It's a couple weeks after USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals in Atlanta, but we're still basking in the squat, bench, and deadlift glory from down South. And while super heavyweight Ray ... Continue Reading
BarBend Black Snapbacks Now Available!
The BarBend Classic Black Snapback is currently out of stock. Made out of 100% cotton with raised BarBend "B" above the front brim and full "BarBend" logo in the back. It makes a statement about ... Continue Reading
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Releases Its 2017 Prohibited List
Earlier this week, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released their annual Prohibited List of banned substances and methods for drug-tested sports. The full list can be found here. A summary of the ... Continue Reading
Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) Training for the Lower Body
The ability to develop lower-body power is no easy feat. We all have our natural abilities to develop power, but what do we do when we need more? When the sport or activity we partake in demands more to ... Continue Reading
7 Physiological Symptoms of Overreaching In Strength and Power Athletes
Understanding the reasoning behind a sluggish start to a training session, slowed and/or diminished improvements in training, or an overall staleness in one’s fitness can sometimes be an elusive process. ... Continue Reading
Watch Strongman Jerry Pritchett Deadlift 800 Pounds for 7 Reps!
Jerry Pritchett is primarily known as one of the world's top strongman competitors, but his deadlifting is world-class whether he's competing in that sport or powerlifting (as evidenced by his 914 pound ... Continue Reading
The Cold Hard Truths About Ice Baths and Muscle Recovery
Ice baths, or cold water immersion (CWI), have long been used by high level strength and power athletes to enhance recovery from high intensity matches and training sessions. Although the exact mechanisms ... Continue Reading
Why You Shouldn’t Train Clean Pulls Like Deadlifts
The clean pull, while similar looking, is a very different exercise than the conventional barbell/powerlifting deadlift. Often, lifters attack clean pulls with the same patterning, focus, and end goal as a ... Continue Reading
Dialing in Nutrition and Putting an End to “Bro Science”: Chatting with Nick Shaw of RP Strength
If you were to track my nutrition through my athletic career, you'd likely see a pretty big series of peaks and valleys. I was a college soccer player, downing everything that could roughly be classified ... Continue Reading
Siamand Rahman Sets World Record at 310kg, Benches More Than Any Paralympian In History
Update: We have the best video yet of Rahman's 305kg lift (his heaviest that counted for the competition), embedded below! He would go on to lift 310kg on a granted 4th attempt. Iranian powerlifter ... Continue Reading
How to Watch Powerlifting at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games
Today marks the first day of events for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Between September 8th and 14th, 180 athletes from over 50 nations will be competing in the sport of ... Continue Reading
Ray Williams Breaks 1,000 Pound RAW Squat Barrier in Training
A little over a week ago, we came across Ray "Ray Ray" Williams going heavy in training with a 975 pound back squat, the heaviest such lift we'd seen raw (in training or competition). The lift was ... Continue Reading
How to Mentally & Physically Prep for Your Next Personal Record: The 24-Hour Approach
f“Failure to plan is planning to fail.” Like most feats, setting a personal record takes proper preparation over months of sport-specific training, nutrition, focus, and practice. Often, beginners and ... Continue Reading
Can OpenBarbell Start a New Wave of Data-Obsessed Strength Training?
When I last visited S& S Barbell in Williamsburg, what stuck out most weren't the Oly platforms, power racks, and competition plates stacked and sorted into every crevice; it was the tech. ... Continue Reading
Siamand Rahman, World’s Strongest Paralympic Powerlifter, Is Set to Amaze in Rio
There's a difference between being just the best at a sport, and being so dominant your competitors are almost always fighting for second place. Iranian Paralympic powerlifter Siamand Rahman exemplifies ... Continue Reading
Deadlift Progress Video Shows Pete Rubish’s Max Lifts from 550 to 900+
Pete Rubish is one of our favorite powerlifters to watch on YouTube and Instagram, and while he's got impressive lifts across the board, he's probably best known for his deadlifting prowess. But Rome ... Continue Reading
Bud Jeffries on Getting Your Mind Right to Reach Your Physical Potential
In Part 1 of my interview with powerlifter and strongman Bud Jeffries, we focused mostly on his physical accomplishments. This is a guy who once squatted 1000 pounds and creates workouts with 700lb ... Continue Reading
From 1000lb Squats to Dumbbell Cartwheels, Bud Jeffries Has Something Figured Out
If you’ve never heard of Bud Jeffries, you need to hear about Bud Jeffries. In his prime, Bud Jeffries has squatted 1000lbs, raw, from the bottom. Bud Jeffries walked a mile in a 300lb weight vest. Bud ... Continue Reading
Is the Fitness Industry About to Go Crazy Over Instagram Stories?
If you thought your favorite strength athletes, coaches, and, uh, influencers (?) were already obsessed with Instagram, it's only just begun. Today, the social media giant — which is owned by social media ... Continue Reading
The Big Man with the Bigger Spirit: Powerlifter Anthony Clark
We don’t know what you were doing when you were 16 years old, but Anthony Clark was bench pressing 600 pounds. Six years later, in 1992, he benched pressed 700lbs. One year after that, he broke his own ... Continue Reading
Why the Movie “Bigger, Stronger, Faster*” Is More Important Than Ever
It's been eight years since Chris Bell released his first feature-length film, but "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" remains the best look into the strength athlete's temptations, challenges, and goals ever ... Continue Reading
7 Feats of Strength and Balance That Are As Impressive As They Are Head Scratching
Before we get into this, lets get one unavoidable comment out of the way: aaaaaaaand THIS is why people hate on CrossFit. There. It's done. Let's all move on now, okay? The point of this ... Continue Reading
Upcoming “WEIGHT” Documentary Is About More than Just Powerlifting
Weight is a powerlifting documentary, but Weight is not about powerlifting. Sure, there are lots of big lifts, training tips to be learned, and and burly red faced men. But much like Sideways, where ... Continue Reading
Flashback Friday: Inna Filimonova Smokes a 419 Pound World Record Deadlift
Russian powerlifter Inna Filimonova is the reigning IPF Raw World Champion, and later this month, she'll look to defend her title in the 57kg weight class at IPF World Championships in Killeen, ... Continue Reading