The Asian Powerlifting Federation (APF) 2024 Asian Equipped Powerlifting Championships (AEC) will be held in Hong Kong from May 5-11, 2024. This year, it combines with the Asian University Cup (AUC), and the two events will run alongside one another. Several athletes are nominated in both the AEC and the AUC. They will only lift once, but their results will count toward both contests. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Asian Powerlifting Federation (@asian.powerlifting.federation) [Related: Rondel Hunte (120KG) Deadlifts a 400 -Kilogram Raw Double; 4.5 Kilos Over the IPF World Re ..read more

If you haven’t heard of Agata Sitko, you haven’t been paying attention. The Junior Polish powerlifter has collected scalps on the lifting platform for the last three years. She is the top-ranked powerlifter in the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) in raw and equipped disciplines. Sitko won The 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships with an incredible nine for nine performance, hitting a huge personal best on total, despite having cut into the weight class below. That day’s work netted Sitko £40,000 (~$50,000) and catapulted her to the top of the IPF raw ranking ..read more

Trinidad and Tobago powerlifter Rondel Hunte is one of the strongest tested powerlifters in the world. He ranks in seventh place on total for tested lifters and is the only lifter in the top 10 who isn’t a super heavyweight. Hunte is, in particular, a phenomenal deadlifter. He scored 397.5 kilograms at the 2023 United States of America Powerlifting (USAPL) Raw Nationals but hasn’t yet reached the landmark 400-kilogram pull in competition. He has, however, hit it in training. Hunte released a video to his YouTube channel on April 21, 2024, wherein he deadlifted 400 kilograms for ..read more

Apparently, taking a two-handed grip on a barbell for deadlifts is redundant nowadays. On Apr. 18, 2024, recreational powerlifter Yousef Eddessa posted a social media spectacle to Instagram. Eddessa single-handedly pulled a 500-pound (226.7-kilogram) deadlift for three repetitions. That’s a solid pull for any gym rat, but here’s the kicker: We mean it literally, as in, Eddessa did it using only one hand. Check it out: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yousef Eddessa (@pumpsbyeddessa) [Related: Our Favorite Deadlift Variations] Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Eddess ..read more

Advanced Barbell Systems (ABS) held its second edition of Clash of the Titans on April 20, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland. This event is scored on the biggest total achieved — no weight classes or formula. This format favors the super heavyweights; however, it was one of the lightest lifters who won the ABS belt on this occasion. Dave Richardson has been on an upward trajectory for some time and was one of the favorites to make the podium. At the contest’s first edition in 2023, Richardson came second to Fernando Arias. However, in the space of a year, Richardson has added an incredible 70 kilo ..read more

The second edition of the ABS Series Clash of the Titans contest occurs on April 20, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland. The 2023 edition featured 10 heavyweight powerlifters competing for the biggest total. The competition format does not employ weight classes or formulas; rankings are determined simply by the most weight lifted. USA’s Fernando Arias won the 2023 ABS Clash of the Titans with a 1,035-kilogram total. The 2024 contest seems like a much heavier total will be needed to emerge victorious, especially with Dan Bell on the roster.  Bell holds the all-time raw (with wraps) wo ..read more

At the 2024 World Raw Powerlifting Federation Australia (WRPFA) Launceston Toyota Showdown (LTS), Australian powerlifter Sarah Rainbow hit the heaviest raw total ever by a woman at an incredible 775 kilograms. Rainbow squatted 300 kilograms at the 2024 ProRaw 14, a 15-kilogram personal best on the day. One week later, she added another 15 kilograms for an incredible 315-kilogram squat — the second-biggest raw squat ever done in competition by a woman. Only the legendary April Mathis has done more at 320 kilograms.           View this post on Instag ..read more

Lightweight powerlifter Alisha Luna competed on April 7, 2024, at the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Ghost Clash 3 in Miami, Florida. She had the day of her life on the platform, setting personal records in squat, bench press, deadlift, and total. Luna entered the contest as the deadlift all-time world record (ATWR) holder in the 52KG class. She set it at 210 kilograms at the WRPF National Championships in September 2023. Luna chipped her ATWR to 210.5 kilograms on her second attempt in Miami. Check out Luna’s meet recap post, courtesy of her Instagram page: View this pos ..read more

Germany’s top-ranked female powerlifter, Denise Herber, has been hunting down the deadlift all-time world record (ATWR) for some time. She missed her third deadlift attempt at her last two competitions but finally had the perfect day she needed to hit her goal. Herber competed at the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Ghost Clash 3 on April 7, 2024, in Miami, FL, in the 75KG raw with wraps category. She opened heavier than ever in the deadlift with 270 kilograms. She then jumped 10 kilograms on her second attempt.  With eight good lifts on the day, Herber called for an ATW ..read more

Strength Weekly is the new show taking you in depth on all aspects of the barbell game and beyond! This week, we break down four of the biggest stories in strength. BowFlex Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Agrees to Sell for $37.5 Million Antonio Pérez Barros (105KG) Sets IPF Junior Raw Squat World Record of 335 Kilograms 24.2 CrossFit Open Livestream Numbers Hit All-Time High Samson Dauda Says His “Body is Failing,” Cleared to Compete in 2024 Arnold Classic UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx61EUdirUwVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: BowFlex In Bankruptcy, to Sell for ..read more