Surviving Max Effort Day
I thought about just putting my workout off until tomorrow. That would have been the smart thing to do.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Deadlift
Now that this series has covered the insight of a powerlifting judge for the squat and the bench press, we move to discuss the knowledge we can gain regarding the final lift of the meet: the deadlift.
Meet Report: All-time World Record and Best Overall Lifter at 2017 Reebo...
I finished 7/9 with a 799 squat, 424 bench, and 815 deadlift (raw with wraps). That was good enough for a 2039 total and an all-time world record in the 198-pound weight class, plus a 592 Wilks and best overall lifter.
WATCH: Table Talk — Method Muppets
There are people who have been in the gym for two years or less and now they have their own method. What’s the method? Tying their shoes and walking through the gym?
Sequencing Assistance Work
How and when should you perform assistance exercises? What protocols are used for assistance work? Should exercises be changed or rotated? What about bands, chains, and specialty bars?
Genetically Mental
Mental toughness and strength are no different than physical traits. They can be trained and improved, if you’re ready.
When a Building Is More Than Its Four Walls
All that the S4 embodied—all the history, all the depth of meaning, all the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice and giving—will live on as those traits come to life and are reborn with S5.
WATCH: Table Talk — Should You Train Assistance Movements to Failure?
For a powerlifter on a conjugate or Westside style program, you first need to make sure you know the role of each exercise you’re doing. This will give you direction on how close to failure to train.
MEET REPORT: 2017 IPA Flex Lewis Classic
Team Nebobarbell and I went to Murfeesboro, Tennessee, where I took a crack at one of my competition bucket list lifts.
Fuck Your Instincts: A Cautionary Tale
I want to introduce you to Brian, also known as Spartandeadlifter950 on Instagram, driven by his elite instincts and self-reliance.
Conundrums of My Meet Prep
Raw classic or single-ply? 181 or 198? And what about my hand? There are still a lot of questions to be answered.
Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters — Technique, Injury Scale, and Sh...
There’s no doubt that there are times when you have to push through because you’re just not “into it” but there are other times when you really need to shut it down. The trick is knowing the difference.
Team Outlaw — There's No 'I' In Team
There may be some powerlifters out there that train by themselves and go to meets alone, but I would bet dollars to donuts that any successful powerlifter comes from a team of supporters.
WATCH: Table Talk — The 3 Most Impressive Things Dave Has Seen at the S4...
The mind-blowing lifts and accomplishments that have occurred in the S4 are too numerous to recount, but there are a few that stick out in Dave’s mind.
Saying Goodbye — Memories of the S4 Compound
As we leave the S4 Compound and christen the S5 Compound, join us in giving a proper farewell to a place we have called home for many years.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Three Best Conditioning Tools for Powerlifters
Conditioning doesn’t have to be complicated or require expensive equipment. These are the best options for a powerlifter.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Bench Press
In the first article of this series, I explained the value of the judge’s perspective in relation to the squat. Now let’s look at the bench press and see what lifters can learn from considering the judge’s role.
Three Mental Mistakes That Keep Powerlifters from Making Progress
If you plan on chasing unicorns, don’t hold your breath, because they don’t exist.
My Indicators
My key indicators (as well as yours) take time to know and develop. They also will change over time, so always be on the lookout and always monitor your training.
WATCH: Table Talk — Tapering for a Meet Using Conjugate
The appeal of conjugate is the ability to build multiple performance traits at once, but this confuses a lot of lifters as they get closer to a meet. It doesn’t have to be so complicated.
An Argument for Specificity
Staying in my own lane and keeping a laser focus on pursuing excellence in the sport of powerlifting is what has allowed me to rise to the top of my field as a coach; specializing, not generalizing.
Build Your Deadlift with the Deadlift Plus Deadlift Below the Knee
This is a great specialty exercise for lifters who get stuck a few inches off the floor, allow their shoulders to get too far in front of the bar, or lose their lats.
Why You Need to Return to Powerlifting
This article is for those of you who are on the fence. For those of you who have considered a return to the sport but are having difficulty pulling the trigger. For those of you who need to feel at home again.
WATCH: Table Talk — Feeder and Recovery Workouts
You can’t just throw in extra workouts or recovery protocols and expect to get the most out of them. Like everything else in training, they need to be programmed strategically and used at the right times.
Mental Visualization to a Better Total
The body is limited but the mind is unbelievably more powerful. With positive mental imagery, you can take successful rep after successful rep with a weight you have never even touched.
Put the Phone Down!
I have never witnessed a singular item more capable of disrupting a training session than the cell phone. There’s a better alternative that gives all the benefits of technology with none of the downside.
Build Your Deadlift with the Snatch Grip Deadlift
The snatch grip deadlift is an outstanding assistance lift if you have a weak upper back or erectors, but it’s not a traditional deadlift. Many cues for it are contrary to the traditional pull.
5 Simple Ways to Increase Grip Strength
Building a better grip doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming, and can have a big impact on your performance for both powerlifting and strongman.
What to Expect When Hosting A Powerlifting Meet
For this article I’m going to go through some of the things you need to plan for when hosting a powerlifting event and give you examples of how we did it for our most recent competition.
Ego Is the Enemy
Let me introduce you to a young gentleman from my gym. Like a lot of inexperienced lifters, he didn’t understand what it really means to keep your nose to the grindstone.
Who's to Judge?
Judging is not my favorite job at a meet, but it is growing on me. In fact, I think all lifters at some point should try judging. Here’s my experience at Boss of Bosses IV as a judge.
What Inspires You?
The world records, the surgeries, the comebacks, the nights alone in motels, the tears, the blood, and everything in between needs to have a purpose. This is what I want to leave.
WATCH: Table Talk — When to Add Gear During A Training Cycle
This doesn’t only apply to multi-ply lifters. How you add equipment in training should have a sequence to it, even if you compete raw.
Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters — The Last Two Weeks, Coaching, a...
You would think this is all common sense, right?
WATCH: The Type of Training Programs I Have Used
With all of the different kinds of training programs that exist today, which ones have produced the most success?
WATCH: Table Talk — Run the Monolift or Walk Out?
This really shouldn’t be a debate. Mimic how you compete.
My Position on Sex
I posted on Facebook last week asking for input on what topics I should write about for my column. The clear champion was the issue of sex within close proximity to competition and how it should be handled. Let’s start at the beginning.
Meet Report: USPA Pikes Peak Open 2017
I was setup better from this training cycle than any other. I easily made weight, had a coach with complete confidence in me, and a training partner that celebrated every step. But the meet had a different plan for me.
Are You Using Your Lats?
Many lifters believe they use their lats on the squat, bench, and deadlift, but I have found that they’re often wrong. Here’s how to know.
Meet Report: UPA Summer Showdown 2017 at Old School Iron
At the beginning of this year I lost 60 pounds in less than eight weeks. I couldn’t stand longer than a few minutes because I was so tired. I couldn’t go up or down stairs without losing my breath. It was humbling, to say the least.
Conjugate Bodybuilding
How does this system translate to someone that just wants a bigger set of guns? Incredibly well, actually, due to the fact you will spend the bulk of your training sessions performing hypertrophy work to bring up primary movers.
WATCH: How to Perform the Hook Grip
There is an astronomical amount of misinformation floating around right now about the hook grip, and, in my opinion, that’s the result of a lot of people (mostly beginners) using the hook grip inappropriately.
Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters — Stay Healthy and Be Your Own Wo...
Do you think the top-level guys are 100% healthy? Do you know the best way to deal with critics?
WATCH: Table Talk — Personality Differences in Powerlifting
Should a training program be altered based on a lifter’s personality?
Bare Bones Home Gym: More Than A Bar, Bench and Rack
With my Bare Bones program, you can see that great progress can be made with minimal equipment, but there are some tools that make things easier. If I built a home gym all over again, these are the first things I would buy.
The Reincarnation of the Powerlifter
As powerlifters we are, in the sense described in ‘The Egg’, reincarnated. We live and die and are reborn several times over our lifting career.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — The Setwear Boa Bar Clamp
The Setwear Boa Bar Clamp is the quick and easy answer to securing plates on barbells spanning a multitude of thicknesses.
WATCH: Table Talk — Natural Potential and the Genetic Ceiling
The potential for what a lifter can accomplish without using performance enhancing substances is far greater than most people assume.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Squat
Nothing trumps experience — specifically the sheer number of lifts you watch and analyze. Who sees the largest number of lifts? That’s right: the judge.
WATCH: Blast from the Past — The Number One Biggest Squat Mistake
From the moment you grab the bar until you rack it after the lift, you need to be focusing on this part of your squat.
The Swing Block Method
This program moves in a linear progression by alternating rep ranges with normal deload and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy phases to allow for supercompensation to take place.
Short-Term Friends in a Long-Term Sport
Some friends remain steady and become full-time training partners. These are the people you trust with your lifting and your life. But you’ll also encounter short-term friends, where most of your trouble and drama will arise.
WATCH: Table Talk — Max Effort Work vs. Submaximal Doubles and Triples
There are different purposes, benefits, and risks of max effort work and submaximal doubles and triples. Which makes more sense for your programming?
Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters — Life Priority and Team Role
Why am I taking the time to write this? These are the things I find myself repeating over and over again with different lifters.
Critical Thinking in Powerlifting — Eliminating Cognitive Biases
Most of the time we are completely unaware of these biases, but they can affect the way we think and the decisions we make in our personal lives, at work, and even in our training.
How to Hit Your Biggest Bench at Your Next Meet
If you use this peaking plan and follow these tips, it’s not a question of whether or not you’ll PR at your next meet — it’s just a matter of by how much.
WATCH: Table Talk — When to Rotate Supplemental and Accessory Exercises
How much time do you really need to spend with an exercise to know if it’s working or not?
Finally Back on the Platform
This was my first experience with 365 STRONG, and my goals were to squat more on the platform than I previously had while continuing to rehab my hand.