With a powerlifting career as historic as Steve Goggins', it's hard to imagine there's anything that he would change about it. He was at the top of the powerlifting world for multiple decades, eventually becoming the first man to ever squat 1100 pounds when he squatted 1102 in 2003 and posted a 2535-pound total.
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However, Steve was recently asked to look at his career and consider things that he might do differently if he could go back. In this video, Steve addresses a question posted directly to him on his coaching log:
"If you could change anything that you did in powerlifting, what would it be?"
Steve answers that the one thing he would change is his use of the hook grip — he would've used it much earlier in his career. Though Steve never had a bad grip, his deadlift strength was always far past his ability to hold onto the bar. His back and hamstrings could lift far more than his grip could hold. In an exhibition at age 30, Steve pulled 950 pounds using straps, but struggled with anything over 860 in a meet using a mixed grip.
It wasn't until ten years later, when Steve was almost 40, that he was introduced to the hook grip by Travis Mash. Though a lot of lifters today are aware of the hook grip and have begun using it, back then powerlifters didn't often follow weightlifting principles, where the hook grip is popular. This meant that it took Steve many years of being in the sport to even hear of the hook grip or be taught how to perform it.
It can hurt and be uncomfortable to learn at first, but Steve says that once he got it down, there was nothing to it. All of his grip concerns disappeared. If this had happened earlier in his career, Steve believes he would've been able to pull some world records in the 242-pound weight class, and maybe even in the 275-pound weight.
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