The Coach

I became interested in powerlifting almost two years ago, so maybe it’s fitting that on my two-year anniversary of reading my first powerlifting article on elitefts™, I'm writing my first article about the sport that has sucked me in so completely.

First Powerlifting Meet

I competed in my first full powerlifting meet four months ago. I managed a 500-lb squat (without knee wraps), a 335-lb bench press, and a 515-lb deadlift for a 1350-lb raw total. To me, it smelled of progress—zero to 1350—and I was proud of it. But it wasn’t even close to where I think I can get. My strategy up to that point was if it was spoken or written by someone with the last name Wendler or Tate, I did it. I watched “So You Think You Can Bench/Squat” a dozen times. And I’m so glad I did. I learned a lot that way.

I set a date for another meet. It's Sept. 29, 2012, in Manchester, Tenn., only about an hour from my house. The goal is a 1500-lb total (and after that an elite total but first things first).

I felt like it was time for a new strategy to meet a new goal. Long story short, I emailed Wade Johnson, owner of a 1040-lb squat and a 2400-lb total and the head judge that you see at all the SPF meets. I had spoken with him at my first meet and discovered that he lived and trained just about forty minutes from me. In response to my email, Wade invited me to his private training facility to train with him and probably in total, a dozen others, of varying levels of strength.

Joining a Crew

Lucky for me, Wade and his crew train on roughly the same schedule as I do. We even trained at roughly the same time of day. So on the first day, I rolled up 15 minutes early (5:15 a.m.) and it was a bench day. Nothing big happened this first day. Wade was mostly sizing me up—my work capacity, coach-ability, form, and strength levels.

Day two was deadlift day. This day was very exciting for me because it gave me my first glimpse into what training at Wade’s Gym could do for me. The deadlift is easily my worst lift. From the set up to the pull itself to just my structure (long torso/short legs), it’s bad. So Wade let me deadlift for a little while, presumably while laughing at my awful form. OK, not really...I’m pretty sure he was actually cringing and laughing. Below, I’ll show you what happened next. The before video is toward the beginning of the session. After a 10-minute explanation, I pulled the first deadlift that ever felt right.

Before video:

After 10 minutes of coaching:

The Deadlift

So quite literally, Wade taught me more about the deadlift in 10 minutes than I had managed to learn in two years. Just imagine what might happen over the next 12 weeks leading up to my next meet.

I’m writing this on a day off, after training four days with Wade and his crew. My initial impression is that they do a lot more work than I’m accustomed. My shoulders, chest, knees, and elbows are all sore. I pulled something in my quad area on our first squat day. Advil and Blue Heat from the elitefts™ store are about the only things holding me up right now. I’m beaten up, literally bruised, and tired. But I'm hopeful. I’m in the deep end, and it’s sink or swim. I can adapt to the workload and get better or allow myself to give up and go back to training at my leisure by myself, making slow progress.

After two weeks, yes, I’ve hit PRs. But more importantly, I’ve gained a coach and someone knowledgeable about form specifically. Now I can make progress over the long haul instead of hurting myself with sloppy form. I suggest you do as I did. Go out and find yourself a good coach.