Weakly Weights

What do we think of online powerlifting competitions? Predictions for the changing Australian competitive landscape? What changes coaching for 2.5kg and 1kg weight increments at competition? Prescribing top sets and backoffs, when and how to autoregulate? Is there a song that is so hype it is literally dangerous? How to get started as a coach?  The boys answer all of this, and more

Powerlifting coach, fitness educator, and former teacher Sam Hall of Ethos Strength joins the boys to chat about his background as a school teacher, and how it has informed his approach to both coaching athletes and conducting professional education

Mike T returns to run the boys through some of the new systems he is working on at RTS and the thought processes behind them. We talk about the role of data in decision-making, how coaches work within data-driven paradigms, what training can't be determined algorithmically, and much more. 

Steve joins the boys to talk about the situation between the USAPL and the IPF, and canvas what the future of international powerlifting looks like. He sheds some outsider's perspective on the state of Australian powerlifting, and he and Alex tee off on the Jordan/Lebron debate. 

Alex and Will return to save the Australian powerlifting scene

Charlie from Melbourne Strength Culture joins the boys to discuss whether powerlifting training is special. We talk about points of difference between general strength training and powerlifting, and get off into the weeds about motivation, longevity, taking breaks from the sport, transfer of general adaptations, and much more. Will admits to crime. 

TC joins the boys to talk about the process of gaining weight and moving up a weight class. We cover why weight gain can be important, the common sources of ambivalence towards gaining weight in athletes, the nutritional and lifestyle priorities for health and performance in doing so, and the contribution that gaining weight can make to your nutritional skillset. 

Steve, of PRS Performance, joins the boys to chat about bench press technique. Should we always be maximally retracted? Is shoulder depression where it is at? We cover the ins and outs of how the shoulder girdle has to move to facilitate function. We then dive into exercise selection in general - how can we go about choosing variations to give us the best bang for our buck?

Julia joins the boys to talk about the pelvic floor. We cover the basic anatomy and its functions, as well as how it pertains to powerlifting. We talk about pooping, and how we can learn to brace better. We also talk about collaboration between coaches and physiotherapists. 

The boys discuss 2020 and the main lessons that they took from it in lifting, coaching, and life. We talk about client communication, programming accessories, managing fatigue, top-down planning and programming updates. We also discuss the merits of slow-cooking, beers, and how much we really need to be happy in life. 

The boys sit down and discuss a questionnaire that Will put together that talks about some dispositional factors that might impact how we go about training, and what they might mean for each of them respectively. They also debut a new segment, and answer some audience Q&A

Joe joins the boys to talk about coaching. We cover creating relationships with clients, effective communication, and when to say no to athlete desires. We talk in some depth about deadlift programming and exercise selection, and Joe schools us on Hamilton, the musical. 

Chris, the reigning under-74kg NZ powerlifting champion, joins the boys to talk about his journey in life. We cover his childhood and descent into drug dealing and use, crime, and his stint in jail. We learn about his discovery of exercise, and the journey that he underwent after prison in finding new constructive ways of living, leading to his pursuit of powerlifting, his studies in exercise science, and assistant teaching at university. An amazing story. 

Josh and Zac from DataDrivenStrength join the boys to talk about the philosophy of training. How can we know what works? What factors contribute to a lifter's success that we might pay less attention to? Do people with different goals or those operating under different paradigms look for different data when assessing their lifters? 

Matt Domney joins the boys to talk about the continuum between specificity and variability, the role of movement variability, and what constitutes variability in exercise prescription and performance. We discuss considerations in directed adaptation, longevity, optimising performance, and much more. Alex gets dissed hard by Matt.

Jamie joins the boys to talk about the dreaded C-word. What role does our cardiovascular system play in powerlifting training, performance, and maintaining our health? How can we implement cardio in our training? Is the interference effect a big deal? Is just doing more reps enough? All this, and more. 

Matt joins the boys to talk about his coaching systems, how he has come to think the way that he does, and how we can reconcile the differences between various approaches. We discuss when RPE and %-based programs might be more useful, and where we can meld the two, how athlete psychology can alter training prescriptions, how replicable and predictable athlete responses can be, and the role of coaching beyond just writing training plans. 

Arian joins the boys to talk about his journey from novice powerlifter to USAPL national team coach. We talk about his early days training with Dr Mike Zourdos, his presence on the bodybuilding.com forums and what it did for him as a coach, the programs he has run and modified, and how these experiences coalesced in his current coaching practices, and what it is like to do the job that he does. 

The boys go through their audience request form to answer questions, ranging from biomechanical considerations when deadlifting, through managing volume during cutting phases, powerlifting politics, and the use or lack thereof of specific exercises. 

Will joins the boys to talk about his training history, focusing especially on his last 18 months and the difficulties he has faced suffering glandular fever and chronic fatigue before commencing his rebuild from scratch. We talk about the impact of his work as a landscaper on training, and what his trajectory from a novice to being a world-level competitor has been. 

Megan of Kinetic Advantage Consulting joins the boys to talk about masters athletes. We discuss how ageing impacts our potential as powerlifters, the physiological changes that occur with ageing, and the way that these practically affect us as coaches. Megan takes aim at Will's quadriceps strength. 

The boys discuss whether certain lifting or training styles are more universally desirable, and what the implications of having preferences for your lifting/training that don't necessarily suit your build and needs are. We also discuss gym romance, and how we can approach a gym crush without being creepy whilst maximising our chances of success

The boys go through the Audience Request Form (available via the Weakly Weights IG page) and answer some of the questions. We have long chats about tracking training metrics like E1RM, tonnage, set counts, and session RPE, supramaximal training and which overload techniques work best, sleep, as well as plenty of off-topic chit chat. 

The boys sit down to talk about their feelings. Alex struggles to express himself due to fragile masculinity. Will is emotionally unstable. Halo Top is disgusting.Topics covered include what emotions training can generate in us, how to deal with negative feelings around training, how being aware of the space that training takes up in our lives can help us make better decisions, and what the factors underpinning a good relationship with training might be. 

The boys talk about the implications of coronavirus on powerlifting as a competitive sport. They talk about rescheduling and cancellation of high-level events, the competitive implications of split-venue competitions, the impacts of scheduling and planning disruptions on athletes and coaches, and some potential workarounds for the limitations that these issues impose on us. 

Mac joins the boys to talk about the benefits and drawbacks of tracking macronutrients, and some alternative strategies that we can use to modify energy intake. He speaks about using food choice, meal timing, and mindfulness as ways to aid or replace macro tracking, and the contexts in which they might be appropriate. We talk about the performance implications of low energy availability, nutritional checklists for powerlifting performance, and how coaches can improve their nutritional practices. Alex explains why MJ and not Lebron is the GOAT

The boys are joined by the very tall Kyle Dobbs of Rebel Performance. We talk about what movement quality is, and how different postures and skeletal orientations can influence our mobility and ability to express certain movements. We cover some of the typical postural characteristics of powerlifters, why they might arise, and the potential utility of exposing people to different positions. 

The boys discuss their 1wk hiatus, the importance of hobbies, and Will's history of being a lightweight. They then do a variation masterclass, taking a deep dive on paused deadlifts. Finally, they cover the 501kg deadlift performed by Hafthor Bjornsson and the "beef" with Eddie Hall. They go into the concept of psychological barriers, the 4-minute mile, what it means to have a record, and how badly either of them would be bopped by Tyson

As the IPF moves to ANOTHER scoring system, there have been repeated calls from athletes and a broad body of federations to adopt a reasonably new coefficient called DOTS. The boys chat to the creator of the DOTS formula, Tim, about the pitfalls in current scoring systems, the thinking underpinning his formula, and the political machinations that have made it difficult for his approach to be officially adopted despite its support. 

The boys debut a new segment called variation masterclass (this one wasn't plagiarised), going in depth on the merits and uses of close grip bench. They also answer your questions, covering training one lift per day, RPE training for beginners, the role of personality in prescribing programs, pet peeves at competition, and GPP. 

Alex the alliterative astronaut asks his amicable amigo about alternative approaches available alfresco (or at home). The boys talk about how we can structure training in a range of circumstances to still be progressive, even where specific powerlifting training may not be possible. We cover the ins and outs of programming different phases, and the benefits of maintaining training direction in uncertain times. Alex also responds to some controversy, in which he was (rightly) accused of plagiarism. 

Bryce Lewis of The Strength Athlete joins the boys for a chat about the art of coaching. We cover the fundamental roles of a coach and how we can modulate our programming, avenues of communication, feedback and degree of collaboration with athletes depending on the individuals that we are working with. We also cover some of the subtleties of how our coaching business structures can promote athletes developing individual coping skills and fostering a sense of enjoyment and buy-in. Bryce also gives his opinions on PL commentary, board games, and methods of reading.

The boys talk about the changes to our, and our clients' training circumstances in the wake of COVID-19. We talk about the specific barriers we are constantly hearing about and some practical strategies to get around them, both in a training sense and a motivational/psychological sense. We talk about what is still to like about training, and how we can make the most of this period as coaches. 

Tom Clark and Brandon Tan guest host an episode in which they ask the boys trivia questions, discussion points, and conduct personal interviews. As quizmasters, they also dictate a drinking schedule to your regular hosts. We move between lots of silliness and anecdote to more serious discussions about the nature of coaching and coach/client relationships, and how we can be more productive training currently. 

Anthony, of Apex Strength, joins the boys to talk about a multitude of topics. We cover his competitive history, injuries and lessons learnt from his experiences lifting at the world level. We speak about his past problems with alcohol, and about learning to love himself. We then change tack and discuss his moved from Powerlifting Australia to entering ProRaw, and the differences and challenges involved in doing so. 

Hattie joins the boys to talk about why she chooses to make heavy strength training the core of her physique development programs. We go into depth about aspects of motivation, self-management skills, and coaching practice to bring people through the ups and downs of prep. We draw out lots of useful parallels between her practice as a physique coach and powerlifting coaching.

Robert joins the boys to talk about Wilks points, and what the changes to the old Wilks Formula mean. We also talk about what it would take to elevate the standard and level of interest in powerlifting internationally. Finally, we speak about whether World Powerlifting can ever truly be relevant. Robert also shares some coaching wisdom. Ps, he doesn't like paused squats. 

Jacob joins the boys to talk about yearly planning for powerlifters. We cover what it entails, whom it best serves, and how as coaches we can begin communicating with clients about longer-term plans. Jacob takes potshots at Will's bench and Alex's body composition. 

Why? Wherefore? (WhereFOUR)The boys are back with another Q&A, covering the role of variations in drilling technique and our go-to options, paradigm shifts in health/fitness and PL coaching, daily undulating periodisation, signs of overreaching/underrecovery, lessons we've learnt in coaching/programming recently, whether we need to work on stability throughout a career (and what it is), getting started in coaching, determining strong squat stances, and the application of RPE training/autoregulation. 

Eric, of Elevate Barbell and The Strength Athlete, joins the boys to talk about peaking, what it is, and how to do it. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of pushing intensity up and tapering volume over a peak, some other coaching considerations, and also talk about how your training environment and attitudes can shape your progress.

Joey joins the boys to talk about nutrition coaching, how and why body composition is related to powerlifting performance, and how we can move discussions away from just nutrients towards foods. We discuss why individualising the amount and type of information provided to athletes is important, and how different tiers of tracking interventions can be more or less appropriate for different goals. We also have in-depth discussions on what makes a good pie and foods that make you think you might be dying. 

Official Powerlifting Australia physiotherapist Dan joins the boys to talk about what pain is, why we experience it, and what we can and should do about it. We talk about why expectations and environments influence pain, how we can differentiate between niggles and injuries, and what we are doing when we do rehab exercises. We then cover tightness, and he continues to blow the place up with knowledge napalm

Mike joins the boys to talk about his practice as one of the most successful powerlifting coaches in the world today. We cover the concept of RPE, what problems it helps us address, and how perceptions can and do differ from a strict rating of reps in reserve. We then talk about emerging strategies, and how as coaches we can assess whether and how well training is working. 

The boys talk about the process (TM) of reintroducing lifters to training post-comp. We also cover a brand new review paper about the minimum effective training dose required to increase strength. 

Jamie joins the boys to talk about predictors of injury risk in lifting. We talk about the assumption that assymetrical postures are injurious or necessarily limiting, before discussing what other factors might better describe injury risk. We dive into the idea of the acute:chronic workload ratio, explore its applications and limitations, and then talk about how biomedical, psychological and social factors can impact our experiences in the gym and life more broadly, and how coaches can communicate better in light of the information we discussed in this episode. We also discuss Maroon 5 and explore the quality of various fast food chains. 

Dr Daniel Hackett of the University of Sydney joins the boys to talk about his research. We focus on two papers that are soon to be published discussing the trainability of men and women. We talk about the limitations of research and our knowledge, and why differences between practice/anecdote and research might exist, and the ways in which trainers and coaches can be more scientific in their approach. 

Will and Alex discuss a program that the former has written to peak a client for both deadlift stances at once. They discuss what changes about the programming strategies used to facilitate this goal, and some considerations for programming around unusual circumstances. More importantly, they discuss the appropriate amount and technique for consuming Milo, periworkout carbohydrates, and the recent Record Breakers powerlifting competition.

Luke joins the boys to talk about fatigue. We talk about what fatigue is from a physiological perspective, delineating between central and peripheral components, and then discussing how they are interrelated. We also chat about which types of training induce more or less fatigue, why and how it can be important to monitor fatigue, and some practical considerations for your training structure. 

The boys answer your questions about training and other stuff. What matters more, genetics or work ethic? How to be a credible coach, and when to refer people on to others? Who performed the greatest squat of all time? Can you test positive by having sex with somebody on gear? Can you avoid comparing yourself to others, and should you? All of the above, and more

The boys chat about what decisions and changes they made in their development as powerlifters that led to them becoming better lifters. They talk about the mindset and philosophical approaches create the most conducive environments for success and the pitfalls of reactive behaviour. 

The boys compare two programs that Alex has written for an athlete in an offseason period, prior to entering competition prep. One is mostly submaximal, with the other involving more testing of strength. They discuss when and why one approach or the other may be appropriate, as well as the practical considerations for writing a program in either case. They also discuss why Peak Speak is derivative trash.