People have multiple definitions of an "ass to grass" (ATG) squat. Most often, it's defined as hitting ample depth in the hole well below parallel, or the maximum depth one can hit without completely ... Continue Reading
How I Trained America’s Strongest Teen
In 2012, I met a 140lb high school sophomore named Alex Gauvin. When I met Alex that day in the gym, he already possessed the most important tool necessary for success in any endeavor: drive. As he gave ... Continue Reading
Interview: Stacia-Al Mahoe Talks Competing In Both Weightlifting and Powerlifting
One of the great things about competitive strength sports is that they can create opportunities for athletes to train and possibly be successful in more than their one sport of choice. For example, you ... Continue Reading
What You Should Know to Help Avoid a Pec Tear
A torn pec can put an athlete out of commission for weeks or even months, and it doesn’t just happen to powerlifters. After coming second worldwide in the Open, Noah Ohlsen’s performance at the 2017 ... Continue Reading
New Research Suggests Ammonia Has Positive Effects on Force Development
Two days ago, new research was published about the acute effects ammonia can have on a strength athlete's lifting performance. For those who don't know, ammonia is the substance you sometimes see lifters ... Continue Reading
Here’s What Changed in the IWF’s 2018 Rule Book
The International Weightlifting Federation has made some updates to their official rule book, “Technical and Competition Rules and Regulations.” The 2018 update was just released on New Year’s Day, and ... Continue Reading
IWF Provisionally Suspends Oleg Chen for Doping Violation
The International Weightlifting Federation has provisionally suspended Russian weightlifter Oleg Chen due to a violation of the IWF’s anti-doping policy. The IWF hasn’t said much about the circumstances ... Continue Reading
Review: “Born Strong” Is the Deepest Strongman Documentary Yet
There are a lot of well-made documentaries about strongmen, like Eddie Hall’s Eddie Strongman, Brian Shaw’s Tossing Kegs on 7 Meals a Day, and Hafthor Bjornsson's screentime in The Giants of Iceland. ... Continue Reading
How to Vote for the IWF’s Lifter of the Year
It’s January, which means the International Weightlifting Federation has opened up voting for the 2017 IWF Lifter of the Year — and the competition is fierce. The 2016 winners were Iran’s Kianoush ... Continue Reading
John Haack Smokes a 227.5kg (501 lb) Bench PR
John Haack is wasting no time pushing new strength feats in 2018 with his latest training PR on the bench press. Haack is no stranger to pushing big weight, and he recently surpassed a huge bench milestone ... Continue Reading
Check Out Pete Rubish’s Latest 220kg Bench Press PR
Powerlifter Pete Rubish is currently in prep for a meet that will take place in a little less than three weeks. He'll be competing at the USPA Tennessee Classic on January 13th. Rubish regularly competes ... Continue Reading
Hafthor Bjornsson Deadlifts 390kg for a Speedy Five Reps
Professional strongman Hafthor Bjornsson, aka "The Mountain", has taken little time off from training heavy after the holiday season. All throughout this fall and winter Bjornsson has been on a war path to ... Continue Reading
Alan Thrall Teaches Us How to Overhead Press Efficiently
Alan Thrall, aka Untamed Strength on YouTube, does a phenomenal job at putting out informational content for the strength community. Thrall is a powerlifter and a strength coach who regularly creates ... Continue Reading
Larry “Wheels” Williams Benches 225 lbs for Max Reps. Can You Guess How Many He Made?
If you had to guess how many reps world record holding powerlifter Larry "Wheels" Williams got on an AMRAP 225 lb bench press, what would you guess? To give some context and to aid in your guess, the top ... Continue Reading
Matt Sohmer Squats 805 lbs for Three Easy Singles
New York based powerlifter Matt Sohmer is no stranger to moving heavy weight. He's continually proven that he has a very bright future ahead of him, and his latest squat video furthers this point. In fact, ... Continue Reading
Watch 17 Year-Old Powerlifter Alex Pavlov Squat 675 Pounds
It's not every day a lifter makes a milestone lift, and when they do, it's always better to do it surrounded (and spotted) by friends. And that's probably what makes Alex Pavlov's latest squat PR so ... Continue Reading
Weightlifting Throwback: Leonid Taranenko Attempts a 270 Clean & Jerk!
On Christmas Eve, the best weightlifting video we've seen — or at least most interesting, the actual resolution isn't anything to write home about — is a true throwback. It's a video from the 1987 European ... Continue Reading
Research Suggests Whole Eggs Better for Muscle Building Compared to Egg Whites
The day and age of eggs getting a bad rap in the public eye seems to be coming to a close. In the strength world, eggs are often called the "perfect protein" because of their natural bioavailability, full ... Continue Reading
25 Days of Gifting: BarBend Banner & Apparel!
To continue our 25 Days of Gifting extravaganza, BarBend is giving away a gym banner and apparel package! One lucky winner will receive a full-size BarBend banner, perfect for hanging in your home, ... Continue Reading
Things Strength Athletes Hear When They Go Home for the Holidays
"When are you getting engaged?" and "Oh wow, you look great, have you lost weight?" These are the common questions and statements that most receive when they go home for the holidays, but not everyone ... Continue Reading
Atlas Stones: How to Perform the “One Motion” and Reap Its Benefits
In a previous article, I covered how athletes can benefit from introducing the atlas stone into their training program. Today I will be providing more insight into a specific movement used with the atlas ... Continue Reading
Vlad Alhazov Squats 465kg (1,023 lbs) for an Insanely Heavy Double
Before reading on, we guarantee this will probably be the heaviest squat set you see today. Ukrainian powerlifter Vlad Alhazov is pretty well known for moving insane amounts of weight. Back in July, he ... Continue Reading
25 Days of Gifting: Wags & Weights Apparel Package!
To continue our 25 Days of Gifting extravaganza, BarBend and Wags & Weights are teaming up to give one lucky winner an apparel package with gifts perfect for cold weather training! Wags & ... Continue Reading
Training for Tokyo: An Interview with Andrei Aramnau
Author's note: The questions for this interview were written by Stephen Powell. Daniel Engman asked Andrei these questions in Russian and translated his answers to English. Additional edits for length and ... Continue Reading