Precision Powerlifting Systems

Written by: Kevin Cann

I typically write posts about training.  This one is going to be a little different.  The last month has seen some major changes for the Precision Powerlifting Systems crew.  We are no longer affiliated with Total Performance Sports as of January.  We are our own entity now.

We are now located at RX Strength Training in Somerville.  Jeff, the owner, is an awesome guy and has created a great training environment and has welcomed us right into his facility.  Moving forward this will be great for the PPS lifters.

I can now focus 100% of my attention on coaching my group of competitive lifters.  I no longer am obligated to perform tasks unrelated to this.  I will continue to drum up content and do what is necessary to grow a business, but my primary job right now is coaching the PPS team.

To quote Field of Dreams “If you build it they will come.”  As long as I do good work as a coach and people get stronger the business will grow.  So, one actually ties into the other.  With that said it is hard to take a step forward without looking backwards.

2.5 years ago, this all started with just me and Danielle Bond.  I had just gone to a Sheiko seminar and was kicking around the idea of him being my coach.  Danielle was just starting to intern as a coach at TPS.

When I finally pulled the trigger to have Sheiko coach me I told Danielle that she was going to be my guinea pig to help me figure out this powerlifting stuff.  I knew nothing about the sport, I had not competed yet, but I wanted to learn since I was the head coach of a gym with a lot of powerlifters.

At the time Danielle’s lifts were 205lb squat, she had never benched, and 275lbs on a deadlift.  I weighed around 170lbs and hadn’t picked up a barbell in years since I was still doing the mma thing a few nights a week.

Danielle set the foundation of PPS.  She put some blind trust into me and worked her ass off.  It paid off with some big lifts at USAPL Nationals this past October.  Danielle will forever and always be my favorite (sorry everyone else).  That moment on the platform in Orlando was the most satisfying coaching experience of my career.  I not only watched my first lifter put up numbers on a big stage, but also watched a good friend do it.

No one else was there with us in the beginning.  It was truly me and Danielle vs the world.  Everyone else was doing Westside programming stuff and we were doing something very different.  Something neither of us had done before.  And we fucking did it.  Not only did we do it, but we did it well.

October 10th of 2015 this little fiery female walked into my office looking for a powerlifting coach.  I looked at her videos and she was pretty strong.  However, some really high squats and catback deadlifts showed she needed a lot of work.

There was a powerlifting group that did some Westside style programming 3 times a week that Kerry could not join due to times.  I technically didn’t have a group, it was just me and Danielle messing around with things.

I thought it over and decided that Kerry would be a good training partner for Danielle.  I was gaining confidence in my abilities to coach this sport as well, so the timing was perfect.  This was the start of the group.

The group formed by chance and almost by accident.  At that time, I wouldn’t have thought that me and Kerry would be gearing up to go compete at the Arnold, or that Kerry would become a close enough friend that she frequently gets drinks after work with my wife.  70 weeks later, Kerry sure as hell does not squat high and is getting closer and closer to that 300lb squat at 52kg and she is sharing a platform with some of the best lifters in the world.

Shortly after Kerry joined the group, Dave in Florida started working with me.  I knew Dave from Mass and saw that he was competing in powerlifting.  Dave is my boy and I was excited to be able to coach him.  Nick joined in January of 2017.  Nick is my training partner and friend.  He makes me a better lifter on a weekly basis.  This formed a solid foundation of national level lifters.

We all got to live with each other for a week at Nationals last year and it brought us closer together as a team.  I love these guys.  They are the reason why I lift.  I do it so that I can be a better coach for them.

After nationals we had an explosion of new people.  There were some that came before nationals, but the primary growth was after.  Kina for example started with me in April and we are approaching our 1 year anniversary.

PPS grew so fast it was hard for me to catch up.  Luckily every new member in this group is pretty awesome.  I am really excited for the group that we have currently.  There are beginners, intermediates, and more advanced lifters which keeps me on my toes for sure.

I am truly looking forward to what the future holds for all of these guys and girls of PPS.  This is the start of something big and you all are part of this and are making it happen.  For that, thank you.

About Kevin Cann 33 Articles
Precision Powerlifting Systems is based out of Boston, Mass. Head Coach Kevin Cann leads the raw and single ply powerlifting team through individualized programming leading up to local, regional, national, and international level USA Powerlifting meets. Coach Kevin has worked as a nutritionist and strength coach for several facilities in the greater Boston area including Harvard University and Total Performance Sports. He holds a master’s degree in kinesiology from A.T. Still University and a bachelor’s degree in health and wellness from Kaplan University. Currently, Coach Kevin competes in the 105kg class in USA Powerlifting as both a raw and equipped open lifter and was under the tutelage of former team Russia powerlifting coach and coaching legend, Boris Sheiko, from 2015-2018. Kevin utilizes many of Sheiko’s legendary methods in his programs. This includes the belief that technique is the most important aspect of training. Not only has Kevin been a long term student of Sheiko’s, he also possesses his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology, the science of human movement. The combination of his Master’s degree and time spent working with the legendary coach has awarded him with the skills to thoroughly analyze your lifts and utilize the right variations, weights, and repetitions to improve your technique and continue to steadily progress over time. Through Kevin’s experiences coaching, he has made many adjustments to the program to allow for the success of his lifters. PPS has had an Arnold qualifier every year in its existence, a top 5 national total, 2 top 10 totals, and many top 20 totals nationally. Kevin combined what he learned from Sheiko with a conjugate trining style. He learned that nothing builds 1RM strength like practicing singles. He uses a constraints-led approach with the singles. The variation allows for the athlete to continually take max singles without seeing a decrease in performance. Kevin will use variations that punish technical inefficiency and only leaves room to complete the task with a more technically efficient strategy. Heavy singles also works the psychological components of the sport. Oftentimes this goes untrained and is the largest weakness in a lifter. Along with the max effort work, PPS lifters perform sub maximal work to continue to increase technical proficiency within the lifts. Some of this technique work utilizes special exercises that Kevin learned from Boris Sheiko himself. PPS supports raw, drug free powerlifting. Kevin has coached numerous athletes that have qualified for USAPL Nationals as well as the USAPL competitions at the Arnold Sports Festival. Cost for coaching is tiered and ranges from $125 to $200 per month depending on the services required. This includes an individualized program based around your needs as an athlete as well as feedback on your lifts from videos. Text support as you are training, weekly voice memos explaining details about the upcoming week, and bi-weekly training meetings with the team to discuss training concepts is part of the tier 1 service. For more information email Kevin directly at kevin@precisionpowerlifting.com