Weightlifting
British and World Champion Julian McKerrow provides an insider's guide to competitive powerlifting – and what is required to beat the best in the world.
Arguably the ultimate competitive test of strength, powerlifting is a barbell sport which sees competitors lift as heavy as possible across three disciplines: squat, bench press and deadlift. With three attempts at each discipline, the heaviest lift is taken from each to give a final combined weight. The powerlifter with the highest total is crowned the winner of their weight class.
At the upper end of the spectrum this can mean staggering numbers that go beyond your everyday gym lifts, such as that of current amateur British Powerlifting Champion – and full-time IT professional – Julian McKerrow. Julian holds the current Junior European & World Record for his 181kg bench press, which he upped to a whopping 195kg to break the British Record in the Open Category in 2018. He also broke the Deadlift World & British Record in 2017 with a jaw-dropping lift of 320kg, and then pushed the British record even higher to 332.5kg at the 2018 British Championships.
Julian started powerlifting five years ago when he was training with his friend, James Hollingshead, who is a professional bodybuilder. After training with James for some time, James noticed Julian's potential and suggested he try competitive powerlifting. "I looked up the current records for squat, bench and deadlift and noticed that I was close to the bench press and deadlift British records in the Junior Category," says Julian. "I looked at the competitions I could do to qualify for Nationals (you can only set world records at Nationals) and there was only one qualifier left, so I took part in that and I won. And then I did the Nationals and I won that, and that's when I set the Junior Record in bench."
Julian, who now competes in the open 125kg class, is currently preparing to set a new combined total world record next year – 827.5kg comprised of squat, bench press and deadlift.
So, what exactly is involved in powerlifting at this level and what does it take to break – and set – world records and win world championship titles while holding down a full-time job? Here Julian reveals all...
This isn’t your standard gym lift
Powerlifting competitions include strict rules and regulations for when to lift, press and rack the barbell. Fail to comply and your attempt will be void. “In my first ever junior competition, I squatted 180kg and got a red flag," explains Julian. "I was really confused until they explained that you have to wait for the instruction to ‘Start’. And once you do the squat you have to wait for them to say, ‘Rack’ before you put the weight back. It’s quite strict." And it's the same with the other disciplines. “In the bench press, you have to bring the bar down in a controlled manner, touch it to your chest and wait for the judge to say, ‘Press’. A lot of people you see bench pressing in the gym use momentum to get their weight up – competition is quite different!"
There's no real distinction between 'amateur' and 'pro' in powerlifting
Although it's possible to compete in 'amateur' and 'pro' categories, the only difference between them is that the AWPC (Amateur World Powerlifting Congress) category is drug-tested, while the WPC (World Powerlifting Congress) category is not. The "AWPC is only amateur in name," explains Julian. "AWPC members can compete (and I sometimes do) against WPC members, as we compete at the same events side by side. The only exception is at World Championships as these venues are often separate."
I train the compound lifts first – then I might throw in the odd pull-up
“My main focus is always the three compounds, so I’ll have a day for legs and my first exercise will be squat. I’ll have a day dedicated to chest and my first exercise will be bench, and the same for my back – my first exercise will be a deadlift,” he explains. Next comes the accessory work – ‘small things which help improve my main lifts’ –including hip thrusts and even pull-ups. “Because your whole body is being used in the three compound lifts, you don’t want to have one weak link. Hip thrusts, for example, target the glutes and strong glutes are going to help your deadlift and squat. Pull-ups should strengthen your whole back, which should improve your stability when squatting, and give you a strong platform for bench press so you’re able to press more.”
I lift heavier and reduce reps closer to competing
Julian is self-coached and has three different types of training plan which he implements eight to 11 weeks out from competition. “The first week will be around 70% of my one rep maximum for three sets of 10 reps – pretty normal stuff which you might see in your gym. As the weeks go on, I’ll reduce the reps and sets but increase the weight. Three weeks out from competition, I’ll lift 90% of what I can do for my 1RM (one rep max) for one or two reps and two sets. Two weeks before, I’ll be lifting my heaviest, which is sometimes my first attempt weight or even my second attempt weight if I’m feeling strong. Then the week of competition, I won’t lift anything. I’ll just do mobility to stay flexible, so I stay fresh.”
Strategic thinking is important
Although ultimately a test of strength, powerlifting competitions can be won and lost on strategic weight choices, where athletes can gamble or play it safe with their choice of weight across their three attempts. “There’s no minimum weight so you decide what you lift, but once you’ve decided you can’t change to a lighter weight, only stick with it or go higher,” explains Julian, who took a risk at the 2019 World Championships when competing with an injured elbow. “I didn’t want to change my original [pre-injury] weight strategy and let everyone know I was injured, so I stuck with a 185kg bench press first attempt. I failed it and could see the entire GB team thinking, he’s not going to finish this!” He achieved it on his second attempt and went on to win the title of British Champion, but concedes the tactics backfired: “If I had gone in with lower numbers, I could have probably got a higher overall score.”
I've trained with Game of Thrones' The Mountain
Julian recently got back from a trip to Iceland where he trained with Hafthór Björnsson (The Mountain from Game of Thrones). “He got me to do the Farmer's Walk (a walk up and down with a heavy weight in each hand), which I’d never tried before. You’d think it has no relevance to powerlifting because it’s not a static movement, but he said it would improve my grip strength and that, if you’re strong enough to move weight, you should be strong enough to move it from a fixed position [like the deadlift], which is true.”
I eat 5,000 calories a day and don't eat meat
“People are usually shocked, then they’re really curious about how I get my protein," reveals Julian. "When I arrived in Iceland to train with Hafthór, he wanted to introduce me to the Icelandic tradition of eating sheep guts and shark – it took 10 minutes for him to believe I’m vegetarian!”
Julian aims to "eat a minimum of 4,000 calories, maximum of 5,000 calories" a day, comprised of "about 60% carbs and the rest is protein and fats". He’ll have oats with water for breakfast and three protein shakes a day, plus "five-to-seven meals which are about the size of my hand". "If I am not at my desk, you can usually find me at the work kitchen!" he laughs.
A typical meal might be tofu with vegetables, spinach, broccoli, mixed nuts and salad. However, despite eating such meals near constantly throughout the working day, he says he's always hungry. Once a week he has a cheat meal ("mentally, that helps massively") and once a month he’ll do an eating challenge, where he might nail up to 8,000 calories in one sitting. “One of my eating challenges was a vegan burger with five burger patties, a layer of mac and cheese, a giant plate of fries and a giant plate of cookies.”
I have to drop weight to compete
Julian competes in the 125kg class but generally ‘walks around at 128-130kg’ out of competition, meaning he has weight to cut ahead of an event. “I’m naturally quite big. I’ve never missed weight, luckily, but it always feels quite close which is stressful,” he admits. Ahead of one European Championship, he dropped 5kg overnight due to an extreme water cut after drinking six to nine litres a day for 11 days. However, he concedes it’s a ‘risk’ that doesn’t benefit him so he now does an ‘intake cycle’ where he eats more on his squat day, his deadlift day and bench lift day, and less on other days instead. “I start to monitor my weight maybe four-to-six weeks out from competition so it’s gradual,” he explains.
Organisation is key
Unlike some powerlifters at Julian's level, he hasn't the time to train (and eat!) 24/7. Instead, Julian focuses on being as organised as possible to ensure he can fit as much training as he can around his full-time job. "Because now my training takes around two hours, I can’t train properly during my lunch break which I would previously try to do," he explains. "I will do light cardio and mobility during lunch [instead], and then the rest of the day I concentrate on making sure I get enough of my meals in preparation for my weights session after work. I have four-to-five meals at work, so I try to prepare as much of these as I can at home, and then just heat them up at work so I can quickly eat and get back to work."
I've had to make sacrifices
“Birthdays and events get missed when I’m near a competition. I’ll literally work, train and go to bed early to avoid eating, especially when I need to make a weight for a competition,” he explains. Holidays aren’t straightforward, either. “I have to pick a location that’s reasonably close to a decent gym – I can’t just use a standard hotel gym [because they don’t have the equipment], and I have to pay extra for bigger seats due to my size and height.”
Motivational videos can get you in the right frame of mind
Julian has noticed there’s a strong link between his mental preparation and his lifting. “You can easily talk yourself out of a big lift – I’ve done it,” he says. During training he’ll watch motivational videos. “Not just powerlifting ones; it could be speeches and talks from YouTube. 40% of the time, I’ll listen to music and the rest is motivational speeches,” he says. He then listens to the same motivational tracks right before a competition lift. “There’s a YouTube clip of my friend Hafthór Björnsson deadlifting 440kg, which someone has overlaid with a rock track. But you can still hear him and everyone in his gym cheering, and the atmosphere. Usually that’s the last thing I hear before I take off my headphones and go lift.”
Feeling inspired? Try this 15-minute strength workout with strength and conditioning coach Laura Hoggins:
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app: Get the app here