Squat Depth, In Depth

If you care about powerlifting or are in the community of powerlifting, you probably have heard the controversy over the Dave Hoff record because of his squat.

So why should we care that this was passed? Should we be happy for Dave? Should we accept these blatantly high squats as record?

Taken from the SPF rulebook (the most lenient federation)

" 1.      A legal squat is performed when the top of the upper thigh at the hip (the “crease” of the hip) passes below the height of the knee."

If you look at this video you can tell its about 6-12 inches off the mark. 

      Why Should We Care

      As a powerlifter you should care. This is now in the record books as a legit squat. Powerlifting is a numbers game and the numbers should be taken seriously. Competitors, no matter the federation, should be outraged that this is passed. This is not the only squat that is questionable though. See example B.

All of these squats go down as record. So if you lift in a federation that actually sticks to its rules, you will come up short. We have inflated numbers that will stand as record for years because of these laxed rules. This is part of the reason why powerlifting remains underground and other things like Crossfit and Bodybuilding rack up the followers and dollars. 

The You Cant Put That Much Weight on Your Back Argument 

This is the most common and the least sensical argument out there. Does it matter that its an earth shattering amount of weight if its lifted outside the rules? Its either a legit squat or not. If you can not get it to parallel/past parallel then it should not matter or count. I agree with, "if its questionable give it to the lifter" but no lift in the videos above should have been a question.

The Hater Argument 

So anyone who does not agree with the judges call is a hater? O.K. just like ever play a NFL ref screws up does not deserve to be questioned. As I stated before, numbers are what powerlifting is about, so when a shit squat is passed lifters should be outraged. So is it really hate when money and records are on the line or is it justified to question the legitimacy. I think its justified. 

The White Lights Argument

The final argument I will address is the "why should he go deeper if the refs give it to him arguement?" This I agree with the athlete on. Why would Dave go deeper. He shouldn't, however it should not be passed. Dave did what any winner would do and that is go for the win. The real problem is that federations let this go on. There is no one governing body in powerlifting. So each federation has the same but different rules. Powerlifting will continue to have issues as long as there is no "pro" federation where every rule is defined and followed with uniformity. 

Why Did I Write This

I am no writer, just a lifter. I am not a Raw Zealot or Single ply "fanboy". I am a competitor and fan of the sport. I wrote this to try to start a real dialog about what "WE" as the powerlifting community should accept. "We" are divided by federations and plys, which keeps us from moving forward as a sport. If a squat is defined as "is performed when the top of the upper thigh at the hip (the “crease” of the hip) passes below the height of the knee." in every single federation then it should be enforced the same and "We" as the community should not accept lifts that are not even questionable in nature. Hoff is going to get crap for trying to win within the rules the refs that day applied. Hoff is a great lifter and that no one can argue. But powerlifting as a sport needs to take a look at itself and change the way it operates before it becomes a joke.