In the coming weeks, there will be some heavy barbells pressed, lifted and pulled by the St. Joe’s Powerlifting Club in the updated strength room in O’Pake Recreation Center.
New to Campus Recreation this semester, the club is centered around powerlifting, a form of weightlifting consisting of three central exercises: the bench press, the back squat and the deadlift. The club’s members have yet to meet for team weight training, but participated in an inaugural Zoom meeting on Feb. 1.
Liam Ferguson ’24, president of the club, said he hopes the club provides its members with a foundation for weight training while cultivating a team atmosphere.
“The idea for this club is for anyone who has an interest in lifting to explore and learn more about the three main lifts,” Ferguson said. “You can come out and lift while building friendships.”
Ferguson and Angie Nagle, assistant athletics director for Campus Recreation, worked together to create the club. According to Nagle, the club will motivate students to stay active in a time when fitness and well-being should be prioritized.
“We’ve learned throughout this whole pandemic that fitness and wellness are essential to not only our physical [health], but our mental and social [health],” Nagle said. “Providing opportunities for our students to get a workout in and break a sweat is so important.”
Ferguson said that as a high school lacrosse player, he fell in love with weight training. When he arrived on campus last fall, Ferguson was disappointed to find that St. Joe’s did not offer a powerlifting program for students.
“I wanted to keep pursuing [strength training] and maybe take it to the next level,” Ferguson said. “Some of my friends at [University of Connecticut] and [Villanova University] have powerlifting programs and I wanted that for myself.”
Ferguson said that the club plans to focus on the bench press, the back squat and the deadlift because they are functional exercises for all types of weight training, not just powerlifting.
“Even if you’re not a powerlifter or a bodybuilder, the three main lifts are relevant to any weight training program,” Ferguson said.
Performing these compound movements, which target multiple muscle groups at the same time, also provides the opportunity for a time-friendly workout, according to Elizabeth Binder ’22, the only female student in the club.
“I think powerlifting specifically is a really efficient way to exercise,” Binder said.
Binder said female students should not be intimidated to join the club, even if they have minimal experience in weightlifting.
“I’ve only been doing this for maybe eight months now, and I’m still learning a lot,” Binder said. “[The weightlifting community] is generally really welcoming, it’s definitely something anyone can do.”
On a similar note, Nagle said that as the club works to become more visible on campus, she expects more female students to have an interest in participating.
“I’m in O’Pake every day, so I know that there’s more than one student who identifies as female that lifts heavy weights,” Nagle said. “There’s definitely an interest across campus for women, Liam will just have to work hard to let people know about it.”
Ferguson said that his ultimate goal is for the St. Joe’s powerlifters to compete against other schools, similar to other club teams on campus.
“I’m picturing it like the rugby team,” Ferguson said. “It would be so fun. We would all have singlets and squat suits repping St. Joe’s.”
If that were to happen, Binder said that she looks forward to experiencing a team-oriented powerlifting competition.
“I’ve heard that powerlifting competitions are a lot about the camaraderie and just having fun,” Binder said. “That would be a cool experience to have in college.”
