Athlete Articles — Mark Wasson

by Mark Wasson It takes a community to grow powerlifting. From day one when the CPU was founded until now every meet and championship only happened as a result of for the most part of volunteers. Whether it was meet directors, referees, meet technical staff, or platform crew the greatest asset the organization has is the ability to gather like-minded individuals to volunteer to help promote and grow the sport. The sheer number of hours required to organize a meet and then execute are enormous. This number is only getting larger with the popularity of the sport and the increase...

by Mark Wasson Everyone’s been there when they have been stuck at a certain weight barrier and unable to surpass it. Whether it be the 1000lbs or 100lbs, for some a barrier often needs to be defeated mentally first before physically.   I’ve looked back at my own training over the years and you can realize that often I got stuck at a certain weights weight numbers that proved difficult to break through. For squat, it was first 500lbs, then 550lbs, then 575lbs, then 585, and finally 600lbs. Was it that I was physically too weak to lift any of...

by Mark Wasson Failing a lift is something that many think is almost taboo in training. People thinkthat is in some way an indication that you have or are doing something wrong. I takean alternative approach to the concept. I do not strive for failure but missing a lift intraining does not deter my motivation or sway my course. Training to me is fun. I want to challenge myself and learn from each trainingsession. I understand for my approach to training that failure will just be anotherpart of training. I learn through failure and ultimately feel that it is beneficial....

by Mark Wasson Humility is defined as a modest or low view of one's own importance. To me, I personally define humility as an understanding there is always room for improvement and to never think something is good enough. #neversatisfiedteam Personally, I enjoy training more than competing. This is evident by my usual 4 for 9 or 5 for 9, if I'm lucky, attempt days at a meet. I often leave my best attempts in the gym rather than on the platform, and I've come to accept that, aiming for around 95% of my best gym lifts on meet day....