The Education of a Powerlifter
This is one of the best and most popular articles to ever be posted on the site. After you read this you will understand what it means to Live, Learn, and Pass On.
Strength Athletes, Control Your Variables
Consider where YOU lack focus. These things are widespread knowledge, nothing ground-breaking but surprisingly not prioritized correctly.
7 Tips for Your Next Meet Prep
An excerpt from The Intermediate and Advanced Lifters Peaking Squat Cycle, don’t leave pounds on the platform due to improper planning.
The Beginner's Guide to Powerlifting
Everything you need to know to enter the world of powerlifting is right here.
Powerlifting Advice and Idols
You never know who is looking up to you, and wouldn’t it be a damn shame if you turned out just to be another asshole with a singlet and a status.
What is Wrong with Powerlifting?
Absolutely nothing. That may not be the best question to ask if we’re looking to improve this wonderful sport.
Year One at The Bear Cave
There is no beginning and end, no start or finish, just a boundless chasm of opportunity here. Oh, and the door still sticks.
Technique Over Aggression
Here’s what I’ve learned to become an elite lifter at 220: accumulate faults and then fix them over the course of an off-season. You’ll be surprised how it all aligns if you just stop, reflect, work, and listen.
How to Survive in the Warm-up Area
There are countless reasons for the disorganization in the warm-up room, and hopefully, some of this information will help those new or newer to the competition scene to survive in the warm-up area and benefit from it.
To Go or Not To Go?
The IPA, one of my favorite federations, held the Tennessee State Championships in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on March 14th. I went.
Meet Report: Morganton Misfits at The IPA World Championships
I was very fortunate at this meet to have had excellent help at this meet. Dear friends helped manage the meet, wrapped my knees, called my depth, and gave me coaching advice and lifting cues.
Meet Attempt Considerations For Every Situation
When it comes to selecting meet attempts, there are a lot of things to take into account. The big one is your goal, but the strategy for getting that goal varies depending on lots of factors. You wouldn’t use the same process for selecting your opener and for winning — at least, I hope you don’t.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Cailer Woolam Bombed Out of His 1st Meet
Even Doctor Deadlift has bombed out, and for him, it was at his first meet as a 15-year-old in high school. Cailer Woolam was ready to quit, but he kept on pushing, and look at him now: one of the youngest people to make the deadlift world record.
Make Box Squats Work for a Stronger Raw Squat
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.
Meet Report: 2019 USPA Nationals with Dan Dalenberg
2018 was not a good year for my powerlifting career. 2019 has been better. My training’s gotten better, I’ve gotten better at caring for myself, and I competed better. I want to do better next time around, though….
Meet Report: A Squat Suit Depth Experiment at 365 Strong World Games
My training was more organized than it was for the IPA meet. But I decided to experiment before this meet: I trained using my squat suit without the briefs. It actually improved my speed, depth, and how much weight I could handle.
Managing Meet Day Stress
You’ve spent months preparing and training, and you’ve made a significant financial investment in entry fees, lodging, food, and so on. All this of stress for just 9 lifts sucks up a lot of your energy. You can’t afford to waste your energy, so manage it instead.
Anne Sheehan Receives Invitation to Elite Meet
One of the newest members of Team elitefts just received an invitation to an elite powerlifting meet. Be sure to keep an eye out for Anne's results on October 19th, 2019.
The Death of the Powerlifting Crew
Powerlifting is bigger and better than it was when I started in 2004. But there’s is one major exception to the positives regarding the sport’s growth: The death of the powerlifting crew.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — The Worst Powerlifting Injury Dave Saw...
Dave answers this question barely even a second after hearing it aloud: “Marc Bartley.” This one isn’t for those with weak constitutions… or stomachs…
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #4 with Dave Tate
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate puts on a one-man show and answers listeners’ questions about his worst powerlifting meet, his high school football and wrestling career, and more.
44 Things to Pack for Your Next Meet
Packing the basics is just half the battle. Meet sites can be cold, uncomfortable, and might be far from easy access to good food. All variables need to be taken into consideration while packing for meet day… and these 44 items will help you cover your bases.
How to Tame the Meet Prep Beast
The meet prep beast is going to rear its ugly heads at you sometimes, and its mugs come in many forms: injuries, stress, or a lousy no-show training partner. When one of them tries to bite, it’s best to have a flexible plan of action that helps you nimbly dodge from the monster’s jaws.
Upcoming Meet: 2019 APF Cincinnati Women's Pro-Am
Are you a woman? Check. A pro lifter? Check. An amateur lifter? Check. Are available the weekend of April 13th-14th? Check. If you've checked off at least three of these prerequisites, you should go register for the 2019 APF Cincinnati Women's Pro-Am meet.
Powerlifting Meet Manual (with Formula for Selecting Attempts)
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.
Upcoming Meet: Super Training Classic 2019
Live in the Sacramento, California, area? Looking for something to do February 9th and 10th? Well, consider yourself a busy man or woman since there's a big meet coming up with plenty of big-name and insta-famous powerlifters and bodybuilders to meet and admire. Can't go wrong with a weekend like that!
WATCH: Bench Pad Height
The phrase “when in doubt, test it out” applies to a lot of things, including bench pads that may or may not be at regulation height. Although technically, “when in doubt, throw it out” also works, except you’re repurposing a yoga mat — not tossing a protein shake that might have been sitting in the back of your fridge for
2018 in Review
2018, you were a great new chapter. You’ve put me in a good place with my training, my clients’ training, and the team’s training. 2019, see you soon.
10 Secrets to Stimulating a Stalled Squat
As a former 150-pound marathon runner–turned–powerlifter, here’s how I increased my squat 1RM from 500 pounds to 600 pounds in a single year.
2018 IPL Midwest Open — 2131-Pound Total at 242 Pounds
The 825 opener flew, and I told JP to call 881 on my second. This is when I knew I would “earn my regrets” because I actively prepared myself to become injured due to this decision.
WATCH: Table Talk — What Would You Change?
His answer — revolving around canvas gear, Westside, and Louie — may surprise you.
WATCH: Check Your Ego When Choosing Attempts
A lot of powerlifters have trouble with this. They can’t get out of the way of their own ego in order to call proper attempts.
How to Cut Maximum Weight for Competitions with a 24-Hour Weigh-In
The key to stepping on the platform at maximum strength after cutting weight is to spend as little time as possible with your body weight at less than you intend to weigh when you lift — this process is difficult and requires a great deal of desire, discipline, and pain tolerance.
5 Things You Must Know as a Novice Powerlifter
Your future in this sport deserves to be worked on not only at the gym and with your physical strength and power, but outside of the weight room as well, with your mental focus and contemplation.
MEET REPORT: IPA North Carolina State Powerlifting Championships
Two meets in less than a month? I know I’m 76—not 26— but when Joey Smith told me to get in the meet, I got in the meet.
My First Meet in My New Gear
I am, as I am after every meet, hurting in places I didn’t even know I had — this time in my head as well as my body, as I shall explain.
Powerlifting — A Sport for Everyone?
If you wait for the perfect training cycle before doing a meet, you aren’t a powerlifter. You should stop calling yourself one and instead start saying you like training the squat, bench press, and deadlift.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Deadlift
Now that this series has covered the insight of a powerlifting judge for the squat and the bench press, we move to discuss the knowledge we can gain regarding the final lift of the meet: the deadlift.
MEET REPORT: 2017 IPA Flex Lewis Classic
Team Nebobarbell and I went to Murfeesboro, Tennessee, where I took a crack at one of my competition bucket list lifts.
Team Outlaw — There's No 'I' In Team
There may be some powerlifters out there that train by themselves and go to meets alone, but I would bet dollars to donuts that any successful powerlifter comes from a team of supporters.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Bench Press
In the first article of this series, I explained the value of the judge’s perspective in relation to the squat. Now let’s look at the bench press and see what lifters can learn from considering the judge’s role.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Squat
Nothing trumps experience — specifically the sheer number of lifts you watch and analyze. Who sees the largest number of lifts? That’s right: the judge.
Finally Back on the Platform
This was my first experience with 365 STRONG, and my goals were to squat more on the platform than I previously had while continuing to rehab my hand.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Trusting the Process
A lot of lifters think you have to train over 90% week after week to get stronger. Adjusting to a program like 5thSet may challenge you mentally to trust the process, but it won’t be long before you experience the benefits.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — Program Design with Gear
From 1990 to 2000, there wasn’t a single person who came to Westside and stayed who didn’t get significantly stronger. Everyone got stronger, wearing gear or not.
WATCH: Steve Goggins Reviews the CETC US Open
With multiple Goggins Force lifters competing, Steve attended the meet — and now he has some thoughts to share.
Coach of the Year
This weekend would be more of that testing, coaching twenty-one lifters over the course of a single day. People say I am crazy for working with the number of lifters I do.
Meet Report: CETC US Open 2017 — Second Place with a 2121 Total at 220
I’ve had a taste for where I’m meant to be, and now I will be training with an unmatched ferocity. I may not have been strong enough to beat the colossus on this day, but I faced him prepared to die.
Shooting Knowledge Applied to Training
I recently made a transition from someone who had a decent amount of experience and was relatively advanced in one sport, to someone who is a true beginner in another sport. It’s taught me a lot about training and shooting.
Excuses Don't Count Towards Your Total
At least, not at this point. As it stands, we are left with adding up our heaviest successful attempt for each of the three lifts and the sum of those is how a powerlifting total is born.
The Role of Federations in Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a sport of continual evolution. In understanding federations today, it is important to note not only the evolution of powerlifting athlete, but also the history of why most powerlifting federations came into existence.
How You Can Help Grow The Sport of Powerlifting
If the social theory holds true, then in order for powerlifting itself to make progress, individuals within the group will have to give up a little something of themselves to push the sport further.
10 Big Lessons 2016 Taught Me
Your numbers will be subject to so many external variables, but your character is forged by intentionality.
WATCH: Mario D'Amico — A Return to Raw
When the long-term goal is a 1000-pound squat at 220, and the ultimate goal is a 2400-pound total, you need two things: patience and a lot of hard work.
The Drop(s) Heard Around the World - 2 Close Calls for Amit Sapir
Back to back accidents at APA Worlds.
Staying Motivated With No Chance of Winning the 2016 USAPL Raw Nationals...
We often find ourselves swimming in a sea of excellence, chasing the purple dragon of someone else’s achievements. That’s not how to become a champion.
Thanksgiving Powerlifting Classic
This benefit meet will raise money to help children who have a wounded or fallen parent that served in the military or as a first responder.