Bitterly cold Spokane, Washington (minus 10 degrees) was the home of a three-day Powerlifting Training Camp, held January 2nd-4th at Giorgio's Gym, which was well equipped by one of our sponsors, Forza Equipment. As some may be aware, several lifters have traveled up to Anchorage to train with Larry Maile and the rest of the Alaska Iron Maidens, usually getting ready for a National or World meet. With the 2004 Women's Nationals approaching, we thought it would be great to bring the instructor (Larry Maile) and the demonstrator (Jenn Maile) down to Washington so more could take advantage of his coaching expertise. This was the first time for hosting a camp of this nature in the Washington area. Limited to only 10 participants, requests to attend the camp came from as far away as Nome Alaska and Maine. The slots for the camp filled fast and many were put on a waiting list.

The camp was structured to address one of the key lifts each day along with a two-hour seminar held on Saturday afternoon. Several aspects were addressed in the camp including mastering technique, getting the right fitting gear (and shoes) and formulating a cycle that works well for the drug-free lifter. Attendees were encouraged to bring all their gear to try on and new gear was also available for those who needed to get a new suit or shirt.

The Three-Days:
Friday afternoon started the deadlift workout with a group gathering and a half-hour instruction from Larry on his overall approach on the deadlift. As we got warmed up and ready to gear-up, Jenn Maile help demonstrate her World Record style in the deadlift with her wide-stance and 'fast attack' approach to the bar. When it came time to gear-up is when I felt the attendees received the most instruction and benefit from their attendance. Many suits were too loose, straps too long and lifters just not getting the maximum benefit out of their gear. One of the provisions at the camp was my personal alteration lady, Mrs. Therese. As each lifter's gear was assessed, notes were made, gear was marked up and we took the gear into Mrs. Therese the next morning to get them all altered and back the same day. (We did this also for shirt and squat suit alterations on respective days.)

Day #2 included the bench and training seminar. Again, starting the morning session with some instructional insight from Larry, then into warming up and finally into bench shirts. As most of you can relate, putting on bench shirts is not a fun task. With some great instruction from Larry, he demonstrated on several lifters how painless and easy (did I say easy?) it is to put on bench shirts without jerking the lifters around like you often see at meets. Emphasis for bench was put on reducing the stroke. Many learned that by adjusting their technique their stroke was 1-3 inches shorter than it had been before. And of course, the less distance you have to move the bar, the more you are going to be able to push.

Unlike the training camp, the afternoon training seminar was open to the public. We had a few attendees from the local gym that attended. As with most of Larry's seminars, he opens it up by fielding questions. Some background was given on his training through the years and how he has reached the system he has today. A quite lengthy discussion was addressed for the method and duration of his training cycles along with the sets and reps done. Finally wrapping up a short 2-hour seminar (definitely not enough time) he drew out the Alaska Iron Maiden training routine for those in attendance. (The Alaska Iron Maiden routine was demonstrated and practiced by the lifters throughout the three days.)

By Sunday morning, I think that we were all dog-tired from the previous two days of training, but now it was time for squats. This day ran pretty smoothly with three-squat stations going at once. Lifters paired up depending on height and lifting ability. Each lifter waited their turn under the bar for Larry to critique their lifting. IPF level referee, Jenn helped watch for proper depth along with other technicalities. Many learned the feeling of a good tight wrap as Larry and Ivan wrapped each lifter.

Survey Says:
A survey was sent out to each participant after the camp addressing the facilities, training, staff and we could do better in the future, some of the comments:

What is your assessment of the staff (Larry, Jenn & Ivan)?
They were all great, Larry made sure no one was left out and made a point of going around to each and every one of us. I am grateful to receive his advice. Ivan was a great asset with his knowledge of putting on the gear and Jenn's knowledge of the lifts and their correct form was very helpful when Larry was busy. - Holly Oxford

Was the length of the sessions appropriate?
I would of liked to be longer or another one on another day. Erin Dickey

Do you feel like the fee paid for the camp was worth the training your received?
I would have been willing to pay more given the expertise and professionalism of the Training Camp. David Stevens

Do you feel you benefited from the seminar?
Yes. Handouts would have been helpful. - Paula Houston

Conclusion:
The overall feeling from the participant was that this was well worth their time, effort and money to make the trip to Spokane. Having hands on coaching, learning how to maximize gear to the fullest and be able to have lifts demonstrated by one of the best lifters in the USAPL/IPF, Jenn Maile seemed extremely beneficial. It was the overall consensus of the participants and especially the staff that limiting the camp to 10 participants is about all the staff can handle and allowed enough attention to each lifter It was also great to bring together lifters from around the area, both mail and female from various federations.

Participants:
Erin Dickey - Kalamazoo, MI; Holly Oxford - Bonner, MT; Paula Houston - Edmonds, WA; Dana Backiel - Snoqualmie, WA; Dee Backiel - Snoqualmie, WA; Danna Snow - Spokane, WA; David Stevens - Spokane, WA; Joel Legard - Post Falls ID; Sean aka Andy Anderson - Pocatello, ID.

Staff:
Special thanks to: Ivan Ribic for being there to load, spot, help with putting on gear and wrapping, Jenn Maile for demonstrating and judging form; and Larry for coming down from Alaska to allow other lifters to benefit from your coaching.

Sponsors:
Pete Alaniz, Titan; Mike Lambert, PLUSA; Giorgio, Forza Strength Equipment and Susan owner for Giorgio's Gym!