A deadlift isn’t successful until it’s done! But the lockout might be the hardest part. If you’re one of the many lifters trying to improve their lockout, here are 5 things you should look into: Strengthen Your Upper Back: A strong upper back is essential for a solid lockout. Focus on exercises like barbell rows, bent-over rows, and pull-ups to target those upper back muscles. Building a strong upper back will help you maintain a tight and solid position during the lockout. Boost Your Hip Extension Strength: The lockout relies heavily on hip extension, so it's crucial to strengthen the muscle ..read more

Written by Ivy Knight In a world that often bombards us with unrealistic expectations and unattainable standards, it's no wonder that many of us find ourselves grappling with feelings of inadequacy. Social media would have us believe that in order to be considered strong we have to be lifting certain numbers, for us to be considered “fit” we have to look a certain way and in order for us to be worthy we have to have a certain amount of followers. But it's important to remember that strength comes in many forms, and our worth should never be measured solely by numbers on a barbell. We might ca ..read more

Written by: Ashley Pollard Our shoulder position in the deadlift tends to do dictate where our hips are. If your hips are off, everything else will be too. If our shoulders are too far in front of the bar, the bar will get away from us, our knees will shift forward, our hips will be higher than they should be, & our back will tend to round. This makes for a very ineffective pulling position & an even rougher lockout.  If our shoulders are too far behind the bar, our deadlift will quickly look more like a squat with the hips sinking too low, and balance will be an issue.  ..read more

Written by: Ashley Pollard Our shoulder position in the deadlift tends to do dictate where our hips are. If your hips are off, everything else will be too. If our shoulders are too far in front of the bar, the bar will get away from us, our knees will shift forward, our hips will be higher than they should be, & our back will tend to round. This makes for a very ineffective pulling position & an even rougher lockout.  If our shoulders are too far behind the bar, our deadlift will quickly look more like a squat with the hips sinking too low, and balance will be an issue.  ..read more

Written by Ashley Pollard Lifting belts are one of those tools that can be useful but lifters often wonder when they should start utilizing one. The truth is, it depends! If you're wondering if you should try a belt, you probably should however here are some things to keep in mind. Your belt is not your core. You have to keep strengthening your core, even if you decide to use a belt. Your belt should not be used all the time. Warm-ups and lighter* weight lifts should be done without. Consult your coach if you're unsure which lifts should be done with/without a belt. A belt is simply a tool to ..read more

Written by Ashley Pollard __ If you use RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) during training, chances are you have or will overshoot at some point. While it's easy to get ahead of yourself at times, the problem with overshooting is that it wrecks your training momentum, creates unnecessary fatigue, strengthens inconsistencies, ruins confidence, makes it difficult for your coach to collect accurate data, & increases the chance of injury. So how can you minimize the likelihood of overshooting in order to keep progressions building? FILM YOUR WARMUPS By recording your warmup sets and playing the ..read more

Written by Ivy Knight We all talk about the fact that the sport of competitive powerlifting is male dominated but are what can we do about that? If anything at all? We can’t say for sure, but nothing happens without action. So how can you give back. Show up and be force for change in the sport. VOLUNTEER Refs/Judges- Most federations have a pretty lengthy process to become a referee. What’s the process? Most federations require that a prospective referee must be a part of the federation for a certain amount of time. Then they must do a written test, which if you’re past college, all tests are ..read more

Interview by Ivy Knight When you think about being a powerlifter, being a mom isn't the first thing most people think of and yet, there are lots and lots of female powerlifters who are mom. But that really shouldn't shock anyone because who are some of strongest people in the world? Moms of course! And Katie Simmons is one of those strong moms! I chatted with her about how she handled meet prep and competition as a mom. I'm inspired and you will be too! Introduce yourself the GWPL Hey hey! I’m Kate Simmons, or @FitMama_Kate on Instagram. I am a competitive powerlifter and strongwoman who often ..read more

Written by Ivy Knight When I first started lifting heavy, I heard about this thing called a Powerlifting Meet. I looked it up. It sounded amazing but then I saw that you had to wear these things called singlets… essentially a unitard. At first site, I thought, “this is the most unflattering garment I’ve ever seen!”. My second thought? “Never ever will I ever wear that. So I guess I’ll never compete.” But then I met a really awesome group of girls and they invited me to their meet. I went and I loved it! The atmosphere, the adrenaline, the whole event was almost magical.. and EVERYONE competing ..read more

Written by Corey Knight We know dancing like Beyonce is fun but under a squat bar is not the time When squatting ideally you want your chest and hips to rise at the same time shoutout to Lombard's paradox! But that only works if our bodies stay in sync/balance. When the load gets heavy or fatigue starts to set in, does your chest go forward and your booty in the air? *** There’s a lot of nuisances as to why some people perform squats like a stripper but for the sake of this blog we’ll do over some basic corrections that might help**  Power Triangle: I first heard this from an old Ed Coan ..read more