced is part of the determination of POWER output and the time...not just how much a person weighs and the weight used.

So how did this all come about?

 

[Crowler]

Where does it all end. Measuring a guys wrists and ankles to see if say Xcell really should win over someone with larger wrists even though he lifted less weight.

If we go by that then in bodybuilding we would have to say well that 6'6" guy doesn't really look as good as that 5'5" guy BUT he has added more 70lbs MORE muscle to his frame than the 5'5" guy so he wins.


CROWLER

 

[RicPhoenix]

Heh....I dont think you would need to measure wrists and ankles....unless that was required to determine power output.

Ok here is my reasoning:

Power is something that is measured so if the sport is called "power" lifting we might expect that "power" is what is being measured (but I do not think it is), especially since someone took the time to develop formulas in an attempt to equalize things between all lifters regardless of their body weight.

Is it time for a formula revolution?


PS....bodybuilding is subjective/artistic ...a matter of opinion ...so there is no real need to measure their body parts or muscle gains to determine a winner

 

[Big_O]

It's used to be called the schwartz system...In other words the bigger guys get fucked by there body weight...

 

[big_byrd52]

there are 3 different formulas... each one has advantages for heavier, lighter and women. i have no idea how they were formulated or if they are worth a damn tho?

 

[Crowler]

Ok so we now want to measure how far the weight has to move ( I take it you have long arms ) Then do we have to take into consideration the length of a lifters arm from the shoulder to the elbow in relation from the elbow to the wrist as one has a better leverage over the other.

How about hand size when doing deadlifts, it is much easier for guys with larger hands to hold on to the bar than guys with small hands.

Hey we have a hard time getting 3 judges to agree if a questionable lift was good or not and now they are going to have to start measuring the guys arms and come up with the same number of fractions of inches.


CROWLER

 

[RicPhoenix]

Hand size and leverage are not part of the scientific formula for "power"


What I am suggesting is that there is an exact definition of what power is...and in power lifting it is NOT measured, yet the sport is called "power" lifting and presents itself as a sport that is "exact" or "objective" in determining who wins or loses.

 

[big_byrd52]

Whoever lifts the most wins.. best lifter out of the winners of each class is based on those dumb formulas.

They dont do it cause its too damn complicated. Just SFW!! (Smash Fucking Weights!!)

 

[IRONMAN83]

The formula for Work is W=Force x Displacement but ok if work is that and Force=mass x accleration and Power = Work/Time then Power is defined by the following:

Power = (Mass x Acceleration x Displacement) / Time

So if we where to follow your logic and take the distance the weight is moved into account then why not measure the acceleration the lifter produces onto the weight and the time it takes for him to do it as well?
According to your definition of powerlifting a typical meet would be run like this: In addition to weigh-ins, the lifters would have to demonstrate their lift techinque to a judge so the judges could measure their bench stroke taking into account their arch. Then when its time to do the lift, there'd me a infrared sensor above them to measure the acceleration of the bar and a guy on the side with a stopwatch. Once every piece of the puzzle is collected, each lifter would have their "power" calculated to the proper amount of significant figures and the winner would be scientifically chosen.
Now what would you rather see? That, or some hardcore fuckers grinding some iron?

Point is that powerlifting isnt really about "power" in the physical sense, power does play in there somehow but mostly becouse it sounds cool.

 

[RicPhoenix]

IronMan83 is a brainiac. Thanks for sorting that out.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

Ric, you're putting way too much thought into this.

Our math is fine even tho it's a little fuzzy.

PB

 

[terryd5150]

Hand size and leverage are not part of the scientific formula for "power".

True. However, leverage= mechanical advantage= more power.

 

[BigBoyJ]

The only real way to measure power would be if you could determine how many pounds of contractile force a muscle was able to generate within the muscle itself up to the point of tearing a tendon. That way, leverage would be out of the equation and pure contractile force would TRULY determine strength. Now all we need is an electronic machine to do that and a bunch of strong guys who would be willing to generate a static contraction on a stationary object to the point of muscle tears....it's so simple.

 

[FRKNHUGE]

what happened to just getting under the bar?

im 6'7 so theoretically any meet i compete in, under RPs formula of how far the weight travels, id win, but thats BS, fuck formulas unless its for best lifter. no fat guys win that cept for garry frank. lol
frk