Taylor Atwood has dominated the 74-kilogram class in the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) for years. A three-time world champion, Atwood set the squat and total world records at the 2019 IPF Classic World Championships (CWC).
At the 2021 United States Powerlifting (USAPL) Raw Nationals, Atwood posted a historic performance that included a 303-kilogram (668-pound) squat and a 340.5-kilogram deadlift for an 838.5-kilogram (1,849-pound) total to top the IPF rankings with 123.42 GL points*.
Since then, Atwood has been hard at work in the gym, focused on regaining his position atop the pack with a “World Champion mindset.” On Jan. 31, 2024, Atwood took to his YouTube channel to share what constitutes a “World Champion mindset,” and chatted with world-champion French team members about their mindsets before a heavy lift:
*The GL point formula is an attempt to compare the achievements of lifters of different body weights.
Atwood talked first to 66-kilogram world champion, Panagiotis Tarinidis amidst a group training session with members of Team France. Tarinidis expressed the feeling of being surrounded by greatness when training amongst such an accomplished team. That spurred him on to be part of that greatness and manifest his potential.
Two-time world champion Lya Bavoil was in the midst of a monster squat session of eight sets of two repetitions at 190 kilograms (419 pounds). Her motivation rises to meet the harder challenges:
The more I am challenged physically, the easier it is mentally.
Counterintuitively, Bavoil said that often, each set seems easier than the last as she fine-tunes her mental approach.
The third world champion that Atwood chatted to was Tiffany Chapon. Chapon, still a Junior, has been Open world champion three times and holds the Open world records in the 47-kilogram class in the squat, bench press, and total. Chapon shared that she visualizes the lift, knowing she is capable of it.
Bavoil, Tarinidis, and Chapon will all compete at the 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships in the UK. Tune into SBD Apparel’s YouTube channel on Feb. 10, 2024, to see how their varying mindsets help them in competition.
Atwood is preparing for Powerlifting America (PA) Raw Nationals in Reno, NV, on March 15, 2024. There, he will face off against Austin Perkins for the first time since 2021. Atwood was victorious in that encounter but Perkins has performed extraordinary strength feats in training since.
Featured image: @t_atwood on Instagram
