Adam Vickers
Sports Editor

he world of weightlifting is a
complex, controversial, and often
exciting display of strength and size. In
North America, we often confuse the

term weightlifting between different
disciplines. The reality is that there are
four mainstream weightlifting disciplines
out there. The four are strongman,
bodybuilding, powerlifting and
Olympic weightlitting. Looking:at.each
discipline, we can see what the goals
for each are and how each athlete is
strong in their own way.

Strongman is the most unique type

of weightlifting, with lifts coming in all
shapes and sizes. Strongmen are not
lifting basic barbells and dumbbells;
their lifts vary from huge rocks to
massive tires. Strongmen attempt to

lift anything big, bold, awkward, and
heavy; they take pride in being able to
lift any inanimate object within the limits
of human strength. These athletes often
get rioped up, beat up, and sometimes
even broken, as lifting these large

and heavy objects requires extreme
strength, leverage, and skill. These
athletes are tough and would find a
way to grow a third skin if they could.

Bodybuilding is the most popular in
North America out of the four main
disciplines of weightlifting; the most
popular former bodybuilders are
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou
Ferrigno. Bodybuilding is exactly what
it sounds like: build-up of the body. The
goal of bodybuilding is to be the most
muscular, symmetric, and conditioned

Adam Vickers
Sports Editor

nspired by Brazilian Carlos Brule’s
amazing ride of 100-foot wave in
Portugal, Over the Edge is going to
examine big wave surfing. What is
big wave surfing? Big wave surfing is
an amazing sport built of very gutsy
athletes. The waves they often tackle
are up to 20 feet. 20 feet is a good
size because it is small enough to
paddle and catch the waves; Brule
was able to catch his 1OO-foot wave
with the helo of a skidoo to pull him on
to the wave.

Big wave surfing got started in a
place called pinnacle point, the shore
20 miles away from San Francisco.
Three guys named Jim Thompson,

The World of Weightlifting

athlete of all. The workout types that
these athletes perform are muscle
specific resistance exercises. They often
work with dumbbells, barbells, cable
machines... pretty much anything they
can use to build up specific muscles or
muscle groups to appease the judges.
These athletes often go through long
days of grinding high rep exercises
and, at the time of competition,

have very low amounts of body fat,
making it hard to even walk because
their skin is so tight at the bottom of
their feet and there is little padding
between them and the hard ground. If
there is one thing you can take away
from bodybuilding, it is that they are
determined and discipline in both diet
and exercise.

Powerlifting, the weightlifting discipline,
focuses on three main lifts: the squat,
deadlitt, and the bench press. The
power lifters goal is fo lift the most
weight possible in one of the three
main lifts. Power lifters are probably
the strongest of the four weightlifting
platforms (but don't tell the strongmen
that) and their competitions focus on
getting their one rep max in three
attempts at the specific lifts. There are
a number of different weight classes
which are split into the two divisions
of equipped and unequipped. The
divisions of equioped and unequipped
are separated according to the gear
they wear that helps them in the lift.
Doing the lift without gear is often
referred to as “raw’ lifts because they
are doing the lifts without anything

to help them, and these litters often

fall into the unequioped division.
Those wearing gear often fall into

the equioped division. lo train for
powerlifting, athletes focus on doing
the main lifts and building up the weak
areas by using different functional
exercises. Lifters use a combination of
heavy, low repetition lifts to build their
strength, and then use high repetition
exercises to get blood flow to the
specific muscle to help the muscle
recover. These athletes are strong,
they sometimes even attempt to squat
weights of 1000+ pounds and will

let you know it. They will probably

be the ones pounding some heavy
metal in the background while yelling
at the top of the litts. Power lifters like
to move heavy weight and will not
quit until they have litted more weight
than anyone has deemed physically
possible. These lifters are big, loud, and
tough.

Olympic weightlifting is the most skilled
of the four, and is most popular in
Europe (it is slowly gaining popularity in
North America). Olympic weightlifting
is focused on getting the most weight
possible over your head in the form

of the snatch, and the clean and

jerk. The snatch is when you take a
wide grip on the barbell and bring it
from the ground straight overhead,
catching it in the overhead position
and standing up. The clean and jerk is
the motion of bringing the weight from
the ground to a front squat position,
and then from the top of a front squat,
‘jerking’ the weight over your head
and holding it in an overhead position.

The Giants of the Sea

Dick Notmeyer, and Alex Matienzo
(who named theses waves Mavericks
after Matienzo's dog) began the
trend. Although the three never risked
bigger waves further out, they started
something special. It was not until 1975
that Jeff Clark attempted the unknown
heading out to catch these Mavericks.
These waves were so massive that
they can be recorded on a Richter
scale.

For 15 years Clark used these waves
as a personal playground, and in 1990
Dave Schmidt and Tom Powers joined
in the fun. Once the two of them got
involved with Mavericks, people from
all over the world started appearing
with photographers, helicopters, and
crowds.

In 1999, competition surfing began
with the first competition started by
Quicksilver called “Men Who Ride
Mountains.” The winner of the first
event was Darryl “Flea” Virostko. Now
at Pinnacle Point they have a yearly
invitational, called the Maverick
Invitational, hosted by a number of
different sponsors (notables being
Redbull, Bodyglove, and Go Pro). They
only invite 24 of the world’s best surfers
to the event. Carlos Brule is among the
24 competitors who have to wait for a
call between the dates of 1 November
and 31 March for prime conditions to
compete. Prime conditions require the
best day for the biggest waves; to find
these conditions they look at the wind,
tides, waves, swell direction, and swell

Sports!

Olympic weightlifters train much like
power lifters, but focus more on parts
of the two main lifts. For example,

in the clean and jerk, Olympic
weightlitters will focus on front squat
position for a workout rather than the
lift as a whole. Olympic lifters then
look at how they can strengthen that
position, contributing to the big lifts in
the two main lifts. In competition, like
powerlitters, they also receive three
attempts for litting the most weight.
These athletes are the most skilled of
the weightlitters because the two lifts
are the most challenging to accomplish.
Just being off by less than a second in
one of the lifts may cause the athlete
to find themselves on their back or,
worse, with a barbell on their chest.
Olympic lifters have been around
since ancient civilizations - they are not
afraid to show you how to lift a huge
amount of weight over your head and
then smash it to the ground right in
front of you.

Weightlifting as a sport is definitely
something that isno longer black

and white, especially since modern
technology and science has helped
us push the limits of our body and
strength. There are no specific methods
of training that are completely the
same as each person, since each
individual has different strengths and
weaknesses. [he world of weightlifting
is an exciting sport growing in
popularity. Weightlifting will forever be
a sport looked at in amazement, with
people pushing the limits of human
ability.

duration. Once called, competitors
have only 24 hours to get ready and
get to pinnacle point. The one-day
event pulses with different events
and activities, and is surrounded by
spectators.

Big wave surfing is not for the faint of
heart, it requires guts and athleticism.
Even with know-how people are not
sate; professional have perished due
to risk taking in these waves. Clark
saw the potential in Mavericks but
predicted, ‘I've seen a lot of people
paddle out there, but only a few really
ride it. | don't care if word gets out,
Mavericks will always take care of
themselves.’ Words of wisdom from the
innovator of big wave surfing.