What does PocketAthlete actually do?

You check in each morning with your sleep, soreness and fatigue. It scores your readiness, adjusts that day's session, and builds four-week training blocks around your sport, your position and the equipment you have.

Is it only for footballers?

No. It covers football, rugby, basketball, running, weightlifting and general gym training, with position-specific work for the team sports.

No. Tell it what you have and it programs around it. Many of the technical drills need nothing but a ball and a wall.

Can it work around an injury?

It works around soreness you log and avoids body parts you tell it to leave alone. It is general training information, not medical advice — see a physiotherapist for a diagnosis.

How should a powerlifting train?

Move maximal loads on the squat, bench and deadlift with flawless technique. Physically, prioritise maximal strength, bracing & positional strength, recovery capacity. Technically, work on squat/bench/deadlift technique, cueing & bracing, peaking a 1rm.

What drills should a powerlifting do?

Tempo squats, Paused bench, Setup and wedge, Breathe and brace practice. 4 of these need nobody but you.

Weightlifting · Position guide

How a powerlifting should train

Move maximal loads on the squat, bench and deadlift with flawless technique.

The short answer

A powerlifting should build maximal strength and bracing & positional strength, and practise squat/bench/deadlift technique and cueing & bracing. The drills that matter most are tempo squats, paused bench, setup and wedge. 4 of them need nobody but you.

⚡ Prioritise physically

• Maximal strength
• Bracing & positional strength
• Recovery capacity

🎯 Sharpen technically

• Squat/bench/deadlift technique
• Cueing & bracing
• Peaking a 1RM

Key exercises

Barbell back squat

The foundational lower-body strength lift — carries over to every sport.

Barbell bench press

Upper-body pressing strength for contact and throwing sports.

Conventional deadlift

Total-body pulling strength and posterior-chain power.

Overhead press

Builds pressing power and shoulder stability.

Technical drills for a powerlifting

4 of these need nobody but you.

Tempo squats

Squat techniqueOn your own

Setup: An empty bar or about 50% of your working weight.

1. Five seconds down, two seconds paused at the bottom, then stand normally.
2. Keep the bar over mid-foot the whole way — film from the side to check.
3. Brace before you unrack, not on the way down.

Volume: 4 × 3

Coaching point: The pause removes the bounce. Whatever position you're in at the bottom is the position you actually own.

Make it harder: Add weight only once all reps hold position, then shorten the pause.

Paused bench

Bench techniqueOn your own

Setup: A bar you can control for triples, and a rack with safeties.

1. Lower to the chest and hold for a full two seconds, still and tight.
2. Keep the shoulder blades pinned back and down throughout.
3. Press without letting the bar drift toward your face.

Volume: 5 × 3

Coaching point: Stay tight in the pause. Relaxing at the bottom is where both the press and the shoulder go wrong.

Make it harder: Lengthen the pause to three seconds before adding weight.

Setup and wedge

Deadlift techniqueOn your own

Setup: A loaded bar at about 60%.

1. Take your stance, grip, then pull your chest up to take the slack out of the bar.
2. Hold that wedged position for two seconds before the bar leaves the floor.
3. Lift, then reset completely — no touch-and-go.

Volume: 6 × 2

Coaching point: Hear the bar click into the plates before you pull. Yanking a loose bar is how backs get hurt.

Make it harder: Add weight once the setup is identical on every rep.

Breathe and brace practice

BracingOn your own

Setup: Nothing, or a light belt.

1. Breathe into your stomach and sides, not your chest.
2. Brace as if about to take a punch, without letting the air out.
3. Hold the brace for ten seconds, then breathe out and repeat.

Volume: 3 × 5 breaths

Coaching point: Pressure goes 360° around the trunk. Sucking the stomach in is the opposite of a brace.

Make it harder: Practise it under a light bar, then at your working weight.

Get a program built around you

PocketAthlete builds your program from your sport, your position and how recovered you actually are that morning — then adapts it as you log sessions.

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