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Have you ever wondered why certain training protocol might be extremely difficult for one athlete and leaving him wrecked for over a week, but to another athlete, it may be easy? Of course, it’s dependent on a huge number of factors from work capacity, energy systems, fundamental capability, fatigue tolerance and so on. How do you find out which athlete you are and, more importantly, which way you should train? For that, you’ve got to be able to train according to your body’s needs.

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Sometimes I forget how easy life seems. I stay pretty lean throughout the year, so when I order one of the gargantuan entrees at The Cheesecake Factory, clean the plate and move on to the apple crisp with the 3 lbs. of whipped cream, I feel the eyes on me. I, however, have a diet where splurging is necessary.

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When I started competing in power lifting in 2003, I was a svelte — even scrawny — but lean 217 lbs. People thought I was lifting in the 198s because I always looked lighter than I actually weighed. As the years passed, so did the weight classes. By 2005, after fewer than two years of competing, I started to hit what was, for me, some good numbers. My bodyweight climbed to a stouter (and more suiting for my height at 5 feet, 10 inches) bodyweight of about 235 to 237 lbs. My squat went from 705 lbs. to a respectable 925 lbs., bench to 556 lbs.

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The log press is a staple event in most Strongman contests and is a critical event to master in order to obtain top results. It is a movement that must be trained consistently to reach peak performance. Some of the best bench pressers and Olympic lifters have been humbled the first time they attempted a log press. The movement requires precise technique, overhead strength and repetition to hit big numbers. In this article I will go through the basics to explain the log press, and offer some tips on how to improve results.

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Jeremy Hoornstra is the strongest bencher I have ever seen. He’s got the formula for getting the best raw bench out there. We can all follow his advice, especially raw lifters, for a more powerful bench. He is not overly massed like yours truly, and that rules out mass leverage.

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Strengthening a raw bench is like building a house. You start with a solid foundation. As powerlifters, our body is our foundation, so we must develop a routine for the chest, shoulders, back and legs.

Build the chest

Developing the chest is the first step. A chest routine needs to promote growth and develop strength. It should contain basic barbell and dumbbell movements, use different hand positioning and vary the number of sets and repetitions. Recommended chest exercises include barbell/dumbbell inclines, close-grip bench, wide-grip bench and floor presses.

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All too often, powerlifters trying to make weight sacrifice their strength by dieting away hard-earned muscle along with body fat.

It’s no wonder, considering all the fad diets and cardio programs that somehow make their way into the weight loss programs of elite athletes who depend on strength and power.

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One thing I know for sure: Whether you train for powerlifting competitions or use powerlifts to improve your athletic ability, you will get hurt. If you’ve been training for a few years, you have undoubtedly experienced some type of injury. As a powerlifter or serious power athlete, you may have injured your lower back. This can cause problems with the good old back squat, box or no box, and the deadlift.

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The key to success in today’s sporting world is to develop a complete athlete. If you compete, or if you just love to train, you need to look at how you can continue to make positive gains.

I believe you must have a great philosophy so you know why you are being successful, and also why you aren’t making gains. A great philosophy is like a set of train tracks. Going through the training life, the more successful you become means you stayed on track. If you start having problems, you’ve probably been derailed.

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Pain.

Everyone experiences it.

But I seem to experience more pain than the average person.

Yes, there is the blood, sweat, and tears. I feel that pain on a daily basis. Not being able to catch your breath after a set, dropping your last meal on the squat rack, knees aching so bad you can’t sleep—physical pain is nothing I can’t bear.