Adaptability
This month’s blog is a little different. Not because people stopped hitting PBs, or because it’s essentially April and May rolled into one, but because everything is now fully online.
I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. But for now, the multiple ways to work with me are gone (temporarily), and we’re down to just two:
Individualised online coaching or Team based online coaching
With that shift comes a new perspective. Some of these changes were forced. Others were chosen. I still plan to open my own place one day, but instead of letting the in-person side drive that dream, I’m now leaning into what was once a supplement to the in person side of the business: the online side of Savage Strength.
And that’s what adaptation is all about.
In training, we chase intentional changes. But sometimes unplanned ones happen too and it’s up to us to decide whether we resist them or use them to our advantage.
Right now, I’m choosing to lean in. Every one of my in-person athletes made the transition with me and for that, I’m grateful. But I also take it as an unintentional endorsement. A sign that I’m doing something right.
Maybe that’s the sign you need to take the leap and put your trust in me too.
Now, onto the blog.
Damien has made great progress in the Snatch & C&J taking new 2RMs of 56kg & 56kg as well as a 1RM of 70kg in the Snatch. He's also hit a triple digit C&J of 100kg for the first time. He's currently on holiday, but I'm hopeful when he comes back we can shift him from what was a technical one to one session a week into the online weightlifting team as technique is now less of a problem and getting stronger is now becoming more of a priority.
Strength isn't always the problem
If you're new to weightlifting, chances are your snatch or clean isn’t limited by strength, it’s limited by skill. That’s exactly where Damien started and one focused technical session a week was enough to drive steady progress in the classic lifts. As he got more proficient, small technical tweaks made less of a difference and now it’s becoming more about strength and confidence. There are plenty of benchmarks out there to help you identify where you are on that spectrum of strength or skill in the Olympic lifts, but here are the two that will give you the most direction at a glance.
Snatch should be around 60–65% of your back squat
Clean & Jerk should be around 85–90% of your front squat
If you're below those numbers, it's probably not your legs holding you back, it's your efficiency.
Meanwhile, Taj hit a nice new 3RM of 53kg in the Below The Knee Block Snatch while we look to smooth out Tajs transition between the 1st pull and the transition.
Barbara has had an outstanding two months and a really successful transition from in person coaching to online coaching and has hit countless PBs in the last 2 months... so many i'm going to leave them as a list!
Bench Press - 35kg x5
C&J - 40kg x1
Snatch - 31kg x1
C&J - 40kg x1+2
Squat - 62kg x3
Hang Clean - 50kg x1
Seated OHP - 30kg x1
Deadlift - 72kg x3
Bench Press - 37kg x3
Snatch - 30kg x2
Snatch - 32kg x1
Snatch - 33kg x1
C&J - 44kg x1
Deadlift - 80kg x1
Coach with Your Eyes
What I want to highlight is how the split jerk is the limiting factor in Barbara’s clean and jerk. She’s hit a 50kg hang clean (and matched it from the floor), but her best clean and jerk is 44kg, a 10% gap between the clean and the jerk.
While there are plenty of ratio guidelines out there, I don’t believe there’s a one size fits all standard as everyone has their own strengths. But in this case, it’s clear the jerk is holding back her competition lift.
Ratios can be helpful, but sometimes it just comes down to using your eyes and a bit of common sense.
Chris recently went through a transitional phase while we worked around a knee issue. During that time, he hit a 107.5kg x5 bench press, a great reminder of what’s possible when you're forced to pivot. Before the injury he also nailed a 110kg triple on the front squat, so there’s plenty to build on once the knees in he clear.
Control What You Can
Injuries suck, but they also give you a choice. When the injury happened, we ended with two options:
✅ Sit and hope.
✅ Double down, shift focus and make progress elsewhere.
When Chris tweaked his knee, we could’ve pulled everything back and waited for it to magically get better, but we doubled down on what he could do. The result? A 107.5kg x5 Bench Press PR and upper body strength that’s now ahead of where it was and this all happened during a phase focussed on rehabbing his knee that wasn't part of the initial plan. Because doing something beats doing nothing, every time. Work around, not against. Adapt, don’t stall. And make choices that move you forward, even if it’s not in a straight line. Control what you can and the progress will never stop.
James competes and UKs Strongest Junior on May 31st and is looking to build on his title of Englands Strongest Junior while qualifying for Worlds in August. That means during prep we've been dialling in on James biggest weakness and too 250kg in the 15in Deadlift for a new 1RM. A height thats historically been around his failure point in the deadlift. We'll be hoping for James to transition that strength and to pull 250kg from the floor in competition.
Big Jo is also prepping for UKs Strongest Junior and his first run out since his win at Worlds and will be going head to head with James in what should be a fun battle! This training cycle Jo has hit PBs in plenty of movements including taking an 80kg Muscle Snatch for a triple and 80kg for a new 1RM Snatch. I'll turn my attention to that later. Jo has also made progress in the Deadlift taking 250kg for a new 5RM and 260kg for a new 3RM while also taking PBs in the Squat of 200kg for 5 and 220kg for a new 1RM. Lastly Jo hit a long term goal of a 140kg Push Press, something that he's had as a target for a while. A nice land mark and a nice goal to tick off.
A sign there's a technique deficit
I told you I’d come back to Jo’s snatch and muscle snatch. We’ve already talked about ratios and the importance of using your eyes and it’s clear Jo’s muscle snatch is well out of proportion to his competition snatch. If you can muscle snatch or power snatch more than your full snatch, that’s a big red flag. It means the strength is there, tripling your 1RM snatch with a muscle snatch absolutely confirms it. I don’t have a hard and fast ratio for muscle snatch to snatch, but 70ish % feels like a decent ballpark. Either way, it tells us what we already knew: Jo’s still got technical work to do in the snatch.
Jonny had a great competition at UK Natural Strongest U105, but just came up short of the goal finishing in 3rd place. Unfortunately it was the Rubber Stones that got him with a competition defining mistake that caused an 8 point swing in the event taking him from the fastest 4 stones to 2nd last in the event. In an event where nobody got the 5th Stone, after getting the down signal for the 4th stone, Jonny dropped it behind him causing the referee to take away the good rep and forcing Jonny to complete the 4th rep again. It's disappointing for him, but something to learn from. In the run up to this competition Jonny hit new 1RMs in the BTK Block Snatch of 80kg and Split Jerk of 100kg followed by 115kg a few weeks later.
Too Relaxed Can Be Too Costly
Staying calm under pressure is a skill. But being too relaxed in competition? That can cost you. I think that’s exactly what happened with Jonny. He came into the competition confident, prepared and after 3 good events before stones maybe got a little too casual due to his confidence in the event. Jonny’s still one of the strongest out there and no doubt he'll learn from the experience and become even better. Here’s the video.
Marco has had a great couple of months advancing his overall strength taking PBs in the back squat of 100kg x5, 108kg x3 and a new 1RM of 115kg. He's also made great progress in the Snatch taking new all time Snatch 1RMs in a complex of Snatch Pull + TAG Snatch of 63kg followed by 65kg. The complex is a nice way for Marco to still get to some heavy weight while enabling us to smooth out his pulling technique in the process.
Marie doesn't believe she's making progress despite hitting PBs in the complexes below. I'll leave them as a list, not because there's loads but because they're quite long to write.
Power Snatch - 45kg x1
Clean 1st Pull + Clean + Jerk - 55 x1
Snatch 1st Pull + Snatch Pull + Snatch - 46 x1
Power Snatch -46kg x1
Clean 1st Pull + Clean + Jerk - 55 x1
If you weren't able to tell we've been doing a lot of work on Maries initial pull with a particular focus on not kicking the bar off the shins in the start position. It's been working a treat and allowing us to handle heavier weights by virtue of keeping the bar close in the initial pull!
Thank You
Huge thank you to everyone above, each of you were part of my in-person coaching up until the start of May, and I’m genuinely grateful you’ve chosen to keep working with me online. Your trust means a lot, and I’m excited to keep pushing forward together while I look for my own space!
Look at this! Cori came back and I'm very happy to have him back and continue his development! Since coming back Cori has hit PBs in the Axle Push Press of 95kg x5 and 100kg x3. We've got lots of time to develop Cori and he has a couple of competitions coming up, but for me, getting him into the Natural Strongest Junior pathway in 2026 is priority in terms of his development.
Liams had a pretty good couple of months hitting rep maxes and all time PBs galore! Liam too 3RMs in the Squat of 170kg and 172.5kg and followed that up a couple of weeks later with a new 1RM of 190kg. Liams pressing has also came on taking PBs in the Incline Bench Press of 100kg x3 and 107.5kg x1. This was a movement that was a work around to not being able to Bench due to shoulder / bicep irritation and you know how I feel about doing what you can, how you can. New 1RMs in the Strict Press of 75kg and 77.5kg fell as well as a new Beltless 3RM in the Deadlift of 220kg. The only thing left to fall is a new 1RM Deadlift and I think that will happen very soon as we shift focus to tick off the final boxes of a very successful training cycle.
Olivia is pushing on nicely taking PBs in the Strict Press of 40kg x5 and Deadlift of 140kg x2. The main objective we're looking to build is the Dinnies where here non hookgrip PB currently stands at 180kg total weight.
To Hook or Not to Hook?
Eventually, if you're lifting the Dinnies without straps, you’ll need to hook grip. But when’s the right time to start? For me, it’s not right away. I prefer to hold off until your grip starts to feel less secure. Early on, you can make real gains in grip strength just by training without a hook, so don’t waste that opportunity. At the same time, don’t let grip issues or poor technique hold you back. In your first training cycle, I’d recommend working through reps and percentages without a hook grip and finding your non-hook grip PB. On your second cycle, begin conditioning your hands for the hook. That means introducing it on selected warm-up sets, while still doing most of your work unhooked. Then gradually phase it in as the loads increase. There’s no perfect timeline, it depends on grip strength, hand size, and as I’ve learned from Olivia, proportions matter too.
Pavlos, like Jonny, competed at UKNS Natural Strongman UK Championships in the U90 category. For Pavlos it was a disappointing result with plenty of positives. It was a two sided coin and we learned that what Pavlos was good at, he's very good at, but were let down heavily by some events. Some of those events like throwing bags are purely an exposure issue which will be addressed.
Farmers - 145kg per hand x10m
Axle Jerk - 140kg x2
Stone to Shoulder - 120kg x5
Log CTOH - 120kg x4 (Split Jerk)
Stone To Shoulder - 120kg x6
Log FTOH - 120kg x6 (Split Jerk)
Play Your Sport
Strongman is a strange one. In what other sport do people aim to reach a high level by only "playing" once a week? You wouldn’t expect a footballer to only kick a ball on Saturdays. Yet in strongman, it’s common to train in the gym 4 times a week, get stronger under a barbell, and expect it to carry over, without much actual event practice. You wouldn’t take that approach in Olympic weightlifting, so why do it here? Some things you can get away with. But high skill events like sandbag toss, you need the reps. That’s where Pavlos fell short. Leading into comp, we only had one session a week on strongman kit. No surprise his overhead, something we were able to train specifically multiple times a week was elite but where we fell short were the things that need more exposure. The things that need training multiple times a week. The Sandbags and the ability to move fast under load and high fatigue. That’s already starting to shift. Pavlos is making a real effort to get more time on the events, even if it takes a bit of extra planning. That kind of commitment will definitely pay off. The takeaway? Play and practice your sport. Groundbreaking, I know, but it works.
Scott has a competition coming up in July and is making progress in his Axle taking 80kg CTOH for a new 1+4 PB.
We've just finished Wils latest training cycle and we finished strong with new 1RMs in the Squat of 177.5kg and Seated OHP of 85kg. Up next, we continue to look to build strength but we switch gears a little with one eye on next years marathon!
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Savage Strength School is on hold until I find a space, but shoutout to Elbie, Ella, Megatron, Penny B, Jacob, Miles & Teddy for making it what it was!
This is where things get weird this month as, like Savage Strength School, our Olympic Weightlifting & Strongman Clubs are on hold.
Since the move to online, Charlotte has moved to our Get Big Get Strong Team and is currently making progress with that program. Before that however, she was flying with her Olympic Weightlifting hitting new 1RMs in the Snatch of 28kg and C&J of 38kg, 39kg, 40kg and 42kg in consecutive weeks. The Get Big Get Strong team will now provide a nice platform for Charlotte to build her general strength.
Jack K is possibly my longest serving athlete dating back to pre covid. He's now moved to the online Weightlifting Team and is continuing to drive forward hitting PB after PB and is having a great training cycle... Here's a list.
Snatch Deadlift - 145kg x3
Front Squat - 150kg x1
Power Clean - 100kg x1
Power Snatch - 85kg x1
C&J - 114kg x2+1
Squat - 175kg x1
Front Squat - 155kg x1
Squat - 160kg x3
Deficit Power Clean & Power Jerk - 102kg x1
Deficit Power Clean & Power Jerk - 104kg x1
Clean + Front Squat + Jerk - 115kg x1
Snatch 1st Pull + Snatch - 90kg x2
Jerk From Rack - 108kg x2
Deficit Power Snatch - 83kg x1
Deficit Power Clean & Jerk - 106kg x1
Snatch - 96kg x1
C&J 120kg x1
Marcus recently competed in The Unit Classic coming 1st in the U100 category. He also got to put those lessons on split Jerk to good use coming second in the Max Axle event. In training in the run up to this competition, Marcus hit new 1RMs of 92kg and 95kg on Axle C&J. We're still chasing that elusive 100kg overhead, but it will come soon enough!
Jorge had a great first Strongman competition coming 5th at Newcastles Strongest 2025 in the Beginner category and even taking an event win in the Yoke into Duck Walk event and showing off his athleticism. Jorge will now has now joined one of our online teams to continue training with us and has turned his sights to improving on his last performance in second Strongman competition that will take place at the Unit in August.
Niall joined Jorge at Newcastles Strongest and also came 5th, this time in the Novice category while also beating all of the bench marks he set in training.
Thinking About Your First Comp? Do It.
A lot of people wait until they’re “strong enough” to enter their first competition. Here’s the truth: you’ll never feel ready. There will always be more weight to lift, more technique to refine, more confidence to build. But competing isn’t the reward after you’re strong, it’s part of what makes you stronger. The best time to enter is now. You’ll learn more in one competition than in months of training. You’ll get clear feedback, real experience under pressure, and a better sense of what to work on next. You don’t have to win. You just have to show up, give it a go, and take the next step. Strong enough? That’ll come. Like Niall & Jorge, start now.
In our Online Strongman Team, Elliot has been making progress with both his overhead and his deadlift taking PBs in what I would call foundational strength movements for the sport. Elliot too 180kg x8 in the Deadlift and followed that up with a new 1RM of 215kg. He also took PBs overhead in the Axle Push Press of 90kg x3, 100kg x2 & 102.5kg x1 while hitting a FTOH 3RM of 92.5kg and all that progress helped him take the event win on Max Axle at the Unit Classic while taking 3rd overall. Going forward the Online Strongman Team will have specific split jerk work added to the program as Elliot looks to refine the pattern.
Stephen also competed in the Unit Classic taking 2nd place overall in the Opens category... Combine that with an equal PB on Axle FTOH, a good crack at a 250kg Deadlift and a 130kg Close Grip Bench Press 1RM and I would say thats not a bad training cycle for a new dad!
Our Online Strongman Team follows the UK Natural Competition Calendar with room to stop off and compete through a few other competitions too. It’s perfect for those competing on the circuit and for beginners who don’t plan to compete yet but want a coaches guidance and a periodised plan.
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Our Get Big Get Strong Online Team was created for those who class themselves as the average gym goer. For those that want to get stronger in the big barbell movements, who want world class coaching with a world class program, but who have no aspirations to compete in a strength sport and want a life outside of the gym.
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Whether it’s dealing with injuries, transitioning from in person to online, or adjusting the plan mid prep, this month has been all about adaptability. Everyone mentioned above has, in some way, had to pivot, whether by choice or necessity and they've all moved forward because of it. That’s what training teaches us at its core: how to adapt. You don’t always get to control the circumstances, but you do get to choose how you respond. Sometimes that means shifting to online coaching. Sometimes it means doing more of what you can when what you want to do is off the table. Sometimes it means letting go of what worked before so you can lean into what’s working now. Adaptability isn’t weakness. It’s strength in motion and if you're willing to keep showing up and adjust as needed, progress is always within reach.
Let’s keep moving forward, one smart adaptation at a time.
Until next time
Adam🧠
Savage Strength📍
Now fully online
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