With heavy hearts we report on the passing of Mario Martinez, one of America's most decorated weightlifters of the past 40 years. USA Weightlifting and Martinez's long-time coach, Jim Schmitz, both ... Continue Reading
Ilya Ilyin Eligible to Compete in 2018
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) updated their Sanctioned Athlete list on Friday, January 12th, and several athletes who failed reanalysis drug testing from the London and/or Beijing ... Continue Reading
Why the Belt Squat Could Be Your Secret to Strength Gains
There’s a certain simplicity in a lot of basic barbell movements. Squatting is a natural human movement, so rack some weight on your back and make the muscles that perform the squat get stronger. Picking ... Continue Reading
Fernando Reis and Alyssa Ritchey Win 2018 Wodapalooza Weightlifting Face Off
The annual Wodapalooza festival is currently underway in Miami, Florida. It kicked off on January 11th and goes through January 14th. This festival brings thousands of athletes from multiple countries ... Continue Reading
Harrison Maurus Hits a Very Strong 185kg Clean Triple for a New PR
Fresh off his podium finish from last year's IWF World Championships, Harrison Maurus is already back to moving big weight. And in case you missed Maurus' performance at Worlds, he ended up earning a ... Continue Reading
Check Out Kianoush Rostami Taking His Workout to the Desert
While some weightlifters are worrying about whether or not their platforms should rest on rubber or plywood, Iran’s Kianoush Rostami is dragging a shard of rubber into the desert to do snatches. The ... Continue Reading
Jim Schmitz Talks Modern Weightlifting, Competition, and His All-Time Favorite Lifters
Jim Schmitz is a pillar of American weightlifting. He's competed since the 1960s and coached Team USA at the 1980, 1988, and 1992 Olympics. He's a man who helped the United States win multiple Olympic ... 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
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
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
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
4 Underrated Accessory Exercises for Weightlifters
There's no shortage of coaches who are convinced that weightlifters only ever need to perform a handful of exercises to become the best athlete possible, but what about the more unusual accessory movements ... Continue Reading
4 Benefits of Glute Ham Raises
In this article we will discuss four primary benefits of the glute ham raise, which is often seen in strength, power, and fitness sports accessory programming. This movement, which can done in a wide array ... Continue Reading
Watch Olympic Weightlifter Benjamin Hennequin Compete in Powerlifting
French weightlifter Benjamin Hennequin made his name in strength sports as an 85kg weightlifter on the international stage, and he represented his country at multiple Olympic Games, making his first ... Continue Reading
Lasha Talakhadze Shows Off Insane Raw Strength with 310-Kilogram Clean Pull
Sure, Georgian superheavyweight Lasha Talakhadze can snatch and total more than anyone in history, so we shouldn't be too surprised when the Olympic and World Champion shows off some insane strength. But ... Continue Reading
7 Reasons You’re Not Getting Stronger (and How to Fix Them)
How often do you feel like your progress is slowing, or should be moving faster than it is? In a majority of the cases, you're probably improving in the gym at a fine pace, but then again, maybe you're ... Continue Reading
Oleg Chen (-69kg) Block Snatches 4 Kilograms Over the World Record
It looks like Russian weightlifter Oleg Chen just made a block snatch that was heavier than the snatch world record. Chen, who lifts in the -69kg category, posted the following clip of a training ... Continue Reading
Kazakhstani News Outlet Reports Ilya Ilyin Can Return to Sport In Seven Months
Over the weekend, news one Kazakhstani news outlet reported that weightlifter Ilya Ilyin's suspension for doping will be concluded in seven months. This report came from the Kaz Inform, an International ... Continue Reading
5 Benefits of Half Squat
In an earlier article we discussed the benefits of and muscles worked in the half squat, a slightly controversial exercise in strength and power sports. Additionally, we then compared the half squat vs ... Continue Reading
Watch 19 Year Old Meso Hassona Clean & Jerk 220kg, Then Jerk 215kg In Jeans
Possibly one of the best lifts from this year's IWF Weightlifting World Championships came from Qatar's young weightlifting phenom Meso Hassona. He put on an outstanding performance at the championships, ... Continue Reading
How to Watch the 2017 Nike American Open Finals
Hopefully you haven't had enough weightlifting with the conclusion of the 2017 IWF Weightlifting World Championships, because we're about to transition into the 2017 Nike American Open Finals. The finals ... Continue Reading
Lasha Talakhadze (+105kg, Georgia) Sets All-Time Snatch and Total Records
Consider the envelope pushed. During the final session of the 2017 Weightlifting World Championships in Anaheim, California, Georgian superheavyweight Lasha Talakhadze earned himself a place in the ... Continue Reading