When you’ve squatted over a thousand pounds fourteen times in a row, you’re doing more than lifting heavy—mastering patience, managing recovery, and knowing when not to push.
I’ve been around long enough to see many lifters blow themselves up chasing gym PRs. Craig Foster? He’s proof that you don’t have to do that to be great. Sitting down with him for Table Talk 364 reminded me that sometimes the smartest move is to hold back—so you can deliver when it counts.
Getting Started: From Backyard Weights to the Big Stage
Craig didn’t start in a fully outfitted powerlifting gym. His dad built him a little home setup in the backyard when he was 14—a bench, a DIY squat rack, and a couple of sets of dumbbells. By the time he was in high school, he was benching in the mid-300s, squatting in the 400s, and already one of the strongest kids on the team.
Football carried him into a small D3 college, where he realized he loved training more than playing.
“I liked the lifting. I liked the process… but I knew I wasn’t going to the NFL.”
Powerlifting didn’t show up until 2017. A random World Star clip of Ray Williams squatting 1000 lbs raw got his attention. From there, he started digging, found more lifters online, and eventually met coach Sean Danner, who invited him to a little hole-in-the-wall powerlifting gym. He signed up on the spot.
The First Lesson: Depth and Discipline
Craig’s first meet prep was 16 weeks of learning depth the hard way. He was glued to a low box—miss depth, restart the set. No exceptions.
That discipline paid off:
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Meet #1 (Dec 2017) – 804 squat, 485 bench, 606 deadlift (1,890 total)
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Meet #2 – 837 squat, 518 bench, same pull (1,972 total)
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Meet #3 – 865 squat, 545 bench, 606 pull (2,018 total)
He broke 2,000 lbs in under a year of competing.
Why His Best Lifts Are in Meets (Not the Gym)
Craig doesn’t chase gym PRs. Most of his best numbers have only happened on the platform. That’s not by accident—it’s built into his training.
“Most of my PRs are in the meets. I’ll work up to an opener and that’s it for me.”
He understands the difference between a training max and a competitive max—and why the competitive max should be higher. If you’re constantly handling near-max weights in the gym, you’re paying for it in recovery, whether you feel it now or later.
How He Adjusts and Recovers
Craig autoregulates a lot, especially as the weights get heavier. He does two squat days and two pull days a week, but if a main day beats him up, he’s not afraid to cut a set or two on the secondary day so he can come back ready.
Squat and deadlift split:
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Primary day – Top set + backdowns
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Secondary day – Speed work with bands/chains (6×3 @ 70–75%), short rest
Bench keeps more volume in year-round because he recovers faster from pressing.
Offseason Work and Mini-Peaks
Craig’s chasing Ray Williams’ all-time sleeve squat record—1080 lbs. That’s not a number you rush. His offseason is about building capacity, not chasing 1RMs.
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Drops to one squat day per week
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High-volume work (SSB tempos, Bulgarians, lunges)
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Accessory work to stay healthy
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Mini-peaks to see where he’s at without running a full meet cycle
“If I can get over a thousand without really pushing, that’s a good indicator I’m ready.”
How He Thinks About Accessories
Craig’s accessories are about stimulus, not ego. He’s not chasing numbers on these—he’s chasing tension and position.
Mainstays:
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SSB good mornings & good morning squats
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Reverse hypers, GHRs
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Belt squats, goblet squats
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Heavy dumbbell rows and incline dumbbell presses with tempo and pauses
“I used to row 125s just to show off. Now I get way more out of controlled 100s.”
If it takes away from his main lift recovery, he drops it. Period.
Bench: Tightness Over Leg Drive
Craig’s bench setup is built around lats and shoulder blade retraction. He’s explosive off the chest, but his sticking point is lockout—so tricep work, board presses, and band work are staples.
“Sean tells me I don’t have leg drive… I’ve learned to create tension with my legs, but my bench is about tightness.”
Deadlift: The Constant Work in Progress
Craig will tell you straight—he hates the deadlift. It’s been the slowest to move and the hardest to hold together on meet day. He’s experimenting with conventional now to see if it suits him better.
Fatigue plays a role:
“By the time I get to the pull, I’m beat. Sometimes I just want to pull what I need to be done.”
His goal isn’t to magically add 80 lbs—it’s to add 20–25 lbs while keeping squat and bench strong.
Meet Day Strategy
Craig’s attempt selection is aggressive but calculated:
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Opener – Comfortable, sets the tone
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Second – Sets up the PR attempt
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Third – Swing for the big number
The challenge is figuring out how to save energy for the pull without risking a squat miss early.
My Takeaways from Craig
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Patience wins – Stop trying to force progress; build it over time.
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Trust the plan – PRs in the gym are worthless if you can’t reproduce them in competition.
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Volume is the base – Build capacity first so peaking is easy.
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Adjust when you need to – Recovery dictates progress.
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Accessories are for muscle, not the ego – If it trashes your joints, it’s not helping.
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The platform is where it counts – Save your best lifts for the meet.
Pull Quotes Worth Remembering
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“Embrace the suck. Work hard. It’s not going to be over in one day. It’s going to take forever.”
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“Most of my PRs are in the meets. I’ll work up to an opener and that’s it for me.”
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“If I can get over a thousand without pushing, that’s a good indicator I’m ready.”
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“I used to row 125s just to show off. Now I get way more out of controlled 100s.”
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“By the time I get to the pull, I’m beat. Sometimes I just want to pull what I need to be done.”
Craig’s not just a 1000-lb squatter—he’s a lifter who’s figured out how to keep doing it repeatedly without wrecking himself. If you take anything from this conversation, it’s this: PRs in the gym don’t mean a damn thing if you can’t do them when it matters.
Craig Foster is one of the top-ranked powerlifters in the world, holding a competition best total of 2,298 lbs and sitting fourth all-time. Known for his consistency under the heaviest loads, he has squatted over 1,000 pounds in 14 consecutive meets.
Craig came into powerlifting in 2017 after a background in football and years of recreational lifting. Under the guidance of coach Sean Danner, he’s built a reputation for disciplined, high-volume training, keeping his biggest lifts for the platform instead of the gym.
Beyond his numbers, Craig is respected for his patience, humility, and willingness to share what he’s learned about recovery, longevity, and training economy. His current focus is chasing the all-time raw with sleeves squat record of 1,080 lbs, held by Ray Williams.
