Blog

Written by Ivy Knight We left off with you being all weighed in! It’s the night before the meet. What should you be doing? Your priorities are to rest and prepare.  Rest is super important!  Meet day is taxing on the body and the mind. The adrenaline and the sensory...

Written by Adelina Canolli The squat. It's the opener for a powerlifting meet and one of the greatest exercise to improve strength and build muscle.  Naturally, we overthink the depth position in a squat and today I want to break down what to do to improve your depth so it's...

Written by: Ivy Knight, USPA National Referee You signed up for the meet, you trained and prepped, and you honed in on your technique. You did the work and now it’s the day before your meet. It’s 9 am and you walk into the location. You line up with a...

When you first start lifting, it’s all new and exciting. And then there’s this thing called newbie gains! Your numbers are just going up and up but then something happens. Something changes and sometimes it feels like progress is crawling at a snail's pace. But fear not, we can help...

Don't lie... when you're standing in the mirror flexing, you take a peak over shoulder at your upper back and admire a little. Beyond that, a strong upper back is also necessary for your big 3 lifts! So when you're focusing on your upper back don't forget to utilize these...

A deadlift isn’t successful until it’s done! But the lockout might be the hardest part. If you’re one of the many lifters trying to improve their lockout, here are 5 things you should look into: Strengthen Your Upper Back: A strong upper back is essential for a solid lockout. Focus...

Written by Ivy Knight In a world that often bombards us with unrealistic expectations and unattainable standards, it's no wonder that many of us find ourselves grappling with feelings of inadequacy. Social media would have us believe that in order to be considered strong we have to be lifting certain...

Written by: Ashley Pollard Our shoulder position in the deadlift tends to do dictate where our hips are. If your hips are off, everything else will be too. If our shoulders are too far in front of the bar, the bar will get away from us, our knees will shift...

Written by Ashley Pollard Lifting belts are one of those tools that can be useful but lifters often wonder when they should start utilizing one. The truth is, it depends! If you're wondering if you should try a belt, you probably should however here are some things to keep in...

Written by: Ashley Pollard We all love to squat and deadlift. We also all know that in order to do them effectively we need to employ our core. But do we all know if squatting and deadlifting is enough core work? The good news: Squats and deadlifts are a multi-multi joint...

Written by Ashley Pollard __ If you use RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) during training, chances are you have or will overshoot at some point. While it's easy to get ahead of yourself at times, the problem with overshooting is that it wrecks your training momentum, creates unnecessary fatigue, strengthens...

Written by Ivy Knight We all talk about the fact that the sport of competitive powerlifting is male dominated but are what can we do about that? If anything at all? We can’t say for sure, but nothing happens without action. So how can you give back. Show up and...

Interview by Ivy Knight When you think about being a powerlifter, being a mom isn't the first thing most people think of and yet, there are lots and lots of female powerlifters who are mom. But that really shouldn't shock anyone because who are some of strongest people in the...

Written by Ivy Knight When I first started lifting heavy, I heard about this thing called a Powerlifting Meet. I looked it up. It sounded amazing but then I saw that you had to wear these things called singlets… essentially a unitard. At first site, I thought, “this is the...

Written by Corey Knight We know dancing like Beyonce is fun but under a squat bar is not the time When squatting ideally you want your chest and hips to rise at the same time shoutout to Lombard's paradox! But that only works if our bodies stay in sync/balance. When...

Written by Corey Knight Learn to love bench! Your mind set plays a major role in progress. If you consistently tell yourself, your friends and your coach that you hate bench then you will probably suck at it. Change your perspective. Can you approach the bench from a research perspective?...

Written by Ivy Knight A quote that I live by, amongst many, is, “Never be the smartest person in the room.” Why? You can’t level up if you don’t see an example of it. There’s no way to grow if you don’t know where up is. If you are consistently...

Written by Tara Duncan ***TRIGGER WARNING. THIS POST IS ABOUT AN ONGOING BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION. This is based on my own personal experience and others’ experiences may differ. If you are struggling with anxiety and depression, please get help and consult a medical professional.  Hi, guys, me again. Well, a...

Written by Kelsey Kuehn PT, DPT, CSCS Yes, it is safe to continue lifting while you’re pregnant. For years, the medical community has told pregnant women they cannot lift more than 30 pounds. Fortunately for us, new research is demonstrating that there is no harm to the baby or the...

Written by Kelsey Kuehn PT, DPT, CSCS You killed your workout, but did you kill your recovery? There’s nothing better than that feeling after you dominate some heavy lifts in training. With the next training day coming up quickly, how can you optimize recovery to prepare your body to do...