英文原答
1. What is one lesson from a coach or training partner early in your lifting life that still influences you today? I'd love to hear a specific example.
2. When a lifter comes to you with a stalled bench press, what do you look at first before deciding whether their program needs to change?
3. For someone with a busy job who still wants to get stronger, what would you most want them to focus on, and what could they do less of?
I’ve
taught seminars in Qingdao and Beijing and really enjoyed the people and
their enthusiasm for strength training. I’d love to return for another
seminar. I appreciate your publication helping build that connection and
giving us an opportunity to exchange ideas.
*1. What is one lesson from a coach or training partner early in your
lifting life that still influences you today?*
My mentor, Dr. Fred Hatfield, was probably the greatest mind in the history
of powerlifting. I had the privilege of teaching 25 seminars with him and
coauthoring a book together. Rest in peace, my friend.
His teaching on compensatory acceleration training still influences how I
coach every day.
Fred used to explain that one of the biggest differences between average or
pretty good lifters and great lifters is how they apply force. The great
ones may never have heard of compensatory acceleration, but they often do
it naturally. They attack the weight with maximum intent.
The idea is to produce as much force as possible throughout the lifting
portion of the rep while maintaining proper technique. The bar may move
slowly because the weight is heavy, but your intention is to move it
explosively.
Precise reps, violent intention.
I consider this a style of execution you bring to your training. Your sets,
reps, and percentages matter, but so does how you execute them.
Here’s an illustration I’ve used in my newsletter. Imagine you’re
performing five sets of five full range of motion powerlifting squats with
the same weight each set. You come out of the hole forcefully, but as your
leverage improves, you flip on cruise control and coast to the finish.
For this illustration, divide the ascent into two halves and count only the
portions where the load and fatigue force a demanding effort:
-
*Set 1:* You coast through all five reps. No portions meet that
threshold in our example: 0 percent.
-
*Set 2:* Only the bottom half of the final rep meets it. Half a rep
divided by five reps: 10 percent.
-
*Set 3:* Same as Set 2: 10 percent.
-
*Set 4:* The bottom halves of the final two reps meet it. Two halves
equal one whole rep. One divided by five: 20 percent.
-
*Set 5:* The bottom half of every rep meets it. Five halves equal two
and a half reps. Two and a half divided by five: 50 percent.
Across 25 reps, that adds up to four and a half complete reps’ worth of
those demanding portions, or 18 percent.
That’s a simplified illustration of effort distribution, not a measurement
of biological adaptation. The other portions still contribute to training.
But it shows the opportunity you miss when you wait for the weight or
fatigue to demand force instead of deliberately producing it.
With compensatory acceleration, you attack every lifting portion with
maximum intent, including where improving leverage would otherwise let you
coast. You bring purposeful acceleration to 100 percent of those portions.
Trying to accelerate a heavy weight can help develop explosive strength
even when the bar moves slowly. Attacking submaximal weights can also
contribute to maximal strength development. Does that mean you can avoid
heavy weights forever? Of course not. Specificity still matters.
But think about that execution accumulating over sessions, weeks, months,
and years. Intention helps drive the adaptation.
Don’t just complete the rep. Attack it with purpose.
*2. When a lifter comes to you with a stalled bench press, what do you look
at first before deciding whether their program needs to change?*
I start with stimulus, recovery, and adaptation.
What training stimulus is the lifter receiving? Is it too much, too little,
or poorly directed? Are they recovering from it? Is it ultimately producing
progress?
Someone who needs more productive work and someone who can’t recover from
their current workload may have the same complaint, but they need different
solutions.
I look at volume, frequency, exercise selection, recovery, and whether
they’re actually following the program. Of course, technique matters. If
someone is losing tightness or putting themselves in a poor position to
produce force, we address it.
But I don’t assume every stalled bench press is a technical problem. Think
about technical demands on a spectrum. In gymnastics or Olympic lifting,
the best performers share many technical characteristics. Bench pressing
allows more individual variation. Some world record holders have techniques
other coaches would criticize.
You still need sound execution, but you also need the right muscles
developed and the brute force to move the weight. In my experience, the
bench press benefits tremendously from bodybuilding work, often more than
the squat or deadlift.
Supporting lifts provide clues, too. How strong is their overhead press
relative to their bench? Around 70 percent is a reference point I use, with
individual differences taken into account. It’s a clue to investigate, not
a rule that diagnoses everybody.
Ultimately, we identify what’s limiting progress before deciding what to
change. Coaching is a chess match. You make a move based on the person in
front of you, evaluate the response, and figure out the next move.
*3. For someone with a busy job who still wants to get stronger, what would
you most want them to focus on, and what could they do less of?*
Consistency comes first. A program has to fit the life you actually live.
Too many people plan their training in fantasy land. They write down four
sessions a week when their job and family responsibilities realistically
allow three. Then they miss Friday every week and wonder why the program
isn’t working.
Every training session should have a purpose. If you consistently miss
Friday, you consistently miss whatever that session was supposed to
accomplish. Over time, that becomes a hole in your training.
I’d rather someone do a little less, execute it well, and keep showing up.
You can get a lot stronger with a realistic schedule, productive exercises,
and steady progression.
Focus on the main lifts, assistance work that addresses your needs, and
enough recovery to keep progressing. Track what you do. Give every session
a purpose.
Do less program hopping, less unnecessary work, and less wishful thinking
about how much training you can fit into your week. Start with what you can
reliably accomplish. Add more when your schedule and recovery justify it.
Pretty good all the time is a hell of a lot better than perfect on paper
that you can’t execute.
