When you're at the top of any craft, you're going to get asked a lot of questions. And you're going to need to determine which questions are worth answering and which ones are not worth your time.

This is why there are so many powerlifting gyms that force beginner's to "earn their way." The boring and grueling work must be sown before the bounty of expert coaching (and the following success) can be reaped. It's a story shared by every sports team, Fortune 500 company, and political conglomerate.

(An additional explanation for the slowly-increasing attention given to new team members is that a beginner can only learn so much at once. By trying to overhaul technique and work process immediately, nothing will be retained and the amateur will not progress. To make good use of time, an approach from most important to least important change is taken, with the minor details being saved til the end. Whichever explanation you believe is more pertinent, the result is the same.)

Chris Duffin knows this process. For many years he has been offering guidance to lifters at his Oregon based gym, Elite Performance Center. While building up his gym members, he simultaneously trains himself for performance as a world-class raw powerlifter. He is the expert. He faces the responsibility to sift through an abundance of knowledge and determine what to use in his own training and what works best for athletes with different experience levels.

This is how he does both those things.

  • The most important thing for any lifter (0:07)
  • Duffin's training protocol (0:25)
  • How and why does Duffin measure the speed of trainings lifts? (3:05)
  • How does Duffin adjust his training parameters based on the speed of his lifts? (5:06)
  • How do Duffin's training methods change when in preparation for a meet? (6:36)
  • What allows Duffin to recover from heavy training more easily than most lifters are able? (8:12)
  • How Duffin coaches at Elite Performance Center (9:53)