This blog was meant to feature more personal content, including training logs, opinion pieces, and eventually even some guest content. But COVID-19 threw a wrench into my plans because you can’t train for powerlifting if you don’t even have a barbell. Sadly, what I had hoped would turn out to be a relatively short quarantine […]
Still In Lockdown – What’s Next? Read More »
The average powerlifting program caters to a three-day split. Beginners are generally asked to hit the gym thrice a week, usually with a day’s rest between gym sessions. But is that advice optimal? How many times a week should powerlifters train, really? Can you get away with just one or two really hard sessions, or
How Many Times a Week Should Powerlifters Train? Read More »
The sport of powerlifting is defined by the most weight lifted in three movements. Agility is meaningless to a “powerlifter”. But if someone pursues powerlifting as a leisure activity and is active in other sports, they might seek to find ways to build strength and agility. And that’s fine – powerlifting is a great way
How To Build Strength And Agility Read More »
In short, no. The thing about fasted training is that there is no evidence suggesting it has any benefits. There is little training and/or fat loss benefit to fasting in general, and most of the benefits of fasting can be explained by the fact that it helps some trainees lose weight via a caloric deficit
Should I Train and Lift While Fasting? Read More »
The history of modern powerlifting can be traced back to Bob Hoffman, owner of the famous York Barbell Company, who financed the first unofficial weightlifting competition for non-Olympic “odd lifts” in the United States, although the general notion behind powerlifting – and lifting weights in general – is as ancient as any human civilization. Our
Who Invented Modern Powerlifting? Read More »
Powerlifting, not Paralympic powerlifting (a single-discipline variant for the Paralympics), is currently not an Olympic sport. There are several reasons for this. I’m not going to go too in-depth into this, because ten minutes of research will quickly tell you that this topic is mired in decades of controversy and politics – but the gist
Will Powerlifting Ever Be an Olympic Sport? Read More »
Statistically, powerlifting injuries occur less often than weightlifting injuries among regularly training and competing athletes, and far less often than contact sport injuries (from football to boxing). However, they still occur. An avid powerlifter is statistically likely to get hurt at least once in a thousand hours of active practice/training, if not a little more
What are Common Powerlifting Injuries? Read More »
A deload is a scheduled week (or more) off from regular training. Most deloads don’t have you stay out of the gym entirely, but instead, encourage you to lift lighter, usually something similar to doing singles, triples, or sets of 5 with 60-70% of your 1RM, or skipping the big three entirely and doing assistance
When to Use Deloads in Powerlifting Read More »
As a general rule of thumb, I advise you to avoid powerlifting when sick. Sure, getting your training hours in is important, but if you genuinely feel like crap, chances are that your body is currently busy heavily investing resources in fighting off an infection. Mild exercise might actually do you some good, or it
Powerlifting When Sick Read More »
The powerlifting weight class you should be in corresponds to the heaviest you can be while being as lean as you can comfortably get. Most of the time, staying above 12% and under 15% body fat will do the trick. There are many factors that go into how strong you are, including technique, leverages, muscle
What Powerlifting Weight Class Should I Be In? Read More »
It’s a common myth, and one with no evidence behind it. No, powerlifting does not stunt growth. I’ll say it once and for all, and I’ll provide you with as much evidence as I can to refute this claim. The origin behind this claim is dubious. I’ve heard that the claim began when odd lifts
Can Powerlifting Stunt Growth? Read More »
If you’ve ever watched a powerlifter train or compete, you’ll have noticed that they wear very thick and large belts. These belts are typically 10 cm wide throughout and about 10-13mm thick. They are NOT like your usual gym or weightlifting belts that are up to 15cm wide in the back and feature a tapering
What Are Powerlifting Belts Good For? Read More »
