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POWER MAGAZINE
I have always been interested in strength training no matter the form. Growing up I read everything I could on the topic of training whether it was power lifting, bodybuilding, or even Olympic Weightlifting. It really didn’t matter, but eventually the bodybuilding bug got me and I did what most of us do I focused on one sport and ignored anything to do with the others. Eventually I learned that this was a mistake.
After years of experience I learned that I need to get stronger. So I learned more about power lifting. Although I didn’t compete, I trained with power lifters and attended several meets. Although I always considered myself a bodybuilder I came to have a great deal of respect for power lifters.
Two years ago at the Arnold Expo I met Mark Bell and his wife Andee. They came on board and sponsored the Intense Set of the month contest with a new product called “Mark Bell’s Sling Shot”. I loved the product. This reignited my interest in power lifting. It also reminded me how it could benefit my own bodybuilding training. I decided to start reading more on the topic and see how this could be incorporated in a bodybuilding regimen; enter POWER MAGAZINE.
POWER is the creation of Mark Bell and his wife, Andee Bell. They have obviously made this a labor of love. You can see that a lot of work went into this and that they enjoy putting together this publication. In general the writing is done in a way, especially in Mark’s interviews, where you feel like you get to know the writer. This also leads to a more enjoyable reading experience.
I’d like to break down the content to give you a better idea of what POWER is about. Below is a list of articles in the current magazine and a short synopsis.
POWER SPOTLIGHT CHRIS JENKINS by Jeff “Robot”Irion
Although I almost always skim or altogether skip interviews in bodybuilding magazines, I decided to give this article a chance. The interviewee is a 30 year old professional power lifter. It starts out with some impressive stats. For one; a 821 lbs squat at 198lbs! That immediately caught my attention.
This was an interesting article for other reasons. You get to know a lifter from another country and get his outlook on the sport of power lifting. You also find out that this guy competes in judo, which sounds crazy. At least it does to me, especially when you consider how competitive he is.
From someone that doesn’t follow power lifting I still enjoyed the article. Unlike most interviews Irion did not prolong the interview just to fill space. He did a good job of getting you to learn about the athlete and his outlook on the topic at hand without a bunch of fluff.
POWERLIFTER TO BODYBUILDER? THAT’S A KROC by Mark Bell
I was excited to see this article. Although this is a power lifting magazine it was nice to see something that connected with bodybuilding. It’s hard to believe, but as the title says, Matt “Kroc” Kroczaleski has been making the transition to bodybuilding and is seriously contending for a pro card. Mark and Matt had great banter back and forth and seemed to enjoy talking with each other. This always makes an interview article, which can get boring, more fun to read.
In the article Matt touches on his nutrition strategy, and his training. Mark used work with Shelby Starnes. This definitely appears to influence his current eating regimen. He put up a sample day and let’s just say the man can eat!
Besides the bodybuilding, Matt also talks about power lifting and relays a little about how he made weight for competitions. This will show you why they call power lifters nuts for a reason. All in all this is one of the best interview articles I have read in a while. Again, the author kept it interesting, and didn’t just fill space.
THE ANT AND THE HURRICANE (AKA THE STORY OF RICHARD HAWTHORNE) by Thomas Eiseman
I was disappointed at first when I saw there was another interview article, but when I saw who was the focus I was stoked. I actually saw him lift back in March at the Arnold Classic. Richard Hawthorne, also known as The Ant is a phenom to say the least. I’m not going to go into depth on this, but Richard competes around 130lbs and pulled 610lbs for 4 at the Arnold Classic in the Animal Cage! His best lifts are a 675lbs squat, a 328lb bench, and a 611 lb dead lift for a total of 1573lb! All of this was done at a body weight of 132lbs! Not only was this a great interview, but it was a great subject for the interview.
CHIKARA-DO The Way of Power by Mike Reilly
This was a unique article which talks about MMA training philosophy and how it can relate to power lifting. This was a very unique way of looking at training. I have preached a similar principle to many young lifters. I won’t go into detail, but most bodybuilders would benefit from the philosophy in this article. One phrase may summarize this article, “Keep your head in the lift.”
TAKING THE LONG ROAD by Jeff Robot Irion
Yngvar Christensen is a Norwegian power lifter who has come on the radar recently. His top total of 2,502 lbs at a body weight of 357lbs is impressive on its own, but when you consider he is only 21 it’s just plain scary.
For those not familiar with the different power lifting federations the interview may be a little “inside baseball”, but that aside this was an enjoyable read on an impressive individual. The most interesting aspect was learning about his training. For instance this guy will work the same lift 5 days in a row!
THE MOST IMPORTANT TRAINING TOOL YOU’LL EVER NEED by Zach Even-esh
A lot of people forget about the basics. This article was a great reminder about the attitude and mindset necessary to excel in strength sports. This would definitely be valuable for any athlete. Zach gave some solid advice and had some well thought out conclusions.
Q&A WITH NORCAL CROSSFIT OWNER AND WORLD CLASS ATHLETE JASON KHALIPA by Mark Bell
With the recent popularity of Crossfit, I was interested in learning more. Up until now I really haven’t explored this newest trend in fitness. Jason sounds like an extremely hard training athlete. Unfortunately, right when I got to the point where he was discussing his training the article seemed to cut off early. After hearing about his incredible work capacity, I’d love to learn more about his training.
THIS CHICK CAN KICK YOUR ASS AND YOU MAY LIKE IT! Yessica Martinez
Eye candy in a power lifting magazine? Yup. I was surprise too. I was even more surprised when I learned that this chick probably could kick my ass! At 21 years old and was looks to be about 110 lbs squats 305lbs, Deadlifts 320, and benches 180lbs! This was a nice change of pace and should show any female that lifting weight will not make you look like a man.
EAT FAT TO BURN FAT A Counter intuitive Approach to Shredding by John Kiefer
John Kiefer has been using a dieting protocol known as The Carb Nite Solution. This article gives some of the details and reasoning for this diet. It also dispels some of the myths that some people still hold about fat. Without giving too much away this was a great article and for those that still fear fat may be an eye opening read.
POUNDSTONE POWER by Derek Poundstone
Amongst the other great articles one of the most popular strong men has an article. Derek Poundstone is a beast pure and simple. In this current POUNDSTONE POWER he legitimizes a lift for strong man training that many put to the side. He also mentions lifts that have a great carryover from strong man training to power lifting. If you train in any of these sports this is a must read. If you are a bodybuilder it may also open your eyes to thinking outside the box with your current regimen.
SIX-WEEK GORILLA BENCH PROGRAM BY “VANILLA” GORILLA” ERIC SPOTO, THE UNCROWNED KING OF RAW BENCHING
This was the last article in the publication. At this point I was ready for some real word training advice. And that is what I got. Spoto gives a specific training program to bring up your bench. This is a 6 week program that should result in some pretty impressive stats.
CONCLUSION
I’m going to start out with my only criticism of the magazine. I’d love to see more training programs. The SIX-WEEK GORILLA BENCH PROGRAM was a great addition, but that said the articles in the magazine were well done and had some great useful information. This was a very minor detail. I believe one other article similar to this would have been the icing on the cake.
Being a strength athlete I am open to going outside my given sport for information. If you want to be your best you should be as well. Doing so may feel like traveling to a different country, but with POWER I didn’t feel like I was reading a foreign language. One thing that I have learned in my years of lifting is to keep an open mind. Some of the best trainers that I have known in Power lifting and in Bodybuilding have borrowed from the other sport. So keep an open mind. For bodybuilders I say, yes there may be some useful information in bodybuilding magazines (Musclemag comes to mind), but open your mind for information you may not find in traditional bodybuilding publications. And for those in Power lifting I would look to Power as being the new journal of your respective sport.