More recently, as a result of various social media platforms, some things seem to have gained popularity because one or two highly esteemed lifters or coaches with powerful spheres of influence begin to do them.

With this training-while-traveling program, keep in mind I’ve been in 6 cities in 5 different states in the last 5 weekends and on the road for 20 of the last 35 days. My needs and resources in terms of time, help, equipment, recovery, and a host of other factors may vary from yours.

Try to keep an open mind when trying a new, proactive approach to anything, even if it doesn’t quite feel right at first — whether it be your job, social media, or a new program. Just because it doesn’t feel good right away doesn’t mean it won’t later on.

Most strongman competitors I work with don’t have a strongman gym nearby — but they do have a commercial gym. This 4-week program will help just about anyone in that all-too-common situation.

Now that I had the trip paid for thanks to a seminar event, I could focus on helping my lifters at the US Kern Open: the reason I’d flown all the way from the East Coast to begin with.

It is crucial to delineate these training and competition as separate but mutually impactful things. I’d wager that the majority of lifters who had a bad meet were doing a whole bunch of competition in training, leading up to the actual competition.

I’d been using the same blueprint that goes to 500 to get me to 585, and that’s where I went wrong. I had to analyze everything in order to customize a new plan to break that 600-pound barrier. This is how I did that.

Don’t be the newbie lifter who falls into the tiger pit traps during your training cycle. That’ll only hurt you in the long run — or at least in those first competitions. Don’t be afraid to start training too light and save your attempts for the platform. Not enough advice? I’ve got six other tips, so read on…

For those of you who’ve never done a meet, save this, and read it again before your first. And for those of you who just can’t finesse attempt selection, here’s a formula I developed to make attempt selection as close to fool-proof as it’ll get.

I’m almost scared to type this, but both my hip and spine are functioning at…

Having the right crew or partner to rely on, and to train with, can make or break a lifter. It’s one of the most sought-after and difficult-to-find things for competitors and hobby lifters alike.

After the inaugural 5th Set Black Meet on Saturday, I drove all night to Cincinnati for the Women’s Pro Am. My motivation for a weekend short on rest and long on PRs can be summed up in a single sentence: I love powerlifting.

Trying to understand programming without knowing the terminology is similar to navigating a country without knowing the language: you can do it, but it won’t be easy.

Are you thinking about adding a second AMRAP to the program? What about extending the Very High Rep Protocol to squats and deadlifts? If you’re thinking of it, I’ve probably already thought of it.

How and when should you perform assistance exercises? What protocols are used for assistance work? Should exercises be changed or rotated? What about bands, chains, and specialty bars?

The world records, the surgeries, the comebacks, the nights alone in motels, the tears, the blood, and everything in between needs to have a purpose. This is what I want to leave.

Despite many similarities and differences between bodybuilding and powerlifting, there’s one key aspect of bodybuilding that powerlifters need most.

Even the strongest lifters in the world can’t figure everything out themselves.

Some days you go yard and sometimes the pitcher gets you reaching. You take what you can get and learn from your time in the batter’s box.

Learning proper lifting technique may be a challenge, but being able to recreate it rep after rep is even more difficult.

Use these tools to hold yourself accountable. My hope is that you can use these ideas to take the helm of your own affairs in training, business, and your personal life.

Would it be wise to follow the same percentage for a given workout for both the main lift and the assistance work? Or should the assistance work be planned differently?

If I could go back in time to when I first started in this industry, I’d force myself to follow these five rules of training. Those of you starting now should listen.

It’s about fucking time.

Rather than explain, in great detail, when and how I think it would make sense for you to do this, I’m simply going to recount how I did it while coming back from a pec injury.

Is it a bad decision to stop performing lifts that cause an axial load on the spine when the back is injured?

If you show up on day one of your wrapped training and start off in the strongest wraps on the market, things are probably not going to go as well as they could.

Three days before my heaviest deadlift of the meet training program and I couldn’t even bend down to grab the bar. Here are the techniques I used to mitigate my issues and make it to Boss of Bosses 3.

The whole point of the US Open was to show Tarra and instill some confidence in what I already knew: that she would still be able to perform well at a lighter bodyweight.

I was unwilling, to my core, to be corrected. I would rather get hurt than admit I was wrong. And I did, many times. Once that character defect changed, so did everything else.

If Tarra never lifted more than her current best 1200-pound raw total at 181, she would still be one of the greatest. The scary thing? She’s just starting.

You can be the best in the world or a complete beginner — you’re going to deal with many of the same challenges either way.

I hear lifters say this shit all the time. It’s ludicrous.

For most powerlifters, exercise begins and ends with the barbell. What if I told you there were ways to get better without it?

There are a whole shitload of really good reasons you should get as jacked as you possibly can.

There are benefits to having a crew and there are benefits to relying on only yourself. Which are most important for you?

For correcting weaknesses in a given portion of a lift, you need to use what I call Mechanically Similar Movements.

There are obstacles to overcome for effective online coaching. If you’ve considered working with a coach from a distance, here are the things you’ll need to do for an optimal working relationship.

Using sustainable methods, Tarra has been able to grow from wobbly softball player to unstoppable powerlifter. This is her story.

Illness didn’t stop me from competing, and dropping 525 pounds on my chest didn’t stop me from finishing the meet. But later that night, I realized I was in more serious pain than it seemed at first.

Learning not to do stupid things will take you further in this sport than any training method.

You can expect a good program to make you stronger. What I didn’t expect was a program to overhaul my neural network and solve every training problem I encountered.

Part of being an adult is learning to prioritize; If training is important to you, you won’t have to tell anyone.