Powerlifting is a sport that doesn’t give anything back to you if you don’t put the effort in. Failure isn’t something that is a maybe, it’s bound to happen one time or another while lifting.
Failure, however, can look different for every powerlifter. The first time I failed at a lift that actually made me upset was at my first competition. I wasn’t solid on things like form and commands, so I got two red lights on two of my squats and two of my benches.
For those who don’t know, competitive powerlifting is scored by three judges, each giving you either a white light for a passing lift or a red light for a failed lift. If you get two or more red lights, your lift is considered not good and the weight doesn’t count towards your total score. If you want to know more powerlifting jargon, visit my post about common powerlifting terms.
Getting those red lights is disheartening, even embarrassing, at a competition. However, I took that failure and didn’t let me shake me. On my deadlifts, I ended up achieving a personal record.
From this, I learned how to take the emotions that are associated with failure and turn them into productive energy. No matter how you feel, the weight on the bar is going to be the same. It doesn’t care that you’re having a bad day. Your only job is to lift it.
For those of you who do not want to compete, failure can happen in training too. Just last week, I missed a squat weight I should have easily been able to rep, but I ended up not even squatting the weight for one rep. Setbacks like these are hard in training. They make your mind race wondering what you’re doing wrong that caused your body to fail.
I know I tend to get upset, unlatch my belt with a little more force than needed, and feel a little ashamed as I re-rack the weight from my failed squat.
However, I don’t let the energy carry over into the rest of my workout. I take the failure and leave it there, and continue. If you only dwell on the things that you fail at and forget about your progress and accomplishments, training is going to be harder, and mentally, you won’t want to push yourself.
These are just a few personal examples from times I’ve failed. I think it’s as important to share these stories as our accomplishments and personal records. No matter how much weight you lift, the pros lift, or I lift, we are all going to fail. What’s important is channeling the energy from that failure and turning it into productive energy and motivation. Use those failures to ignite a fire within you to push even harder.
Today, on my Instagram I’m sharing videos of me failing to show that this sport isn’t easy. I encourage you to share your failures too, whether it’s on the internet or just with some friends, and think about how you are going to change that failure into a success.
Pink Belt Powerlifting 
I’ve spent many years powerlifting, and you are so right. The whole goal isn’t to just win all the time – its to learn the lessons that come from the process. Thanks for sharing.
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