I’d like to extend my thanks to both Dave “Bulldog” Beattie and the host of forward thinking personal trainers and non PTs alike who made for a vibrant afternoon last weekend at the UP personal training gym. Those of you who couldn’t make it to this powerlifting / strength training seminar missed out on a treat. It isn’t everyday that you get to hear no nonsense powerlifting advice from a man who has seen it, done it, and lifted it more times than almost anyone else in the country!
Dave’s credentials, as you hopefully know, are unparalleled in the British powerlifting scene. He owns Genesis Gym, one of the most hardcore powerlifting and strength training establishments around, is a world record squatter (over 1,000lbs) and world powerlifting champion, and has acted as the personal trainer of powerlifter extraordinaire and deadlift legend Andy Bolton. So when Dave speaks about powerlifting and the art and science of getting brutally strong, you’d better be listening!
Don't let the "angelic" smile fool you, powerlifting can be a very serious business...
I plan on putting up some video of the event in the near future as these will best convey some of the technique pointers on the three movements of powerlifting (deadlift, squat and bench press in case you have been lurking under a rock these past few years), but in the meantime my words will have to suffice.
The biggest take home point that came out of the day for many of us, including UP personal trainer and ex Genesis Gym powerlifter Mike Porter, was Dave’s take on the classic KISS principles. Before any of you start waggling your tongues and singing “Crazy Nights”, the KISS I refer to has nothing to do with Gene Simmons and everything to do with “Keep It Simple Stupid”. To make progress in powerlifting (and in any other strength training endeavour) the real “secret” is to lift hard, lift heavy, know when to back off a bit, and repeat. Being doggedly persistent, highly motivated, and extremely disciplined all help a bit too (no surprises there I hope). The knowledge and wisdom comes with knowing how to periodise your training and listening to your body when it tells you enough is enough. This latter point is extremely important and something that only comes with years of experience. I myself wish I’d had access to good personal training advice when I was younger so that I’d have backed off more at the appropriate times.
We can all be guilty of overcomplicating things from time to time, and the sight of a well intentioned personal trainer asking Dave about his thoughts on cluster training brought a wry smile to my face. Dave had no clue what cluster training (a training approach popularised by Charles Poliquin, one man who can complicate things to his heart’s content because he is such a brilliant strength coach) is, and yet he has squatted a world record powerlifting weight whereas I seriously doubt the personal trainer in question is even the strongest guy in his gym. Perhaps if Dave had incorporated clusters into his workouts he would be a few lbs stronger (although its debatable), and to be fair clusters do work very well, but clearly nothing is a substitute for pushing yourself extremely hard. One of our top personal trainers at UP is Glenn Parker and although Glenn knows how to programme routines well what really sets him apart is his ability to relentlessly push his clients to intensity levels that they could never have previously contemplated. And this is one of the main reasons why Glenn always achieves stellar results for his personal training clients, and why the UP gym is so unique in that we actively encourage hard, real training and not the BS that passes for it as you so often find in commercial gyms and some of these kettlebell inspired personal training studios.
Dave also ran us through the following powerlifting strategies:
1) how he incorporates the use of weight training with chains, bands and the principle of accommodating resistance into his powerlifting workouts.
2) the use of boards to improve your bench press
3) the exact way to lift in the three powerlifting moves depending upon your unique structure – a key point for the personal trainers present to take home to their clients.
4) The right mental approach to take in powerlifting competition and when preparing for a big gym lift. This was my personal favourite and I could have talked with Dave for hours on this one.
All in all it was a highly informative and very enjoyable seminar, and one that left many wanting to find ways to learn even more insider’s tricks and tips. To that end I am thinking about putting on a much bigger event in the not too distant future – a Strength Training Symposium featuring lectures from luminaries such as Dave (on powerlifting), Jimmy Marku (a World’s Strongest Man competitor) on strongman training, Brian Batcheldor (nutritional and ergogenic coach to many of the world’s most elite powerlifters and bodybuilders), and Sav Kyriacou (owner of the famous Muscleworks Gym and advisor to more professional bodybuilders and Mr Olympia competitors than any other British man in history). The format I have in mind is an afternoon of seminars followed by a round table, no holds barred question and answer session chaired by yours truly – something that should be immense fun and nothing if not controversial if I know the men involved! If you are interested in me putting on something of this nature then please post a comment below. It should be unique for the UK, but I need to have an idea of numbers to make it a viable proposition.
Related posts:
