2012 IPF Raw Worlds

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Since Justin was out rucking his face off last weekend, he asked me put together a synopsis of the 2012 IPF Raw Worlds. This information was compiled from watching videos of the event, various reports, logs, and accounts. I haven’t had a chance to speak to any of the lifters, so if anything is incorrect, just let me know and I’ll edit it. – Jacob Cloud

The first-ever IPF Classic Cup was held this past weekend in Stockholm, Sweden, and it proved to be a thrilling meet for drug-tested, raw powerlifting. Since many 70’s Big readers regularly compete in the American arm of the IPF, the USAPL, this meet is of particular relevance. Perhaps the best part is that one of our own, Matt Nolan, represented us and our country proudly on the biggest stage in raw powerlifting. Since this was an international meet, the international weight classes were used, which is an interesting wrinkle for those of us reading from our American couches. As these classes are relatively new, World Standards were set as baselines and literally dozens were broken this weekend, including a bunch by our favorite ‘Mericans.

If you recall from this post, Nolan had the performance of a lifetime to become the American 100kg champion last August just to get the opportunity to go to Worlds. He decided to cut to the 93kg class, which ended up being a tightly contested race amongst a lot of talented young guys. He opened on the squat at 230kg, an easy weight for him, but was surprised to see red lights for depth. When he saw them again on the second, I can only imagine his frustration at the judging, which was to be complained about by many afterwards (especially the Americans, justifiably). He buried 230kg on his third attempt to stay in the meet, but was already far behind his planned numbers. He shook this off and went 3/3 on bench, hitting 172.5 on his third to stay in the meet, headed into his best lift. His opening dead at 292.5 went up easily, and he had officially totalled. His second attempt, 312.5, was for a new World Record, but he narrowly missed it, and was followed by a Polish lifter who pulled 330kg to break the standard. Another missed attempt at 312.5 for his third, and Nolan finished a very respectable 11th in the world. Not the podium finish he had hoped for, but I think we can all give him high fives and watch him put up some huge numbers in the near future in an attempt to get back to the big stage. I expect to see a 335kg deadlift soon, and look forward to competing with him at Nationals.

Here’s the video of the entire 93kg class. To watch Nolan, fast forward to 193:00, 203:00, 213:00 for squats, 258:00, 268:00, 279:00 for bench, 325:00, 336:00, 349:00 for deads.

The other men’s class that was of particular interest was 120kg, where Mike Tuchscherer was the favorite to win. He had some of the most particular judging I’ve ever seen – getting red lights on all 3 of his squat attempts, and only staying in the meet when his final 315kg squat was overturned by appeal. There was some talk of a hamstring injury, but I don’t have details. He managed to bench well, but ran out of juice on deads (most likely due to the injury), narrowly missing his second and third attempts, and he finished 3rd due to a higher bodyweight than the second place lifter, who shared his 865kg total. In the SHW class (120kg+), Blaine Sumner ignored the tough squat judging (he received red lights on his opener as well), ending up with a 375kg beast of a squat that nobody could catch . His gold medal not only crowned him King of the North, but is a huge accomplishment considering his numbers were well below his PRs, and there’s a lot more to come from this monster. I have a feeling he’ll smash a 1000+ lb raw squat record very soon wearing only a belt and knee sleeves.

Blaine Sumner buries 375kg to appease the judges.

Other notable American Men’s performances: The US 56kg (Eric Kupperstein) and 60kg (Mike Kuhns) champions battled it out in the 59kg class. Eric ended up with the bronze and attained a new WR DL of 252.5kg (that’s 4.3 times his bodyweight, folks), while Mike scored a new WR 225kg squat en route to a 5th place finish. I assume he was injured, since his bench was much lower than anticipated. These guys are a blast to watch, so keep an eye out for them at Nationals. Alex Tertitski also grabbed a Bronze in the 83kg’s, with an amazing 8/9 performance, including a PR bench (162.5kg) and a WR DL of 310kg. It’s worth noting that his third squat was yet another example of an American squat getting red lights for depth, or his total would have been even higher.


Alex’s beastly deadlift. This guy’s an inspiration to us older guys who compete raw.

The American Men finished with a second overall team placing. Considering the extremely difficult situation of flying across the world, making weight in new classes, only to face tough judging, I commend all of these guys on representing us so well. I have a feeling next year, we’ll be pushing for the overall championship over Russia.

American women showed up strong, as expected, and also finished second as a team in the overall points standings (again, to Russia). Sioux-z Hartwig Gary went 9/9 and finished second in the 52kg class, and Amanda Padgett scored a PR total and 5th place in the 57kg’s.

What wasn’t expected was the battle in the 63kg class. Jennifer Thompson, one of the best powerlifters of any class or era, completely dominates the 60kg’s in the US, and has recently benched over 300lbs…raw…at under 132 pounds of bodyweight. Yeah, you read that right. Kimberly Walford has been a force in the 67.5kg class, and most recently won the Pro GNC Deadlift contest at the Arnolds with a 512lb suited conventional pull. Thanks to the international weight standards, these lifters competed head to head as 63s, and the results were epic. FOUR women in the class topped out their squat at 142.5kg, including both Americans. JT created a cushion in her best lift, out-benching Kim 132.5 to 105, leaving it to the deadlifts to decide the champion. It came down to the final pull, where Kim yanked a 220.5kg new world record to edge out JT by half a kilo for the world championship. Amazing.


Kim’s final deadlift to win it all.

Since the only way to qualify for the IPF World Classic as an American lifter is to win your class at USAPL Raw Nationals, I expect to see a lot of you in Killeen, TX the first weekend of August, either lifting or cheering on our country’s best, and certainly supporting our own. Nolan’s going to be there to defend his championship so he can take another crack at Worlds. I will be lifting and coaching a couple other lifters, and Justin will of course be coaching Chris, Mike, and A.C. We can all watch nervously to see if Brent Kim clean and jerks his opening deadlift attempt, and anyone who gets a 390 Wilks (for Men, 340 for Women) can qualify for the 2013 Arnolds (and you know there will be a 70’s Big party there). In addition, Nats are in Texas, so you know there will be beer, BBQ, and 100 degree weather to help us all make weight. It is known.

Full Men’s Results

Full Women’s Results

Videos of all the lifting

Edit: If you intend to lift at the meet and a) would like to be handled by me (where I coach you at the meet, not fondle you) or b) would like to be a part of the 70’s Big team, then comment on the site or shoot me a message. –Justin

GoRuck Challenge Review

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People ask me, “Was the GoRuck Challenge fun?” I’m not exactly sure what to say. Fun is laughing with your friends, shooting guns, or riding jet skis really fast. Let’s just say I’m glad I did it.

The Go Ruck Challenge is a unique, challenging team event that emulates the training of Special Operations Forces (SOF).

The GORUCK Challenge is a team event, never a race. Think of it as a slice of reality found in the most elite schools in Special Operations. Leadership is taught, leadership is demanded. SOURCE

Attendees show up with a pack (AKA “ruck”) with six bricks (4 for women), water, and food/supplies and are put through a challenging night of physical stressors through a major city. It’s more than just a road march; each team is given an objective of reaching a well known check point in the city, yet there’s typically a catch. A mission may demand carrying a tree, other people, or something special like Indian running or racing another team. Each team also has a couple of “team weights” that must be accounted for. There are rules that must be followed with the implements and with the missions, and if the group doesn’t adhere to the standard, then they’ll receive a lesson to help them remember why (i.e. getting smoked). The end result is about a 12 hour event that starts at night, finishes in the morning, and travels a distance of 15 to 20 miles. Good livin’.

Post GoRuck with guys from CF Annandale. L to R: Jack, Ray, Justin, Tony, David, and Andy



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This is why we do it

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Mondays are dedicated to females and training. We have a lot to cover this week, including the GoRuck Challenge and IPF Raw Worlds, but the ladies look forward to this day’s dedication.

I first met Ben at the 105kg weigh-in at 2010 USAW Senior Nationals. We got along immediately, joked around, and his coach at the time, Paul Doherty, helped handle me at the meet. Ben and I stayed in touch, he let AC and I stay at his house when I did a local seminar, I encouraged him to start his awesome training log, and I still intend on helping him finish a really cool children’s story he wrote. Throughout all this, Ben has continued weightlifting and got into coaching. His stable of lifters has grown, and it’s been really cool to see the coach and lifters excel.

He recently handled 5 lifters at the Midtown Classic weightlifting meet at Midtown Strength and Conditioning and wrote a really good post on it. I know how it is to handle five people in a meet, and I know how it is to see them have success and failures. I also know how it is to be physically and emotionally drained at the end of the meet because of funneling all of my energy into those lifters. To have that moment when someone you train with, someone you care about, someone whose success means more than your own…to have them finally hit that lift, that mark, that goal that they’ve been working towards…it’s an indescribable feeling. I watched this video of CC, Ben’s friend, training partner, and lifter, hit this ballsy 98kg clean and jerk (below); it’s an amazing effort. But the part when she makes her way to Ben and gives him a hug…it honestly made me well with tears.



I know that feel, bro. Good work CC and Ben. Here’s to more of the same.

Q&A – 30

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PR Friday

Post your mudda crunkin’ training PR’s, PB’s, and DD’s to the comments. Add in ‘yo training updates too, son.

Weekly Challenge

Last week’s challenge was to “add in a day or two of conditioning after your training session(s)”. Anybody do this? How’d you feel? Not something that’ll interfere with training, eh? Think it’ll help with regular daily activities or fun?

Next Week’s Challenge: Eat vegetables in at least one meal every day.
Not very 70’s Big? Where’s the burgers and ice cream? I’m not afraid to say that I want to set an example for everyone. Honestly? Honestly? HONESTLY? I want you banging your wife at 80 years old after you do a powerlifting meet. That’s what I want. If you eat like someone who doesn’t do the “purge” part, then we aren’t accomplishing anything. This is an EXTREMELY simplified way to say this, but: a cleaner, higher quality diet is going to reduce your overall systemic inflammation and allow you to recover better. That means better progress. That means your wee wee in the hole hole when you’re a FOG. Cha-CHING! Do eet.

Weekly Recap

On Monday I wore cool sunglasses and gave weak-backed ladies and guys something to do at the end of training. On Tuesday I released the BIG KAHUNA, the biggest even of everyone’s lives, the ravishing, the outstanding, The Texas Method: Advanced book that will remove three inches from your shorts and turn your skin eight shades darker upon purchase. No lie. Wednesday I got to drive all day, but Chris is a champion and Nolan is competing at IPF Raw Worlds. Thursday I pointed out that a 300 pound squat for a guy is unimpressive. Every man can squat 405; it might take more effort for some than others, but it’s doable. I promise.

Oh happy day!



I’m travelling to Washington DC to get kicked in the balls at the GoRuck Challenge starting at 9PM. It was probably an excellent idea to travel and then do it. I told the fine folks at GoRuck that I was going to do a post on training for the GoRuck. I’m still gonna do this, but I figured a post of the aftermath would be more sufficient given that I’ll know what I did or did not do correctly. I’m sure the event will teach me a lot, but at the very least clarify the stressors that are similar to the first day in most military SOF selection courses. How do you prepare for a kick in the balls? You can’t; you just smile when it happens.

I thought it was really funny to see former infantry guys say, “Why the fuck would I want to do that? I had to do that for 4/6/8 years in the Army/Marines.” I get it, and they’re right. But something like this is a test of mettle for someone who hasn’t done it. It’s also apparently good at team building. At the very least, it’ll allow someone to learn or remind themselves what their limits are (instead of doing a 25 minute workout and feeling empowered). Should be fun. Interesting? I’ll let ya guys know.

Q&A

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Every Man Can Squat 405

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Brent was telling me about some dickhead somewhere on the internet that was making a big deal about squatting 300 pounds. I can’t recall exactly what quote Brent used, but the guy apparently said it was “AMAZING” or something. It’s really not. It’s kinda amazing for a girl to do that, but not a guy.

I coached a 14 year old kid a few years ago. He had hypothyroidism, which means that his metabolism was super slow. They had him on some meds that provided thyroid hormone, yet his dose may have been a bit high. This made his metabolism super high. Therefore, he was a smaller, thinner kid. But god damn did he want to be big and strong — he’s still one of my favorite people. The first day of training, he squatted 95 pounds for some sets. Less than half a year later he squatted 305. I don’t have video of that, but here’s old an video of him squatting 275×5 (there are two more sets, this was the first).



This 14 year old kid was able to work up to a 300 pound squat. It’s pretty good for a 14 year old, but I certainly wouldn’t call it “amazing”. For a grown-ass-man, it’s not a big deal. People have been accidentally squatting 300 for 50+ years. Every man can squat 405.

This, of course, assumes a healthy individual with no existing pathology — anatomical or otherwise. A regular guy can squat 405. And when he does, it may only be amazing if he was a weak-ass dude when he started. I’d be proud if “less genetically gifted guy” squatted 405, but I still wouldn’t call it amazing, or breathtaking, or whatever stupid thing the stupid under-achieving guy Brent was talking about said.

What should you do if you can’t squat 405 yet? The simple answer is to squat twice a week and don’t stop until you squat it. If you garner the accumulated work of squatting twice a week for a year, that’s 104 squat sessions. If you do that for 18 months, it’s 156 sessions. Two years is 208 sessions. It doesn’t have as much to do with set/rep schemes, or volume/intensity; it’s just that you continuously get the acute and chronic stress of squatting.

It’d make the most of your time to emulate a linear progression for several months at first, then a volume/intensity approach (like the Texas Method), and then tweak it from there. At the end of the day, it only matters that you squatted.

I’m not asking you if you think it’s possible, I’m telling you: Every man can squat 405. If this is a goal of yours, then get started yesterday. There are plenty of factors that would effect the success of this goal, but none of them are more important than just getting under the fucking bar and doing it. Then do that consistently. Don’t lower your standards for yourself or to make other people feel better about themselves. You’re not a beautiful butterfly, chocolate starfish, or whatever. 405 will make a statement, one that says, “I am average, but I busted my balls to do this, so eat shit guy in the corner who is doing wrist curls with the smith machine.”

Do eet.