WATCH: What I Would Change About My Time in Powerlifting
One small change could’ve led to all-time world records that might still be standing today.
Building the Raw Powerlifting Total
Here are several very vital pieces of information that often go overlooked and undervalued when it comes to doing your best on the platform.
WATCH: Table Talk — Why Are Some Lifters More Explosive Than Others?
Every lifter falls somewhere on this continuum. It will determine how your max attempts look and how you should train to increase them.
Bare Bones Conjugate: A Bar, Rack, and Bench Weeks 9-13
This final wave includes a small taper at the end for peaking purposes. There are both banded and band-free options.
SPF Best of the Best Pro-Am Meet Results — The Power of the Crew
At the age of 45, after well over a decade of competing, and after just eight months back with a good crew, my total jumped 114 pounds.
3 Ab Exercises for Powerlifting and Strongman
To perform these exercises correctly, you need to learn how to breathe and brace properly. But once you do, it will pay off big time.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Bodybuilding and Pow...
Despite many similarities and differences between bodybuilding and powerlifting, there’s one key aspect of bodybuilding that powerlifters need most.
Making a Run at the 132-pound All-time Equipped Bench Record
Brandon Smitley competes in equipped bench-only at the APF Chicago Summer Bash. While recovering from a low back injury, he has been focusing on bench and decided to make a run at the all-time bench record at 132 pounds.
Only in Powerlifting — Flashback with Larry Pacifico
Tragedy came at a meet that was meant to be a workout on the way to trying to win a 10th world title.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Why an Advanced Powe...
Even the strongest lifters in the world can’t figure everything out themselves.
Three Specialty Bars You Need and Why
There are tons of specialty bars on the market and they all have some value in your training. I feel that these are the three best.
WATCH: Blast from the Past — Five Biggest Bench Mistakes
The most common mistakes in the bench press haven’t changed much over the years.
30-Pound Total PR at 2017 UPA Iron Battle on the Mississippi
Some days you go yard and sometimes the pitcher gets you reaching. You take what you can get and learn from your time in the batter’s box.
Finding Her Place Chasing the Greats
Under the skillful coaching of Steve Goggins, Meana Franco continues to establish herself as one of the top young female powerlifters today. Read about the changes she’s implementing in anticipation of the IPL Anaheim Fit Expo.
WATCH: Table Talk Series Compilation with Dan Green
Over the course of seven episodes, Dave and Dan discuss building a base as a new lifter, limiting factors for lifters of all levels, rehab mentality, adrenaline levels in training, and more. Watch now!
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Keeping Good Form Th...
Learning proper lifting technique may be a challenge, but being able to recreate it rep after rep is even more difficult.
How To Approach Warm-Up Weights
From the bar to 95 pounds, 135, and so on, you should get under the bar and treat it like it’s 400 pounds. How will you unrack that weight? How will you set it up? How will you pull air? How will you sit down?
Keep Me Accountable
Use these tools to hold yourself accountable. My hope is that you can use these ideas to take the helm of your own affairs in training, business, and your personal life.
2017 IPA Battle of the Beast 2 with Tank's Training Facility Powerl...
Our powerlifting squad had six lifters compete in a meet that posed some specific challenges. Here’s how they did and a sample of the training that led to the meet.
How to Bench More
Seemingly simple questions are not simple at all if you understand strength. If you really want to bench more, you need more knowledge.
A Brand New Perspective for Meet Prep
I greatly enjoy training and competing in powerlifting. I plan to compete, train, and train others for as long as I am able — not, however, without having a life.
Bodybuilding Exercises for the Powerlifter — Get a Grip on Your Guns
I’ve neglected training both my upper and lower arms, and now I’m suffering for my lack of grip strength. Prevent this. Here’s my newfound twist on traditional arm and grip work.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Sequencing Assistanc...
Would it be wise to follow the same percentage for a given workout for both the main lift and the assistance work? Or should the assistance work be planned differently?
The Gift of Perspective: Things to Know as a New Powerlifter, Lessons 14-19
Through articles two and three we have now shared the first fourteen, of many, perspectives for the beginner and intermediate powerlifter to consider. Let’s dig into the next five.
WATCH: How Many Times Did I Think About Giving Up Powerlifting?
Powerlifting isn’t always fun. You have bad days in the gym, bad training cycles, and bad meets. What happens when the bad outweighs the good? Is it time to consider leaving?
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — PLing Difficulty, De...
Have you ever wondered what makes powerlifting so hard? Look no further — these guys have the answer.
The Advanced Lifter's Peaking Cycle for Lower Body
This is the training cycle that finally got my squat over 800 and my deadlift over 700 in the same meet.
Accessory and Supplemental Does Not Equal Unimportant
I see many lifters lack the mind-body connection needed for getting the most out of accessory or supplemental work. Without it, you’re just going through the motions and wasting your time.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Trusting the Process
A lot of lifters think you have to train over 90% week after week to get stronger. Adjusting to a program like 5thSet may challenge you mentally to trust the process, but it won’t be long before you experience the benefits.
Meet Report: RPS Connecticut States — From SHW to 198
It’s been more than a year since I last competed (not counting the unsanctioned and unseasonable non-invitational last December) and announced that I would be taking a step back from chasing the biggest bench possible.
Periodize Your Training
Improving in the sport of powerlifting is simple if you know how to approach it. I prefer using a series of three macrocyles: hypertrophy and volume, general strength, and competition preparation and peaking.
What Powerlifters Can Learn From Corporate America
Companies are collecting data on everything: your recent purchases, internet searches, prescriptions, travel habits, and even the TV shows you are watching. So what does this have to do with powerlifting?
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — The Growth of 5thSet...
What has changed about 5thSet over the course of its rise to popularity? And what is it like being an elite lifter that hands his training over to someone else?
How Powerlifting Makes Me A Better Weightlifting Coach
I truly believe that if not for the lessons I learned in powerlifting all those years ago, I would not be as effective a coach as I am today.
How I Lost 30 Pounds in One Day: Secrets to Water Cuts for Strength Athl...
There are a lot of ways that you can make a cut easier for yourself, keep your strength, and finish the meet with a high Wilks. Maximize Your Wilks and weight loss without losing strength.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — High Standards
To be on the board at Westside, at the time, meant you had to break the all-time world record, because that was pretty much everybody that was on the board.
The Hybrid Deadlift Stance
In deadlifting, the Goldilocks Zone might not be pulling conventional, nor sumo, nor even Old English Style. For those lifters, what I call the hybrid sumo stance could perhaps be best.
Training Advice Worth Repeating
If I could go back in time to when I first started in this industry, I’d force myself to follow these five rules of training. Those of you starting now should listen.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — Athlete Recruitment Process
You’ve probably heard it said that Westside became the strongest gym in the world by bringing in the best lifters from outside. This is a lie. What made Westside great wasn’t recruiting.
Step Aside, Gents: The 2017 SPF Women’s Pro/Am
Anyone who has attended this meet describes it as an amazing experience, and I have been fortunate to speak to a few incredible women (Maureen Barbetta, Tracey Patrick, and Janel Vegter) who competed.
3 Things I Would Tell A Younger Steve Goggins
If you could go back 10, 15, or 20 years in the past, what would you say? What advice for life would you share?
Exodus
Training in commercial gyms has its pros and cons. This is a call to arms for those who need to hear it.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — Program Design with Gear
From 1990 to 2000, there wasn’t a single person who came to Westside and stayed who didn’t get significantly stronger. Everyone got stronger, wearing gear or not.
Bench Pressing Secrets of the Pros
In this article, you will find multiple quotes from some of the best lifters past and present regarding what makes a good bench presser — Greg Panora, Jeremy Hoornstra, Ryan Kennelly, and Eric Spoto to name a few.
My Strength Journey: Overcoming Adversity
I decided I was going to use this setback as a gift, to become better than I was yesterday. To become strong, pain-free, and resilient.
WATCH: Table Talk Compilation Series — Mark Dugdale
Tailored for the powerlifter and bodybuilder, we revisit Dave Tate’s and Mark Dugdale’s conversation covering exercise execution, pre-workout food, recoverability, training evolution, and more.
Circa Max Phase for Throwers
Each time I use this method myself I feel like I could run through a wall come meet day. Now after six years of using this cycle, we have proof that it works for our athletes.
Upper Back for the Bench
So why do you want to build a strong, thick upper back? Isn’t the bench all pecs, shoulders, and triceps?
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — Max Effort Workouts in Circa Max Phase
A circa max phase isn’t easy, and recovering from it isn’t either. Should you remove max effort training or keep pushing forward with it?
Deadlift Fundamentals — The Difference Between Failure and Lockout
These elite lifters share some fundamental characteristics at the start of their deadlifts—hips high, arm length maximized, shins very close to the bar, and torsos not vertical.
Strongman Conditioning for Powerlifters
Let’s get into which strongman events will help improve the big three and how to program them.
Teams, Camaraderie, and a Lifetime of Being an Athlete
It was a team atmosphere that made me fall in love with sports, and it is a team atmosphere that has been restored to my athletic participation through powerlifting.
The Gift of Perspective: Things to Know as a New Powerlifter, Lessons 11...
We’ve covered the first ten perspectives for new lifters. Now it’s time to get more specific about what it takes to break through the beginning stages of powerlifting.
WATCH: Steve Goggins Reviews the CETC US Open
With multiple Goggins Force lifters competing, Steve attended the meet — and now he has some thoughts to share.
Building the Raw Deadlift
This article will cover everything you need to build a big deadlfit as a raw lifter, from needs analysis, to the role of specific muscles, to choosing your best stance.
WATCH: Table Talk with Nate Harvey — Max Effort Training for Athletes
The max effort scheme you used for your last powerlifting meet will not work for your athletes. Keep these things in mind when implementing this style of training in athletes.
Bare Bones Conjugate: A Bar, Rack, and Bench Weeks 5-8
The conjugate system is about max effort, dynamic effort, and the repetition method. You can do everything with just a rack, bar, bench, and some weights. Here are the next four weeks of the program.
Meet Report: 2017 Iron Battle at Showtime Strength and Performance
This was my first meet in a year and a half, since October 2015, when I was battling through a torn supraspinatus and a half torn right biceps. Training went well, but the meet reminded me of a few crucial powerlifting lessons.
WATCH: Table Talk with Nate Harvey — Do You Need A Planned Deload?
Is deloading a necessary part of improving as a lifter or is it just a weak excuse to be lazy one week out of every month?