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Thank you for buying this digital edition of Issue #1 of Strength Prose. Don’t forget that this is also available digitally via Amazon or Issuu.
Strength Prose is a Daniel Lee Media Publication.
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Contributors. The Editors, Writers and Photographers that bring you Strength Prose.
Managing Editor/Writer - Danny Lee. Danny Lee is a powerlifting coach, gym manager and writer. His powerlifting team boasts 20+ lifters of varying skill levels. In this issue he will bring Powerlifting to the Beginner. As well as his writing input he is also the Founder and Managing Editor of Strength Prose. www.strengthprose.com www.dannyleeonline.co.uk
Writer - Adam Roberts. Adam Roberts is a strength coach, specialising in Powerlifting, Strongman and Strength and Conditioning. In this issue he writes about ’Setting Yourself New Challenges.’ www.instagram.com/ar_strengthcoaching
Writer— Georgina Creed. Georgina Creed is a personal trainer and a student of sports science at Liverpool John Moores University. With a passion for fitness and a specialty in outdoor personal training. In this issue she writes ‘New Year, New Knowledge.’ www.georginacreed.com
Writer - Sophie Thomas Sophie is a personal trainer, nutrition coach, blogger, and model from London, basing her coaching and fitness philosophy on both science-based methods and holistic, selfempowerment approaches. This January’s issue sees her bringing you ‘The Specialty of Being a Generalist.’ www.instagram.com/sofitee
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Writer - Thomas Regan Thomas Regan, Msc Bsc is the owner of PsychElite Performance. Thomas earned his sport psychology undergraduate degree at Liverpool Hope University and his sport & exercise psychology graduate degree at the University of the West of England. In this issue he writes about ‘Maintaining Motivation.’
www.psychelite.co.uk
Photographer—Ian Lee. Ian is a former aspiring powerlifter who has retired from being under the bar to spend more time behind a camera. www.instagram.com/ianleephotography
Photographer—Scott Hedges. I’m an amateur photographer and videographer who also trains In powerlifting. Scott also designed this issue’s cover. www.instagram.com/scott_hedges_creative
Stock Images provided by dreamstime.com LLC. 3
Contents. New Beginnings. A note from the editor highlighting the topics tackled in this isse. New Year, New Knowledge. Georgina helps you to wrap your head around nutrition, particularly if it is one of your New Year’s Resolutions. Setting Yourself New Challenges. A semi-autobiographical account from Adam, as he explains how getting out of your comfort zone can be beneficial to your current sport. The Specialty of Being a Generalist. Sophie explains how focusing on one area of fitness, rather than gaining a thorough understanding of all aspects, can be detrimental. New Year, New Me? Motivation. Thomas explains how to maintain motivation past the first month of 2019. Beginning Powerlifting. Danny explains how to get into powerlifting and what to expect at a competition. Old Beginnings. An interview with 4th placed Junior in British Powerlifting, Sheina Kaye. Ask The Editor. In Future editions this is where we will have our Question and Answer section. For now, here’s an advert with our email so that you can get your questions, suggestions and reviews over for the next one.
Happy New Year from the Strength Prose Team.
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NEW BEGINNINGS Strength Prose Issue #1
January 2019
Editor’s Note. It’s January, we’re all starting new things. Hell, I’m starting this magazine, You might be starting out on your fitness journey. You might just be picking up this issue to help you add a new spin to your current training. That’s what this issue is all about, this first issue, this inaugural issue—it’s about getting you into fitness, or adjusting to a different style of training that you haven’t done before—in full New Year’s Resolution fashion. Starting something new needn’t be scary, but we here at Strength Prose understand that it can be rather daunting. But luckily, we’ve brought together a team of writers from different backgrounds—so whether you’re looking at just starting in fitness, starting in powerlifting, or wanting to get your head around macros and calories, we can help. Its what we are here for.
- Danny Lee Managing Editor.
In This Issue
(The )Beginning (of) Powerlifting
Setting Yourself New Challenges
The Specialty of being a Generalist
New Year New Knowledge
New Year, Mindful You.
Photo by Ian Lee
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NEW YEAR, NEW KNOWLEDGE
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION New year, same thing. The number one New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, and more than half don’t make it past the first month! Thousands of new gym members, thousands of street runners and thousands of bread loaves left on the shelf because “bread makes you fat”. Note: Bread does not make you fat. In fact, no single food does! Just like no superfood, juice or fat loss pill is the answer to losing weight. People turn to health fads like the “juice diet” or “no carb diet” but fail after a month because, ultimately, life sucks without food!
Writer—Georgina Creed.
So, let’s start 2019 differently by looking at the simple relationship of food, exercise and fat before you get started.
WHERE DOES FAT COME FROM? Bread Sugar Meat Slow metabolism Lack of exercise Starvation mode Gut health Insulin resistance
Eating too much! Fat does not appear from nowhere. Fat comes from putting more food in your mouth than what your body needs. - In more ‘proper’ terms: your input energy is higher than your output energy. 9
Whether the excess of food comes from apples, juices and avocado or bacon, chips and cheese, it does not matter. Too much food is simply too much food!
FOOD contains ENERGY ENERGY is measured in CALORIES The abbreviation for CALORIES Is ‘Kcal’
MATERIAL has a LENGTH LENGTH is measured in CENTIMETRES The abbreviation for CENTIMETRES is cm
WHAT IS FOOD FOR? Your body needs food for energy to get up out of bed and get on with your daily tasks. The amount of energy you need each day is determined by several factors; the main determent being your height, weight, gender and activity status. A common misconception is that particular foods make you gain more fat than others – which is false. The only difference amongst foods is the beneficial nutritional value. We will save looking at nutritional differences of food for another day, but for now let’s stick to differences of energy input. We must focus firstly on energy because that is the most important factor for fat gain and fat loss. Use this link to an online calculator to predict how much energy you actually need each day. WHAT IS ENERGY FOR? The table below shows you what your calories are needed for. BMR – Basal Metabolic Rate; how much energy your body needs if you were to sit in bed all day. TEF – Thermic Effect of Food; how much energy it takes to digest food – only a very small portion.
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NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis; how much energy used for day to day activities – from brushing your teeth to scratching ice off your car. EAT – Exercise Activity Thermogenesis; energy used during exercise – gym sessions, running, swimming, cycling etc. TDEE – Total Daily Energy Expenditure; the total amount of enerThese values obviously depend on what you actually do. It’s no good saying to yourself that you’ve used 200kcal walking around when you’ve really been sat at a desk all daysame goes for the gym! This is where fitness trackers are great investment to help guide you with these numbers - however they are not essential to achieve fat loss.
HOW TO ACHIEVE FAT LOSS Gym everyday Detox juices “Health” teas and drinks Protein shakes Be in an energy deficit An energy deficit is achieved by eating less food than you body needs. This is easily achieved by consuming just your BMR rather than your TDEE. …So what happened when we eat more energy than our body needs (TDEE)? Eating more food than you need will put you in an ‘Energy Surplus’. After a few moths of a continual surplus you will notice increased body fat – the ability to notice will depend on how much of a surplus you are in. For example; Sarah has a TDEE of 2200kcal.
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This table shoes that if Sarah ate 2200kcal each day for a year she will not gain any weight. However, if she ate a little more than she needs (2500kcal) she will gain 14kg (2.2 stone), similarly if she ate even more (3000kcal) she will have gained 23.5kg of fat!
As you can see, fat gain isn’t something that happens overnight, and it’s important to know that neither is fat loss! TREAT YOUR CALORIES LIKE IT’S MONEY You get paid, The amount you get paid depends on how much work you do, You spend this money, If you spend too much you go into an overdraft, You continue to spend lots of money and get deeper into your overdraft, Shit…your over draft is massive, How do you fix an overdraft?? …Certainly not by spending nothing because you have bill to pay… But you can spend a little less than before by cutting out unnecessary purchases, Woo! Your overdraft has stopped getting bigger, Overdraft starts to decrease slightly as you start to spend less that you get paid, ...here’s the realisation that this is going to take longer than a month to fix. So as well as spending less you ask for more shifts, As a result you get paid more! WOOOO You carry on spending less So now you’re overdraft is disappearing even quicker! And here we are, months down the line and you’re out of your overdraft!! Party time! LESSON LEARNT: If you spend (eat) more than you earn then you will have debts (fat gain).
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If you reduce your spending (eat less) then the debt will reduce (fat gain stops). If you work (exercise) more and spend (eat) less than the debt (fat) problem is solved much quicker. OBSESSIVELY CHECKING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT? – NO! Some people say keeping track of calories is obsessive and not how you should live your life…but would you say the same about checking your bank account? You check your account because you don’t want to get into debt
You check energy values of food because you don’t want to gain fat
You check the price of things you buy because you don’t want to get into debt
You check the energy values of food because you want to make better choices
You compare prices with quantity to get the best value
You eat lower energy alternatives because you can eat more for less fat gain
You look for higher value because everyone wants more for less!
SO THERE YOU GO!
No fancy juice diets
No magical fat loss teas
No hidden fat loss formulas
Simply eating less will allow for fat loss 13
HOW DO I KNOW HOW MUCH IM EATING? On the front and back of all food products is a nutritional label. Here you can find how much energy (kcal) is in each portion. Now it would take quite a lot of time and brain power to add up the all the energy you consume from each food in each meal each day; and this is where technology is our best friend! There are great free food tracking apps which allow you to scan the barcode of the foods you eat. It then adds up all the nutrition values for each meal and day, so you can see how much
HOW TO MAKE A CHANGE Next time you go food shopping just take some extra time to compare items next to each other on the shelf and go for the one lowest in energy! Yes, fat loss can be as simple as swapping 3 or 4 of your snacks for lower energy alternatives!!
I hope I have helped you to understand what fat loss/gain actually is in hope that you will not be another failing statistic this year!
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SETTING YOURSELF NEW CHALLENGES Writer—Adam Roberts.
The only way we grow is by stepping outside of our comfort zones. This is something I’ve been reminding myself a lot recently, because at the moment I’m completely out of my comfort zone, and it’s, well, uncomfortable. So before we go on, how about a bit of background info about me? Who am I and why should you be listening to me? Hi, I’m Adam. I’ve been training people for nearly 5 years now, and I’ve been Powerlifting for around 4 years. Recently I’ve started dipping my toes into other strength sports, namely Weightlifting and Strongman to see if they benefit my main sport in any way, so far to mixed results. I picked up a minor knee injury that sidelined the Weightlifting, which is actually why I turned my attention to Strongman, and I’m oddly glad. At heart, I will always be a powerlifter. I’ve never been particularly sporty so anything that requires any sort of athletic talent was never going to be a good fit for me. So why the hell am I trying two other sports that actually require you to be athletic? Well, it’s actually quite simple, getting better at things you’re bad at can only help you be better at things you’re good at. Shocking, right? The other major factor was a conversation I had with a member of our gym, by the end of it we established that if you took a good Weightlifter and put them in a Powerlifting competition they’d do pretty well. The same is true for a good Strongman competitor, they’d also do really well. However the same couldn’t be said for a Powerlifter in a Weightlifting, or Strongman competition. They’d be too slow, uncoordinated and inflexible for Weightlifting. As for Strongman, they simply wouldn’t have enough endurance. With so many events that involve as many reps as possible in a minute, or sprints, they just wouldn’t be able to keep up. Most powerlifters, also, have disproportionately weak overhead strength, so those events would be awful. Carry and drag medleys? They’d be a shitshow. Having to, essentially, do suicide sprints while carrying heavy things? In a sport where doing more than five reps is considered cardio, could you suggest doing loaded sprints? I’m sure you can imagine how well that would go down. Thing is all these events, everything your average powerlifter would be terrible at would build very useful qualities for Powerlifting. Overall conditioning and health aside, heavy carries like yoke and farmers build ridiculous core strength. Most events either involve deadlifting and/or pressing, so you’d improve upper back strength, grip strength, hamstring strength, shoulder strength and tricep strength. All areas that if you are weak you wouldn’t be a very good powerlifter. Strongman also creates this kind of unyielding, enduring strength. It builds the will to just not give up, to not be worn down by a heavy weight. A popular phrase among a few Strongman competitors is “embrace the suck”. They know they’re going to feel terrible, they know it’s going to be awful, but if they can push through that feeling, they’ll be able to perform. This sort of mental fortitude during high-stress situations can be so 15
I’m not suggesting anyone ditches Powerlifting, completely, in favour of the other two, what I am suggesting is try including ideas from all three to become a well-rounded strength athlete. Learn the classic lifts, the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk, even if it’s simpler derivatives like Power Snatch or Power Cleans. You’ll improve your mobility, coordination and rate force production. Train legs like a weightlifter as well, hit front squats and high bar squats hard, your low bar squats can only benefit. Train your posterior chain like a Strongman, lift odd objects, stones and kegs will build a monster upper back, and crazy strong hamstrings, like nothing else, could. As I said before, farmers will build ridiculous grip strength as well as building the traps and biceps. All the overhead pressing, if not directly improving your bench will at least help to keep your shoulders healthy (along with plenty of pulling work). So I urge my fellow powerlifters, get out of your comfort zones, try something new. Find new ways of improving your strength, develop qualities that can only benefit Powerlifting, qualities that Powerlifting, alone, can’t.
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How To— Keg Clean and Press. Step 1— The Pick. Up-end the keg so that you can get one hand under the bottom rim. Your under hand (my left hand) should be on the near side of the keg’s rim, your over hand (my right hand) should be on the far side of the keg’s rim. This is called the Staggered Pick.
Step 2: Lapping
Now you need to “lap” the keg. If you notice, I’ve rotated the keg, now my left hand is the over hand, and my right hand has become my under hand.
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Step 3: The Clean From the lap position you’re going to want to push your knees back so that your shins are more vertical (similar to the Pick position from Step 1), this is going to push your hips up a little and shoulders forward, over the keg. From here this is when you perform the Clean, explosively drive your hips forward and up as your shoulders come up and back. You’ll roll the keg up your body by pulling up and back with your over hand, while punching forward and up with your under hand.
Step 4: Stabilising This step is actually optional with lighter kegs, you’re more likely to need to stabilise the keg on your shoulder with heavier weights.
Step 5: Pressing This is the easiest part of the keg Clean & Press. If you did Step 4 all you need to do is use your legs, just as you would for a normal push press, add a little punch up with the hands and you’ve done it. If you skipped Step 4 you’ll use the momentum from Step 3 to press the keg up overhead, this is commonly called a One Motion Clean & Press.
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Alternate lapping: Here I’m using an alternate, vertical, lap position. I actually find this easier than the traditional, horizontal, lap position. With this setup you’ll perform the Clean the same way you did before, except the over and under hands have changed. You still rip back with the over hand and punch up with the under hand, you’ll end up in the same position for Step 4&5 as before.
How To Guide Written by Adam Roberts.
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The Specialty of Being a Generalist. A Philosophical View On Finding What Works For You Writer—Sophie Thomas.
In ethology and evolutionary biology, there is a clearly defined difference between specialist and generalist species. As the name suggests, specialist species tend to survive on a very precise set of variables in their living space: terrain, diet, and climate, among many conditions. Generalist species on the other hand are seen to be a bit hardier – they are able to thrive a wide array of changes within their environment. A real life example would be the lifestyle of a koala and a raccoon, respectively. Koalas require the right diet, climate, and behavioral settings in order to thrive and pass on their genes. Raccoons on the other hand have adapted tremendously well to urban living, despite originally inhabitant vastly forested areas. In short, the specialist requires precise circumstances for it to live on – the generalist does not.
The fitness industry, I feel, can suffer from the inverse of this theory. In such a competitive industry, the urge to specialise and branch off into different varieties of coaching can prove tempting – and undeniably rewarding. A generic fat loss coach is certainly not be the best fit for a powerlifter looking to prepare for his meet; nor appropriate for an elderly client who just wants to feel better and move well in everyday life. No doubt there is a time and a place for specialization – particularly if you want to market yourself towards a clear audience in need of your skills. Specialisation has been a relatively new phenomenon in the fitness industry; even the 20th century saw coaches dabbling in a little bit of everything, enjoying a cross-pollination of ideas that offered good (and, undoubtedly, poor) alternatives to single-route ideologies. There has been marked benefits to specializing branches of fitness – higher standards of competitions; good quality coaching to athlete-specific training; and better regulation of drug use. (Ok, actually, scratch that – not the last thing.) A consequence of this however has been the dismissal of the generalist.
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A coach eager to learn more, adapt styles, and consistently avoid ‘Fitness Dogma’ is at a far better vantage point to adhere to clients’ values rather than their own ego. A generalist has the power to adapt their programming approaches, communication skills, and improve their knowledge base according to a client’s needs. Not only does this bond coherently with the very foundation of personal training – helping people, duh – but it encourages the coach to be humble, a willing student, and much more open to consistently evaluating and improving their approach. It also means we can end up helping more people to improve their lives. One should never underestimate the power a coach has to intervene in detrimental habits, and advocate for a lifestyle based upon longevity. The premise of this needs no in-depth experience of S&C; nor does it require intricate, academic knowledge of function in the little toe. By keeping guidance simple and brushing up on how we can articulate this knowledge – coaching cues, psychology, and habit-based teaching – not only do we make our own lives easier, but we can make others’ lives much better. By simply communicating an array of knowledge accrued from a variety of areas – in other words, to generalize – we can help people on a much larger scale. So too, as mentioned before, does the generalist have the freedom and flexibility to explore different avenues of interest. The fitness industry in particular is in a state of flux with its trends, areas of focus, and business models. The generalist coach therefore has a huge advantage by being able to adapt to novelties in this brave new world. A specialist is tied to a particular notion of thinking; they are obliged, rightfully so, to burrow into one niche and focus their research into a narrow field of vision with fervent enthusiasm. This is certainly no bad thing – indeed, specialists carry many advantages which can go amiss in the realm of generalists – but it does restrict them somewhat on their studying and marketing path.
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The generalist, on the other hand, can truly be a life student, and go through certain phases of concentration in one area, which can then be diluted and applied appropriately on a generic scale. They can then dip their toe into another pond six months later, with heightened passion for the industry knowing that they are not limited in their research pursuits. The generalist embarks on a humbling journey of learning truths and non-truths; of acknowledging past mistakes and future learning curves to be made. They can apply to their clients and audience not only the knowledge itself but the wisdom that this process has developed. In doing so, the generalist develops empathy in a way that a specialist may be missing out on – a generalist will be more likely to try out a brand new sport, or mobility course, or lifting technique, which may render them feeling like a complete beginner at movement again. This, of course, perfectly reflects the general psychological route any gym newbie may face – so by putting themselves out there, the coach has immediately cultivated a level of understanding – and in turn, rapport – with this client that a high-level athlete trainer may not be able to. In short, the generalist is able to form close connections and relations with a client that has a greater chance of that individual succeeding in fulfilling any given goal. So, as generalists, how can we maximize our skillset to help our clients to improve the lives? The first step is to acknowledge our limits. We cannot focus all of our energies into learning one single research topic – our strength here is breadth, not necessarily (a great deal of) depth. It’s vital, of course, that we understand above and beyond the foundations to refine our knowledge and continue to improve – but the pressure for us to write a dissertation on plantar flexion is certainly reduced. The second step is to cultivate empathy and develop our coaching skills. We have to remember we are teaching human beings – not robots. It’s all very well having a staunch understanding of Bayes’ theorem in motor control studies, or having a programme so intricately planned that it’d put Turing’s coding to shame. The best programme is not the most technically sound, nor scientifically exciting – but the one that the person can adhere to - and enjoy - the most. In turn, this will ensure they actually achieve their goals, and become happier and healthier in the process – a win win. The third step is two-fold: finding our ‘why’ in helping people, and using this as a springboard to develop ourselves both as people and as students. Do we feel fulfilled helping others out for a living? Can we sleep better knowing we’re contributing something of value and kindness to society? If so, how can we deliver this service to the best of our ability? The advantage of being a generalist is that immediately your audience expands by default – allowing you many an opportunity to thrive in a role of improving others’ lives and giving them happiness. Finding your ‘why’ is essential in becoming a good coach, and having the flexibility to adapt as per the person’s needs and identity – as a generalist should do. The era of the generalist is certainly not dead. In fact, we have so much power at our fingertips to help improve people’s lives and get them healthier in every sense of the word. With a fervent desire to learn and
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New Year, New Me? How about a Mindful Me? Writer—Thomas Regan.
Approaching 2019, many see it as a ‘fresh start,’ ‘new beginning’ and the dreaded ‘new year, new me.’ It sweeps social media like the black plague and by February, March at a push, most of the resolutions are squandered. Research has found that 50% of adults make New Year’s resolutions but only 10% manage to keep them for a few months. Thus meaning that 5% of the whole population change their behaviour, respectively. From a behavioural perspective, people want to ‘change’ because they fall into bad habits and want to become ‘better people.’ They believe that changing their lifestyle can bring about a sense of excitement, accomplishment and, probably happiness to an extent. The main reason people do not stick to their resolutions is that they set too many unrealistic goals and expectations. Behavioural psychologists call it ‘false hope syndrome’ as they expect changing their behaviours to be quick, easy and with limited consequences. If only 5% of the population can stick to behaviour change. What is the point in doing the same resolutions every year and forgetting them by February and expecting different results? Throw away goal setting and try something new - Mindfulness. What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing on the present moment while accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and body sensations. Mindfulness is regarded as a therapeutic technique but, in actual fact, it is a way of life. My journey of practicing mindfulness started last year and I became a huge advocate of it. Sometimes life passes us by and everything gets too much for us. Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy life and understand ourselves better. Gradually, we train ourselves to be more aware of our thoughts and feelings which can aid the prevention of stress and anxiety, and also help us to deal with them better. Life is stressful, so why add to the stress by being regimented to accomplish your behaviour change. On the other hand, life is stressful so be with it, accept it and breathe. With a busy schedule it can be hard to slow down. So set aside some time every day to be in the present moment and breathe. This is called mindfulness training. Mindfulness training derives from Buddhist practices, and has been adapted by western cultures. The way we think has a massive impact on the way we feel and act. Mindfulness is not a cure but a tool. Mindfulness is just ‘being’ without judgement and being compassionate about yourself. If the feeling of anger, sadness or depression hits us, it is instantly judged by ourselves for being ‘weak’ and ‘unstable’ as emotions are uncontrollable. One thought leads to another and, before we realise, an hour, a day, a week has passed us by. I call this the snowball effect. Imagine your thought at the top of a mountain, the snow are your thoughts, as it rolls down the mountain, your thoughts get bigger and more uncontrollable and before you know it you can’t stop it. 23
How can we prevent our thoughts from building up and becoming uncontrollable? Just Stop. Breathe. Let is pass by like a storm. Accept it. Now this will be hard to start with, with training, you will find it easier the more you practice mindfulness. Over-time, mindfulness will help long term happiness, elevations in mood and psychological well-being. Mindfulness is not about ‘meditating’ or being ‘religious.’ It is about being in the present moment and being non-judgemental. So what has mindfulness got to do with New Year’s resolutions? Well, it is just another tool to stick to behaviour change. Of course having goals is great, however it is not the be all and end all. It is like a builder, he needs different tools to do a job. The builder cannot rely on a screwdriver to hammer in a nail. He needs more than one tool. Use mindfulness as a tool (as well as other methods) to change your behaviour. Non-judging Do not ponder on your goals so much that you get frustrated and cannot think of further goals. Just pick a handful and go for it. Once you have picked your goals try to be non-judgemental with yourself if you fail a goal or relapse. Many people stop their behaviour change because they feel frustrated with themselves for not sticking out with their goals and have the ‘what’s the point’ mentality. Instantly they judge themselves and they act upon those emotions straight away which creates a negative reinforcement within themselves. Once the fear of failure sets in, it is very hard to carry on because they hate the feeling of negativity. Instead of in-
Acceptance Accept yourself for who you are and be true to yourself. Whatever you want from a new years resolution, there will be days or weeks where it doesn’t seem what you want. Accept this feeling for what it is and remind yourself why you are changing your behaviour to give you extra reinforcement. Mindfulness is being ‘in the moment’ so take each minute, each breath as it is. The moment our minds wonders, bring yourself back into the moment by focusing on your breath. For example, if you have a craving for a cigarette, bring focus back to your breath and let the craving pass. Obviously, it’s easier said than done, but with practice it will help cravings.
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Patience “Put one foot in front of the other!” Behavioural changes do not happen overnight, it takes time and patience. Many of us do not have the patience to stick to our goals. I have done it in the past, I’ve been stuck on the same book for months because “I’ll get back to it.” I’m not a saint when it comes to patience either. Behavioural changes are marathons, not sprints. Take your time with changes, go the gym when you can at the start, eventually you will go more and more and it will become part of you. This only happens with patience. Mindfulness aids patience as it doesn’t look into the future but in the present moment. Experience and enjoy the journey.
Mindfulness in Action Mindfulness has been proven to work in many aspects of behaviour change. Let us take the main resolutions that people tend to want to do. Mindfulness training has been found to be an effective treatment for addictions and smoking. Bowen et al., (2009) found that mindfulness instructions (non-judgement and be at one with the urges), smoked significantly fewer cigarettes seven days post-intervention. While 10 of 18 participants quit smoking after 6 weeks in another study (Davis et al., 2007). Exercise is a great tool for Mindfulness as there are many benefits to switching off to the world and focusing solely on your workout or run. If you are too distracted, you lose the feeling of your strength, fitness and power. So what is the point in going the gym if you are working at the same time? Exercise should be YOU time so focus on your next set, not your next meeting. In an article by The Washington Post, the writer recognised that alcohol was taking over her life and she couldn’t relax without a drink. Keri went on to write that it was hard at first to stop the cravings for a drink but she stuck through it using the headspace app. “It felt like my brain was yelling at me, it was painful but after a couple of weeks i was hooked.” She goes on to say, that after 30 days, her worries dissipated. “As you become aware, you are less prone to engage in mindless habits.” By using headspace it could aid your behaviour change by using mindfulness. In conclusion, Mindfulness based practice is a great tool to stick to your new year’s resolutions. By being nonjudgmental, having patience, and be accepting will give you a better chance of changing a behaviour rather than just setting goals. Your first resolution for the new year should be… be more mindful. Mindfulness could aid other aspects of your life such as reducing anxiety and depression. Use Mindfulness. Be happy and content. Happy New Year.
Stock Images provided by dreamstime.com LLC.
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Beginning Powerlifting.
Writer - Danny Lee
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What is Powerlifting? A powerlifting competition is where you will be measured against other competitor for how much weight you can squat, bench press and deadlift in order to make the biggest total in your weight class. Saying this, any powerlifter will tell you that it isn’t about beating the next guy, it is about beating your previous bests – putting the work in and seeing the numbers gradually rise. The Actual Competition. Every competition starts off with a weigh in – this can be nerve wracking for some but it isn’t, and shouldn’t be, that bad. This is where they will check if you have turned up weighing within the weight class you entered as – I’m a big believer of competing at your most comfortable bodyweight rather than trying too hard to fit into a weight class. Once your weight has been recorded you will then tell the nice judge person what weights you will be doing for your opening attempts. Your attempts are a different ball game again, this is something that you and your coach, if you have one, will have had some strategic thought about. Your opening attempt should be something you can comfortably achieve, maybe even something you can comfortably triple. You definitely don’t want to fail your first attempts – it could negatively affect you mentally for the rest of the competition. Depending on your federation, you will have anywhere from a 2 hour to 24 hour window for you weigh in. Which means that you do have some time to play with after weighing yourself. If it is a 2 hour window – which I am most used to – you will then take some time to chill out. Make sure you find out what group you are in and what time they lift off and plan your warm ups accordingly. Don’t warm up too quickly and don’t warm up too slowly, you don’t want to be 3 or 4 lifts away from ready when you’re name is called out. When it gets to the actual lifts (which go squat, bench press then deadlift, just in case you weren’t sure of order) you should hopefully know the standards you need to hit, including full range of motion and commands (which I’ll go over below). Get all of these, be semi conservative with openers and the competition will fly by. After each lift, you or your coach will have to give in your next attempt within one minute. If you don’t do that your next attempt will just be put down as 2.5kg higher (if you got the last lift) or the same again if you failed it.
Powerlifting – A How To. It’s quite a low barrier to get into powerlifting, really. To put it simply to do a competition successfully all you have to be able to do is know how to do the lifts to competition standard – you don’t need to be a certain strength (unless it’s a qualified event, obviously) or even a certain weight (yes, there are weight classes but at the end of the day you pick this) and unlike some Strongman events, you’re in complete control of the weights you attempt. So, first things first – learn the lifts. Once you’ve done this (and I’ll explain each lift below) you will then practice doing them in a competition style while also training to get stronger at them. If you do one part of this and not the other then you are leaving yourself woefully underprepared – you’ll do well to leave no stone unturned in this aspect. This is where a good coach, or group as discussed above, can be majorly beneficial. They can help you train in such a way that the big events on competition day don’t seem too scary or unexpected. It’s like football players who say they can’t practice the atmosphere of a penalty shootout before hand – but they can definitely practice the technique repeatedly. Now, for the lifts.
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The Squat. The squat is an exercise that uses the quadriceps, the hamstrings, the glutes and the lower back. To put it really simply you place a bar across your trapezius, or shoulders (more on that in a moment), then you squat down to a position where your hips are below the top of your thighs and the power back up to a standing position. The emboldened section of that last sentence is the crucial part – the most common reason for failure on squats at competition is a lack of depth. Get your squats nice and low and you should be fine. The second most common reason for failure on squats is failing to listen to commands. Once you have stepped out with the bar and are in an upright position the centre referee will wave their arm in diagonal manner and say “squat!” Upon this command you will squat to full depth and come back up, you will then await the “rack,” command. If you so much as step forward before being told to rack you will fail the lift. There are two distinct bar positions which can be used to squat – High bar and Low bar. The majority of people will learn high bar first, and this will be in the inventory of the recreational gym goer too. High bar is where the bar is placed across the trapezius muscle near the neck. This position works best for people who squat with their back in a more upright position. Low bar can be a bit trickier to find the best position. The best way to find the correct position is to set the bar up in a high bar position against the rack and to slide the bar down your back until you find a second racking position, you’ll feel where it sits nicely. In fact, most people will find that they cannot physically slide the bar down any further as this racking position, or ‘shelf’, gets in the way of the bar’s path. With the bar being in this position you may find that your hand width is affected. You will likely also notice that your wrists, elbows and shoulders will feel a little uncomfortable due to the
Genetics play a large role in which bar position you choose –
High Bar requires – greater ankle flexion, shorter relative femur length, longer torso length, wider stance and more quadriceps dominance.
Low Bar requires – longer relative femur length, shorter torso, wider stance, greater gluteal strength.
Also, high bar squats respond best to an elevation in the heel, so this is where weightlifting shoes can come in handy. Low bars respond better to no heel elevation, so flat shoes are good for this.
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The Bench Press. A bench press is when you lie down on a bench (on your back, of course) unrack a bar over your chest, although its more like your face/ neck, and bring it down to your chest (all the way), pause it, and then press it back up. With doing this you are using the pectoralis muscles, the triceps and the deltoids (you are also using the latissimus dorsi (the back) to bring the bar down in a controlled manner on the descent phase).
The powerlifting style of bench press can often get strange looks from the uninitiated due to its potentially wider grip, strange foot position and bizarre back arch. The reason for this is that the rule book states that your feet need to be flat on the floor, and your butt, shoulders and head need to be in contact with the bench. There is no mention of where your back should be, and by raising the back (and therefore the chest) up you are minimising the range of motion in which the bar has to travel, and this should result in more weight being shifted. Implementing an arch also leads to you maintaining a better tightness throughout both portions of the movement.
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While on the subject of rules – there are three commands for bench press in most federations. Which consist of “start,” which is said once the lifter has a hold of the bar over their body with their arms locked out; followed by, “press,” which you will hear once the judge has seen that the bar is steady and level on the chest. I’ve italicised that bit as its crucial – if you are moving the bar around on your chest it is not level or steady. After you’ve pressed it up you will have to wait for the “rack,” command. Like the squat “rack,” command this one will come almost as soon as you’ve locked out so there’s really no reason to rush it.
The Deadlift. This is where you have barbell on the floor and you pick it up and lift it to hip height so that your knees, hips, and shoulders are locked out. This is quite often where the main portion of your total will be built – for many it is their biggest lift of the three.
Conventional or Sumo? As with the bar positions on the squat, there are two types of deadlift which can be employed. The conventional deadlift is very narrow. You will have a narrow foot stance and as a result you will have a narrow hand spacing upon the bar (just wider than your feet). The Sumo deadlift, however, involves having a very wide stance with your feet turned out. Your arms will be fairly narrow. The sumo deadlift has a shorter range of motion to travel than the conventional does but it does not suit everyone. Generally, it requires a longer relative femur length and short torso length. However, this does not mean every low bar squatter will sumo deadlift, as arm length also plays a large part in the set up.
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The set up for the conventional deadlift will look something like –
Set your feet. Meaning to set the width of your feet as well as find where they go in relation to the bar. Your foot width is normally roughly heels in line with your shoulders and with your toes pointed out a little, very little, for increased glute involvement. Next you will have it so that the bar is covering the bottom shoelace/bottom of your toes. This gives you enough space to get down to the bar whilst staying tight without falling over.
Squat down to the bar. At this point, you want to keep your back in a tight position and squat down to the bar and grab it either side of your feet. If you find that getting down to the bar either makes you: 1. Fall over, or; 2. Have your shoulders ahead of the bar, or even; 3. Start too far away from the bar, then you should go back to setting your feet and bring yourself either slightly further forward or back depending on the issue. You want it so that when you grab the bar there is enough space for your knees to come forward and let you align your shoulders with the bar, which you’ll do on the next step.
Pull your hips into the bar. At this point you then want to pull on the bar to take the slack out. As you do this, you also pull your hips gently into place. I usually suggest that people do this slowly at first so that they can feel where the hips feel strongest. You don’t want them so low so that you have “squat” the bar off of the floor, but also not too high so that it’s a complete pulling movement from the back. You might also find that if you do start too low you might put a lot of effort into the movement when in reality all you are doing at this point is waiting for your hips to get into the correct starting place before they move.
Lift it. And do so in a controlled manner. Don’t just grip it and rip it, this is likely to result in your upper back just giving up. The vast majority of people simply don’t have the upper back strength to do this without their shoulders caving. Initially pulling like this can result in the bar coming off of the floor very slowly but you’ll get used to it and it will result in you maintaining your shape throughout the whole movement.
Now that we have looked at conventional, let’s take a whirl at sumo –
Set your Feet. Stand with your feet wide, so wide so that when you bend down in this position your shins are roughly vertical. This may take some work, especially if your hips/adductors/ glutes or even your ankles are tight. Push the knees out, and keep the back tight. Grab the bar at, roughly, shoulder width. This means that your arms will be pretty much straight down.
Find your hip position. Get your hips and shoulders aligned so your back is not arched. You don’t want the hips too low as this is likely to curve your lower back. If your hips are too high you’re likely to just ‘conventional deadlift’ it off of the floor. By which I mean that a sumo pull should be less of a hinge movement than a conventional deadlift.
Begin with the feet. Dig your heels in and push the floor away, while you do this imagine that you are pushing your feet out to the sides as well.
Knees before hips. Your knees are likely to lock as the bar passes them, this differs from conventional where your knees and hips will lock out together.
Lockout! Stand up to straight, do not hyperextend but this is where you lock out your hips.
Note – Sumo is definitely more technical than conventional, so none of this “sumo is cheating,” stuff”!
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(The) Beginning (of) Powerlifting. Origins. Quite often you will read online about how Bob Hoffman and his AAU (American Athletic Union) created American Powerlifting in the 1960s. Hoffman and the AAU had, for a long time, a monopoly on the major strength sports at the time – the main focus was upon Olympic Weightlifting, Hoffman and his company, York Barbell, trained the US teams for the Olympic games in the 40s, 50s and 60s. It was during this time that the AAU also added in Bodybuilding into their repertoire – this predates the IFBB of today’s fame, leaving the AAU’s only rival being Great Britain’s NABBA association. Hoffman began having Bodybuilding contests nailed on to the end of Olympic Weightlifting contests, often competitors would try their hand at both – early Bodybuilding legends like John Grimek, for example, who was a champion weightlifter and bodybuilder in his day. The AAU eventually hosted the American Powerlifting Championship in York, Pennsylvania in 1964, which then led to the first national event in 1965. However, in the 1950s the British were doing something called the ‘Strength Set’, this was a contest involving the Barbell Curl, the Bench Press and the Squat, in that order. Much like today, this was split into weight classes and the person with the biggest total would win. 1965 saw the Barbell Curl being replaced with the Deadlift, which then resulted in the sport now being called Powerlifting. The first British Championship was held in 1966 – opening the door for future internationals. Powerlifting Now. With the slow increase of popularity and fame in strength sports from the 1960s onwards, it is no surprise that powerlifting has now filtered into nearly every country in the world. You only have to look at the number of entrants, in terms of countries and competitors, at an IPF World’s or the Arnold Classic to measure this popularity. The current social media age also seems to have brought powerlifting more to the forefront of the average gym goers world. Instagram and YouTube are full of powerlifters of all levels bringing attention to themselves and the sport as a whole – it is only going to get bigger, and Strongman is following a similar course now.
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Old Beginnings.
By Danny Lee. I decided Sheina was a good person to interview for this issue due to the fact that just over a year ago she was a beginner herself and is a great example of all of the opportunities that can arise when New Beginnings are capitalised on. A bit of background on Sheina—she is 21, from Manchester and a student of University of Liverpool. Prior to becoming a powerlifter Sheina played rugby union in her first year of university. What got you into powerlifting? -
I kind of stumbled upon powerlifting. I’d never heard of it before. I’d Been going to the gym for a few months and really enjoyed it, and somehow I discovered Taylor’s strength online and then I discovered powerlifting and the rest is history.
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How Did You Train Before Powerlifting? Before powerlifting I didn’t really focus on the compound lifts, I couldn’t deadlift and I certainly couldn’t squat to depth. Obviously my strength has improved massively, but also just generally technique has and is constantly improving. I’m also learning that maxing out constantly doesn’t work, and that following a plan will lead to gains in the long term. What is your biggest achievement in powerlifting so far? My biggest achievement to date is coming 4th at the British juniors in September, my first national competition. Despite the day not going exactly to plan I still managed to bag a couple of NW records too. I’ve got a few months now till my next comp, the British Women’s to improve on technique and strength with Danny’s help. I hope to join the 400 Wilks Club and get into the top 3 juniors in the 57kg class, as well achieve a 70+ bench.
Who inspires you in powerlifting? (before getting into it and now) Since starting powerlifting I have been constantly discovering inspiring lifters. Stefi Cohen is one id say is inspiring on the world stage and then there’s Cat Smith, a fellow 57kg lifter who holds the junior world record on deadlift, I can only hope to have deadlift as strong as hers very soon.
How do you maintain the work/life/training balance? I am currently a third year medical student, which means balancing training on top of long days and studying, and making sure to eat enough before training as well as sleeping enough, this means sacrificing having a busy social life and accepting that the occasional training session won’t go as well as I’d like. However, this makes me more determined to do well. What advice would you give to anyone who wanted to get into powerlifting? I would say to anyone thinking of starting or unsure whether powerlifting is for them, everyone has to start somewhere so give it a try, it’s a very rewarding sport and by picking the right coach you will get stronger in no time.
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