There are three main lifts in weightlifting: bench press, deadlift, and the squat.  These are most commonly referred to when trying to find out how strong someone is. People always ask, “How much can you bench?” or “What’s your max on dead lift?” These exercises truly measure your strength because they are compound movements, involving two or more body parts. These are also the main three exercises at power lifting competitions. In this article, we will examine these three lifts and the proper way to perform them. Read the rest of this entry »

Rather than just writing one cycle, I’ve decided to make an easy to follow quasi-article that contains all the different cycles for the squat that I’ve used with success. The first cycles will be for the Dynamic Effort squat without chains and bands; the second group will be with chains, and the last group will be with bands. Training with bands still is one of the most effective ways to train the squat. I’d recommend that everyone use bands all year round in some form or another. Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe you just don’t know how to f&*%ing bench! Then we suggest you read these tips.

1.) “They don’t grab the bar tight.” – Dave Tate Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past three years, I’ve managed to discover a few things that have dramatically helped improve my deadlift. In 2006 at the IPA Nationals, I pulled 540 lbs, and in December 2009 at the APA Southern Texas Championships, I finished with a 610-lb deadlift. For those of you who want to credit this to using better gear, consider the fact that going into the IPA Nationals I was only capable of pulling 435 lbs raw. I now have a raw deadlift in training of 540 lbs. Read the rest of this entry »