Not In My Box | The Fitness and Coaching Podcast · Caffeine and Kilos | Fitness and Coaching Culture w/ Danny Lehr

How Strong People Actually Train (Powerlifting Truths)

·41 min·2 clips

Tom says he moved to a 30-minute warmup and still hit double plate jumps to 700 before squatting.

1. Not In My Box | The Fitness and Coaching Podcast uses the episode “How Strong People Actually Train (Powerlifting Truths)” to argue that internet strength advice often confuses powerlifting with noise. 2. Danny Lear is the moderator from Caffeine and Kilos, and Tom Callis is the guest as an elite powerlifter, world record holder, and gym owner who has squatted over 500 pounds since age 16. 3. The episode asks what an average week looks like for a mid-level powerlifter three months from a meet, and whether strength comes from volume, intensity, or programming tricks. 4. Tom says a typical setup for that lifter is a five-day week built around bench Monday, lower and deadlift work Tuesday, weakness work Wednesday, shoulder or overhead work Thursday, and squat Friday. 5. He says the schedule often drops to three or four training days as meet day gets closer, especially when the athlete is one to two weeks out. 6. Tom explains that squat Friday lines up with Saturday or Sunday meets, so the last heavy squat can happen seven to eight days before competition. 7. He says deadlift prep can also include taking two weeks off heavy squats and three weeks off deadlifts when recovery demands it. 8. Tom argues that soreness is not the main limiter in powerlifting prep, and he repeatedly points to CNS recovery as the bigger issue. 9. He gives the example of shaking on a 675 or 700-pound warmup before a planned 750-pound double to show that readiness is not the same as soreness. 10. Danny connects that point to weightlifting by describing sessions where stairs feel impossible because the central nervous system is so taxed. 11. Tom says accessories usually come before the main movement in his setup, with five to 10 minutes of incline warmup, single-leg work, step-ups, pull-throughs, lying leg curls, RDLs, and belt squats. 12. He says accessories are used to address weaknesses, fire the hips, and make the athlete feel warm before starting the barbell work. 13. Tom says compound lift rep ranges start high and taper over a 12-week block, with work like 8x3, 6x4, or 5x5 producing around 20 to 25 total reps. 14. He says that as meet day approaches, the athlete moves toward singles or doubles, but not all the way to 100 percent and not as a test. 15. Tom emphasizes that the goal is often to smoke 485 or 490 if 500 is the meet target, rather than forcing an opener or a true max too early. 16. He says a lot of missed squats are actually position problems, especially when hips shoot up and the chest collapses forward out of the hole. 17. Danny and Tom both describe how warmups change with age, with Tom saying prehab and accessories helped him feel better and not weaker before squat work. 18. The episode is conversational, blunt, and technical, with both speakers joking through the examples while still naming specific percentages, reps, and meet timing. 19. Listeners who like powerlifting programming, meet prep, and practical strength cues will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting storytelling over training detail may skip it.

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