The competition was held by the British Drug-Free Powerlifting Association. There are a number of powerlifting federations in the UK. I got involved with this one because the guy who runs my local gym is a divisional rep for the BDFPA and organises many of the competitions for this region. Last weekend’s meet was such an event, a regional qualifier for the south west of England.

On the day there was a powerlifting competition, which consist of the three events of squat, bench press and deadlift, and also a single lift competition for the squat. All events were ‘unequipped’, meaning that no supportive gear can be worn other than belts (of the regulation thickness) and wrist wraps. Knees wraps are not allowed.

My aims

I was not expecting to have any competition in my weight class as there are so few female powerlifters around. So my aim was not so much to win my class - although if there had been another competitor I would certainly have wanted to beat them - but to lift enough to qualify for the BDFPA nationals and get as many PBs (personal bests) in my lifts as I could. I also wanted to have fun and enjoy my first event!

Before the meet

Recovery, rules and regulations, opening lifts, making weight

I stopped lifting just over a week before the competition in order to be fresh for the day. You will not lose any strength in a week but your body will have a chance to rest and recover from the hard training that you have done in the lead up to the event.

In the week before the meet, I re-read the rules for the federation regarding performance of the lifts, clothing and equipment, and decided on my opening lifts. You need to inform the organisers of your opening lifts at the time that you weigh in. I was advised to choose a weight that I could do for at least two reps in the gym. In fact I was a little more conservative than even that. Since it was my first competition and I didn’t know how I would be affected by nerves, competition rules or my wellbeing on the day, I wanted to make sure that I could at least get some lifts on the board. Your second lift cannot be lower than your opening lift, so you need to be sure that you can make it otherwise you will not score for that event (in fact this happened to one competitor on the day).

I was concerned that I wouldn’t make weight for the class I wished to compete in. The last 2-3 days before the event I was very careful what I ate and on the morning of the event I didn’t eat or drink anything until after the weigh in (which fortunately was quite early in the day). I made my weight with 0.2 kg to spare!

Because it was such a close run thing, I was mentally prepared to lift in the next weight class up if necessary and I had also checked the qualifying totals for that class.

The people

I turned up on my own, not really knowing what to expect. But right from the beginning the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. Plenty of people chatted to me and helped me out, answered questions, gave support and encouragement and were generally quite lovely. Throughout a long day in a cold school gym, both lifters and their supporters applauded every single lift and cheered every single lifter.

I think that any aspiring lifter would have felt comfortable in that atmosphere. The fact that you turn up and lift is enough for people to get behind you. It really doesn’t matter how much is on the bar; if you are out there making an effort everyone supports you.

It is interesting how the reality of a meet can dismiss the preconceptions that people may have about powerlifters: big, mean, unapproachable, elitist types who grunt and yell and won’t speak to you unless you can bench 400 lbs.

Well, although there is occasionally some grunting and yelling, they are certainly not mean and unapproachable – quite the opposite. And they are not all that big either. Most of the male lifters at this meet were between 75kg and 90kg. There were quite a few ‘in shape’ guys who weren’t carrying much extra body fat and would not have looked out of place in a bodybuilding contest. I myself, while having no pretensions to bodybuilding or physique contests, am quite happy being a size 10 (that’s UK size 10, ladies!) with no particular desire to bulk up. You really don’t have to be big to enjoy powerlifting.

There were only two of us female lifters in the competition and the other lady was in a different weight class from me so we weren’t really competing against each other. It’s a pity there wasn’t more competition but at national level there are some really strong girls in my weight class so I am looking forward to pitting myself against them.

The process

It’s a long day and even though the organisers moved things on at a decent pace, it still takes a while to get through everybody’s lifts. One of the hardest things to manage is the length of the session and the time between events. I did my first lift around 11am and my final lift around 5pm. Plenty of food, hot coffee and staying warm helps. The nervous energy and excitement surrounding a competition also keeps you going.

It is advisable to make sure you are absolutely certain of the rules for each lift and if not, to ask a referee. I was relieved not to make any technical errors in my lifts but I saw plenty of other people get the rules wrong and therefore get a ‘no lift’. Common errors were: lifting or moving the feet during the bench press, ‘hitching’ the bar during the deadlift and not going low enough in the squat.

The lifts

I was privately very curious as to how I would perform in a competition setting. Different people have different experiences; some say that they always do their best lifts in competition, others find that they under-perform and don’t quite get as much as they do in the gym. I have heard people say that a competition can sometimes be worth an extra 10-20kg on the bar due to the adrenalin and the support of the crowd.

I was largely pleased with my performance and it is true that audience support really makes a difference. I got PBs in the squat (by 7.5kg) and the deadlift (by 5kg). The increases were not enormous but several people commented that they thought I had more in me and perhaps they were right. I find it hard to judge just how far I can push it. For example, my third deadlift attempt was a PB and immediately afterwards I felt completely drained. I put myself down for a fourth lift without really thinking that I would get it (legs were like jelly) but I managed to get a PB again. The crowd really helped with this one!

One consequence of having a modest opening lift is that it is harder to really push the poundage on your second and third attempts. Too big a jump in weight between attempts can backfire. I had this dilemma with my deadlift. I decided to reduce my opening lift from 110kg to 95kg just before the deadlift event started because I only needed 90kg to get my qualifying total. I was carrying an injury and feeling a bit fatigued so it seemed like a sensible option. However with a much lower opener, I needed to take big jumps in weight to get into the PB zone. I ended up with a fourth lift of 125kg, which was a PB by 5kg. But if I had started at 110kg, my third attempt would probably have been at 130kg. Who knows, I might have got it…

Being able to judge these issues of course comes with experience. Generally speaking I am happy to be slightly conservative but come away with a respectable result. If my overriding aim had been to get the highest deadlift possible I would have pushed it, but as my aim was to qualify for the next competition, I chose to make sure of that first.

My bench press was somewhat disappointing but since I was carrying an injury (from rock climbing, as it happens, not powerlifting) this was not entirely unexpected. I managed to get my opening lift so at least I had a score for that event. Ironically the impact of my injury was less physical than psychological: knowing that I was carrying an injury, I did not feel confident about the lift and was not as aggressive as I could have been in its execution. There is a great psychological element to powerlifting. You’ve only got one chance to get it right and that weight can seem very intimidating.

I was chuffed, though, that several people commented on how good my technique was, especially in the squat. I am sure that some of the compliments were generous as it was my first competition, but enough people mentioned it to convince me that there’s an element of truth in it! Although I have been lifting for around three years, I have only been lifting in a powerlifting style for a few months. Some techniques, such as my bench press technique I have only adopted in the last few weeks. So it is encouraging to get good feedback.

Statistics

I am sure you are all curious to know what I lifted. You want to see if you are stronger than me, don’t you! Well, the following table shows all the lifts I attempted on the platform.

63kg female open unequipped

My powerlifting total was: 267.5 kg (4th attempts don’t count, if anyone’s doing the maths).

Adding together all my attempts in each event, I lifted a total of 980kg on the platform that day (not including warm up lifts). That is 2,156 lbs or 154 stone.

My warm ups totalled a further 1,530kg. So altogether I lifted 2,510kg which is 5,522 lbs or 395 stone.

Although he didn’t have the figures to hand, the presiding official reckons I broke the south west divisional records in squat and deadlift for my weight class.

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

Conclusion

The meet lived up to my expectations and I met all my aims so it was a successful day. It has fired me up to continue lifting and competing. It was also great to see so many powerlifters in one place.

I have written before about the difficulties of finding other people who train in the same way and of having the support of a peer group when lifting. I often feel like the weird one in the gym so it was great to be one of the gang for a change.

I found this one of the most sociable sporting events I have taken part in. There is a lot of hanging around, which perhaps makes people more disposed to fall into conversation in order to pass the time. You also get to know the other lifters in your flight as you all warm up together. Your fellow lifters will support you so there’s no need to bring your own cheerleaders. All in all, it’s a great way to put all that training to good use!

You know what, guys? I am feeling crap at the moment. I am tired, listless and unmotivated. It’s dark and cold outside and it is really difficult to heave my ass out of bed in the morning. I am eating like crap, drinking too much wine and feel a few pounds too heavy.

So what I am going to do about it?

Here’s what:

1. Get my diet in order. Almost everything is down to diet in the end. If you eat like crap, you are more likely to feel tired and listless - even though you’ll tell yourself that it is because you are working really hard and life is busy. I am lucky in that having eaten well in the past, I know exactly what needs to be in my fridge and how to spread it out throughout the day. It is simply a question of doing it. Eating well should be a good habit.

2. Maintain a positive attitude. It is very easy to feel sorry for yourself, make excuses and pile on the excess because ‘there’s no point trying’. But this will change nothing and gets pretty boring eventually. I am not very good at appreciating small changes or a little progress - I would prefer things to come on in leaps and bounds. But in training it is the accumulation of tiny improvements over a period of time that can result in great leaps forward at crucial points such as competitions.

3. Get to bed early. There’s nothing like sleep for rest, recovery and rejuvenation. People who are listless and lacking in energy often aren’t sleeping very well. Personally I need to get back into the habit of reading in bed as it sends me off to sleep pretty quickly! Plus I might get through the many unread tomes on my bookcase.

4. Cut down on the alcohol. I like a drink (especially wine) and this time of year it is hard to avoid. I’m not going to give it up - heck, it’s the only vice I’ve got left these days! But I will limit the amount I consume. As a current TV ad campaign is pointing out, ‘ it all adds up’ and when you get to my age, a few glasses of wine a week translates into reduced sporting performance.

5. Maintain the habit of exercise. Boris of SqautRX recently wrote a pithy post about motivation which I encourage you to read. In essence he says that motivation comes and goes; what makes the difference is training even when you don’t feel like it. In other words maintain the habit of exercise, don’t hang around waiting to get motivated. I have had to reduce my training in the last week or two because I am tapering for a competition. But rather than just cut out the heavy lifting, I have ended up doing nothing at all under the guise of ‘tapering’. I have got out of the habit. I don’t need motivation to start again, I just need to start again.

And that’s it! I could easily make a huge long list of things to do but the pareto principle applies - these are the things that will make the biggest difference. There’s nothing too onerous in that list, nothing that will take an extra special effort of will. In fact it’s almost embarrassing that I can’t stick to these simple things but I guess it happens to most of us at some point.

I’ve noticed that the fitness forums are getting quieter in the run-up to Christmas. People are busier, there’s less time to train or chat about training. So it is an ideal time to remind ourselves that success is really about maintaining the good habits we have worked to develop. I don’t think anyone who reads this blog is a ‘join the gym in January, leave in February’ type of person. We know what we need to do, it is just a matter of doing it.

Hey, I feel better already!

Read more like this

What lengths do you go to for your training?

Hassle me to go to the gym!

How to be hard as nails

There’s not much general knowledge about what is “good” for women’s strength training. In many cases, a woman simply lifting weights at all is considered amazing. But this – even if kindly meant – is patronising. If we are to take women’s strength training seriously, women need to know what to aim for as they progress. As reader Bonnie comments:

“It’s essential for women to know what feasible long term goals are. I envy the guys who learn weightlifting lore just by growing up. They learn as teenagers that if they work they can achieve a 200lb bench press, a 1.5 body weight squat, etc. Women who come to weightlifting often have no idea what is feasible.”

Using bodyweight as a measure

It may surprise you but if you use comparison with bodyweight as a measure, women’s strength standards are not greatly different from those of men. Using bodyweight therefore levels the playing field and makes it much easier to compare people of different sexes and weights. After all, “men” can vary greatly in size so saying that xxx kg is good for a man is not particularly fair either. And as reader Darren points out,

“Lighter people will always find bodyweight goals easier to achieve.”

You can use bodyweight either as a percentage or as a multiplier. For example if you weigh 60kg and squat 60kg, you can say that you squat 100% bodyweight or that you can squat 1 x bodyweight. Reader Ross comments:

“my girlfriend and I both just keep adding the weights until it we can’t lift it, then practise until we can. To keep it competitive between us we go on % of BW, so even if she’s lifting half of what I am, she might still be kicking my butt!”

There are also “bodyweight” exercises such as press ups, pull ups and so on which are generally done with no extra weight and therefore often used as a strength standard. Again the gap between what men and women can achieve is narrower than you think. Because much of the emphasis is on the upper body in these exercises, it can take longer for women to build up to the same standard but this does not mean it is not possible to get to the same level. (In a recent episode of TV show Superstars, Kelly Holmes kicked Jason Gardener’s ass on dips!) There are also bodyweight exercises that women generally find easier than men, such as the single leg squat. Reader Dingletec says,

“My father used to say you are considered strong when you can lift your own bodyweight. I don’t think it matters how much you lift beyond that, but that everyone should have that goal in the big lifts. And obviously should be able to pull their own weight in pullups/chinups for multiple reps.”

Boris of SquatRX concurs:

“Squatting with anything close to bodyweight on the bar with good form for reps is probably a … realistic goal for most general gym-goers (men or women)”

Standards

The first point to make is that there is no “standard” standard. The second point is that it depends on whom we want to compare ourselves to. Do we want to know how good we are compared to all lifters, from beginner to elite? Or do we want to know how good we are compared to others in the gym?

I looked at a bunch of strength standards from different people or organisations. Some go from ‘untrained’ through to ‘elite’, covering every possible stage. Others go for the simpler ‘decent, good, great’ classification, comparing regular gym goers. My sources were:

1. Lon Kilgore, Weightlifting Performance Standards on exrx.net (these are also available in the book Practical Programming for Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, which I highly recommend)
2. Crossfit North Athletic Skill Standards
3. Are You Strong? Find out right now with these strength standards! by Tim Henriques (from T-Nation)

I put together a side-by-side comparison of these standards based on a female of bodyweight 60kg (132 lbs) which you can see in PDF format in Strength Standards comparison. But what I really wanted was an overall figure applicable to anyone, a single standard to refer to. So I came up with a ‘middle of the pack’ figure from this comparison table. I also took into account the figures suggested by readers of this website and my own experience.

These standards should be relevant for adult women who are strength training on a regular basis so I chose three levels of Good, Very Good and Excellent. It’s important to say that Good is good compared to other gym goers, not compared to untrained people. So Good is certainly a level to be proud of. Good is a level of strength that it is possible to gain after six months of regular training but is likely to be a couple of years or more for many trainees.

Very Good can take another couple of years on top of that and requires commitment and consistency. Reaching this level would put you above the majority of gym goers, even those who do regular strength training.

Excellent is a very advanced level, where you are probably starting to compete at national or international level. At this point you want to be comparing yourself to the other athletes in your federation and weight class rather than your fellow gym goers. Here are the standards, expressed as percentage of bodyweight:

Table of strength standards for women

You can see from these figures that Good is pretty impressive compared to the average gym goer but it is a level I believe anyone can aim for if they are serious about their strength training.

Commentary on the standards

From what I have seen and read, there is not much controversy over the standards for the power lifts. The trickiest area I found is deciding where Very Good ends and Excellent begins; here is where your own predilections will make a difference. For example a woman with a particularly good squat but slightly weak bench might think that 175% bodyweight was a tad low to be Excellent, whereas a 100% bodyweight bench was about right.

The bodyweight exercises are more difficult to determine, partly because this is an area where many women are too weak to begin with. Often women shy away from upper body or bodyweight exercises altogether because they feel so weak in this area and think that they will remain so. This is not the case; women can get very strong in the main bodyweight exercises.

The bodyweight exercises standards from the T-Nation chart in particular were quite low – reinforcing the idea that women are rubbish at these exercises (I don’t exactly blame the T-Nation author; he is probably reflecting what he sees in the gym). Conversely the standards from Crossfit North are very high and while I admire their ambition (and it should be noted that the numbers are for men as well as women), many women might look at those numbers and think them impossible.

So the aim was to strike a balance and reflect women’s true potential without going completely out of range.

Setting goals

Don’t be disheartened if you feel that Good is a long way away – it is attainable!

Setting small, achievable goals is often more motivating than one far-off overarching goal unless you are the rare type of person who is not intimidated by that. So use these standards as background information but set goals that are relevant to you, your training history and your own ambitions. As reader Zoey observes:

“I really don’t know what the baseline is for women, but I do think it’s often set by what we see at the gym. For better or for worse. This time last year I was benching 25lb dumbells, thinking I was doing great. No other women were benching dumbells at all that I could see. Then this ripped young female trainer worked out one day and I saw her bench 35lbs, then 40lbs for about 8 reps each. I was astonished, and got right to work, and in a few weeks, there I was.”

Most people are naturally better at some lifts than others. It is a rare person who is consistently good across all exercises. So while it is good to work on your weaknesses (and essential if you are aiming for the top), don’t panic if one or two exercises seem to be falling behind. Over the long term you can work to even out these imbalances.

Further information

Women of Power - profiles of top female powerlifters

Powerlifting records

Lon Kilgore, Weightlifting Performance Standards on exrx.net

Crossfit North Athletic Skill Standards

Are You Strong? Find out right now with these strength standards! by Tim Henriques

Photo credit: weightlifting365.com

This is a very common question on strength training forums and it is not surprising. Across all the sports and activities that involve squatting, each seems to have a different rule or convention:

• Olympic weightlifters squat very deep but their load is in a different position (not on the back) and the squat itself takes place at speed at a point where the bar is moving under momentum.
• Powerlifters must squat below parallel for their lift to count in a competition; the depth is prescribed as being when the crease of the hip is just below the knee.
• Bodybuilders treat the squat as a quad exercise and often don’t squat below parallel.
• Ordinary gym goers are frequently told by gym instructors not to squat below parallel for ’safety’ reasons.
• Functional fitness afficionados are often keen on the ‘ass to grass’ school of squatting, that is, squat down until your hamstrings are practically touching your calves!

Many people are fond of pronouncing on ideal squat depth. Those with the loudest voices are often those at opposite ends of the spectrum: from the ass-to-grass faction to the squatting-below-parallel-is-bad-for-your-knees contingent. In reality, most people will be able to reach a squat depth somewhere between the two extremes.

The truth about squatting below parallel

It’s important to realise that squatting below parallel is not bad for your knees. I am sure most of you know that already but it is good to remind ourselves why. The problem with partial squats that stop when the thighs are parallel with the floor is that they mainly engage the quads, the large muscles at the front of the thigh. This puts more pressure on the knee. Only when you squat below parallel can you properly engage the hamstrings and glutes on the back of the thigh, balancing the engagement of muscles on either side of the knee and thereby the forward/backward forces acting on the knee.

Squatting ‘ass to grass’

A truly deep squat is difficult and demanding. As with any other exercise, the better the range of motion, the more you will get out of the exercise. Squatting deep is also humbling as less weight can be moved than in a shallower squat - often significantly less weight. The forces that need to be exerted ‘in the hole’ (at the bottom of the squat) are immense and a good deal of mental fortitude is required to get you back up again. There is a good argument that if you are squatting purely for functional strength (and not, say, as a competitive powerlifter) you should aim for ass to grass (ATG) every time.

But the reality is that many of us will find true ass to grass squatting well nigh impossible to achieve due to the limitations of our flexibility and biomechanics. The lower you squat, the harder it is to maintain the lumbar curve (the arch in the lower back) and you should not be squatting with load to a depth where you cannot maintain your back arch. Forget knees - this is the danger zone. Although flexibility can be improved to a certain extent, there comes a point where the effort involved in developing that flexibility is not worth the return.

Mark Rippetoe, whom many people assume advocates ass to grass squatting, actually has this to say on the issue:

Squat depth is critically important, but so is correct form. ATG-level depth most usually requires that the lumbar muscles relax the lordosis and that the hamstrings relax before extreme depth can be reached. It doesn’t sound like a good idea to me that anything be relaxed in a deep squat, since doing this kills your good controlled rebound out of the bottom and risks your intervertebral discs. Those rare individuals that can obtain ass-to-ankles depth without relaxing anything might be able to get away with it, but as a general rule you should squat as deep as you can with a hard-arched lower back and tight hamstings and adductors. This depth will be below parallel, but it will not usually be “ATG”.

Squatting with good form

A simple instruction to remember is that you should squat as low as you can with good form, meaning that your back is flat or slightly arched, heels are on the floor, knees are above toes and not collapsing inwards, chest is up and not tipping too far forwards.

Photo credit: stevenellis.com

Even though people will differ in the depth they can achieve, everyone should aim to squat below parallel even if they cannot do so currently. Over time balance, flexibility and technique will improve. Many people mistake flexibility issues for balance issues but balance issues are much easier to fix. If you have a tendency to fall forward when you squat below parallel, you might just need to improve your balance. A great exercise to help in this is Dan John’s goblet squat.

Goblet squat

The goblet squat trains your body to remain more upright as you squat down, allowing you to avoid tipping forwards.

Photo credit: Mia’s FarmFit blog

As in the picture above, use a weight such as a dumbbell and hold it in front of you like a goblet. This will force you to keep your chest raised as you squat down. Notice how the squatter in the picture has lowered her body between her legs, with a relatively wide stance. Most people in gyms are taught a narrower stance for the squat, which makes it more difficult to squat below parallel. Embrace the wider stance!

It is also not necessary to do a huge amount of extra stretching work as the squat itself stretches the muscles and increases flexibility over time. In order to increase your range of motion you will need a weight that is heavy but not too heavy - say, a weight that you can squat 5-8 times without technical failure. If the weight is too light it won’t push your body that little bit further into the stretch.

Powerlifting squat

Powerlifters are interested in squatting as low as they need to for competition. This is below parallel but not particularly deep. It is generally defined as when the crease of the hip is below the level of the knee - in other words, the hips are slightly lower than the knee.

Powerlifters often adopt a wide stance because it means that the weight is moved a shorter distance and they tend to have the bar lower on their backs. This makes it easier to shift more weight (as the emphasis is moved to the hip) but harder to go very deep. The low bar position also causes the upper body to lean further forward. If you decide to adopt a powerlifting style squat, it is good to be aware of these differences and ensure that they don’t compromise your squatting form overall.

Summary

In summary, aim to squat as low as you can while maintaining your lower back arch and don’t be satisfied until you are getting below parallel. Be prepared to work on your balance and flexibility over time. Neither be tempted to defer to your ego and compromise squat depth in favour of heavier weights, nor be distressed if you can’t squat as deep as the 20-year-old weightlifter in the Olympics.

Happy squatting!

Further reading

I can’t squat ATF!…(and other tales of woe) from SquatRX

Page from Mark Rippetoe’s Basic Barbell Training showing forces acting on the knee in the squat

High bar vs low bar placement on squats from Stronglifts.com

Where do I squat? - useful explanation of the difference between torque and shearing forces on the knee in the squat

How-to: Overhead squat

Because relatively few women lift free weights and of those who do, many are new to lifting, it is deemed appropriate to be encouraging about any lifting stats – the mere fact that a woman is lifting being enough.

But if women don’t know the potential, the scope of the lifting talent, they might not push themselves as hard. It is all too easy to be satisfied with too little, to be the big fish in the small pond, the strongest woman at your gym. Without that competitive edge or knowledge of what other women – ordinary trainees, not elite lifters - are achieving, can you really strive to be as good as you possibly can?

It is also true that the mere knowledge that someone has achieved a certain feat makes it easier to imagine yourself achieving it too. It’s about setting your expectations at the right level. Imagine if a complete beginner walked into a gym to have her induction and the personal trainer said to her, “In six months time you’ll be squatting your own bodyweight.” Not knowing any different, she’d probably go on to do just that, or something pretty close.

It also seems that the majority of men have no idea what a good lift is for a woman. This is not surprising; so few women do proper strength training that men don’t have a benchmark to measure against. If you’ve never seen a woman do a pull up, how can you be sure whether 1 pull up, 10 or 20 is a decent number?

But what men think is, in this case, very important! Many women rely on men for information and advice on what is seen as a guy’s sphere of expertise. Many men want to encourage female friends, wives or girlfriends to get involved but don’t know what level to push them towards. Even personal trainers might not really understand the art of the possible where non-elite female weight training is concerned.

In my experience most people underestimate, but occasionally people overestimate too. For example since I am known for being into my lifting, people sometimes assume I have much better lifts than I actually have. Men often think I lift the same as they do – which is kinda sweet but not always true!

I’d like to know what you think. Do you have an idea of what women at different levels (novice, intermediate, advanced) are lifting? What would you say to a woman who asked you ‘how much should I be squatting?’ How much does it matter anyway?

For those of us who train in solitary, it can be a lonely business. It is just you, the weight and a whole world of pain and effort!

It is not even necessary to train in your own gym in order to feel like a lone wolf. How many of us who are seriously into our training feel ‘alone’ in the local gym, surrounded by people who are only there to train the t-shirt muscles or go through the motions, and have no idea what that crazy person in the corner is trying to achieve by grunting in the squat cage under an enormous weight?

Even so, a lot of people prefer to train largely on their own. For some, it is one of the few times in the day when they get to be on their own and to do something that is entirely for their own benefit.

But there are also moments when it is so damn difficult! When you need some good advice or a bit of encouragement or someone yelling ‘Come on!!’ Having a knowledgeable friend or group of people around you can make such a difference to your progress. As well as the social aspect, friends can pick up on bad habits that have crept into your technique or show you something you haven’t done before. Then there’s the natural competition that rears its head whenever a bunch of people train together. It can really spur you on to great heights!

The internet has been both a boon and a bane in this area. On the positive side, suddenly there is a whole community of lifters to get involved with, share training knowledge, videos etc without leaving your own home. There’s a smorgasboard of advice and knowledge to pick from.

However, there are also the keyboard warriors, the charlatans, the idiots. People who are quick to criticize but very slow to show you what they can do. People who read all the books and websites but haven’t actually got around to training themselves! Sometimes I feel about the internet much as I feel about the local shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon: I am torn between trying to find what I came for in the first place with the desire just to get the hell out of there!!

Being your own coach can also be tough. It is said that there are at least as many training programmes as there are trainees: you have to do your research, self diagnose your own problems and work out what to change when progress grinds to a halt.

So what would I recommend when it all gets a bit too much?

Keep it simple – lifting weights is pretty simple. Pick up something heavy. Try not to hurt yourself. That’s it.

Don’t rely entirely on the internet for fellowship and advice. There’s no substitute for someone actually being there when you are lifting. Call the local federations and get a list of member gyms in your area and then go and train with them. They may be too far away to train with regularly, but a visit every once in a while could be all you need.

On Sunday I attended the Crossfit London i-course in east London, a full day event aiming to teach participants all the essential Crossfit skills, from olympic lifts to rings to kettlebells to bodyweight exercises. I was invited to attend and review the course by Andrew Stemler of Crossfit London, whom I have trained with before.

About the i-Course

The i-Course concept is, as far as I am aware, the only course of its kind in the UK and certainly the most comprehensive workshop programme I have seen that is open to all. This unique proposition has proved popular: the next session has already sold out and Crossfit London is booking well into next year.

Why are tickets selling like the proverbial hotcakes? Well, the agenda for the day runs something like this:

• How to squat
• How to perform the olympic lifts, including the nine fundamental moves: squat, front squat, overhead squat, press, push press, push jerk, clean, snatch, sumo deadlift high pull and deadlift
• How to swing and snatch a kettlebell
• How to practise handstands and the handstand push-up with all the assistance exercises currently recommended
• Core including L-sit
• Crossfit kipping pullup
• Parallel bar and rings looking at ring dips and muscle-up progression

For anyone interested in functional fitness or Crossfit, it ticks all the right boxes, but it is a lot of learning to pack into one day! The agenda makes it look like great value for money, but can you really learn all of these skills effectively in a single session?

Learning

What you get out of the day depends to some extent on your level of knowledge and experience coming into the session. Those who are totally new to the exercises and concepts may not remember much of the technical detail but will come away with an understanding of the most important principles and the range of skills that can be acquired: plenty to build upon and be inspired by.

People who are already familiar with some of the material (perhaps they have done squatting and deadlifting but have never attempted a clean and jerk) will learn a good deal and will come away with better form in the exercises that they thought they knew.

However it is essentially an introductory course so if you have been practising these skills for a few months or more, you may have gone beyond what the i-Course can offer - unless you want some reassurance that you are doing the right thing.

On the day, participants told me that they did learn a lot, even if they won’t remember absolutely everything. I was impressed by everyone’s concentration throughout an intensive day. It was a motivating atmosphere to be in and even though I was getting pretty tired towards the end of the session, I tried to hide it as everyone else appeared to be in fine fettle and as keen as at the start!

Teaching

This concentration and application is testament to the motivation of the group but also to Stemler’s organisation of the session. He starts right on time, which sets the tone for the day, and keeps things moving along nicely.

The team consists of Andrew, a Crossfit Level 2 certified instructor, aided by three Crossfit Level 1 instructors (Miles, Chet and Simon) and police PTI, Colin. The quality of the teaching is very good, especially from Andrew who is a natural communicator and has boundless energy.

The emphasis is on drills and cues that help you get into the correct position for the exercise, rather than a litany of instructions about the relative position of each body part. This will save people from hours of struggle or the misguided belief that they are unable to do particular exercises. ‘Teaching the teachers’ is also built into the course, for those people who are there to learn how to instruct others.

Supporting the instructor team are a number of ‘helpers’ who are themselves experienced Crossfitters. Having this many people helping to run the course ensures that everyone gets attention and things run smoothly. My thanks in particular go to one of the helpers, Steve, for taking these photos when he wasn’t actually helping people with their exercises!

What sort of people attend the i-Course?

I had assumed that most of the participants would be Crossfitters looking to improve their skills, but there was in fact a variety of people attending: personal trainers looking to expand their repertoire for their clients; people just starting out in Crossfit or just wanting to get fit; those interested in a particular element (such as the olympic lifts or the gymnastics) who thought this course was the nearest thing available; and military personnel looking to increase functional fitness.

The exercises and drills are pretty challenging, although different levels of strength are catered for (for example, you don’t have to be able to do a pullup). It probably could have been made clearer at the start that you are not expected to be able to do everything perfectly within this session: the idea is to equip you with the knowledge to practise on your own or coach others over a period of time.

However I know that some people were inspired and motivated by the difficulty and the fact that some exercises did not come easily! There were some pretty strong lads who were very confident on familiar exercises like pullups, but were humbled by a simple L-sit progression. I spoke to one chap who is an experienced runner and was used to thinking of himself as reasonably fit and yet had real trouble with one or two of the more unusual exercises. But he seemed delighted by this discovery and keen to improve.

It would be a rare person who could turn up to a session like this and be able to do everything easily. This goes to the heart of what Crossfit is about: improving every aspect of fitness rather than specialising in one area. Stemler takes it as far as to say that sports people are not “fit” because they specialise too much. As soon as you start to focus on one particular sport, you lose fitness in all the other areas. I find this a controversial idea as the same argument could be applied to Crossfit: that is, doing Crossfit really only makes you fit for Crossfit! However the point is that a wide variety of skills are being taught.

Do you have to be drinking the Crossfit kool-aid?

The short answer is ‘no’ and you can get an enormous amount from this session without being or becoming a Crossfitter. Stemler refrains from trumpeting the benefits of “Crossfit” (except in a jokey manner), allowing the workshop to speak for itself. And rightly so: Crossfit didn’t invent these exercises, it just puts them together in a particular way and has a particular approach to performing them.

The verdict

A very worthwhile course for the motivated functional fitness fanatic! If you like learning new skills, want to work hard and don’t mind a bit of constructive criticism, this is a good use of your hard-earned money. Whether you ‘do’ Crossfit or not, you will come away with a fine array of skills that you can put to whatever use you like.

To book an i-Course, click here.

Have you done the i-Course? Post your comments below.

Further information

Muscle-up and ring training guide

Kettlebell training guide

Crossfit London sunday workouts

It struck me recently that whenever the topic of women and weights crops up, we feel the need to address the ‘fear of bulking up’ issue. The usual argument proferred in defense of weight training is that it doesn’t make you bulky or masculine; actually it can help you get leaner.

The thing is, by going down this particular route of argument it turns into a debate about what will make you look better. Very quickly, the central idea of actually getting stronger and fitter is lost by the wayside.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve your looks but perhaps too much credit is given to exercise in changing appearance, when much of it is down to diet. It is more exciting to think that by going into a gym and doing something positive like lifting a weight you can make a difference to your appearance, rather than giving up your favourite treat food.

This is particularly moot for women as they don’t have the hormones to build significant muscle size. So all that work in the gym won’t really show up unless there is an eating strategy alongside it.

Bodybuilders know this but they hide the fact because they don’t want people to know their secrets. Most people on the street recognise the sort of exercises bodybuilders do in the gym, but they have no idea what their eating strategies are. The myth has to be maintained that bodybuilders get that way simply by working hard in the gym but the truth is that it has more to do with diet (well, that and those other things we won’t mention!).

In physique competitions, says an article in Male Pattern Fitness, getting on the judges’ shortlist “means three things:  diet, diet, diet.” Telling the story of new physique competitor Karen Williams, the article explains: “Starting ten weeks before the show, she went cold turkey on virtually everything except, well, cold turkey…..Williams didn’t alter her training much, however.”

What turns a fit, strong ex-sportswoman into a physique competitor is the diet regime. So it’s ironic that women are afraid of turning into bodybuilders by lifting weights, but are perfectly happy to launch into the latest fad diet with no fear!

Anyway, I digress somewhat from my original point, which is that women often are not aware of exactly what they can get out of weight training, and when told vaguely that they won’t bulk up, they’ll get slimmer (and I’ve made this argument myself several times), this doesn’t really clarify the situation.

Actually what weight training gives you is strength and confidence. Most women would be very happy to have more of these. Weight training has many benefits for women, both physical and psychological:

• you can do something you previously thought impossible;
• you can see the benefits of your hard work week by week;
• you can get good at something that is traditionally the preserve of men;
• you can expand your vision of what being a woman means;
• you can get stronger, which is functionally useful.

All women know how great you can feel after you’ve been to the hairdressers or bought a fab new dress. You can get this feeling from weight training as well. It’s a feeling of confidence and power and willingness to take on anything.

Men might find it odd that I am putting a new haircut and a deadlift PR in the same category - but women will know what I mean.

Yes, weight training can help you to reach your aesthetic goals. But it won’t turn a stocky, pear-shaped person into Angelina Jolie or Jessica Biel. However, it might get you closer to some of the characters they play: confident, self-possessed, strong and sexy.

Read more

A weighty topic

Why do most women still avoid the free weights room?

Why women should train with weights

The other issue with form – if you are an ordinary trainee and not competing in the Olympics – is that too much focus on it can actually prevent you from progressing. You get paralysis by analysis!

Like driving a car, it’s got to become mostly automatic and that takes time.

While that process is happening, unless you have a good coach who is cue-ing you throughout the lift, there are going to be things that you simply forget about in the effort to make the lift.

If you train on your own, as many of us do, you have to do that cue-ing job yourself as well as the actual lift. Not easy.

Fixing your form 

It is good to fix form issues over time, and sometimes it takes a few weeks for changes in one’s form to bed in. However, in the meantime, one should not stop training. You also do not need necessarily to deload, I believe, unless you are actually putting yourself in danger of injury. I have in the past sacrificed progress in order to sort out form issues and I somewhat regretted it.

Apart from fixing that which is dangerous, just get on with it. If you are lifting light, sometimes the benefit of a particular change in form or technique won’t be felt because the lift is too easy. If you continue to train heavy, any change you adopt that makes your lift even the tiniest bit easier is going to feel like a huge improvement and will probably embed itself in your technique more effectively as a result.

You can work on technique and form issues during your warm up. When doing your work sets, focus on one aspect at a time rather than several in one session. You will be more likely to remember to do it during the lift and you will be able to distinguish any benefit (or disbenefit) easily because you only changed one thing.

Critiquing others

Take advice from others by all means and give it too, where appropriate. But remember that it is way, way, WAY easier to regurgitate something you read in a book than to actually understand what is going on in another person’s lift – especially if you are communicating with them on the internet. Be mindful of the fact that you don’t know what got them to that point, you don’t know what they respond to best from a psychological standpoint, in fact, you probably don’t know them at all!

Most of the time I take criticism in my stride, but every so often I get annoyed and then I let rip! I work bloody hard on my lifts and I will freely admit that they are not perfect.

But are you telling me x, y or z because you genuinely think it will help me lift more weight, or are you just trying to show that you memorized p83 of the latest Rippetoe book better than me?

We all need some positive reinforcement from time to time, especially those of us who train on our own. It can be a lonely business.

I know that a lot of people who read this are pretty knowledgeable about lifting so I would say, take a moment to think before you post criticism of someone’s lift and remember that they might be struggling and needing a little love too.

A model for giving criticism was once described to me as being like a hamburger: you sandwich the criticism between two compliments. Say something nice, then deliver your critique, then say something nice again. The person will still take on board your critique, but be left feeling good about the things they did well.

What is the bench press?

The bench press is one of the three lifts in powerlifting (the other two are squat and deadlift). It is an upper body exercise working primarily the chest, shoulders and triceps.

Lying on your back on a bench, lower the bar to your chest and press it back up again.

Why is it such a great exercise?

Actually, because the bench press is so incredibly popular it often needs to be talked down as an exercise, in an attempt to get people doing something else in the gym, such as squatting. But it is good to have a pressing exercise in your training, whether this is a bench press or some kind of overhead press, and if you are a powerlifter it is of course mandatory.

For men in particular, the bench press is seen as the ultimate chest developer. There are also some sports where horizontal pressing strength is beneficial.

How to perform the bench press

In terms of technique, the bench press is the simplest of the three power lifts. Despite this, it is surprising how much bad benching form you see in gyms! Often this involves cheating on the range of motion, i.e. not bringing the bar all the way down to the chest.

Step 1: Starting position

Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor, not up on the bench. Bench pressing with your feet on the bench is one of the bodybuilding variations of the lift and not conducive to lifting heavy weights. If you can’t get your feet flat on the floor because the bench is too high, find some blocks to put your feet on.

Place your head underneath centre of the bar – make sure the bar is equally placed on the rack, not sticking out too far on one side, otherwise when you pick it up it will tilt to one side.

Your forehead should be under the bar when it is on the rack. When you unrack it, the bar will come forward so that it is over your chest. If you start with your chest under the bar while it is still racked, it will be in the wrong position when it is unracked.

When you position your hands on the bar your forearms should vertical - perpendicular to the floor (this is shown more clearly in the photograph in Step 3 below). Some people bench with hands as far apart as possible in order to reduce the range of motion of the bar but this is not good for the shoulders and can be uncomfortable.

Your back should retain its natural slight arch. Try to maintain the same arch throughout the lift. Your shoulders and bum stay in contact with the bench throughout.

Step 2: Unrack the bar

Either lift the bar off the racks yourself or get your spotter to help you (see the section below for how to spot). In both cases, you need to bring the bar over your nipple line before you start to lower it. Your arms should be locked out at this point.

Step 3: Lower the bar to the chest

Before you start to move the bar, take a deep breath in and then lower the bar to your chest. If you don’t touch the chest, the rep doesn’t count. Make sure that you bring the bar down towards your nipple line, not your neck or clavicle.

A helpful tip from strength coach Mark Rippetoe is to look up at the ceiling, rather than follow the bar with your eyes. Pick a spot on the ceiling where you will aim to push the bar. Having this target to aim for helps you to keep the bar travelling in the right path.

Step 4: Press the bar up

Once the bar has touched your chest, press up until your arms are locked out (looking at that target spot on the ceiling). Don’t bounce the bar off the chest. Powerlifters will actually pause to stop the bar’s momentum before pressing upwards, as that is the correct procedure for competition. For non powerlifters it is not necessary to stop the bar, but to avoid bouncing it, just touch the chest lightly before pressing up.

There is a sticking point for most people about an inch above the chest where you have to work hard to push the bar up. This is the point that spotters should look out for, as it is where most failures occur.

As you press upwards, you can arch your back slightly but don’t bring your bum off the bench and keep feet flat on the floor. You should end up in the same position as you started with arms locked out over your chest.

Some people breathe out as they press upwards, others hold their breath throughout the rep. For a more detailed discussion of breathing in the bench press, see this post.

Step 5: Rack the bar

Either rack the bar yourself or get your spotter to help you. If you have taken a wide grip on the bar, be careful not to trap your fingers under it as you rack!

Preventing injury

It is possible to really hurt yourself bench pressing – but most of the risk can easily be mitigated.

Dropping a heavy bar on your chest is not a healthy thing to do and can cause serious injury. It is safest to use a spotter or safety stands that are set at a height just above your chest. Do not bench without unless you are doing light weights and are very confident of making all your reps. This is particularly important for people who work out alone in a home gym.

If you train in a commercial gym, don’t be shy: ask for a spot if you don’t have a training partner. If you really don’t want to ask a fellow gym goer, ask one of the gym staff – it should be their job to help.

There is also no harm in telling someone how you would like them to spot. It doesn’t have to sound bossy or patronizing. Say something like: “Usually I prefer x, y, z – is that okay?”

Likewise, if you are asked to spot someone else, ask them:

• How many reps they are going for
• Whether they want help with racking and unracking

See below for more information about spotting.

If you are benching without any safety provision and you do fail on a rep, rather than try to lift the bar immediately, try rolling it down your chest and then sitting up. It is then easier to lift the bar off your body.

Shoulder injuries are also common in the bench press but can be prevented or mitigated in the following ways:

• train your back as well as your chest so you don’t end up with strength imbalances. Pulling movements such as row, deadlift and pullup are all good exercises for this purpose.
• maintain good form – another great reason for always touching the chest in the bench press is that it prevents lifters from using weights that are too heavy for them
• make sure you are warmed up before you bench and don’t overdo it
• include one-arm dumbbell bench presses in your training cycle occasionally, to improve your weak side (most people have a stronger side and a weak side)

How to spot the bench press

Some trainees like a hand off, others don’t. Personally I like to have my spotter help me unrack and rack.

Other than possible racking and unracking, the spotter should keep their hands off the bar unless the lifter cannot lift it at all. The spotter is not there to help the lifter complete the lift, she is there to prevent the lifter seriously injuring herself.

The spotter will need to make a judgement as to how close to the bar she needs to have her hands. She can either have her hands completely out of the way, ready to approach if things get difficult. Or she can position her hands inches from the bar, ready to grab it in an instant.

Generally, there will be plenty of warning that the lifter will not make the lift – she will be straining hard, the bar will be moving very slowly or wobbling. As a spotter you don’t want to rush in too quickly to take the bar away from the lifter: sometimes it takes a few seconds of real effort to get the bar moving up off the chest, so if you take the bar at the first sign of trouble, you have invalidated that rep for anyone who is serious about their training. Pretty annoying if you are going for a PB!

Here’s an example of what my spotter does when I bench.

I tell her how many reps I am aiming for and she asks whether I need a hand off – in this case I have said yes. She counts 1, 2, 3, so that we can lift at the same time and then leaves me to it.

By the third rep, although I make an effort, the bar starts to wobble and you can tell that I am not going to make it, so my spotter steps in and helps me to rack the bar. Although one might want more time in a competition to really try to get the bar up, in a normal training session you would want to stop at this point, as form is collapsing.

Read more:

Breathing in the bench press

Unilateral exercises

Long live your bench by Ian King

Spotting the bench press part 1 by Mark Rippetoe (you tube clip)

Spotting the bench press part 2 by Mark Rippetoe (you tube clip)