The 2012 NAPF Raw Challenge is sanctioned under the North American Powerlifting Federation, which is under IPF ruling. It’s a step up from USAPL and a step down from IPF Worlds and was our first international competition (you could compare it to the Pan American Championships with Olympic weightlifting). You can view all of the results HERE.

The primary method of admission to this meet for USAPL members was to lift at the 2011 Raw Nationals and have at least a 375 Wilks total. Only 75 lifters were accepted including Chris, Mike, and Alex. Alex originally planned to lift in the 105kg class, but decided he didn’t want to lose at least 20 pounds, so moved to the 120kg class. Mike originally was going to lift in the 120 class, but figured he would only be able to make 5th place in either class (based on his top numbers), and decided not to worry about losing the weight (he weighed in at 280, so about 16 pounds over the 120/264 limit), especially since he has to do so for an Air Force PFT every six months. Chris lifted in the 120+ class.

L to R: Chris, Mike, and Alex wait to be called for final squat warm-ups

All three of my guys were lifting in the same flight. I’ve handled five lifters in the same meet before, yet they were in different flights or sessions. Having three guys in a flight of 15 was a different experience. There were times when Alex and Mike were following each other and Chris was up only five attempts later. I actually missed coaching Alex’s first squat because I was putting Mike’s second attempt in at the table.

CONTINUE READING Continue reading →

While the fellas were weighing in on Friday, Jennifer Thompson was busy with a World Record performance in the NAPF Raw Challenge. This is a video of her final deadlift, but she had alreadysquatted 142.5/313.5 and benched 136.5/300.3. That’s right, a woman weighing right under 132 lbs benched 300 lbs. Sounds like some of you need to step up your bench game, huh? This video is of her final deadlift at 195kg/429lbs. Amazing.

The Pro GNC Deadlift Competition is an invitation only event where the only contested lift is the deadlift. 15 men are selected along with 8 women. There are two scoring categories: 1) absolute weight and 2) Wilks formula. The criteria for selecting participants are:

 Men’s Competitor Criteria: Minimum 320kg Deadlift and Minimum 200 Wilks Score
 Women’s Competitor Criteria: Minimum 200 Wilks Score

The event occurred on the main stage inside the expo and was fantastic. The seating was good yet there was plenty of standing room. The music was loud, the announcers were solid (they were the same guys at the NAPF Raw Challenge that our guys lifted in), and the energy was high. Here are some notable lifts (I wasn’t able to record everything).

Kimberly Walford pulled 512 weighing 136 pounds! (not my video)


Ian Bell pulled an amazing 810 pounds at 19 years old and 196 lb body weight!


Brad Gillingham, who is a living legend, wrecked shop as usual. Here’s his second attempt at 826:


And Gillingham’s third attempt at 837. He’s 45 years old! Seeing him lifting in person was an experience.


Other notables include Carl Yngvar Christensen (pulled 832 on third, Gillingham went up 2.5kg to beat him) and Alyssa Hitchcock (who is attractive, here’s a vid from 2011). Everyone was notable in this competition; they wouldn’t be in it if they weren’t.

As most of you know, the Arnold Sport Festival occurred this past weekend. This post will be a quick synopsis of the weekend and focus on the event instead of our experiences. Chris, Mike, and Alex (the three friends who I coached in the raw powerlifting meet) got there Wednesday, Brent, his lady friend, and I got there Wednesday. Ellee Carlson (who is head of the 70’s Big Chicago Chapter) also got in on Thursday. Jeremy Wolfe and friends (Mel and Bijan) got in late Thursday night. This was our hang-out nucleus throughout the weekend but it would split apart depending on the schedule.



Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, albeit busy. Any time spent with my friends was a good one, but there were many events and spectacles that were very fun. I would highly recommend that everyone actually make plans to attend next year (many of you were unable to attend because of work or cost). If you read this website, then you have an invested interest in all things strength, power, fitness, training, and having a good time. “The Arnold” portrays all of that and more. There simply isn’t an event that has what The Arnold has: powerlifting, professional deadlift, professional strongman, Olympic weightlifting, various products to purchase, and every big name associated with every sport and activity.

CONTINUE READING Continue reading →

PR Friday
Post your weekly training updates or PR’s to the comments.

Chat Room
This is the link to the chat room we’ve used in the past. Feel free to loiter and hang out in it during the various Arnold meets and competitions. Keep an eye on Facebook but mostly Twitter for updates.

Weekly Reading List
This is stuff that I read this past week that I think you will enjoy.
[spoiler]
John Welbourn weighs in on slow and fast twitch muscle fibers.

Rudy from Outlaw CrossFit talks about his CrossFit programming.

Interesting article by Eric Cressey on how the lats can be too tight and cause problems. It’s not relevant to everyone, but understanding what tight lats do is important. Also, hitting up MobilityWOD.com regularly can alleviate these systems, especially 5 Way Shoulder.

Good post by my homie Dr. Michael Hartman about overtraining and under-recovery (from the Pendlay forum).

Prilepins Chart can help you determine rep ranges in training if you’re unsure what to do.

Dave Tate Periodization Bible Part I

Dave Tate Periodization Bible Part 2
[/spoiler]

Onward to the Q&A…
CONTINUE READING Continue reading →