The MONSTER GARAGE GYM/MAROSCHER COACHING LOG is a weekly Coaching Log by MGG owner, 2-Time WPC World Powerlifting Champion, Eric Maroscher.
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THIS WEEK’S Monster Garage Gym/Maroscher Coaching Log: AWPC RAW WORLDS Best Lifter Training Program (Women's division)
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The AWPC RAW Worlds was held September 8-10. The meet was run by APF IL Chair, Eric Stone (APF IL State Chair) and his team. If you have ever wanted witness a nearly perfectly run powerlifting meet, you need look no further than Team Stone and his APF meets. Aside from the meet site’s bandwidth being insufficient to handle the demands of live stream (something out of the locus of control of the Stone’s) this meet was virtually flawless.
A couple of observations. The pyramid of powerlifting is still very much in tack. The top of the pyramid is comprised of the best the sport has to offer. The smaller mid section of the pyramid is comprised of those with experience under their belts, striving to get to the top, and the base of the pyramid is comprised of the new to the sport lifters as well as a large group of intermediate lifters. The new lifters, this is a category that is growing, especially in the women’s division (all of Friday was dedicated to the nearly 50 women competitors).
As members of the Monster Garage Gym are often competing, I am at a number of meets each year and with each meet I see an inordinate number new faces. This is something I have noted over the past 4 or 5 years. What caught my attention at this meet was the number of the clearly new to the sport lifters with their clearly new to the sport coaches. This was juxtaposed with the been-there-done that, battle tested coaches helping their lifters who were also at this meet. Veteran coaches like 7-Time WPC World Powerlifting Champion Art Little as well as the very knowledgable coaches that were there from Big Iron Gym, one of the sports most highly regarded powerlifting gyms (newbies, check out the history of that gym and some of its amazing lifters...Frankl, Swanson, etc). So it was great to see this unique combination of the new with the vets.
Initially I was unsure what to make of the inordinately large number of new lifters at a world meet, because of the fact that it is a world meet, but the more I mulled it over, the more I come to the same conclusion which is, “you have to start somewhere,” and the RAW division is growing exponentially as RAW now comprises 90% of the sport. Even the great Ed Coan had a first world meet. So admittedly, on the newbie front, there was some perhaps not so great coaching going on. Having said that, the bottom line is, these new to the sport coaches and new to the sport lifters were at the meet, and they were going for it and that is something that the arm-chair quarterback powerlifters and keyboard cowards can’t say. Over time the sport will either foster these first time world lifters growth or it will chew them up and spit them out. This all depends on who wants to become a student of the sport and truly become a part of the sub-culture that is competitive powerlifting, as the best in this subculture have a phenomenal work ethic combined with a history of the sport and technical proficiency that keeps them moving up the aforementioned pyramid.
Thinking back, I never saw or heard Ernie Frantz ever turning away a new lifter. To the contrary, he would often drop everything to help them. But the Ernie Frantz’ of the world are not common, and not every gym has an Art Little or even helpful powerlifters with championships and decades of competitions and training knowledge under their belt to learn from. Additionally not every aspiring powerlifter has a powerlifting gym to train at. One could argue, until you know what you're doing, you don’t even know what questions you should be asking. With that said, as odd as it was seeing such green lifters at a world meet, it was simultaneously uplifting to see this great sport drawing so many new lifters. Somewhere in this newbie group could be the next phenomenal RAW powerlifter.
As is always the case, at the end of the day, the strongest at the top of the pyramid wins, the middle of the pyramid gains great insight and work to hone their craft, and the newest of the new have just, as Obi Wan said, “taken their first step into a larger world.” [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535Zy_rf4NU]
And it will be up to these new-to-the-sport-lifters to see if they want to take the blue pill, where the story ends….or take the red pill and discover how deep the powerlifting rabbit hole goes.
At this meet, one of the lifters at the top of the pyramid was AWPC RAW Worlds Best Lifter in the women’s division, Dawn Maroscher. This was Dawn’s second world’s win and also her second Best Lifter award at a RAW worlds. As mentioned in last week’s coaching log, the purpose of this log is to include Dawn’s meet preparation information for you to peruse. All of Dawn’s training is mapped out by USAPL Masters Nationals competitor and Military Nationals powerlifting champion, Ronald Legaretta of the Monster Garage Gym. Ron works with the RAW Squad at the M.G.G. and has over the last decade put together Prilepin based regimens together for our RAW lifters.
Below via the charts, will find the four phases to Dawn’s AWPC world prep. Take the time to look at these and see how Ronald weaves the heavy bench work in on weeks when the squats and deads are lighter, and vice versa. Note also how the %’s are not based on a 100% max as with the complexities and energy draining aspects of life, it is unrealistic that we would be able to sustain a work load for weeks based on 100% of the max. Over the years, he has honed in on the % that most accurately reflects the typical power output for those lifters who are fully employed with both life and work. It is important to note that you can have the most rigorous and intense program ever created written on paper for you, but in the end, your ability to bring the lifts to fruition or not is what makes or misses the mark. We can all write an extreme program, but as we are fond of saying at the M.G.G., it is not always the strongest lifter who wins, but the strongest, smart lifter. This all starts with putting together a realistic program that builds the lifter up (as my friend Steve Brock stays) “brick by brick.” You can’t rush the growth of power, you have to be relentless, methodical and realistic. More on that later…… Until then, check out Dawn’s program below, as well as the video of her final bench session prior to the meet which was comprised of the following:
2nd to last bench training session. All RAW work at a bdw of 145LBS
- 175LBS x 3
- 190LBS x 2
- 200LBS x 2
- 200LBS x 2
- 185LBS x 3
- 185LBS x 3
Last bench training session.All RAW work at a bdw of 146LBS:
- 210LBS x 1 with pause and rack command
- 220LBS x 1 with pause and rack command
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xW7_FDuqLs]
Wishing you the best in your training and competitions. Ever Onward, Eric Maroscher, Owner: MONSTER GARAGE GYM
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