What's happening guys? Silent Mike, back on the couch. Haven't been on this couch in a while. Appreciate you guys if you're new. Subscribe. Give this thing a thumbs up. Today I want to talk about powerlifting. The growth of powerlifting over the last couple years, I'd say three to five years has been absolutely insane, especially over here in the IPF and the USAPL, the drug tested side. But there's also non-drug tested powerlifting, the USPA, the UPA, the SPF, very popular as well. They're both growing. And I guess today, because I've been watching the USAPL raw nationals, USA powerlifting drug tested, and some of the insane numbers I've been seeing lifted in all-way classes, guys and girls. It's been crazy impressive. And I want to just kind of talk and compare and contrast some of the records, I guess, in the non-drug tested, compared to the tested. And I'll give you some of my opinions, give you some of the facts. Now, I just got these numbers, these records off of powerlifting watch, which is a popular website that has some information on powerlifting, different gyms, different meats, things like that. Pretty good resources. It also has records, but I don't know how recently updated they are. But for the case of this video, and for general discussion, it'll do. So if I mention a name and a number that's not the record right now, don't blow me up. I'm going off them. And I am aware that records are broken fairly often now that people are getting stronger. Moving on to the total. In the 123 class, the best drug tested total is 1306. While the best non-drug tested is 1339. The best 165 drug tested is 1609. And the best non-drug tested at 165 is 1669. So what I'm seeing here is because of the IPF and the USAPL is put into 231 pounds technically. It's a 105 kilo. And in the non-drug test of federations is typically 220 or 242. They're put into 231 guys up with the 242, which is fine. It's splitting the difference. But let's go there. So we're at the 242 pound weight class, which is my homie Bryce Lewis. And he's totaled 1918, 2016, which I believe he just crushed this last weekend. Not sure if it's total, but he beat that. And the 242 non-drug tested is Larry Williams with the 2171. So at the 275 pound weight class again in the IPF, it's a 264 in non-drug tested. It's 275. We have Stan Effarding with the 2226 total in 2011. And right now we have Dennis Cornelius at the 264 with the 2175. Ray Williams is the biggest total ever in super heavy weights with sleeves, drug tested and non with 2436. Go to the 181 class so far we have, which may again not be accurate. It is Brett Gibbs with 1766 in the IPF drug tested, 2016. And we have Millique Durstein with 1901, USPA non-drug tested, 2016. Now we bring up all these numbers and I want to just give you some examples of the current records in the drug tested and non-drug tested to bring up the point, not to talk about steroids and not to talk about performance and hands-to-drugs and how much they may or may not help you. But just to talk about how far the sport has grown and how fast it's still growing. A lot of these records, besides some of the most insane ones, are with done within the last three or four years. And I feel like over this last weekend, I saw more and more 700 pound deadlifts by guys that weigh under 200 pounds, more and more 500 pound benches by guys that weigh 200 and more all in the drug tested category. And a lot of these numbers, I feel like, over the last 20 years, 30 years, have gotten closer and closer together, the non-drug tested numbers and the drug tested numbers. Now, there's many different things we can point to and there's many different things that you can say and you're more than welcome to formulate your own opinion and leave it in the comments below. Let's not fight, let's not be brash, let's not throw daggers at anybody. It's not about that. For me, it's just about analyzing how crazy some of this training and athletes have become. And there's a couple of things in my opinion that do help bring these numbers closer together as well as just bring all these numbers up. And number one is just that it's more popular in our genetic pool, the amount of good athletes we're getting into powerlifting is going up. Some of the ladies numbers are going through the roof. I can't name how many girls six years ago pulled over 300 pounds, it was just a handful. And now there's girls smashing on 400, 450, 500 pound deadlifts in the drug tested category in almost every weight class. It's absolutely insane. And that's just because more strong people are finding out about the sport powerlifting, hopefully because of this channel, hopefully because of Instagram, hopefully because of all my awesome friends that also put up content on the internet and that they're finding the right way to train. So our genetic pool is going up, more people you get involved, the higher goes, right? That's why we have the most genetic freaks and football and basketball professionally. One, because there's money and there's exposure and there's a lifestyle. So at a young age, the best athletes are funneled to the top. And that's starting to happen on a smaller scale here in powerlifting. Number two, I would say it's just the general information out there is of better quality. Even when I started doing YouTube, not my own channel, which is only two and a half years old, but on other channels, which I've been on for about five, six years, there was less channels putting out real information in my opinion. There's a lot of people throwing out buzzwords and bogus words and five easy tips to get a six pack, it get juxtap and get vain. At least now some of the channels have the same idea and the same information, whether it's experience-based or science-based or a combination of both, that will actually are good tips that will help you lead to get a stronger, more aesthetic body. Along with that same nature of the general sport growing because of the internet, because of Instagram, because of all these popular people programming in general, I feel has all been elevated. So people are more aware of their program, whether they're following a dope program, whether they have a good coach or they're programming for themselves, they have a better plan to get somewhere. And of course, if you have a plan, you're gonna get somewhere faster. That's why people use GPS, that's why people go to school. That's you need a game plan if you wanna get somewhere more and more people are understanding that. And they're building better plans, building better plans, and they're staying in the game longer. If you power-lift for a year, you can get stronger for sure. But if you start power-lifting for five, six, seven, 10, 15 years, you're gonna be your strongest. My homie Bryce Lewis has been doing this for a long time. He's done body-building and things when he was younger, but now he's been strictly power-lifting around the same time as I have eight, maybe even nine years. And you see his numbers absolutely going through the roof. He decided to stay at a little heavier body weight and his consistentness can be on his training and his programming. And now he's knocking on the door, becoming an IPF champion in 2018. There's my prediction. Now obviously, drugs and things are playing a role in all strength sports. It's part of the fitness industry. It's part of the Olympics. I love the movie. I care Icarus, I talked about it before. And it's part of professional sports. And not to say that drugs do not help you, but looking at some of these numbers, myself analyzing them is one thing that I think is apparent. Most people is the difference between a natural-pro body builder and a pro body builder is absolutely insane. Some of the pro-IFBB guys are stepping on stage upwards of 250 pounds at under 4% body fat or a natural-pro body builder. If they're stepping on stage, it sub 4% body fat. They're typically 150, 160, 170 pounds. So that's just logic is telling me that performance enhancing drugs or steroids will help you put on more mass. And that's a huge discrepancy. We're almost talking about 100 pounds of lean body tissue. We're in the strength world. We're not seeing quite the discrepancy. So I'm not saying that steroids do or do not help more for strength or putting on mass. Although I do think that they help putting on mass. Now I'm no steroid guru. I don't know that much about it. I've been around it just as much as many people that have been in this industry. I've never used any of it. But the numbers that are coming together closer and closer in the non-drug test and drug test and power lifting federations. I think show a little bit that the USAPL and IPF genetic pool may also be bigger than the people that decide to use performance enhancing drugs or that decide to compete in the performance enhancing drug competition. And again, all of these, one way or the other are not saying that because you compete in a non-drug test of federation that you use performance enhancing drugs. And it's also to say that if you're in a drug tested federation, that you're not using performance enhancing drugs. I'm sure there's crossover in both. There's a lot of critique in the IPF and the USAPL about how stringent their drug testing is. I don't know firsthand. I know they do a urine test at competitions and they do some out of competition testing. It's not as same as the Olympic level or even USAW, USA Weightlifting. It might not be as stringent. But again, there's people in the Olympics, if you watch the movie Icarus, and there's people in the NBA and a FELL that are also using performance enhancing drugs being very stringent on their testing and still getting by the system somehow. And that's also not to say that on the other end, because there's other factors and rules involved, like a deadlift bar or a mono lift, where people that choose to not use performance in enhancing drugs compete in the non-drug test of federation, which I have many a time. I really like pulling with the deadlift bar. It feels good in my hands. It feels good on my back. And in the most popular drug test of federation, they don't use one. They use a stiff bar. So then often I've chosen to compete in a non-drug tested federation, although I don't use any performance enhancing drugs. So there's way too many complicated factors. There is no answer to this video. I'm glad you stuck around and listened to me, Rambo. It's just some thoughts I've been popping in my head after listening and watching. The awesome lifters of the USAPL, all week and congratulations to all those people that decided to commit to a meat, that decided to commit to nationals, that hit big PRs and had fun with their friends. It's an awesome community we're building on all sides. The last thing I want to point out is that because there's barbells involved, because we're all in it to get better and to do our best and become our best, that air is a weird brotherhood of, you know the pain of a really hard deadlift workout and you know the pain of squatting two or three times a week for the last five years. So we can all kind of bond and love one another based on our pains. Appreciate you guys. If you like this style of video, be sure to give it a thumbs up. I'm out of here catching the next one. Drop a video every other day. Appreciate you guys. Salzen might come off. Okay. Mother rhyand. Life is ending, babe.