Powerlifting is a sport that demands incredible strength, dedication, and a deep understanding of the body’s capabilities. I had the privilege of interviewing Kyle Keough, a two-time world record holder in powerlifting, to delve into his remarkable journey, coaching philosophy, and insights into the world of powerlifting. Whether you’re a seasoned lifter or just starting out, Kyle’s wealth of experience and wisdom are sure to inspire and inform your powerlifting journey.

What inspired you to start powerlifting, and how did you progress to become a world record holder?

Kyle: I was inspired to start powerlifting after dabbling in training in my teens and being encouraged by a couple of other lifters at my first gym, who had competed before.

At my first competition, I actually bombed out, and my goal was never to be a world record holder—it was just to someday be as strong as the lifter who I watched win best lifter at the competition. Becoming a world record holder was therefore never the first goal; I was always interested in record and rankings, and it started with achieving local records, and then with improving my worldwide ranking, and breaking a world record was just the logical conclusion.

Could you share some key training principles that have been crucial in your success as a powerlifter?

Kyle: My key training principles are different than most because I’ve always valued conceptual thinking.

I can’t say that I value specificity in training or a particular lift variation, or anything like that. Instead, my mantras about training have always been to think deductively about training, and limit your variables. To the first point, I employ deductive reasoning, always. I look at wide sample sizes of lifters in-person and online, and find common themes. This keeps me current with widespread training changes.

I find differences in different training populations this way. And to change the training of one of my lifters, I always adjust one variable at a time. Otherwise, we can’t isolate what’s working.

What inspired you to transition from being a competitive powerlifter to becoming a coach?

Kyle: When I was a competitive powerlifter, I was already doing some coaching, but I had a career in fitness that was very time-consuming.

It had become more of a management-level position, and Covid allowed me to reconsider my life path. When I was done wanting to compete, I still needed a competitive outlet—coaching is less a job for me and more a chance for me to express my competitive side through a new outlet.

Could you describe your coaching philosophy and what sets it apart from other powerlifting coaches?

Kyle: Nowadays, the quantitatives of coaching have improved so much. Macro-level planning and analytics are so much better than twenty years ago.

I think as a coach, I try to retain good empathy for my lifters, I try to remain a good motivator, I try to encourage them and build strong relationships with them.

The downside to coaching science improving so much is that a lot of coaching online can feel cold and impersonal, and that’s where I try to be different.

How do you approach training differently for athletes with varying skill levels, from beginners to advanced lifters?

Kyle: Put simply, I think deductively about my lifters and write for them all individually.

My beginning teenage lightweight powerlifter and my beginning senior powerlifter do not train the same way, but I use sample sizes of past lifters and the training insights I pick up from watching others to build around them.

My elite heavyweight male lifters typically squat once weekly and hit very low workloads on deadlifts, but my lightweight male lifters would atrophy quickly under those workloads. So, the training must be very different.

What are some of the most rewarding moments you’ve experienced as a coach, in terms of your athletes’ progress and achievements?

Kyle: That’s an extremely hard answer to narrow down.

Over the years I have had a lot of coaching wins. When I was purely an in-person coach, I logged approximately 3,000 coaching hours in class, and those wins were all very exciting. I’ve coached six All-Time World Records now and those were all very significant achievements. This last year I had winners at a number of major competitions here in the U.S., like USAPL and WRPF Nationals.

But the significant records aren’t more rewarding than getting a beginner started lifting; they feel the same to the soul.

What are some key indicators that a person might benefit from hiring a powerlifting coach rather than going it alone?

Kyle: If the lifter has questions about where to take training next, and doesn’t have a naturally inquisitive mind and the desire to be self-taught and explore training, then it’s always a good idea to hire a coach. There is also a lot that can be learned from being self-coached!

What advice would you give to someone who’s just starting out in powerlifting and aspires to reach a competitive level?

Kyle: Compete as early as you can, and compete often. Allow early competitions to shape and teach you about your training. Too many lifters hold off gaining competition experience until the right time.

How do you prioritize injury prevention and recovery in your training programs for athletes?

Kyle: This is another very difficult question to answer succinctly, but generally speaking the more absolute intensity involved, i.e. the more weight on the bar, the more preventative work is necessary. My lifters who do the most injury prevention are also my heaviest lifters training with the most weight.

What role does nutrition play in optimizing performance for powerlifters?

Kyle: Nutrition of course plays an important role in optimizing powerlifting performance, as it does in every sport.

But I would answer this by saying that nutrition gives you a competitive advantage oftentimes in powerlifting, and this is because at a cultural level, nutrition was never thought of as important for strength athletics. Many new lifters don’t prioritize it, at all, so it’s an opportunity for you to have an advantage over your competition. The fastest way to get to an elite competitive level is to have good genetics and couple this with several years of bodybuilding-focused training, with the nutrition to match.

We know now that most elite competitive lifters carry high amounts of muscle, and this doesn’t happen without a focus on nutrition.

Can you provide some tips for balancing powerlifting training with other aspects of life, such as work, family, and social commitments?

Kyle: I cannot. I think at the most elite level, you will find this balance unfortunately does not always exist, or it simply all blends together, i.e. powerlifters create work, social commitments, etc., all as extensions of powerlifting, and never truly exit that sphere

This is changing in our sport now, but when I competed, the best lifters were usually the most imbalanced. This is why I say that becoming an exceptionally high performer, or world record holder, is not always an admirable thing. Nowadays I put my work and my family far above my training. I do recommend that you carve out time for training, like any hobby, and try to make it non-negotiable. Run a program that is feasible with your everyday life. But keep a hierarchy in your life, and powerlifting doesn’t ever need to be #1.

Could you highlight some of the most common misconceptions or myths about powerlifting that you’ve encountered in your career?

Kyle: There are many.

First, powerlifters are fat. That was true sometimes 20-30 years ago, but nowadays the sport is too popular, with too many good athletes, to be good without having a good body composition. Second, powerlifters are lazy. Yes, a lot of beginners train lazily. But the best lifters work very hard. Third, you have to be young to be good at this sport. Maximal strength peaks later than any other athletic quality in life.

Currently, we are seeing a surge of good young lifters, but in my opinion, peak age for competitive powerlifters is still in the mid to late 30s. Cognitive sports, like chess, or sports that require hyper-mobility, like gymnastics, or fast-twitch heavy athletes, like sprinting, all peak early, but powerlifting is a sport that anyone at any age can be good at.

How can individuals interested in powerlifting find you and learn more about your coaching services?*

Kyle: You can find me directly through my website at [www.jointeamkeough.com].

Conclusion

As someone who has been fortunate enough to coach under Kyle for the past few months, I can personally attest to the remarkable progress I’ve made in a relatively short span of time. His expertise, personalized guidance, and unwavering support have been instrumental in my own journey towards strength.

Thank you, Kyle, for sharing your experiences and knowledge with us. Your journey is an inspiration to all aspiring powerlifters, and your coaching services are sure to empower many on their path to greatness.

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