There are a number of things we can do to improve our health and fitness. Strength training is one of the more popular options.And it's not an uncommon goal to hear people new to exercise describe their goal as wanting to get stronger.'I'd like to have stronger arms' says the woman as she massages the back of her triceps.'I'd like to be able to do a pull-up' says the female athlete trying out for a new team.'I'd like to deadlift xxx pounds' says the business executive that wants to be able to test himself in a gym setting.And these are all reasonable goals. But after we've trained for an appreciable amount of time e.g. 6-12 months, we notice the gains start slowing or stop altogether.For example, the person that has never deadlifted could pull 135 lbs in their first month. And it's not unreasonable to hit 225 lbs by their third month. This progress won't continue linearly for the rest of the year. In other words if three months is a quarter of the year we can't expect this person to increase their deadlift to four-times their three month total by the end of the year. This would result in a 900 lbs deadlift. That's not happening.So we get it that our strength has limits and that the gains come more quickly at the beginning.But at point should would be satisfied with our strength? When is enough strength, enough?Well, if you're a competitive lifter you're never satisfied with enough. You're always seeking an extra kilo on the bar or maybe a second rep at your max load.This is because the higher we get in a competitive field the harder it is to continually improve. Track and field shows us numerous examples of this. In the 100 m race it's not uncommon for...

Last Saturday we held another powerlifting contest at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. Here's a quick recap of the day and two quick lessons that will help you improve your lifts. The one interesting thing about our powerlifting contests is how casual they are. We have the music playing. Everyone is joking around. And everyone is wearing triple layers of everything as it is -18 C outside. But once we get started we look forward to seeing who can lift what for deadlift, bench press, squat and 3 rep chin up. And it's always fun when friends and family come by to watch. One of them observed a successful deadlift, which involves picking a bar up off the ground and standing up with it, and commented 'now what?' Yes, it's true powerlifting may not impress everyone but it's still a great way to see where you're at. And besides seeing where you've made gains with your lifts you also learn quite a bit about the lifts themselves. Lesson #1 - Sticking Points ExposedFor example, you learn your sticking points. This is the part of the lift where the bar seems to stop moving and either leads to an unsuccessful attempt or results in spending an excessive amount of energy in order to complete the rep. Let's consider the bench press. If someone were able to press the bar off their chest but not be able to lock out the lift it may be that they lack triceps strength which is crucial for extending the arms and finishing a press. Maybe some isolated triceps training would help this person complete the rep more easily and push through to new gains. Or it could be that someone is able to pull a deadlift to mid-shin but lacks the glute and low back strength to...

  This is a continuation of a 3 Part series related to common gym training mistakes. Please see the previous post for Part I.4. Going straight into my first set. When I was younger and it was bench day a warm-up involved doing 10 or so reps with just the bar. That's it. And then as I started to add load to the bar for my working sets I might do a doorway chest stretch in between sets. Not anymore. Now before I even get under a bar for I'll do a general warm-up, some foam rolling, a dynamic warm-up, some mobility and stability work and then some full depth squats or hip hinges. And even once I step under the bar I'll do many more light sets before getting up to working load. And guess what? My lifts are as good as they ever been, I recover more quickly and I have no joint issues to speak of. Couldn't say the same of my body in my younger days. 5. Don't ignore the little guys. I'm talking about the 2.5 lbs and 5 lbs plates. When was the last time you added 2.5 lbs to the bar? Be honest? But how many guys with a strong bench will do 135 lbs, 225 lbs and 315 lbs for their last set? I'm not sure why it is but we seem to ignore the value of small increments in our loads. If you are calculating your loads properly then 2.5 lbs per side  may be adequate for some people to increase from one workout to the next. To keep your gains coming and to minimize injury look to the little guys. 6. Shrugs. Every young at some time has wanted big traps. It goes without saying that when we're young guys we want to work on every muscle from the...