After 10+ years and a lot of success in just knee wraps, one might ask, “Why even bother switching?” I have a few reasons and recommendations for transitioning from raw to gear and back to raw. It takes time, and it’s hard, but it’s worth it.

I found the most success when I box squatted, and I applied what I learned box squatting to my raw squat. On meet day, I felt the most dialed in, the most explosive, and the strongest that I ever have on a raw squat. Here’s how.

Most of the time I ignore what I don’t agree with, but considering I am three weeks out from my meet and I have been a grumpy bastard the last few weeks, I am going to write about a few stupid things I’ve seen.

Kabuki, mental aspects of training, masculinity, geared vs. raw lifting, RPE — it’s all here in this video with two all-time great powerlifters.

I’m making some changes and have employed the knowledge of several lifting legends to answer these crucial questions.

Four simple changes packed 310 pounds on my total.

Two things piss him off. Lifters that hate gear and people that call him "Shirello."