Powerlifting skills
21 skills, beginner to advanced. 14 of them you can film on a phone and get measured. No fake scores.
Skills by level
You can film14 of 21 skills
Beginner 5
- Back SquatThe king of leg exercises — barbell on your upper back, sit down between your hips, stand back up. Done right it's safe and brilliant for whole-body strength.
- Bench PressLie on a bench and press a barbell from your chest to locked-out arms. Simple, but it's the lift where people get hurt going too heavy alone — so the rule is: use a spotter, or bench inside a rack with the safety pins set at chest height to catch a failed rep.
- DeadliftPick a loaded barbell up off the floor and stand tall with it. It's one of the best strength builders there is — and the one where a rounded lower back is the real danger.
- The BraceBracing is how you protect your spine and lift more — the most important fundamental in the whole sport. You take a big breath into your belly, lock your core tight around it, and hold that pressure through the hard part of the lift, turning your midsection into a rigid pillar.
- Bailing SafelyKnowing how to miss a lift safely is as important as the lift itself — it's what lets you push hard without fear. Each lift has a safe way to dump it, and the golden rule across all of them: when a lift is lost, bail IMMEDIATELY rather than grind into a bad position.
Intermediate 7
- Low-Bar SquatThe powerlifting squat. The bar sits lower on your back — across your rear delts instead of high on your traps — which lets you lean your chest forward more, sit your hips back, and bring your powerful hips into the lift so you can squat heavier.
- Sumo DeadliftA deadlift with a wide stance and hands gripping inside your knees. Standing wider with a more upright torso shortens the range of motion and puts less shearing stress on your low back than a conventional pull, bringing your hips, quads, and glutes into it.
- Bench Arch & Leg DriveThe setup that turns the bench from a chest exercise into a powerful full-body lift. You arch your upper back, pull your shoulder blades down and together, and drive through your legs — creating a stable platform, a shorter range of motion, and safer shoulders.
- The WalkoutUnracking the squat and walking it into position — a small thing that wrecks a lot of big lifts. The goal is to get tight first, stand the bar up, and settle into your stance in as few steps as possible, so you save energy and don't lose your brace before you've even started.
- Hook & Mixed GripTwo ways to hold a heavy deadlift bar so it doesn't roll out of your fingers. Mixed grip (one palm toward you, one away) is the popular meet grip; hook grip (both palms toward you, fingers wrapped over your thumb) is the safer, more symmetric option Olympic lifters use.
- Romanian Deadlift (RDL)The ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (RDL) is the single best accessory for building the hip-hinge pattern, hamstrings, and glutes that power your competition deadlift — and it directly teaches the 'hinge, don't squat' feel every deadlifter needs. Unlike a deadlift from the floor, the RDL starts from the top (standing, bar in…
- Pause SquatThe PAUSE SQUAT — squatting down and holding a deliberate pause (1-3 seconds) at the bottom before standing — is a premier accessory for building strength and control out of the hole, the sticking point where most squats stall or collapse forward. Removing the bounce (the stretch reflex) forces your muscles to…
Advanced 6
- Competition Commands & TimingIn a meet, the lift doesn't count unless you follow the referee's commands — every light comes off the board if you move before you're told. The three lifts each have their own commands, and learning to wait for them is as important as the strength itself.
- Paused Competition BenchIn competition you must pause the bar motionless on your chest and wait for the \"Press!\" command before driving it up — no touch-and-go bounce. Training the paused bench builds the strength and control to start the bar from a dead stop without losing your tightness.
- Opener & Attempt SelectionHow you pick your three attempts on each lift decides whether you post a big total or bomb out. The golden rule: your opener exists to get you in the meet, not to impress anyone.
- Bar Path & Sticking PointsHeavy lifts are won and lost on where the bar travels and where it slows down. The bar should move in a near-vertical line over your midfoot (squat and deadlift) or a shallow arc (bench).
- Peaking for a MeetPeaking is how you arrive on meet day fresh AND strong. In the final weeks you train the competition lifts heavy for low reps while cutting back the total work, so fatigue drops away and your true strength comes to the surface.
- Deficit DeadliftThe DEFICIT DEADLIFT — pulling while standing on a small platform (typically 1-3 inches) so the bar starts LOWER relative to you — is an advanced accessory that builds strength and position off the floor, the sticking point for many deadlifters. The increased range of motion forces a stronger, more patient start…
Insane 3
- The Maximal SingleA true one-rep max — the heaviest single you can lift with full effort. It's where months of training get expressed, and it punishes any weak link in your technique.
- Belt & Wrist WrapsThe supportive gear of raw powerlifting: a lifting belt, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves. Used well they add stability and protect your joints so you can handle more weight — but none of them replace good technique and bracing.
- Grinding a Stalled RepSometimes a heavy rep slows almost to a stop mid-lift — the 'grind.' Finishing a grind is a real skill: keeping your position and tension and driving relentlessly through the slow spot. But the flip side matters more: knowing when to STOP grinding and bail, because grinding a rep where your form has already broken…