First, you need to know what the current record(s) are. Check out the records page on this website for the current State/American/World records.

rnrn

Now, let’s start with State Records. You may set State records at a competition in any state, but you may only set records for the state in which you claim residency (E.g. Say you live in Michigan. You can set Michigan state records at a competition in Illinois, but you may not set Illinois state records). Then, you must compete in the sanction (APF or AAPF), weight class, and age division for the division of the current record. Most importantly, you must lift at least 2.5 kg more than the current record. Finally, you must fill out the record application that will be provided at the meet and turn it in to the meet director or technical officer of the meet.

rnrn

[Note that other States may handle their State Records differently. How the State Records are handled are up to the discretion of the individual State Chairmen of the APF. Some States may, for instance, not allow State Records to be set at a meet outside of the state. Please check with your State Chairman.]

rnrn

American Records are very similar. Again, you must compete at an APF/AAPF sanctioned meet, but this time it can be anywhere in the US. You must be a United States resident also (citizenship is NOT required). Then, you must again compete in the sanction and weight class, and qualify in the division of the current record. And, most importantly, you must lift at least 2.5 kg more than the current record. Sometimes an American record will be broken by a smaller amount, like by 0.5 kg. But this will only happen if it was broken in conjunction with a World Record (see below). So, sometimes, you can break it by less than 2.5 kg, but it still must be in the regular 2.5 kg breakdowns of the weights. Finally, again, you must fill out and turn in the record application at the meet.

rnrn

World Records are a bit more difficult to break. To break a WR, you must compete an APF/AAPF National meet or a WPC/AWPC International or World meet. World Records can ONLY be broken and National or World meets, not at local/state/regional meets. Of course you must compete in the sanction and weight class, and qualify in the division of the current record. You can exceed the current record by as little as 0.5 kg. The record breaking plates will most likely be available at National and World meets. And finally, you must fill out and turn in the proper record application at the meet.

rnrn

When breaking records, the WPC rule book does allow lifters to take 4th attempts, outside of the competition. These 4th attempts will not be counted towards your total for the meet. You must have completed a lift that is within 20 kg of the current record. These 4th attempts, however, are only allowed for World Records. Thus, because WRs can only be broken in National or World meets, you can only get 4th attempts in National or World Meets. 4th attempts are not allowed at local/state meets at ALL, nor are they allowed to soley break State or American records.

rnrn

One “issue” with breaking records is that the meet must have the proper referees for records to be broken. For State or American records, three certified APF National Referees be judging the lifts. One or all of those officials may be WPC Officials as well. At National meets, at least two of the judges must be certified WPC Officials, and the third an APF certified referee for World Records to be broken. And at World meets, all three judges must be WPC Officials, and two must be from different countries. The official scale of the meet must also have been officially certified with the last 6 months for World Records. These issues should all be taken care of by the meet director, however, so lifters need not worry about them for the most part.

rnrn

Another “issue” with breaking records is that 3-lift records can only be broken in 3-lift meets. The powerlifting records of squat, bench press, deadlift and total must be broken while competing in a 3-lift powerlifting meet. In addition, bench only and deadlift only records can only be broken at bench only, deadlift only, or push-pull type meets. Full meet lifters can NOT break these records unless they are able and do cross-enter into multiple events in the same meet.

rnrn

Meets where the meet director runs it in pounds instead of kilograms is another a common issue when it comes to records. All records in Illinois and in the APF are recorded in kilograms. By rule (see above), IL State and American records must be broken by at least 2.5 kilograms. All lifts done in pounds will be rounded DOWN to the nearest 2.5 kg incriment. So, the weight you lift in pounds, when converted to kilograms (and consequently rounded down to the nearest 2.5 kg), must exceed the current record by at least 2.5 kg. For instance, say the record that you are attempting to break is 100 kg or about 220 lbs. If you lifted 225 lbs at your meet, that would convert to about 102.1 kg, but that would be rounded down to only 100 kg for record purposes, and therefore would NOT break the record. On the other hand, 230 lbs converts to about 104.3 kg, which would be rounded to 102.5 kg and would break the current 100 kg record. All of this converting and rounding can be quite confusing no doubt. As a lifter, it would be best to figure this type of conversion out before the meet, or request that the meet director in your area use kilogram plates.

rnrn

Finally, please remember that the proper record application MUST be filled out and turned into the meet director or state chairman at the meet for the record to be properly recorded. As the former APF Illinois State Chairman Maris Sternberg was fond of saying, “If there’s no paperwork, the record doesn’t exist!” The paperwork should be provided by the meet director at the meet, and only takes a minute or two to complete. Note that at Illinois meets, if the State Chairman is in attendance, you need not worry about getting the officials signatures, that will be taken care of for you. BUT, at other meets, it is advisable that you seek out the referees and officials and get them to sign your application. Many meet directors do not take the time to get their officials to sign the paperwork, and often will cost their lifters a record due to incorrect filing of the record application. All in all, however, make sure you fill out a record application if you break a record.

rnrn

On an aside with records, if you break an IL State, American or World record, you will receive an official record certificate in the mail from the APF Office, free of extra charge to you.