Written by: Kevin Cann As coaches I think we get stuck in our own heads sometimes about how to write the best program in the fucking world. I know I can speak of my younger self in this regard. Being so in tune to the program did eventually lead me to learn quite a bit about the training process when I took a larger view of the human in front of me. It is how I came up Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann Sports are a way for us to explore our inner makeup. To see what drives us and understand ourselves better. Sports then affords us the opportunity to work towards becoming the person that we want to become. Everyone should participate in competitive sports in my opinion, but of course I am biased. These last few months of training have been as brutal of a stretch as I have experienced in any sport that I Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann It gets easy to get caught up in the idea that pushing harder is always the right thing to do. Even at times knowing better I will push things harder than I should. Problem is, I am not 24 years old anymore. Our program uses submaximal reps to help stabilize adaptations. I have found that these reps do not need to be very hard in order to accomplish that job. Higher intensity lifting builds the Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann Before the pandemic of 2020 hit, I was doing most of my coaching in person. I love the atmosphere of being in person. The intensity of the environment, people yelling, and weights banging. These sounds become my beating heart in a training environment. I love sports, and even more, I love to fucking compete. As a coach your programming and coaching needs to be an extension of who you are as a person. I am more Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann This has been a topic that haunted me for most of my coaching career up to this point. At the end of the day, I am in a results driven business. Lifters seem to come in with an expectation that progress should happen very quickly and be unlimited. As a coach do you just throw everything at them and get them really strong really quickly, or do you take a more patient approach? I Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann When we are in the gym hitting repetitions, we are learning. Since we are learning, our memory systems are involved in this process. I believe we have 4 different memory systems, but today I am going to spend time discussing 2 of them. Coaches give lifters feedback on their lifts. However, do lifters understand how to take this feedback and apply it underneath the barbell for the best results? I feel many do not know Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann Powerlifting is a skilled sport. To be able to squat, bench press, and deadlift with maximal weights is a developed skill. I think there is a major misconception on how we go about developing these skills. Malcom Gladwell made the “10,000 hour” rule a known concept. Many coaches and athletes take this and think that they just need to put in the repetitions and eventually they will display high level performance. Of course, time Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann I tell Precision Powerlifting Systems that they should be meditating a minimum of 10 minutes every single day. I will admit that some do it and some do not do it. That does not discourage me from telling them consistently how important that meditation is to their success as athletes as well as people. Meditation has many health benefits like increased mood, decreased blood pressure, decreased heart rate, and many others. I want to Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann I think that most coaches will agree that repetitions in training should be focused and that mindless repetitions are not too beneficial beyond a certain point. There is only so far that “checking a box” will get you. However, I do not believe that most understand what focused reps are. When I ask people what that means I get responses like “Not checking my phone”, or “I think about the things that I Read More
Written by: Kevin Cann One of the things that I have been focusing a lot on with the group is reflecting. These reflections have really helped me understand who I am. This is important for us finding a purpose (intent) to our coaching and training. This purpose needs to mean something to the individual. This will help them face setbacks and adversity and stick with the sport long enough to develop skills that extend far beyond the platform. Reflection Read More