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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! Why We Do It.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.  Grassroots are Important.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!
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 The latest blog post is written by Coach Beá, and it's about a very important topic - Cutting for Competition. If you've been coached by me you will know that I feel quite strongly about cutting, or rather not cutting, for competition - particularly in your early competitions. I'll let Beá explain the rest. The ultimate debate of powerlifting To cut or not to cut? Most powerlifting coaches would tell you, likely as a straight answer, don’t. But then whenever we hear the success stories from the elites & champions, there’s always a mention of some sort of ‘making weight’, ‘water cut’, ‘fasting’ and other stuff. So why are we, coaches, so against the idea of cutting body weight when it always seems to be part of the winning tool kit. The explanation is that famous phrase ‘it depends.’ But rest assured, in this post I will answer this question.  Firstly, what do we mean by cutting/making weight? In powerlifting, in order to make sure the competition is fair for everyone, contestants are divided into age and bodyweight categories. We use Wilks, GL Points or Dots to calculate the score for each lifter based on their bodyweight, total and other factors, the highest score wins. The common understanding, unfortunately, is misleading as the majority of beginners still believe they have to aim for squeezing themselves into the lower body weight category and try to max out the highest total they can possibly hit there. Now...does this in any way, shape or form, resemble a ‘growth mindset’? For instance, a male lifter who weighs 87kg, which is in the middle between the two body weight categories, 83kg & 93kg. This athlete can make the decisions to lose 5kg and cut their strength alongside their size, increase stress levels or sit still and comfortable and take advantage of extra fuel and enhanced recovery rate and maybe even put on a kilo or two knowing it still will be absolutely fine for the comp. When people cut calories and body size that also means cutting potential gains: - gains for heavier lifts, recovery and overall, a heavier total on meet day. Novice lifters, who are still progressing very fast in technique and/or strength, should never worry about cutting weight for this reason. You might win the upcoming competition and take a gold medal home. But you also hindered your potential development by limiting the calorie intake and accumulating higher levels of fatigue (pushing your maxes with decreasing body weight). This means that whilst you got a gold at a smaller comp the one you qualified for will be harder now due to the aforementioned factors. Whilst you’re struggling, your competition is already back in training enjoying calorie surplus and just being an absolute unit. ‘If I wanna become like the elites, I must do what they do..’ Ask anyone of the current world champs, if they’ve done any of the ‘fancy stuff’ when they competed at their first comp? -No, they did not. Elite Powerlifters, the ones who've been in the sport for over 5 years, are not making progress as quickly anymore. They are pushing their biological limitations, and their recovery rate has slowed down over the years. They have to really push their limits and are likely to make a fraction of an increase in total compared to that of a beginner. They have to use every little trick left in the magic hat if they want to get a higher/better score and they’re provided with all the professional aid in order to get the required result.  Most recent example, Evie Corrigan (52kg- ), winner of Sheffield, the biggest IPF event of the history,. When Evie started the comp prep she was a 57kg- lifter but was comfortably sitting at 54kg, for her losing 2kg made little to no alteration to strength levels and it also meant a higher chance to get close to hit the highest % over the current world records. For her cut she has assistance from nutritional coach as well and her powerlifting coach. They went through every scenario and drew up every possibility for both 52kg & 57kg category just to make sure it’s indeed a worthy call to make with everything’s at stake. Social Media Social media plays a huge part in overwhelming and distracting rookie lifters from what priority to focus on when prepping for meet day. To clarify for the first 3-5 competitions the biggest goal for any lifter should be to make every attempt, get 9/9 and gain competition experience. What do we mean by ‘experience’ isn’t just being there, it means answering the following;
One dangerous aspect of cutting weight for competition is the impact of dehydration. Which will result in a lack of minerals as well as a lack of energy. This is due to the absence of sugars which the body would naturally need for survival. This puts the athlete in a really unsustainable condition if not monitored, or controlled adequately. The least people would experience who are dehydrated during comp is occasional cramping up but this can quickly turn into total passing out and other, even more severe long lasting damage to the metabolism and to the musculature. It’s crucial that whoever decides to undergo this kind of drastic act, create a sustainable - realistic plan and follow it through. There are different weigh in times for different body categories throughout the day, so not eating all morning for your 2pm weigh in would be a shot-in-the-foot move. This is a whole other science just like powerlifting itself and so it shouldn’t be taken lightly. There’s many useful resources for game day planning, which would also talk about the different approaches on how people can execute weight cuts and still enhance their comp performance. And most importantly, athletes, immediately after they successfully weighed in, are to hurry re-hydrating and re-fuelling within the allocated 2 hours prior to the lift off. Without a well laid out plan, you not only make your competition day harder than necessary, but you also risk potentially bombing out due to poor performance. So to answer this longing question: Cut or not to cut? It depends, are you… A, a beginner lifter who is still developing in physique and gaining experience in competing. B, a veteran lifter, who’s been competing for years and likely to be at their biological threshold for strength levels and would need a more dramatic approach to increase total? If you admit to being A, it’s great because the longer you stay in a rookie mindset, then the more potential you will still have to become a freaking beast. If you’re B, with your experience you are likely to have professional powerlifters in your social circle who are experienced enough, and can guide you on this topic on a qualified level. You'll see Beáta next competing in Olympic Weightlifting in July, but if you'd like to be coached by her then get in touch via the website or find her on instagram @prhousecoaching.
 16th April saw our first Club Competition here at the Barbell Club. It was a resounding success, and I genuinely couldn’t be happier with how it went. The quality of the lifting, the running of the day and even the overload of spectators made it all a brilliant day. The Club Competitions are largely a grassroots affair, allowing for beginner and novice powerlifters to get into the sport in an easy, low pressure environment where they don’t need things like a singlet, approved belt or approved wraps etc. With that in mind, the majority of lifters were first timers and we didn’t see many failed lifts, and there were zero bombs too. The majority of volunteers were also doing their roles for the first time too, and they learned very quickly. This was mainly down to how helpful people like Mark Henkelis, the North West’s tech extraordinaire, and Sheina, our very own Referee, were with the lifters and volunteers alike. Mark brought a whole bunch of equipment in order for us to run this competition as much like a sanctioned one as possible, and then spent the day managing the platform for us all - where, again, he was a massive help with our first time spotters and loaders. Sheina has reffed at many competitions now but she balanced being fair with being helpful and approachable to new lifters. So any red lights were accompanied by a thorough explanation of what was wrong and what needs to be worked on. All of this means that the spotters, loaders and lifters are now in a better place to go forward and compete at future competitions too. Our supporters, Red Bull, also supplied us with many, many cans of Red Bull across a variety of flavours. Meaning that everyone involved in the event from lifters, to volunteers to spectators were able to get a free drink of Red Bull. If you’re wanting to buy photos from the day, then please check out this link on James's website.  So, what’s next? Firstly, we have the Supertotal Push/Pull on it’s way. This is on the 7th May, which isn’t far away now, and it will include the events of the Clean and the Bench Press. The winner, for male and female, will be decided by a combination of Sinclair points on the Clean and Wilks points on the Bench Press. This competition will be the first time we’ve included Olympic Lifting in an event at this gym too, so we’re really excited to see how that works. We are accepting entrants to this until this Friday, 28th April, so if you do want to give it a go - use this link.  After that, we enquired about hosting another Club Competition in the Summer but it was suggested that we just do a Sanctioned one instead. So, we are hosting the August Barbell Fest on 27th August this year. This will be an IPF sanctioned event, meaning that you can qualify for next year’s British and English events (including the Juniors, Open and University options). We are looking at getting sponsors for this event too so that we can include things like (hopefully) cash prizes and such. You can find out more information on the event here. If you’re interested in sponsoring the event you can check out this form too.  We are also planning to re-launch our Beginner Classes in both Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting throughout May. If you, or anyone you know, are interested then please get in touch and we will give you more information!
You can email us here - coaching@dannyleeonline.co.uk Why You Should Consider Online Coaching -Online Coaching allows lifters from all over the world work with us, as well as lifters who may be local to our gym and even want to join. The main thing that links them is that they want a successful programme, excellent communication and consistent accountability - which you will get with all of our Online Coaching options. Whether you're in Liverpool, Los Angeles or Laos we can help you achieve your goals. We've had online lifters in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, America, as well as a number who literally train within feet of us in our gym.  The Options.We have a number of Online Coaching options here at the Barbell Club. While these options are mainly aimed at people wanting to train towards, or who are actively, competing in Powerlifting or Olympic Weightlifting, they can be adapted to your own goals. Our options differ in price but also differ in how much help you would like. If you're just starting out and want something that will get you going to test the waters, we have you covered. If you want a plan to follow with weekly accountability, we have that too. If you want something more hands-on then we can help you with that too. The Full Package.This one is mainly aimed at the competitive athletes. With this option you will get -
As you can see, practically everything is covered here. Whether that be programming, nutrition, support, accountability or specific Skype/Zoom session to plan out goals - it's all here. This option also comes with free competition day handling. You can also choose for just training and no nutrition in this option for a cheaper rate. This one is definitely the most hands-on for the lifter. If you want to leave no stone unturned on your way to the top of competitions, or even to just get stronger and feel better about yourself, then this is the one you should consider.  Assisted Programming.This is the most popular option of the Online Coaching currently. With this one you receive -
This one is a little less hands on, and relies mainly upon the training app, checking in and emails. A number of our successful powerlifters have benefited greatly from this option in the past, and still do today. While this one is a little less hands-on than the full package, you can still achieve your goals comfortably with this one.  Guided Programming.This one was built upon years of experimentation with powerlifting programmes, and it has gone on to provide to foundation for the University of Liverpool team programmes that James Kennedy and I have put in place for their Varsity winning powerlifting team this academic year. With this you get a 4 week plan, which initially will be a little bit general*, but as you go on and we get to know you better it will develop over time. *The numbers and programming are still unique to you, however. For this option you will receive -
 The Terminology.You might be wondering what some of the phrases used above actually mean. Here, we'll delve into it a little bit more. Programming.This refers to the creation, progression and maintenance of your training plan. While there is often a long term plan when you're given your training programme, real life can get in the way and cause it to pause, rewind or even fast forward. Weekly, or monthly, updates allow for you to progress at the best possible rate for you and your goals. Checking in.An absolutely crucial aspect to Online Coaching. Depending on the Online option you choose you will either do a formal check in once a week or once a month. This allows for your coach to assess the current programme and whether to progress, maintain or regress certain movements etc. Your coach needs to know how your week has gone - they are not a mind reader. And they certainly need to know when things have gone badly, or just not gone at all - it is in those cases where their expertise can be invaluable. So do not feel as though there's no point to checking in - there always is. Online Community.The online community we have created within the Barbell Club and within the individual coaches's groups is second to none. Our groups are all excellent eggs, meaning you'll have a lovely time meeting and sharing this journey with them. There are also a number of them with a lot of invaluable experience who can help you out in terms of accountability or support. These communities can be found in person, via the WhatsApp chats and the Facebook group. Updates.When you've communicated and checked in with your coach they will be in a far better position to move your training plan on to the next phase. Whether it be weekly or monthly you will have consistent updates so that you're not left to spin your wheels. Skype/Zoom Calls.These are a recent addition to our Online Coaching, and due to the added time they are restricted to the more robust coaching packages. These can be seen as a more in depth check in with your coach, where you can discuss your week's training, your progress, your goals and bring up any concerns you may have. Technique Analysis.The weekly Skype/Zoom calls also allow for a more in-depth technique analysis of any videos you may have gotten throughout your week of training. If you are on a different coaching option, one without the calls, you are still welcome to send the videos over for your coach to assess. Goal Setting.While goal setting as an avenue to explore in every coaching option, you can take advantage of the weekly Skype/Zoom calls in order to use these sessions specifically for goal settings. It always works out best for both coach and lifter to be on the same page regarding goals and future plans. Nutrition.Nutrition is an optional addition to our Online Coaching options. A focus on the fuel you use for training, as well as your relationship with it, can take your training and competitive goals to the next level. The nutrition operates on a similar level to the coaching, in that you will work out a plan with your coach - whether that be macros, habit based or a mixture of the two - and then send the coach a weekly check in. The coach will then use this information to guide you towards your goals. 
We're back with another excellent blog post from James Kennedy.
Powerlifters typically spend 60-80% of their training volume performing the three power lifts - squat, bench, and deadlift, or their close variants. Training with a focus on the big 3 allows lifters to develop the necessary skill and hypertrophy to maximise performance in the sport of powerlifting. Taking a highly focused approach to training increases the risk of wear and tear injuries and muscular imbalances as the same movements are performed repetitively under load. Accessory work is essential in any good training plan, to help address muscular imbalances and provide additional volume for the key muscles used in the power lifts, whilst minimising the wear and tear on the body. This article outlines the 5 most important accessory exercises powerlifters should be doing to remain injury-free and build a balanced physique.
1. Single-Arm Dumbell Row For the single-arm dumbbell row, start by placing one hand and one knee on a bench. Grab a dumbbell in one hand and brace yourself against the bench with the other hand. Slowly bring the dumbbell up to your chest, pausing at the top. Lower the weight under control until your arm is straight. 2. Face Pulls Face pulls can be done using either a cable machine with a rope attachment or a resistance band around an upright. Set the cable machine or resistance band to just above your eye level. Begin by standing square to the machine, with your feet around shoulder-width apart, holding the rope or band with an overhand grip. Pull the cables towards your face, leading with your thumbs. At the end of the movement, your traps should be fully contracted and your elbows should be bent at 90 degrees. Slowly return to the start position. 3. Pull-ups: All variations Pull-ups are the final upper back exercise that all powerlifters should be doing - even the super heavyweights! If you think you’re too heavy to do pull-ups, here’s a video of world champion strongman Martins Licis doing pull-ups at 340lbs body weight (154kg!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWEAPsELAYU To start, grab a pull-up bar with a pronated grip, with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and set your back by retracting your scapula to open up the chest. Pull yourself up to the bar until your chin is above the bar. If you can’t perform multiple reps, use a resistance band to allow you to perform a movement, strengthening your lats, traps, and grip. Slowly reduce the band resistance until you’re able to do reps at bodyweight. If you find pull-ups easy, add extra weight using a weight belt to keep progressing and driving upper back hypertrophy. 4. Dumbell Hammer Curls Powerlifters often complain of elbow pain during squats and benchpress. Whilst there is a multitude of reasons this occurs, often relatively weak forearms and biceps are the cause. These muscles help stabilize the elbow joint and are not the primary movements in any of the big 3 power lifts. Dumbbell hammer curls are a great exercise to address these weaknesses. Start by holding a pair of dumbbells with your palms facing in, resting the end of the dumbbells on the front of your legs. This prevents you from using your hips to initiate the movement and keeps the form strict. Whilst keeping your elbow still, curl the weight up before slowly lowering the weight to maintain tension in the biceps and forearms. 5. Bulgarian Split Squats Unilateral leg work is incredibly beneficial for powerlifters. It helps improve joint stability, balance, and mobility as well as attacking muscle imbalances. The Bulgarian split squat is the king of unilateral leg work. The Bulgarian split squat targets the quads and glutes; key muscles that are used in the squat, but can be performed without loading the spine. It also requires a higher degree of balance and knee and ankle stability than the squat. Finally, at the bottom position of the Bulgarian split squat the hip flexor is stretched. To perform the Bulgarian split squat, place your rear foot on a bench and step forward with the other foot. You should step forward far enough so that you can hit depth (i.e. below parallel) without the front foot coming off the floor. Brace your core and slowly lower yourself into the hole whilst bending the front knee. The hips should not move - the torso should remain neutral with the front foot flat on the ground. Drive yourself back up out of the hole and stand back up. This exercise can be done just with bodyweight and then progressed to include dumbbells, weighted vests, or even barbells. Summary Accessory work for powerlifting should focus on developing muscles that the big 3 power lifts fail to develop; primarily the muscles which stabilize the hips, knees, shoulders, and elbows. These 5 exercises target these typically underdeveloped muscles and will help develop a balanced physique whilst keeping your joints healthy. Incorporate these 5 exercises as the basis of your accessory work and your powerlifting training will benefit massively! The Mailing List.
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Check that out here. Welcome back to the blog, this week we're focusing on the how and the why behind us getting stronger. And, as usual it's a piece by James Kennedy, fresh off the back of the University of Liverpool's win at Liverpool Varsity this year.  For competitive strength sports athletes, the aim of the game is to get as strong as possible. A key question then is, how and why do we get stronger? This question is essential to understand; without understanding this it is difficult to understand what we need to do in training and why it will work. There are a large number of factors which influence strength output for a given muscle group, from innate physical characteristics (such as limb length or muscle insertion sites) to adaptive characteristics (neural adaptations to force output and skill with lifting). These factors can change over time as well. New lifters tend to make rapid strength gains due to a combination of neural adaptations and skill development; the so-called noob gains. However, once you have passed through this phase (although this can last for a long time in some lucky people) there is a very strong relationship between muscular hypertrophy (muscle growth) and strength gains. To understand why this occurs, let's first delve into what’s happening in the muscle during a contraction to produce force. Muscles can be broken down into a hierarchy of structures. The base of the hierarchy is two proteins - actin and myosin - which interact during muscle contractions. The myosin converts chemical energy released from amino triphosphate (ATP) into mechanical energy which pulls the actin filaments along the myosin filaments, causing muscle contractions. Thousands of actin and myosin proteins are found within a single sarcomere; a collection of sarcomeres forms a muscle fibre and a muscle is formed of thousands of muscle fibres. The microscopic level contraction - relaxation cycles of actin and myosin leads to the macroscopic level muscular contractions. The muscles are attached to the skeleton by tendons, and as they contract the skeleton moves. Muscles generally attach to the skeleton at two points - the origin and insertion. The origin of a muscle is the attachment site which doesn’t move during contraction. The insertion of a muscle is the attachment site which does move during contraction. Taking a bicep as an example; when you perform a bicep curl, the bicep contracts. This results in the forearm moving around the elbow joint, where the bicep muscle inserts. The shoulder remains still, which is where the bicep muscle originates. Depending on the muscle group and type of joint they insert into - muscle fibres run at different angles. This angle, known as the pennation angle, controls the number of sarcomeres which can contribute to a given contraction. As pennation angle increases a greater number of sarcomeres can contribute to a given contraction - therefore a muscle with a larger pennation angle will be stronger than a muscle with a smaller pennation angle. Taking a line perpendicular to the pennation angle across the largest part of a muscle allows us to calculate the muscle's physiological cross-sectional area. Muscle cross-sectional area is directly proportional to the amount of force which can be produced by a muscle. Why does this matter for lifters? You can’t change the pennation angle - the angle at which muscle fibres insert into joints. However, you can increase the number of muscle fibres you have. The more muscle fibres you have, the larger your muscle cross-sectional area is and the greater force you can produce with that muscle. So how do we increase the number of muscle fibres? Resistance training! So, if you want to get stronger consistently over an extended period, you will need to increase the amount of muscle mass you have. As a strength athlete, you will also want to increase the amount of force your muscle can produce - so you have a larger muscle with more muscle fibres and each muscle fibre can produce more force. Training style can influence this; it is possible to have muscular hypertrophy and have fewer strength gains due to the muscle producing less force relative to the muscle size. Muscle force production is measured using Normalised Muscle Force (NMF); studies have mostly shown that it increases due to strength training. However, it does not increase the same for all groups. Comparisons between the amount of NMF produced by weightlifters' triceps, who train them primarily with a low rep, high weight movements like the jerk and overhead press, and bodybuilders, who trained triceps primarily with a higher rep, low weight movements, found that the weightlifters produced more force per unit area of muscle than the bodybuilders. Translating that into plain English; per unit of tricep muscle mass, weightlifters were able to generate more force than bodybuilders. This is likely due to the nature of the training differences between the groups. Note, that NMF is independent of muscle size - it is just related to the strength of the muscle. Ideally, we would like to be able to get a bigger muscle which could produce the same amount of force per unit area - growing both NMF and the number of muscle fibres. To increase the number of muscular fibres and overall muscle size, there are two broad strategies - focussing on high reps with lower intensities or training with higher loads and slightly lower rep ranges. As strength athletes, we want to increase both the number of muscle fibres we have and the amount of force we can produce per unit area of the muscle, the NMF. Consequently, hypertrophy-based training for strength athletes should be focused in the range of 70-85% of one-rep max, aiming to get 20-35 reps per exercise. This would lead to some classical ‘power building’ rep ranges such as 3x10, 4x8 or 5x5. The weights used should also increase over time; progressive overload is essential for driving hypertrophy. The simplest way to achieve progressive overload is to just add a small amount of weight to each workout. Alternatively, you can keep the weight the same, but just increase the number of reps per set. Combined with eating a diet high in protein this will lead to muscular hypertrophy. As larger muscles have the potential to be stronger muscles, over time progressively overloading and growing muscles will make you stronger. Further, training in a higher intensity style will help you increase the amount of force your muscles are capable of producing per unit area, increasing the carryover from muscular hypertrophy to strength sports. Summary Whilst multiple factors influence strength beyond muscle size and force production, there aren’t a huge amount of things you can do about them. The innate physical characteristics, such as muscle insertion sites, limb length, and the angle of insertion of the muscle, are fundamentally unchangeable. New lifters typically make very quick gains in strength without experiencing a large amount of muscular hypertrophy due to neural adaptations and rapid skill acquisition and development. However, once this phase is over and lifters move from beginners to intermediate-advanced trainees, muscular hypertrophy is much more important to strength gains. Fundamentally, strength athletes should be attempting to grow as much muscle as possible to produce the most muscular force possible and lift the most possible weight. The training style is also important - training in lower rep ranges with higher intensities is essential to maximising the amount of force muscle can produce. Subsequently, strength athletes should be training in the 70-85% of one-rep max, with 20-35 reps per workout. Chasing muscular hypertrophy whilst lifting heavy weights will help you keep progressing in your strength sports career. A bigger muscle has more muscle fibres, which can be trained to contract harder, allowing you to lift more weight and break more PBs. Fundamentally, the more muscle you have the more weight you should be able to lift and the stronger you will be!  Have you checked out the latest YouTube video - it's getting a lot of views at the moment. You can see it here.  Also, an update here too. The page will be updated to reflect the changes!
Continuing on with our training focused blogs recently, we have this one on periodisation. If you're not sure what it is, or ever wondered what your coach means when they talk about different blocks then this will surely clear that up for you a bit. As is most often the case, this one is written by James Kennedy.  Periodisation: What is it and how does it work? When you begin working with a powerlifting, strongman or weightlifting coach, you will probably hear them talk about the training plan or training blocks. Hopefully, your plan will be different to other people's plans, specific to your needs and goals. Why? And what does it all mean? The variations in training plans between athletes will depend on numerous factors: their training goals, their training history, their experience and their distance from competition. Relying on all these factors, a coach will select a periodisation strategy. In this article, we will outline three common periodisation strategies used in strength sports - linear periodisation, block periodisation and undulating periodisation. First though, some definitions. When we talk about periodisation, we are simply referring to how training is organised. Within the periodisation framework, training is broken down into the macrocycle, mesocycle and microcycle. The macrocycle refers to big picture training cycles - for example, if you were planning to compete in 6 months, your big picture training macrocycle would be the training you do between now and the competition. Within that 6-month macrocycle, your training will probably be broken down into smaller chunks of 4-6 weeks. This is the mesocycle. Finally, the mesocycle itself would be broken down into shorter periods - usually a week of training, known as a microcycle. Obviously, within this structure there is a considerable amount of variation and different approaches, and, in reality, good programming usually uses some aspects from a variety of periodisation approaches. Within this article, we will outline three common types of periodisation - linear, undulating and conjugate - and how they may be combined to build a complete training programme through a series of macro-cycles. Overview of different types of periodisation - Linear, Undulating, Conjugate Firstly, Linear Periodisation. Linear periodisation is the simplest form of periodisation - as the name applies it involves a linear approach to changing training variables from session to session. This approach is commonly used with beginners - for example, the Starting Strength programme popularised by Mark Rippetoe. This approach utilises no changes in exercise from session to session, with the exercises progressively overloaded each session. This can be done by either increasing the weight on the bar - for example, adding 2.5kg to the bar - or by adding more reps - for example doing 5 reps in session 1, 6 in week session 2 and so on. This contrasts with an undulating periodisation approach. Within undulating periodisation, exercises are kept the same, however volume (sets and reps) and intensity (percentage on the bar). So, an undulating approach might have you squatting three days a week, working in a variety of rep ranges: * Day 1 - 5 x 5 x 75% * Day 2 - 4 x 3 x 80% * Day 3 - 4 x 2 x 88% The final type of periodisation is conjugate periodisation. Conjugate periodisation revolves around changing exercise selection every microcycle but hitting the same sets and reps at each exercise. Within a conjugate approach, intensity is kept the same - but the actual weight will change depending on the exercise used. A conjugate approach might look something like this: * microcycle 1 - front squats * microcycle 2 - high bar squats * microcycle 3 - low bar squats Now, often people talk about these approaches as if they are mutually exclusive. However, most training programmes utilise all three approaches over varying time scales. A typical microcycle may have you squatting two to three times a week. However, if you are doing *different* squat variations each workout an undulating periodisation approach is being used from session to session. If you then increase the weight used from micro-cycle to micro-cycle then linear periodisation is being used on a micro-cycle scale. If every mesocycle you rotate exercises to address specific weak points and satisfy the principle of variation, then conjugate periodisation is being used on a mesocycle level. This type of approach - undulating periodisation from session to session, linear progression between weeks (to satisfy the principle of progressive overload (article link here)) and conjugate periodisation between macro-cycles - is inherent to structuring a good training programme. This overview of periodisation strategies has focused so far on different ways to organise training on the micro to macro-cycle scale. These macro-cycles are then organised and planned out with regard to training goals and the yearly training plan. Take an A/BPU powerlifter as an example. In January, they may sit down with their coach and plan out how to win world championships in September, in the -100kg weight class. To do this, they would need to qualify for the British Championship, then place in the top 2 at the British Championships in June to qualify for world championships in September. When planning out the year, the lifter needs to hit the qualifying total for British Championships and select a competition in March - three months away. For this athlete, we can plan out three distinct macro-cycles within the year - January to competition 1, competition 1 to competition 2, and finally competition 2 to competition 3. Within these macro-cycles, three mesocycles could be planned to enable the lifter to hit their goals on the platform. Across these mesocycles, multiple periodisation techniques will be utilised on the session to session and microcycle to microcycle time frame. However, what would we do in each mesocycle? Broadly, the mesocycles would fit into one of three phases, accumulation, transmutation and realisation. In mesocycle one, the aim would be to increase the ability of the athlete to train by improving their specific conditioning for the sport of powerlifting. This phase would focus on higher volume and lower intensity - for example, 4 to 6 sets of 5-8 reps at 60-75% of your one rep max. The second mesocycle - the transmutation phase - is where we utilise the increased work capacity and new muscle to build increased strength. Within this mesocycle, the intensity will increase and volume will decrease, with typical volumes of 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps of 75-85% RM. The final phase would be the realisation phase, where the lifter exposes their body to heavier weights to maximally express the new strength within the completion. This mesocycle would typically be shorter than the proceeding mesocycles and involve much higher intensities but lower volumes, with 1-3 sets of 1-3 reps at 85-95% RM. This basic three mesocycle plan is typically how powerlifters move through a competition macro-cycle: beginning with higher volume and lower intensity mesocycles and slowly decreasing volume as intensity increases to peak and win on the platform. Within the competition macro-cycle, the mesocycles will display elements of undulating, conjugate and linear periodisation to make sure the athlete is progressively overloaded and prepared for competition. Within this article, we have outlined the basics of periodisation (I’m not exaggerating when I say there are hundreds of books on this subject). How specifically periodisation is used will depend on the athlete and their short, medium and long-term goals. Hopefully, this article will have given you enough information to understand what’s in your programme and more importantly, why! For more on training go ahead and check out the rest of our blog. Or even get in touch with one of our many highly qualified coaches.
We also still have a deal on for the rest of February. Sign up for Grace's Tuesday session, or the evening Olympic Weightlifting Sessions and get your first month's membership free. You just need to sign up by the 28th. More information on February deals here. Our first article of 2022 focuses upon what you should expect to happen when you begin training. This is especially useful if you're a beginner to training powerlifting, or just training in general. As is often the case, this article is brought to you by James Kennedy. James has been the main writer for my website for a few months now but as of January of this year he is now also Assistant Coach. So, you may see him working for me in an online capacity, and helping me out at competitions when I'm over run with clients.  New Year, New You. Exercising more, losing weight, and learning a new skill or hobby are some of the most common New Year’s resolutions people commit to at the start of the year. Consequently, January is the month with the most new gym membership sales - around 11% of all new memberships start in January. Sadly, half of new gym members quit within 6 months. Why? The reasons people give for quitting the gyms are usually similar. People feel as though they aren’t making progress and aren’t seeing the results they deserve, are worried about getting injured or have gotten injured or don’t enjoy going to the gym because they feel judged, uncomfortable or anxious. This article explores how to get started at the gym, what to expect and how to set yourself up for long term success! Making the decision to join the gym and start training is exciting and scary. The best thing you can do on day one is to find a good coach who can help simplify the process for you (some good ones (Danny Lee Link, Lauren May Drake link). For me, getting a coach was the best decision I’ve ever made. I’d been training seriously for around 2 years, and by chance rather than design, had made some solid progress and wanted to give powerlifting a go. I found a powerlifting coach and joined a powerlifting gym. I made more progress in the following 6 months than I had made since I had started training. The coach, the group training environment and the entire culture of the gym made training fun and helped me achieve new personal bests. Whilst it may seem expensive to get a coach, for me it was effectively outsourcing of a lot of my anxiety. Even after 2 years of training and compulsively reading everything I could find about lifting weights, I would second guess every exercise in a plan I wrote, changing plans and targets every few months because I was convinced I was doing something wrong. Once I started paying for a coach, I don't have to think about what exercises, what reps or what weights to use. My coach did that for me. It was only after getting a coach I realised how much mental energy I was wasting by trying to coach myself. Once you have found a coach a lot of the concerns about joining a gym are handled. You’ll make better progress, be taught how to perform the lifts properly and know exactly what you need to do every time you go to the gym. Having a coach will also help create a positive feedback loop. The most important part of your first day at the gym is that you enjoy it and you want to come back for a second workout. Working out is inherently rewarding - working out releases endorphins, dopamine and serotonin - which are hormones which are associated with happiness. Exercise is hard but it does feel good. When you go to the gym for the first time, don’t go mad and try to do every exercise and lift every weight in the gym. Have a plan, stick to weights you can safely perform and you’ll feel great when you leave the gym on day 1 and eager to come back for day 2!! What if you feel judged? When you’re working out in a new gym, it’s common to feel as if you are being judged. In reality, you probably aren’t. Every single person who is in the gym was once a noob too - even the super jacked powerlifter with the beard, 150kg bench, and punisher tattoos (he’s called Dennis and is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet). They all had to walk into a gym for the first time and start at the beginning - the same place you are. Most of the time, people at the gym want to get in, get the work done and get out of there. They don’t care what you’re doing and if they are looking at you it’s more likely that they’re thinking ‘way to go’ - the gym is one of the most supportive places I’ve ever been, and generally, the stronger someone is the more supportive they tend to be. Gym Etiquette Whilst gyms are a supportive and friendly place, there is a definite list of rules and etiquette that you should follow to make sure your safe, considerate and not annoying the hell out of other gym members. 1. No curling in the squat rack!!! Whilst this may seem like a bit of a gym-bro joke - it’s important to not use equipment incorrectly, and the squat rack is not the place for curls. 2. Share the equipment This rule may be more relevant post-pandemic, but don’t hog equipment and stop other people from doing their workout. Let them work in and help with unloading and reloading the bar. It helps make the gym a friendlier, more pleasant place to train for everyone. 3. Tidy up your weights Once you’re done using the equipment, clean it up. Strip the bar, put the plates back away and put any dumbbells you have been using away. This is important for several reasons. Firstly, if you don’t tidy your kit away other people won’t know that you’re done using it. Secondly, it’s just rude to expect other people to tidy up after you. 4. Don’t be that guy Don’t be a creep. Don’t go over to a woman you don’t know mid-workout and disturb her, especially if she’s wearing headphones. Don’t mansplain and don’t try to disturb her mid-workout, especially if she’s wearing headphones. People are at the gym to workout - don’t make it awkward or uncomfortable for anyone else to do that. No stupid questions 1. What are sets and reps? A rep is performing an exercise once, for example a push-up. A set is a collection of repetitions. For example, a workout plan might call for 3 sets of 10 repetitions (usually written as 3x10). This means you do ten reps of the exercise, three times. If you are ever confused about what you’re meant to do - ask your coach! There are no stupid questions! 2. How long should I rest for? Rest periods are debated. Some people argue for very long periods - over 3 minutes, whilst others argue for closer to 45 seconds . To some extent, this varies based on what your aims are, but for most people, most of the time around 90s is ideal. 3. What weight should I start with? A weight which is light enough for you to perform the exercise correctly, without injuring yourself. The exact number will vary depending on your previous exercise history and size. Using a coach will help take the guess work out of this process - but start light! Learn the technique, get used to training and add weight slowly as you get stronger. Hopefully, you’ll find this article helpful and it will help you commit to training and develop it into a habit that will change your life!  James even has an email you can get in touch with him via - jlk@dannyleeonline.co.uk
So, if you want to talk to him about Online Coaching, or even about stuff he's written, give him a message. The beginner series from James Kennedy continues with some deadlift accessories. Cliff Notes - Word count - 1350 Time to read - 4.5 minutes. Main Points - Deadlift variations and strengthening the legs and back are your most effective way to improve your deadlift.  The deadlift is fundamentally a simple lift - accessory work for the deadlift is also simple. The primary muscles involved in the deadlift are the hamstrings and the muscles of the back, primarily the lats. To improve the deadlift it is important to drive hypertrophy in these muscle groups. The deadlift is usually the lift which allows you to lift the most weight and is therefore the most taxing on the central nervous system. The accessory work for the deadlift can also be used to address grip strength issues.
For improving hypertrophy in the muscles involved in the deadlift, the best option is for some close variation on the deadlift that allows you to work the muscles involved from a similar position than the standard deadlift. These include, but are not limited to, paused deadlifts, block or rack pulls, deficit deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts and stiff legged deadlifts. Alongside these close variations of the deadlift there are more general compound exercises which will help drive hypertrophy in the back muscles - primarily bent over row and the pendlay row. Isolation exercises are also useful for deadlift accessory work - with glute ham raises, hamstring curls and lat pull downs all useful exercises. Within this article we will go through the main deadlift variations, compound and isolation exercises that form the basis of deadlift accessory work. The deadlift variations all help address specific technical and strength related issues in the deadlift. Paused deadlifts are deadlifts with pauses at some point in the lift - usually just off the floor or at knee height. The paused deadlift is a great accessory pulling exercise for beginners to correct balance issues and stay in the right position throughout the lift. This is especially valuable for people who are transitioning from conventional to sumo deadlifts -a pause just off the floor stops you shooting your hips up and just performing a wide stance, conventional deadlift. Performing a paused variation of a lift will usually reduce the amount of weight you can use. Block pulls or block deadlifts are a deadlift performed with the plates elevated on blocks or mats 2-8 inches of the floor. This shortens the range of motion and allows you to lift more weight. This can be used in two ways - it can be done for low reps and supra maximal loads or for high reps with sub maximal loads. Performing block pulls for triples would allow you to get used to handling weights above your deadlift one rep max which can remove some of the psychological hang ups around performing heavy deadlifts, as well as training your muscles and CNS to handle heavy weights. Alternatively, and more likely with Danny Lee’s coaching, you can also perform block pulls for high reps. This allows you to perform high reps at heavier loads, than you usually would, driving hypertrophy in the hamstrings and back. Personally, I have found this a very effective training technique, building up to 3x10 @ 200kg block pulls whilst having a competition best of 220kg. When I next competed I hit a 25kg deadlift PR - block pulls were a great exercise for me. Deficit deadlifts are the opposite of block pulls as they increase the range of motion. To perform a deficit deadlift you elevate your feet on a plate or box with the deadlift bar on the floor. This increases the range of motion, which can be helpful for people who are weak off the floor and help develop the hamstring muscles as they are working through a greater range of motion. The snatch grip deadlift is another variation which increases the range of motion through which you lift the weight. To perform a snatch grip deadlift you take a wider grip - similar to the grip taken by olympic weightlifters whilst performing a snatch - usually with your hands outside the rings on the bar. This increases the range of motion at both the bottom and top of the deadlift as the bar locks out higher, closer to your hips making it a great accessory exercise for people who are weak off the floor and at lockout. When you are performing a snatch grip deadlift, it is helpful to use lifting straps. As you’re taking a wide grip on the bar, it can be difficult to hold the bar unless you’re using a hook grip, which becomes uncomfortable when you’re using high reps. The Romanian Deadlift (RDL) and Stiff-legged deadlifts are both great variations for targeting the hamstring specifically without taxing the back. Romanian deadlifts are primarily a hip hinge movement from the top down. To begin a RDL you either perform a normal deadlift from the floor before the first rep or set the bar in a rack around hip height, picking it up and stepping forward. Once you are stood up with the bar in your hands, arch your back and slightly bend your knees. Then hinge forward at the hips until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings and stand back up. The stiff-legged deadlift variation are similar to the RDL. You begin with the bar on the floor and perform a deadlift with your knees slightly unlocked and perform the rep by just hinging at the hips. This variation requires you to have a greater degree of hip mobility than the Romanian Deadlift. The final deadlift variation is the single leg deadlift. Single-leg work is typically unpopular with powerlifters; they’re hard and you have to use low weights. However, single leg deadlifts are a great exercise for stretching and strengthening the hip muscles, primarily the abductors and external rotators which can help keep the hips healthy - increasing longevity and keeping you feeling good for your heavy squats and deadlifts. Outside of deadlift variations, there are a couple of good accessory compound and isolation exercises which help develop the muscles used in the deadlift. For the hamstrings, glute ham raises, nordic curls, leg curls and single leg curls are useful for developing hamstring hypertrophy. To perform these exercises requires some equipment - either a glute ham raise or leg curl machine. These exercises can be done for high reps, 10-20 reps, for multiple sets. For hip and glute hypertrophy the best exercises are squats, deadlifts and there close variations. Alongside these exercises, hip thrusts are a great additional exercise. To perform these, rest with your back against a bench with a barbell across your hips. Thrust up with your hips and drive the barbell towards the ceiling and contract your hips when you reach lockout. By targeting the hips and glutes, you will drastically improve your lockout strength for the deadlift. The final set of accessory exercises for the deadlifts are barbell rows and their variations; the barbell row, the underhand row and the penally row. These exercises all target the muscles of the back and help keep the shoulders healthy for bench press. Generally speaking, deadlifts are the best exercise for developing the back muscles but rows are a great option to help develop the lats and deltoids. Rows - and their variations - should be an accessory work in your program to help protect the shoulder from heavy pressing work, but they’re a great exercise for developing back strength for the deadlift. The deadlift is an exercise where the accessory work is most similar to the main lift. For most lifters, issues within the deadlift are either technical - i.e. the hips raising too fast - or weakness at a specific position within the lift - e.g. at lockout. Deadlift accessory work therefore attempts to address these issues by replicating the movement closely with subtle variations to target these weaknesses. The muscles involved in the deadlift: the hamstrings, glutes and lats; all receive significant hypertrophic stimulus from the deadlift and its variations. Additional isolation work to target these muscle groups will help improve the deadlift by making the muscles involved bigger and stronger - with hamstring curls, glute bridges and rows all excellent choices. Combining your main deadlift with a well targeted accessory variation to address weakness with some hamstring and back isolation work to drive hypertrophy will have you pulling a PR in no time! Here we are - back again with The Beginner Series. Today we're looking at the accessories for the bench press. James Kennedy has written this one and has even included a sample routine to try. Give it a look below. Cliff Notes - Read Time - 3.5 minutes. Word Count - 1050. Main Points - You'll struggle with bench in certain positions - read below to figure out where. Certain muscles contribute massively to bench press - see how to improve them individually, and as part of a larger unit.  Continuing our series on the big three power lifts, in this article we will outline accessory work for the bench press. As discussed in the article on accessory work for the squat, the purpose of accessory work is to address imbalances developed during the primary lift, address weak points and develop hypertrophy in the muscles used during the major lift. The main muscles used within the bench press are the pectorals, deltoids and the triceps. There is also a need, for shoulder health and longevity, to perform upper back work. The bench press puts a lot of strain on the shoulder joint within one plane - the horizontal push. This leads to the development of the muscles at the front of the shoulder but not the back; accessory work for the bench press should involve upper back work to address this imbalance. Furthermore, powerlifting puts a lot of strain on the shoulder joint. The low bar squat and bench press requires a reasonable degree of shoulder mobility and health - most powerlifters reading this will have had shoulder pain, discomfort or injury at some point. It is essential to use accessory work to address this, strengthen the shoulder muscles and reduce the injury risk. Accessory work for the bench press can be split into two groups on this basis - pressing accessories and shoulder health accessories. Pressing accessory exercises are exercises targeting the pressing muscles - pectorals, deltoids and triceps. These exercises range from compound exercises - e.g. overhead press - to isolation exercises - e.g. tricep extensions. Shoulder health accessory work is primarily focused on improving the strength of the shoulder joint and addressing the muscular imbalances caused by pressing. Examples of this kind of exercise include rear lateral raises or dumbbell rows. People tend to fail the bench press in two positions - off the chest or at lockout. Failing off the chest indicates that the pressing muscles need to get stronger, whereas failing at lockout indicates relatively weak triceps. The first set of accessory exercises will be pressing exercises, relatively similar to the bench press, aimed at improving general pushing strength. The second set of pressing accessories will be aimed at improving strength at lockout and will primarily target the triceps. The spoto press may look like you're just cheating on reps - however if you are doing it correctly it will massively improve both your bench technique and strength. The spoto press was popularised by legendary powerlifter, Eric Spoto, who set multiple bench press world records including a 327.5kg raw bench press. He credits the spoto press with developing the strength of his chest at the bottom of the lift. To perform the spoto press, pause the bar an inch or two above the chest instead of touching the bar to the press. This forces you to lower the bar under control and builds ‘reversal strength’ within the pectoral muscles as you cannot sink the bar into your chest and ‘heave’ the bar back up. Incline press and shoulder press, with barbells or dumbbells, both target the deltoids, pectorals and the triceps. By performing the bench press on an inclined surface, the shoulders are targeted to a greater degree. The shoulder press and it’s variations primarily helps develop shoulder strength but it will also develop tricep and pectoral strength. For powerlifters, the focus should almost always be on the bench press, relegating overhead pressing to accessory lifts. For general physique or strongmen athletes a more balanced approach to pressing would make more sense, with alternation between bench press and shoulder press as the primary pressing movement or even relegating the bench press to an accessory movement for strongman athletes. The key compound exercises used to address triceps weaknesses are the narrow or close grip bench press. This is similar to a normal bench press, except instead of taking as wide of grip as possible, your grip should be narrower than shoulder width. This forces the triceps to do more work, improving their strength and driving hypertrophy. Another good option, which can be done for high reps, are dips. These can either be done using a bench - bench dips - or using dip bars. Performing high rep sets of tricep dips is a great way of developing tricep hypertrophy. Alongside these major lifts to develop pectoral, deltoid and tricep hypertrophy, accessory work to improve shoulder health and muscular imbalances is also needed. These exercises should be added to any routine that involves heavy pressing to balance out the muscular development of the shoulder. To begin with, keep it simple - pull-ups and dumbbell rows will help develop your traps, delta and lats. Pull ups in particular are a great exercise for shoulder health as they also open out the chest and stretch the pectoral muscles. If you can’t do a pull-up do not be afraid (or too proud) to use a resistance band to start with. Alongside pull ups and dumbbell rows, there are three varieties of raises that can be performed to develop different, hard to isolate muscles of the deltoids. The front raise targets the posterior deltoids, lateral raises the medial deltoids and rear deltoid raises target the posterior deltoids. Utilising these exercises allows you to build up all the muscles of the shoulder, improving shoulder health, stability and strength. If you're unsure what exactly you need to work on for your bench press or you’re just starting out and need to develop general pressing strength and upper body hypertrophy, the training split outlined below would be suitable for you. To perform this plan, you should be doing two pressing workouts in a microcycle (a microcycle is the shortest unit of training time within a longer, structured training cycle - usually a week). Day 1 Bench Press 3x5 @ 75-85% RM Incline Press 3x8-12 @ 65-75% RM Dips 3x10 Pull-ups 3x6-10 Lateral Raises 2x15 Day 2 Spoto Press 3x5 @ 75-85% RM Shoulder Press 3x5 @ 75-85% RM Dumbell Rows 3x8-12 Tricep Pushdowns 3x15-20 Dumbell Flys 3x10-12 Face Pulls 3x8 Rear delt raise 2x15 By performing the following split you’ll be developing the technical skills to dominate the bench press - the most technical of the powerlifts - and the hypertrophy necessary to continue progression. In addition to the hypertrophy in your pecs, delts and triceps, this plan will enable you to build up the shoulder strength you need to continue powerlifting and pressing impressive weights!  Online Coaching with loads of bonuses - sign up for January by clicking on the link above! |
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