Kevin Cann of Precision Powerlifting Systems
This is going to be more of a lengthy post but I promise you it is worth the read. Since late winter, I started highlighting people that motivate and inspire me (two words I feel like are tossed around too often). These people keep me showing up in the gym to lift heavy everyday or keep me showing up in other aspects of life, really. I highlight a lot of my teammates and briefly mention our coach but haven’t given him a proper intro.
Kevin Cann, the brain behind the operations of PPS (Precision Powerlifting Systems) and I am very thankful to have crossed paths with him. Kevin is one of the hardest working people (if not THE most) I have ever met. He eats, sleeps, and breathes powerlifting. When he isn’t coaching he is reading/writing/researching what intrigues him. More often than not, whatever he is reading or researching, he applies it to his coaching. I appreciate that he isn’t afraid to try new things and even fail which. And he will be the first to admit when something he has tried on us as athletes isn’t working and we just move on. But that’s part of his process. He has a group of about 50+ lifters and I would say even with his wacky ever changing ways of doing things we are all super faithful and are enjoying the waves.
Kevin isn’t only a coach and a mentor to me (as a coach/personal trainer myself) but also a really good friend of mine. I wanted to highlight him because we are just coming off the USAPL Northeast Regional meet and PPS had a very successful two days with two first place s finishes and a handful of top 5 finishes in our respected weight classes.
In this post, Kevin shares some *new* insight on his coaching and the 5 C’s of training he is abiding by and honestly, I keep rereading them because they can apply in *alllll* aspects of life (question number 4).
Q: As the coach of Precision Powerlifting Systems (PPS) what are the rewards and challenges of coaching 51 ish athletes near and far? How do you stay in contact with the remote lifters? Do you find we all get similar results being in person or remote?
A: Well this is a loaded question! Where do I start? The rewards for coaching so many lifters is that I get to guide them along a path in the world’s greatest sport. I am not “famous” enough to get world class lifters. Most of this group started with me at the beginning. They had some barbell experience, or perhaps did a meet or two, but I have gotten to be there for their first times qualifying for nationals, first time competing at nationals, first time qualifying and competing at the Arnold as well.
The reward is not the high-level of success that some have seen, but instead watching them grow as both people and lifters. This sport teaches many life lessons and builds strength in character over time.
There are challenges for sure. I believe training should have consequences. This ensures we are mimicking the emotional responses of competition. When this happens there are also consequences for the coach. Frustration levels get very high at times for lifters and I am the one that deals with those frustration levels. This is how we train the mind. You need to stress the mind just like the muscles to get it to adapt and be stronger, but it can be tough on myself.
Staying in touch with remote lifters is pretty easy in 2019. I just text a lot. It is definitely more of a challenge because I am not there, but we can usually make the adjustments we need to. I emphasize developing a strong training skill and place the lifters in the driver’s seat. Eventually they develop the tools to handle training on their own and we just discuss things as needed.
Q: How do you get your mind focused when its time for YOU to train? Can you shut out the noise?
A: I am still trying to figure that out. I haven’t hit a PR since July 4th of 2018. This coincides with an explosion in the size of our group. I am just working on making better day to day training decisions to deal with the increase in work. My lack of progress is not a result of a training program, but of me needing to make better training decisions. I can’t just shut off coaching. It is impossible with this many people. I have spent so much time trying to wear 2 hats, that of a coach and that of an athlete. This was a fatal mistake as it is impossible. I am learning to wear my coaching hat as I lift. I took over a greater role in the planning of my training and discuss that with my coach, Jeremy Hartman. He gives me feedback on my thoughts and gives me some of his ideas. We plan for a number of scenarios each week as well. This has allowed me to wear that coaching hat at all times and training is going a bit better.
As an athlete I had been chasing that lost performance hard. Trying to get back everything in one training day and when it didn’t happen I wanted to get it back the next day. This is how I am wired. Just keep coming is my motto. I will train through anything, but I need to make better decisions at times. This sport can be very tough on the mind and spirit for those reasons. This has really helped shape my personality as a coach
Q: How did you discover powerlifting?
A: This is a pretty cool story. My first ever in-depth conversation about the sport of powerlifting was having a beer, shoved in a corner of a restaurant waiting for a table, with Dr. Fred Hatfield aka Dr. Squat. He was one of the first ones to squat over 1000lbs. I asked him about why he wanted to do that, and he said “Because people said I couldn’t.” I then asked him about training and his time in Russia and just listened. I was definitely intrigued from this.
A couple months later I met Boris Sheiko. I had just started lifting myself and had an interest in the Soviet System since that is what you hear about in school. Dr. Hatfield also told me that the Russians didn’t put their best stuff in those texts you read in school. I wanted to know more about those secrets so I hired Sheiko as my coach.
I worked with him for the next 3 years. This was the greatest learning experience of my life. He comes from a different culture with different cultural beliefs. This forced me to question a lot of my beliefs. I would not be where I am today without Boris. He is by far the greatest influence on me as a coach. I probably never start lifting without that conversation with Dr. Hatfield either.
Much of what we do today is still heavily influenced by Sheiko. I have changed my definition of volume over time, but the emphasis of variations to improve technique is still a cornerstone that was instilled upon me by him. Many of our variations I use I learned from him, and those infamous double lift days.
He taught me how to break up the lifts into their individual parts to analyze and assess technique and how to make decisions based off of that analysis. I was lucky enough that I learned the technique of the lifts from the greatest to ever coach them.
Q: If you were to explain your methodology of coaching to someone who was brand new to lifting, how would you describe it?
A: I made this up last night talking to Daniel, but I think it sums up my methods well. It is the 5 C’s of training. This is the first time this will be said in a public forum, exclusively for you JBurdie fitness/baby powdering service
Control before speed- Learn to control those positions and be comfortable in those positions that create panic
Confidence-Trust your strength and do not be scared to miss. We know that confidence can positively influence performance. We train with weights that produce an emotional response. This teaches the lifter to handle their emotions. Mike Tyson said he was always anxious and nervous walking down to the ring, but confident.
Consistency- Just keep coming. Keep showing up, making good decisions, and working hard. This includes during times of low motivation. Motivation is a feeling like happiness and sadness, it comes and goes. Have the discipline to be consistent and apply consistent effort.
Compete- We compete every single day in the gym. This is not with each other, but those demons inside of each one of us. Your biggest rival in this sport is you. All those negative voices in your head telling you that this weight is too heavy, you are too tired, too sore, and not capable. Each lifter needs to learn how to fight those demons and overcome them. This builds strength in character.
Those 4 Cs lead to the 5th one, a Champion- Champions have a specific mindset and carry themselves a specific way. We embrace the downs as well as ups because the downs are inevitable. They are an opportunity to strengthen our minds and to strengthen our grit and determination. It is easy to lift and hit PRs when things are going great, it takes heart and a championship mindset to keep grinding when things do not go well.
Q: What does “The New Standard” mean to you?
A: “The New Standard” means a lot to me. As lifters we are constantly trying to set new standards with weight on the bar. As a coach, I am trying to raise the standards that I hold myself to. A lot of what we believe to be true are based on tradition, but not actually science. I go against the conventional wisdom in a lot of ways. This can be tough to do because if I am wrong, I will be out of a job. However, “The New Standard” reminds me that we need skepticism to drive progress. This is why I work so hard. I read a ton of research, my Kindle and bookshelves are filled with textbooks. This doesn’t mean reading strength and conditioning research either. There is a ton of overlap between pain, fatigue, and performance. Pain has a lot of research behind it because people throw money at that research. From there, I need to understand theoretical sciences to connect the dots while leaving room for the uncertainty that there is in trying to understand biology. This is also “The New Standard.” Not regurgitating some old coaches words, or the words of someone stronger than me, or blogs, or dogmatic beliefs. We are paving new roads.
Q: Besides lifting and coaching, what does a a workday look like for you?
A: I have lifters all over the world so I wake up to videos and questions and I am reviewing videos and answering questions until I go to sleep. However, I feel every coach needs to continue to learn. This doesn’t mean going to seminars, or checking out your favorite coach’s blog. This means actually learning. Getting in the trenches with another coach is part of this learning experience. Coaching, trying things, observing, and being skeptical as wel
I chose a coach that has similar methods to me, but different reasoning. This allows my bias to be tested on me as a lifter and keeps me in check. Like I said above, I read a lot. I bet I read 1-2 books a month (often textbooks), and 3-5 research studies per week. I surround myself with people that are smarter than me. I am lucky enough to coach quite a few of those people too. I keep a strong network of coaches that I respect and ask questions to. We often disagree on things too and I feel that is very important. These coaches are a wealth of experience but tend to do things the “old school” ways and are very successful. This again, keeps me in check and makes me think. These coaches are a major reason why our group sees the success that it does. They have been a huge influence in guiding me.
I know I got sidetracked on the original question, but my rambling is what I am known for.