On this episode of Athlete Things, Sam and Danny sit down with American Powerlifter Alexis Jones. 

Alexis has been on a tear this year, breaking the all-time female world record total (raw and tested) TWICE, including 701kg at Collegiate Nationals and 721.5kg at the most recent USAPL Nationals where she also placed first. 

Alexis will now be taking her talents to the world stage, transitioning to Powerlifting America/IPF where she will be looking to go to her first ever IPF Classic Worlds and Sheffield. 

In this episode, the team discuss squat, bench press, and deadlift biomechanics, shedding light on key concepts like centre of mass and sagittal plane movement competency. They break down common issues, from depth in squat to elbow depth in bench and lockout in deadlift. Plus, they delve into how leverages can impact the lift's efficiency and feel. 

In this episode of the Roundtable, the team are probed with 'would you rather' questions that aim to provoke discussion.

What would you answer to the following?
Athlete you work with overshoot every session and tell you
Or
Not fill out their program

Receive untrimmed videos
Or
No caption

Overcommunicate and be sent unecessary information from your athlete
Or
Undercommuniation (no videos, messages)

Work with an athlete with history of minor injuries who is highly coachable
Or
Injury free but resistant to coaching feedback (challenges technique, goes off program)

Be able to instantly recover from pain/injury but see small progression 
Or
See massive progression but also experience drop offs and come backs due to pain/injury

As athletes:
Make it to sheffield and risk bombing 
or
Lifting a world record in the gym but no recording or witnesses

No injuries from now
Or
Go back to when you started with the knowledge you have now

Coaches Kelly Mann and Steven Day return to discuss individualisation from the new to elite lifter. What do you need to be aware of when making changes? How big do they need to be? How does athlete feedback play a role? How do new vs. elite lifters differ? And when you do determine when individualisation is appropriate? 

Stay up to date on what Perf has going on, on instagram @performotion and check out the other podcast segments we post on Spotify and Apple Music! 

On this episode of Athlete Things, Sam and Danny sit down with u93kg Junior lifter from Great Britain, Nathan Gevao!

Nathan has had a very successful year of Powerlifting, after moving up to the 93kg class in his last year as a junior he became the best lifter overall at the 2023 British Junior Nationals and just won his first-ever title at the most recent IPF Junior World Championships in Romania.

The episode dives deep into Nathan's preparation for Worlds, how he became World Champion as well as some reflections on his Junior powerlifting career as he heads into Opens.

In this episode, Sam, Shania and Danny discuss topics surrounding advice they wish they have for newer lifters/themselves when they were first starting powerlifting. They go over how to manage injuries, how hard they should train, comparison, setting long term goals and managing technique.

Key Takeaways:
1. Everyone gets hurt, but few injuries are career ending.
2. Everyone goes through highs and lows, comparison to someone else can be detrimental.
3. Powerlifting progress is a long term plan.

On this episode of Athlete Things, Sam and Danny sit down with 84+ lifter from Perth, Australia, Natalie Laalaai. 

Nat went to her first-ever World Championships this year in Malta where she came home as the new deadlift world record holder with a huge 268kg deadlift. 

They chat about her first World's experience as well as how training unfolded into the lead up into the event, and what she has in store next.

On this episode of Athlete Things, Sam Steve and Danny sit down with u47kg Vicky Kijumnuayporn.

Vicky represented Australia for the first time at this year's Open World Classic Championships where she came fifth place in a highly stacked U47kg class.

They discuss Vicky’s mental and physical preparation for her first Worlds, her overall experience and much more.

On this episode of Athlete Things, Sam Danny and Shania sit down with u57kg lifter from the USA, Natalie Richards.

They discuss what contributed to Natalie's quick rise in the sport including becoming the u57kg World Champion at this year's IPF Championships in just her fourth year of competing.

In this episode, the team discuss the importance of balancing structure and flexibility of the program. They discuss periods of time where more or less structure can be imposed, how to create more predictability in training, and 'meso-predictability' for those with unpredictable external situations.

Key Takeaways
1. Flexibility can help find what works for an athlete before imposing structure.

2. Training predictability can improve outcomes. When there are inconsistent external variables it can throw off weekly predictability.

3. Communication and planning ahead can help those who do not have predictable schedules in order to take advantage of potential recovered days.