A lot of this post will be an excerpt from the Competition Prep and Competition Day Handling section of our Coaching Mentorship. 

​But first - 

A handler is, quite simply, someone who handles a lifter on the competition day. Quite often it is the lifter's coach, but sometimes it can be another lifter they know, or another coach they've hired for the day. 

You might be thinking - 'Why would you need a specific person to help you? Surely, all you have to do is lift?'

But there is far, far more to it than that.

On a competition day, a lifter, who is already nervous will have to think about - 

• Weighing in. 
• Putting in their openers.
• Getting their rack height.
• Finding a warm up space. 
• Eating. 
• Knowing when they're lifting.
• Knowing what weight to select next. 
• Being aware of other lifters' performances if they're looking at placing. 
• Being aware of Qualification Totals.
• Being aware of records.
• How a competition runs - ie, why are they lifting before/after me on this round but not on the previous round. 
• When attempts can be changed.
• Etc.

A good handler will basically be able to solve all of this for a lifter and then be able to answer any questions and deal with any concerns the lifter may have - which then frees up the lifter to just focus on lifting. 

Now, imagine you have someone doing all of the above for you. How much better do you think your day will go?

Then, imagine you have someone doing all of the above, but either doing it badly or just not knowing? 

The below, is all here so that you, or your handler can help you to the best of their ability on competition day and so that you're not left frustrated or confused on the platform on the day.

This section is the excerpt from the Mentorship handbook. If you like what you read, or want more, please check out the link at the end of this post.


Competition Day Handling. 

You could have the best programme written for a lifter but if they fall apart on the day of the competition then they will never truly actualise their potential. Now, on the day it is the lifter’s responsibility to do things well, but you can definitely guide them towards their goal on the day too - particularly if they’re new, particularly anxious or just a bit dozy. 

Knowing how a competition runs will give you a huge advantage on the day, for a number of reasons. These include - 

• - It will help you keep your own lifter calm. You being in control will take some pressure off of the lifter. 
• - Most lifters and coaches aren’t as aware of the rules as they could be. This means that you can play things to your advantage, in some cases. 
• - You won’t be caught out by anything unexpected. 
  

A Quick Reminder of How a Competition Runs. 
In IPF - 

There can be one or more sessions. In this example we’ll use two. 

Morning Session - 

• Weigh in - 8am. 
• Lift off - 10am. 
• Awards - 3.30pm. 
• Afternoon Session.
• Weigh in - 2pm. 
• Lift Off - 4pm. 
• Awards - 7.45pm 

The things to remember - 

• - Weigh in always starts 2 hours before lift off. 
• - Weigh in always last 90 minutes (not the full two hours!) 
• - Opening attempts for each lift will be given in on weigh in. 
• - Opening attempts can be changed up to 3 minutes before the start of the lifter’s flight. (Not 3 minutes before that lifter’s lift!) 
• - Once an attempt has been given in it cannot be changed. Except for the third attempt deadlift, which can be changed twice. (In a bench only competition, this rule applies to the third attempt bench press too). 
• - Lot numbers are assigned randomly, and if two lifters have the same bodyweight and attempts than the one with the lower lot number will go first. 
• - Flight A will lift off at the time stated, they will do all 3 lifts and then Flight B will start immediately. 
• - Bench will start after a 10 minute break after the last Flight has finished squatting. (If there is only one flight then you might see a 20 minute break instead). 
• - Deadlift will start after a 10 minute break after the last Flight has finished bench pressing. (Same as brackets above). 

Tactics. 

The rule regarding changing the final third attempt is particularly useful for playing things tactically. If your lifter and another are battling it out for 1st place then you can put your lifter’s final deadlift in as a ‘place holder.’ You can then wait to see how their opponent does and then alter your lift to whatever you need to win. 

The most important thing to note here is that the weight on the bar cannot go down. So, if you were to ask for a lighter weight than what is currently on the bar, it cannot be done. It must be the same, or more than what is currently loaded. 

For example - 

Opponent Lifter fails a deadlift of 180kg. 
Your lifter has a place holder in of 200kg. You can then change your lifter’s weight to 180kg+. It cannot go below 180kg. This applies if there are lifters in between the Opponent Lifter and yours too - meaning if multiple lifters pull 190kg after the Opponent, you will need to get your change in immediately.

You can see here how you can encourage another lifter into making bigger jumps than they are comfortable with, while also dropping back down to a range you’re comfortable with too. This is the kind of thing that isn’t massively important to beginners, but when it comes to winning competitions or qualifying etc, it can be very good to know. 

The Scoresheet. 

This will be ordered in terms of lightest weight lifted to highest, and it will adjust to suit that as each attempt is put in. Meaning that the order will change depending on the jumps people make in between attempts. 

The scoresheet will show all of the lifters’ - 

- Names. 

- Body weights. 

- Weight Classes. 

- Age Classes.

- Lot Numbers. 

- Attempts (as well as their success or failure). 

- Sub-total. 

- Total. 

- GL Points. 

- ATTNL (Approximate Time To Next Lift). 
This way you can keep an eye on where your lifter is, and how close others could possibly be to gaining on them. 

Lot Numbers. 

Lot numbers are randomly assigned. If two lifters choose the same weight, then the lower lot number goes first. 

Body Weight.

The exact weight of the lifter on the day, this is used to inform GL Points (more on that below). 

Weight Classes. 

Weight classes are the categories that lifters are in, in most competitions. Different federations have different ones, but if you're in the 93kg class, for example, you'll be in direct competition with other 93kg lifters. 

Age Classes. 

The vast majority of competitions are Open (all ages), but you will get Sub/Junior or Masters lifters too. At most regional competitions they will be competing as open but will be able to qualify or take records in their age classes too. 

Attempts. 

You will be able to keep track of what attempts your lifter, as well as others, have put in for their opening and next attempts. 

Sub-Total. 

The screen will tell you what total the lifter will currently have depending on their current attempts. 

Total. 

The accumulation of the highest of each successful lift - i.e the lifter's best squat, best bench press and best deadlift added together. 

GL Points. 

Good Lift Points - this is essentially a formula used to find the strongest lifter based on strength:bodyweight. In the past federations have used Wilks, DOTS, IPF Points too - all for the same idea.

A note on ATTNL - this is something that was made in NWPL and it is super helpful. The number denotes the amount of minutes left until that lifter’s next lift, which makes handling super easy. Some other regions in British Powerlifting borrow this from the NWPL but not many - so while it is super helpful, it is not available at every competition. But, as each lifter gets about 60 seconds to do their lift, plus time to change and load the plates you could figure out the time in between by counting roughly 1-1.5 minutes per lifter in between. So, if there are 12 lifters between your lifter and their next attempt, you’re looking at 12-18 minutes rest. 

The Warm Up Room. 

It is incredibly unlikely that your lifter will get a rack to themselves in a warm up room. Fully expect for them to have to share with 1-4 other lifters on their station. Most warm up areas will have other combo racks, which are pretty easy to adjust. This means that it doesn’t matter too much if there is a disparity in heights for each lifter but, in general, you will probably share a rack with someone of a similar height. 

Ensure that your lifter is aware of the space around them - in terms of not being in the way and not leaving stuff in the way for other lifters to trip over. 

Generally, yourself and other coaches will deal with the loading and setting up of the racks and bars. This is so that the lifters don't expend any energy, or injure themselves in a silly way, pre competition.

The Competition. 

During the flights it is important for you to know where your lifter is - both in terms of where they are in the flight, and where they are physically. The last thing you want is for your lifter to be chatting in the warm up area when they should be getting ready to go on to the platform. Normally, I will encourage the lifter to sit down and chill out a little for the majority of the round, I’ll only ask them to stand up and prepare about 2-3 minutes out so that they don’t get too ‘hyped up,’ or overly mentally aroused. 

Most lifters will have their own way of getting ready. Most beginners will revert to just getting angry or super hyped up - in my experience this works for a very small percentage of lifters, so I often encourage people to find what actually works for them and not just what they’ve seen on social media. 

Your job here is to allow them to get ready in a way that works for them, while guiding them to being where they need to be at the time they need to be there. 

During the actual lift, I recommend watching it properly. There isn’t often a need for you to record the lift due to how good most competition organisers are with livestreams and such now. Watching it with your own two eyes allows you to make a proper decision too - this helps as you only have 60 seconds from the end of the lifter’s lift to put in the next attempt. You should have worked out with your lifter beforehand about whether you’re going to ask for their feedback before the next lift or not, so you can either quickly confer or just put the next attempt in as soon as you’re ready. You will likely have a good idea of their next attempt due to the programming anyway. 

Remember that once the lift is in, other than the final third attempt, it can not be changed. So, if your lifter is insisting on a weight, but their previous attempt suggests it won’t happen you might need to make a stand. 

The attempts can only be in increments of 2.5kg, the only time they can be different than this is for a record. At regional level, it’ll have to be 0.5kg+ above the regional level, but at national or international level, these smaller plates can only be used to break their records (ie national or international). 

If your lifter gets a red light from a referee then they, or you, can ask the corresponding referee for the reasons why. Normally, if there’s a screen showing the referee lights, then the red light will show with another colour underneath - blue, red or yellow. If you know your referee handbook well enough you can figure out the reasons for failure from there. In the moment though, you’re probably best asking the referee for their reasoning - it can be difficult to remember the colours, and sometimes newer referees will just press red or white. 

In terms of etiquette, it’s always good to try to be polite and respectful. This obviously goes without saying, but bear in mind that people around you are also potential new lifters for you and you will see the volunteers, organisers and referees at future competitions.

Further Reading. 

I would highly suggest anything by Matt Garry. Including his e-book, and any podcasts he has been on (the Iron Culture ones he has done are great). Matt Garry is seen as the best ‘game day’ coach due to his handling of the USA National Teams over a number of years. 
Beyond that, your next best bet is just getting experience in competitions in general. Whether that be handling, coaching, volunteering or even competing.


https://www.supremesportspt.com/gameday-coaching-manual​ - Matt Garry's book.

What you've read here, is a small section of our Barbell Club Online Mentorship, if you're interested in the next intake (early 2025), then you can sign up to the mailing list here and get more information. 

Mailing list.

If you've read this, and thought 'hey, I really need a coach who can be really specific to powerlifting!' then check this out. 

​Form.

Yesterday we hosted the November Novices here. We had a great number of volunteers meaning that we could run it like a fully sanctioned competition. 
Meaning that our lifters could do it without the intimidation, or fear of a full competition. (Not that there should be anything to be scared or intimidated of).

We had 8 lifters in the end, as some people had to pull out due to injury or illness. But the standard was high! Most people got a total, and the one that didn't definitely understood what they need to work on for next time. 

I just want to take this moment to thank all of the volunteers, lifters and spectators again - they all came together to make an excellent atmosphere, full of support, for the day. I'm very happy with, and grateful for,  all of them! 

As a NWPL affiliated club we can host fully fledged competitions, and we do so with the next one being July of 2025. However, we recognise that on a grassroots level there isn't a lot on offer for powerlifting competitions at the moment (particularly after the IPF rule updates over the last few years). 

So, our aim is to offer competitions that may seem a little less intimidating, friendly and easy to access for a new lifter. We do this with Novice competitions, club competitions and charity events/competitions. 

We also try to offer this on a membership/coaching level with our Strength Training Trial and options like that. A lot of our lifters initially come to the gym just to get a bit stronger but then they see that powerlifting is fun, and competing with yourself can be productive.

Grassroots in powerlifting, and weightlifting - which we also offer, headed by Coach Beá - is super important. The sports both grow well, but that growth can be maintained and the lifters involved can be supported by events and continued projects like what we aim to offer.  

We want to ensure the future of powerlifting, and strength sports in general, are in good hands. So, we're doing our best to coach, mentor, advise and put on events to encourage this. 

What would you like to see in regards to this? What events? What coaching or gym options? 
Let us know in the comments, or send us an email! 

As always, thank you for reading! If you want more information on the gym or coaching then please check out more of the website! 

Since opening the Barbell Club, one of the things we wanted to focus more upon was education. So, far we have achieved this with things like the Barbell Club Mentorship (both the in person and online options) and with seminars and workshops. In the past we've had Dr Richie Kirwan in to talk about nutrition for the strength athlete, Chloe Brennan in to talk about her experience in strength training and strong woman, Bobbie Butters in twice to talk about her personal experience as well as her PhD research in the menstrual cycle and strength training. Most recently we had Matthew Brown in to talk about Pain and Injury Management. 

You can see from the above that Matthew is uniquely qualified to explain the concepts of pain and injury, as well as teach us how to manage and adapt with pain and injury. 

This was the first thing that Matthew asked us - what is pain? It became apparent that it wasn't an immediately straightforward answer. The answers amongst the group essentially said that it was the brains response to a perceived signal of damage. 
But then we look further into it, a bigger pain response does not necessarily mean more damage. And, some cases may even have no damage but result in some kind of pain, and other cases will be the opposite. 
So, straight away it is worth understanding that pain is not a simple concept. It can be a mixture of the physical feeling of damage and the brain's response to it. 

How we feel, or interpret, pain can be affected by biological, sociological or physical factors too. How we're raised, the people around us as well as the actual damage we've incurred can all affect our pain responses. Understanding this can be crucial during rehabilitation from an injury as catastrophising, or even the opposite - not taking it as seriously, can effect our recovery. The former could make it seem worse than it is, whereas the latter could lead to exacerbating it further due to training more intensely than we should. 

We used to be told to follow the RICE protocol - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. However, this is a little outdated, and we're now told to focus on PEACE and LOVE - Protection, Elevation, Avoid anti inflammatories, Compression, Education and Load, Optimise, Vascularisation, Exercise. 
You can see from this that we have gone from a focus on resting and icing injuries to focusing on moving, loading and getting some blood flow going in that area (obviously, this depends on the severity and definition of the injury). A lot of people will avoid movements entirely due to pain, or more succinctly - the fear of pain. While you may have to adjust some movements - maybe a shorter range of motion, tempo work, lighter weights, etc - it is not always best to just rest. 

Getting some movement in, or even just adapting training around the injury is imperative to encourage recovery. As well as this, the psychological effect of keeping your routine and habits in place can be super important. 

It is not uncommon to come back from an injury and be incredibly cautious around certain movements, or things that affect the previously injured area. As established above, our level of pain is more due to a brain signal than it is necessarily to do with actual level of damage - and this can present as a pain occurring in an area that is no longer injured. 
Anecdotally, I have seen lifters in the past recover from an injury but then either feel completely under confident with movements relating to that area, or suffer tightness in that area a lot more easily. This can be due to the brain essentially panicking and trying to protect you - when this happens it is often a case of gently pushing that area to convince your brain that it is actually okay. 

Pain isn't just a case of damage = signal. It can be different for different people.
​If you are unfortunate enough to get injured or suffer pain then you should 100% get checked out by a healthcare professional (for most strength athletes you're best seeing a sports physiotherapist or something similar, rather than a GP or an A+E doctor). But after this, you should find a way to get back into training, even if it is completely adapted. Movement is good and "rehab is just training in the presence of injury." Rehab isn't a magic form of training, it is just an adapted version of it. 

Injuries and pain suck. But that isn't the nail in the coffin for your training - you will just need to find a way to train around it and progress from there.

If you do get injured, please do get it checked out, but also don't just give up on your training goals. 

​Thanks for reading. I hope this helps! 

​You can check Matt out here - 

You can check this out here - 

If you're programming for yourself, or for others, include the above tips in your plans - and I' more than happy to discuss how to include them if you want to reach out. 

If you want someone else to take over and do the programming for you then click the button below! 

We posted on social media earlier this year about how we're aiming to be inclusive here at the Barbell Club. 

We have a strong (pun intended) contingent of LGBTQ+ lifters here and we want them all to feel welcome. The most obvious way we have done this is via having the Progress Flag on the wall, very near to the front of the gym - by itself this doesn't mean much, but it does signal to people what our beliefs are as soon as they come in - if people don't like it, the door is right there, but more importantly, for those who are in that community they know that they're in a safe, encouraging space. 

We also try to be inclusive of our Neurodivergent members too. We have a Quiet Hour on a Tuesday and Thursday, where there will be - 

• No music. 
• The lights can be adjusted.
• No excessively loud training. 
• No pressure to talk to other people.
• No questions asked if wearing headphones. 

We include this kind of thing during regular hours too, but it's harder to control when the gym is busy. This means that we do have some set time specifically to help. 

We're happy to say that some of our recent reviews have really highlighted this aspect of our community. Check out these reviews - 

All of these show the quality of the community within our gym, and we're very, very proud of it. 

We also have a number of people going to Liverpool Pride with a DLF Barbell Club Powerlifting Team banner. 
We are extremely happy to be represented in this manner and we'd like to thank Sophie Newby-Deane for organising it too! 

​We'll have a picture of the banner up on social media soon! 

Want to join our incredibly inclusive gym? Do so with our 28 Day Trial below. 

This blog is back, it's been a while. We've focused a little bit more on the newsletter recently (you can sign up for that here eepurl.com/ggKxPL ). 

We wanted to explain our newest class -  The Sunday Strength Hour. 

This will be a 60 minute, PT-led class focused upon strength training, getting stronger and better technique with a clear view of progression over time. 

Strength training is excellent for - 

• Getting stronger (obviously)
• Getting leaner (more toned/more muscular/lower body fat)
• Gaining confidence
• Better mobility

And our gym environment is great for the community and atmosphere aspects too. 

We think it's a great option for people. Either those new to strength training, or those who want to practice strength training in a more focused way than by themselves in a commercial gym, but without a specific focus on one of the bigger sports.

A lot of people see our gym as a little ahead of where they are in terms of expertise. 
While we do accommodate newbies the best we can in Powerlifting and Weightlifting, we wanted to make something specifically for beginners and/or people who just want to focus on Strength Training, rather than on one of the sports.

It is also a smaller allotted time per session, these are at 60 minutes whereas our group sessions are generally 90 minutes long. 

The one and only Katie Smith. 
Katie has been a client of ours for many years but this year she qualified as a Personal Trainer and also went through our first Barbell Club Coaching Mentorship in order to become the best strength coach she could be. 

Now, Katie will be running this class to help new people in their training, or people who want to strength training with no focus on specifically powerlifting or specifically weightlifting. 

You can start for as cheap as £12 per session.

If you sign up for a month, it starts becoming discounted, with 1 month of Sunday sessions coming to £45 per month.

For the classes and an Open Gym Membership on top of that, you would pay £79.99 per month.

Click the button below for either of the monthly options. 

We'd love to have you involved. Sign up today and we'll see you very soon!

We recently held our first IPF Sanctioned Competition in the Barbell Club. Hosting sanctioned competitions was a huge goal of ours when we were building the gym, and we've made our first step! 
We've held a few club level competitions so far, but this was our biggest so far. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers, referees, lifters, sponsors and spectators. All of you came together to make it a fantastic day that I'm truly proud of. 

You can check out the Youtube stream and the Open Powerlifting results on our events page.

We have another Sanctioned Competition in December - the North West University Championships. This one will decide who are the North West University Champions, as well as this you'll be able to qualify for BUCS. 

You can find some more information on the NW Uni Champs here.

Want to do a 1 Week Kickstarter? 

Or even Bring a Friend to any Open Gym Sessions in September? 

Do it here.

Thanks for reading! 

Danny.

Once you have completed your warm-ups, it’s time to move to the holding area. The holding area is where you wait before you go and make an attempt on the platform. Ensure you bring some water, your kit and anything else you may need between attempts. Within the holding area, there will usually be a screen showing the order of lifters; keep an eye on this and ensure you know when you will be called to go onto the platform. One lifter before your attempt, get your kit (wrist wraps and belt) on. When it’s your turn, the platform crew will load the bar, and the centre ref will indicate that it is loaded. Once the bar is loaded, you have 1 minute to get the start command in the squat or bench or make a genuine attempt to lift the bar with the deadlift. Following the attempt, you’ll leave the platform and have one minute to put in your next attempt. Generally, if you've missed a lift, going up is a bad idea. Instead, retake the lift. Missing all three attempts on a lift (bombing out) means you can’t total - it’s always better to retake an attempt than go up and miss again. 

Once you've completed all three lifts, you’ll have some time before you lift again. If you’re at a smaller competition, it may only be 10-15 minutes between finishing squats and starting warm up for the bench (and the same between bench and deadlifts). At national competitions, it could be up to an hour. In that scenario, take the time to get food and water and unwind between the lifts. Remember - you may need more time to warm up again if you’ve had a significant break between lifts.

​

Speaking of our first sanctioned competition - you can come down and watch our August Barbell Fest on the 27th August. 
We are selling spectator tickets as while we do want a great crowd, we also don't want to risk flooding the warm up area. 
So, if you want to come watch - 

Thanks for reading! 

This week's blog is, yet again, by James Kennedy. It's somewhat timely as well, as we are looking to announce the return of Grace's Yoga for Strength Athletes in the Barbell Club - more on that later. 

Firstly, the article!

Mobility is an oft-overlooked and poorly understood component of powerlifting, strongman and weightlifting. Firstly, to clear up some confusion straight away, mobility is different to flexibility. Mobility refers to the ability to move through the full ROM with full control and proper technique. Flexibility is the ability to move through a range of motion without actively using the associated muscle group (e.g. static stretching).  Mobility is specific to the movement you are about to do or do regularly - whether you perform a squat through a full ROM with proper control and technique, for example. 

Squat Mobility

Within the squat movement, the ankle, knee and hip are the joints involved in the movement, so improving ankle, knee and hip mobility is essential. Generally, most lifters don’t have a problem with knee mobility and when they experience knee pain it’s due to limited ankle or hip mobility. 

Beginning with ankle mobility, a great exercise is dynamic downward dog. Starting from your hands and knees, press firmly into your hands and feet, raising your knees off the floor into an inverted ‘V’ position. From this start position, bend your left knee whilst pushing your right heel down to straighten the right leg. Then swap from side to side as if you’re walking on the spot. This exercise will stretch out your calves and hamstrings, whilst strengthening the ankle joint. 

A second ankle mobility exercise is the step-back weighted ankle mobility drill. Taking two dumbbells or kettlebells, take a large step back with one leg but keep both feet flat. Bend the knee of the back foot and hinge at the hip to lower the weight slowly to the floor. You should feel a slight stretch in the back ankle. Repeat on both sides for sets of ten. 

For hip mobility, there are several drills which can help. The 90/90 hip stretch is a great exercise to incorporate into a squat warm-up, especially if you’ve spent a long time sitting that day as it targets both internal and external hip rotation.  To perform the 90/90 hip stretch sit on the floor and bend one leg in front of your body with your knee bent at 90 degrees, keeping the outside of the leg in contact with the floor. Position your other leg beside you, with your hip rotated inward and knee bent at 90 degrees. Hold this position for 30 seconds and then switch sides.

Hip mobility can also be improved by utilising a hip circle. A hip circle placed around the knees or ankles can be utilised to help strengthen the glutes and hip muscles. A great drill  for targeting the hip abductors is to start in an athletic stance - feet shoulder-width apart with knees bent and weight over your midfoot. Take a step to the side and slowly bring your foot back. Alternate between the right and left legs. 

The final component of hip mobility is glute and core strength. To help improve glute strength and activate the muscles used in the squat exercise glute bridges and clamshells are two exercises which can help. To perform glute bridges lie on the floor with your back flush against the floor. Push against the floor through your feet and push your hips towards the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement. Perform 10-20 reps. 
Clamshells target the gluteus medius, which helps stabilise the pelvis. To perform them, lie on your side with your feet and hips stacked, with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Draw your knees in toward your body until your feet are in line with your glutes. Keeping your feet together, raise your top knee as far as you can, before slowly returning to the start position. Repeat for 10-20 reps on each side. 

A final great exercise is the cossack squat. This exercise helps develop hip, knee and ankle mobility. Start with a wide stance, with your feet pointing forwards. Squat down to a full deep squat on one side, keeping both heels down. At the bottom position, the squatting leg is fully flexed at the ankle, with the knee out over the toe. The other leg should be straight, with your heel on the floor and your toe’s off the floor. Stand back up to the central position and repeat on the opposite leg. Perform 10 reps per side. 

Bench Mobility

Mobility issues in the bench press tend to be linked to shoulder and thoracic mobility issues. The inability to properly extend through the thoracic spine and retract and stabilise the scapula is a common cause of injuries within the bench press; if you constantly get minor pec strains and tears poor mobility could be the underlying cause.

To address these issues there are several mobility drills which can be done. The first is the banded pull-apart. The basic variation is to take a resistance band with your palms facing up (supinated grip) and extend your arms straight out at shoulder height. Pull the band apart and aim to get it to touch your chest around the base of your pectoral muscles. This exercise targets the rotator cuff and will help develop the muscles which stabilise the shoulder during the bench press. 

A more advanced variation involves beginning with the band overhead. Instead of starting with your hands at shoulder height, elevate your hands above your head. Then perform the pull-apart, touching the resistance band to the same point on your chest. This variation works the muscles which rotate the scapula in both the horizontal and vertical planes, improving scapular mobility and stability, which are essential for the bench press. 
Thoracic extension is also essential for the bench press. This, combined with hip flexibility, is what controls how big your arch is. Being stable when you arch for the bench press is also essential; if not your arch can collapse as you perform the exercise. 

The first exercise to improve thoracic mobility is the cat-camel exercise. Starting on your hands and knees, with your hands underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips, sink your bank towards the floor and lift your head at the same time to make a curve with your spine. Slowly reverse the position, tucking your head and driving your upper back high as if a string is pulling your shoulder blades towards the ceiling. That’s one rep. Repeat 10-20 reps. 

A second exercise to help improve thoracic mobility is the dynamic wall t-spine extension. Begin by placing your palms at shoulder height on a wall, window ledge or smith machine, with your arms fully extended. Keeping your hands on the wall, push your hips back to lower your chest, arching the segments of the spine. Hold the bottom position for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times. 


Deadlift mobility

Of the big 3 power lifts, the deadlift has the lowest mobility requirements. The conventional deadlift is sometimes limited by thoracic mobility, which can be targeted using the cat-camel stretch and the dynamic wall t-spine extension. The sumo deadlift has higher hip mobility requirements than the conventional deadlift. Alongside the hip mobility drills outlined for the squat, two additional hip mobility drills can be used for developing the required hip mobility for the deadlift. 

Firstly, is the kneeling glute activation. Start on your knees, with your hips stacked over your knees. Then, slowly sit back onto your heels while maintaining a tall torso before using your glutes to drive yourself back into a kneeling position, squeezing your glutes at the top. Repeat for 10-20 reps. 

The second mobility exercise is the active frog. Assume the frog position and slowly rock back and forwards, stretching and strengthening the hip abductors. If you are new to the Sumo deadlift, this exercise is excellent for helping your hips handle the transition. 

Sample Routine

We’ve provided a basic, 10-minute, mobility workout that can be done before a workout or as part of your daily routine. These exercises target general mobility for the big 3 - squat, bench and deadlift - and will keep you mobile and strong for your training. 


Exercise


Cossack Squat
20 reps

90/90 Hip Stretch
45s per side

Dynamic Downward Dog
20 reps

Weighted Ankle Step Back
10 reps per side

Couch stretch
45s per side

Supinated grip band pull
20 reps

Active thoracic extension
45s

Cat Camel
20 reps 

Summary
These mobility exercises will help you develop the muscles and joint stability that will help minimise your injury risk. Generally, the muscles used to stabilise the joints are not directly trained during powerlifting and muscular imbalances can develop. These mobility drills will help strengthen the muscles responsible for stabilising joints during powerlifting. These drills can be used individually, as warm ups for the individual power lifts or as a daily mobility routine to help enhance recovery and allow you to keep progressing with your powerlifting career.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's blog! 

As mentioned above we are in the process of resuming Grace's Yoga for Strength Athletes, so if you want to be involved let me know and we'll keep you updated on where we're up to. 

Also! 

You may have seen that we've announced a Charity Deadlift-Only competition. 

(Just) Stand Up to Cancer - Deadlift Only - you can find more information here.

Or if you want to enter - 

The latest blog post, as is often the case, is by James Kennedy. Who has recently passed his PhD, so a massive congratulations to him! 

​Enjoy!

Pre-workout. An essential component to a good workout or an expensive placebo? Pre-workouts are ubiquitous in gym culture, especially on TikTok. For strength athletes, it's rare to see someone *not* using pre-workouts in the warm-up area before a big lift. So does it work, and if so, why? An essential component to a good workout or an expensive placebo? Look at the back of a pre-workout supplement, and you'll find a list of ingredients with scientific-sounding names, but what do they do? Do you need them? Are they dosed correctly? 
​
To find out, we googled and picked a generic-looking pre-workout from a significant player in the UK supplement market. The ingredients are listed below:

The first step is to evaluate the ingredients (behind the fancy ® brand names). What is the ingredient meant to do, and is there evidence that it does this? Is it a WADA-approved supplement (a critical point for our IPF and IWF competitors!)? If the ingredient works, is it correctly dosed? Does the ingredient need to be 'loaded' (i.e. taken daily) to produce optimal results? Finally, when should this ingredient be taken to boost performance best? 
Ideally, at the end of this article, you will know what to look for in a pre-workout, what ingredients are necessary and how to take pre-workout supplements to best optimise your performance in the gym. Let's break it down!

First up, Creatine Monohydrate, at 3500mg (3.5g). Creatine is well-researched and has a moderate boost in performance outcomes. It's safe, effective and cheap. Creatine is stored in the muscles and allows for rapid replenishment of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the muscle during intense exercises, allowing the muscle to continue to work at a higher intensity and thereby improving athletic performance. Creatine builds up in the muscles over time and requires daily supplementation to maintain high muscle creatine levels. Usually, the recommendation is for 3-5g, taken daily (supplement guide link). 

Within this supplement, the dosage is on the lower side. In addition, there is no specific time window to take creatine. The benefits from taking creatine accumulate from a daily intake and is likely best sourced from a creatine powder rather than a pre-workout (the same supplement company selling this pre-workout for £1.33 per serving is currently selling creatine monohydrate for £0.40 per 5g serving …. spend your money wisely guys!) Overall, it's good that an effective supplement like creatine is in this pre-workout. However, the dosage is low and buying creatine monohydrate and taking 5g daily is probably more cost-effective. 

The second ingredient is L-Citrulline (3g). Evidence shows that L-Citrulline improves nitric oxide metabolism, increasing muscle blood flow and enhancing the pump you get from training (https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/#effect-matrix). Additionally, studies have shown a performance increase from L-Citrulline supplementation - as it improves reps to failure performance. This is where the good news ends, however. L-Citrulline is a second-tier supplement with the potential to move into the top tier (supplement article link) - meaning it's currently either understudied or underwhelming but with potential benefits worth exploring. 


Where L-Citruline is effective, the minimum dosage is 6g daily, with typical recommendations of 8-10g. This pre-workout provides half the dosage required to see a benefit. The second issue is timing. Pre-workout supplements are commonly taken immediately before or during warm-ups. L-Citrulline requires 1-2 hours to enter the bloodstream and reach the muscles. Within this supplement, the combination of dosage and recommended usage (30 minutes pre-workout) means you will get minimal benefit.

An alternative option would be buying some L-Citrulline (roughly £10/100g) … although this works out at around £0.80 per serving. You could also not buy it; the magnitude of benefit from taking it is small, and it's doubtful you're missing out by not taking it. It's also worth remembering not to fall into the trap of thinking that taking the small doses present within this supplement will be enough to see a benefit and use that to justify buying the pre-workout! 

The third primary ingredient is Beta-Alanine, with 1.5g per serving. Beta-Alanine acts as an acid buffer in the body, preventing lactic acid build-up in the muscles, primarily when performing exercises in the lactic-aerobic zone (for example, a 400m sprint). For powerlifters, doing relatively low reps, you are almost exclusively using the anaerobic system with minimal lactic acid build-up; therefore Beta-Alanaine supplementation will likely be of minimal benefit to you. However, suppose you are a CrossFit athlete or bodybuilder. In that case, studies have shown an improvement in reps to failure in the 10-15 rep range (Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis - PubMed). 

Like creatine, the benefits of taking Beta-Alanine come from the build-up of Alanine in the muscles. Unfortunately, whilst the ingredient is beneficial, it is underdosed again within this supplement. It would be best if you took a larger daily dose to benefit from Alanine supplementation - similar to L-Citrulline, meaning the amount of Alanine in this supplement is too low for you to help your performance.

The Nootropics

The following two ingredients, L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine, belong to a group of substances called nootropics. Nootropics, as a group, improve cognitive function and mental performance. Typically, L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine are used to offset the stress and anxiety associated with higher dose caffeine consumption, thus allowing you to benefit from the caffeine (improved focus and alertness) without suffering the downsides. The pre-workout contains a well-dosed amount of both substances, which will enhance the benefit of caffeine. 

Taurine

Dosed here at 0.5g, Taurine is an amino acid with diverse bodily functions. It is most relevant to energy metabolism and its anti-inflammatory properties here. Whilst the extract mechanisms are unclear, Taurine does increase fat burning for fuel and improve mitochondrial function (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34039357/). In addition, it is beneficial in treating inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5933890/). In studies, the effects of taking Taurine are relatively minor to non-existent with doses of ~3g. Sadly, as this ingredient works, it is massively underdosed in this supplement. 

Caffeine 

Caffeine is an effective stimulant - as anyone who's tried to function before having a morning cup of tea or coffee can test - which occurs naturally in tea and coffee. Alongside the obvious mental benefits, it also improves strength and endurance. The literature, and probably everyone's personal experience reading this, is that caffeine is an effective and relatively safe performance enhancer and should be used in pre-workouts. The dosage present in this pre-workout is reasonable - 200mg - broadly the same as a double espresso. 

At higher doses, caffeine can interfere with sleep - hampering recovery. The sleep interference effect is especially pertinent if you take caffeine within ~8 hours of trying to go to sleep. So, suppose you're tired before a workout in the evening or afternoon. In that case, there are better options than reaching for a pre-workout. Get through the workout, get some sleep, and recover; caffeine will temporarily mask the problem without addressing the cause.

The Vitamins

The next group of ingredients are the vitamins - Vitamin C, B6,9 and 12. Vitamin C does (slightly) reduce muscle damage (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15024666/); however, that study used a 200mg dose to achieve a small impact. In what should not be a surprise, Vitamin C is underdosed in this pre-workout, with only 80mg present. 

Vitamins B6,9 and 12 are common ingredients of pre-workouts and energy drinks, included to improve energy metabolism. The theory goes that they help you metabolise more energy, making you feel more energetic. Sadly, this is untrue. If you have a Vitamin B deficiency, you will likely have low energy, as a Vitamin B deficiency stops your body from breaking down food, leading to low energy levels and potentially anaemia. If you don't have a vitamin B deficiency - your body will filter the excess out into your urine, making this ingredient a waste of time. 

The Proprietary Blend - EnXtra

EnXtra is a proprietary extract of the Alpinia galanga plant, sometimes known as Blue Ginger. This plant is part of the ginger family and is used as a herb and spice in South Asian and Arabic cuisine and traditional medicine. Its use in traditional medicine has led to it being investigated for various properties - most pertinently as a stimulant. A study has shown that EnXtra can improve alertness and limit or prevent post-caffeine energy slumps when consumed with caffeine (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2017.1342576). The caveat? This study was funded by the company that sells EnXtra. This doesn't make it wrong, but it is context! This ingredient is harmless and potentially beneficial, although its purpose overlaps significantly with the well-researched and non-proprietary nootropics within the pre-workout. 
Conclusions / Discussion

This pre-workout does contain practical, well-studied and effective ingredients. However, it underdoses most of them, and the benefits of these ingredients come from long-term, daily usage - not 3 or 4 times a week before a workout. In addition, the performance-enhancing impact of these supplements is related to when you take them around the workout. With that in mind, let's learn how to use these ingredients to optimise your training. Firstly, creatine monohydrate and beta-alanine. Both of these supplements build up in the body over time - 5-10g of creatine and beta-alanine should be taken whenever is convenient throughout the day. 

The next group of supplements are time dependent. L-Citrulline needs to be taken 1-2 hours before the workout to maximise the benefits of using the supplement and needs to be dosed effectively to guarantee to achieve this. Ideally, you would take a 6-8g dose around 90 minutes before training. Around the same time, you should take the nootropics and Taurine, as these can take up to 2 hours to begin working. 

Moving closer to the workout is where you should start to take the stimulants. It would help if you consumed caffeine 15-30 minutes before starting the activity to give you the ergogenic benefits but prevent the caffeine crash from happening mid-workout. This outline of how much and when you should take these supplements shows the fallacy of cramming all these ingredients into one super pre-workout. If you took this pre-workout and began drinking it on the way to the gym, the only ingredient which would benefit you in the workout is the caffeine. Besides being underdosed, the other ingredients would only help you at the end of the workout or on the journey home. Overall, this is an important point. The ingredients in this pre-workout are fine if underdosed. But taking them in one go at the start of the workout likely inhibits the benefits you should feel from taking them. If you are determined to use these ingredients, follow the protocol outlined in this article and ensure you hit the effective dosage outlined. However, if that sounds like too much effort for minimal reward, take creatine monohydrate every morning in your water and have a cup of coffee before your workout. Save your money - hire a coach instead! Your performance, progress and achievements will be because of your hard work and dedication - not your supplements. 

Our 1 Week Trial is free again for this month - with which you will get - 

• 1 Week of Open Gym Membership.
• Access to 2 group sessions of your chosen discipline. 
• A fun time. 

​Get in touch here.