Sweat ran down his face as the 200-pound Nick Mercurio bench-pressed more than twice his body weight.

In competition, Mercurio can bench-press 400 pounds and dead lift 575 pounds.

But he's not a professional athlete; he's a member of Penn State's power-lifting club.

Disbanded in 2000, the power-lifting club allowed lifters to train together and represent Penn State in competitions. This semester, Mercurio (junior-mechanical engineering) and Dan Continenza (junior-criminal justice) are reinstating the club to create a team atmosphere for campus lifters.

"We had an awesome team, and several people won national championships," Mercurio said. "It just died after a large amount of people graduated. There's still a lot of college students training on their own."

In power lifting, athletes train for three kinds of lifts: the bench press, the squat and the dead lift. In competitions, judges watch athletes attempt to lift the maximum weight possible.

"Most people don't know their own strength until they start doing this," Continenza said.

However, power lifting is different from other strength training.

"We don't train our bodies for looks," Continenza said. "We train for speed and power. A power lifter can pick up more weight if he does it quickly."

Mercurio said training is intense and there are no days off.

"You have to stay away from alcohol and eat healthy, which can be difficult as a college student," he said.

Women train for this sport, too, Continenza said.

"At one competition, I met a 114-pound cheerleader, but she could lift more than three times her weight," he said. "I can't even do that. You would've never known by looking at her."

Mercurio said two women participated on the former power-lifting team.

"They both went to nationals and were pretty good, too," he said.

About 25 people have signed up for the team, and most have prior lifting experience, Mercurio said.

Matthew Timer (freshman-chemical engineering) said he started power lifting on his high school football team.

"I haven't been in a competition since my senior year of high school," Timer said. "But I like the sport. It's a good feeling to work out and then show what you have in a meet."

Experienced and new power lifters can participate on the new team.

"I recommend finding someone who has been power lifting, not reading about the sport in a book and trying it on your own," Continenza said.

Scott Biechy (junior-biology) said he lifted while on his high school football team and started power lifting about a month ago.

"I like the sport so far because I like lifting weights and being strong," Beichy said.

After college, Mercurio and Continenza said they plan to continue lifting in competitions.

"Most power lifters don't reach their peak until their mid-40s," Mercurio said. "I'll keep doing it. It'd be too hard to leave it."