Category: Precision Powerlifting Systems

Written by: Kevin Cann The human is a complex system.  I think this idea most accept, but most have a hard time understanding what this means.  In order to make sense of things we like to reduce the complexity down to a sum of its parts, and perhaps disregard some more complex nuances. How coaches view developing strength is a great example of this.  We view the acquisition of strength as a primarily physical byproduct of certain types Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann There was a post written yesterday by a relatively popular coach on Instagram that demonized bands and chains.  He then followed this up with a TikTok video of him making fun of what seems to be Westside max effort variations. This is sadly the age we live in.  I am all for having some fun, but an attitude like this is what leads to the stalling of progress in the field.  Progress does not Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann Powerlifting is filled with high frequency and high volume programs these days.  I think this stems to Dietmar Wolf and Boris Sheiko gaining popularity in America around the same time that raw powerlifting was starting to really blow up.  Mike Zourdos’ dissertation on daily undulated periodization also occurred around this time as well.  Making it “evidence based” to use this type of programming. The thing about Wolf’s and Sheiko’s programs were they took recommended Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann In any sport, when the coach drafts up a plan for practice, that plan usually includes drills to work on specific skills as well as specific strategies to execute during games.  Powerlifting containing lifts that are typically used to enhance strength in athletes tends to have a different viewpoint in constructing a practice. Training is practice in powerlifting.  This is just like any other sport.  The lifter needs to work on developing certain skills Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann I had one of those “aha moments” yesterday while I was training.  I have been reading quite a bit on deliberate practice, attempting to find a means to squeeze every bit of potential out of each lifter I coach.  This planted the seed for this thinking. I had decided to perform some comp singles this week just to see where I was at.  I hit a 515lb squat, which is 8lbs more than my Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann The acquisition of high level skill has always been something that has interested me.  This is probably why hearing Sheiko speak made me want him to coach me and why I lean towards using a Dynamic Systems Theory approach to training and developing the skill of strength. Daniel Wolpert believes that the brain only exists to allow us to move.  He uses the example that all living organisms without a brain do not Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann A popular lifter/coach made an arbitrary list of exercises and gave each exercise a rating.  I understand what he was trying to do, and it is really not a bad idea.  Every coach has their own lists of exercises that they prefer.  I could not disagree more with the ratings of a lot of the exercises, but that is not what this article is about. Dynamic Correspondence (DC) was defined by Yuri Verkoshansky in Read More

Kevin Cann At the end of every year I like to look back and see what I learned along the way.  We need to rewind back to 2019 to see the true effects of 2020. 2019 was the year that I felt I really began to come into my own.  My roster was the largest it has ever been and also the strongest it had ever been.  We had more women that squatted 300lbs than didn’t squat 300lbs Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann People have a giant misunderstanding about what we do at Precision Powerlifting Systems.  I was mentioned on a podcast where the host said that “Kevin is just going through his Westside phase.”  He said it saying that every coach has gone through that phase. Ironically, he was having this conversation with a 24 year old lifter, online programmer (not a coach), and aspiring actor who loves to prove that “Westside doesn’t work” with Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann I have this conversation a few times now in the last couple of weeks.  There seems to be some misunderstanding in regard to the execution of the squat and how to involve the most muscle mass. There seems to be this trend to drive the knees forward and not out to initiate the squat.  One person told me that the argument was that it allows us to use our hip adductors more.  That thought Read More