Weightlifter Harrison Maurus has been hitting multiple PRs since the 2017 IWF World Championships. His latest Instagram video highlights possibly the biggest front squat set we've seen yet from the young ... Continue Reading
Is Kratom a Performance-Enhancing Drug?
Kratom is an unusual target in the War on Drugs. A relative newcomer to the American market, kratom hovers in the space between plant-based medicine and prescription drug, and while it’s usually used as a ... Continue Reading
IWF Publicly Announces Anti-Doping Results From 2017 World Championships
As of today, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) publicly disclosed initial findings from last year's IWF World Championships anti-doping tests. They report that four athletes have come back ... Continue Reading
Lasha Talakhadze Talks to IWF About Being Named Georgia’s ‘Athlete of the Year’
Two days ago, the IWF released a press release highlighting that Georgia named +105kg weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze 'Athlete of the Year,' along with his quotes on the topic. This award came for good ... Continue Reading
Romela Begaj May Lose Snatch Gold Medal for Doping Violation; Mattie Rogers in Line for Silver
Will Mattie Rogers be retroactively named a World Championships silver medalist? According to the English-language Albanian newspaper Tirana Times, the -69kg Romela Begaj may lose the medals she won at the ... Continue Reading
Mario Martinez, Three-Time Olympian and 1984 Silver Medalist, Passes Away At 60
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