5 Reasons I Love Power Points

One of the smartest things I ever did in Advanced Training was implement the Power Point System.

Why?

I'll give you 5 solid reasons.

1. It Removes Excuses

"He can bench more than me because he has arms like a T-rex..."

Billy Blanco is 10% T-Rex

Really?

I don't see you crying about your long arms when it comes time to deadlift.

How do you think Mr. T-Rex feels when it is time to pull the barbell off the floor?

2. It Levels the Playing Field

Aside from a few rare exceptions, do you really expect a 155lb seasoned athlete to bench as much as a 240lb seasoned athlete?

On the flip side, you can make the same argument in reverse for pull-ups.

... or broad jump

3. It Separates the Good from Great

The good athletes are really good at one or two movements and mediocre at the others.

The great ones are really good at all 4 of them - bench, deadlift, broad jump, pull-ups

Want a real life example?

Arthur Kuyan is currently ranked #2 (out of 151) in all-time Power Points.

While he is not #1 in any movement, he is in the top 15 in all 4 of them.

• Bench - 355lbs (12th all-time)
• Deadlift - 465lbs (3rd all-time)
• Pull-Ups - 38 reps (5th all-time)
• Broad Jump - 119.5 (10th all-time)

Here is a quick video of him in action.

4. It Accounts for the Overall Athlete

Oftentimes, an athlete will be miserable after test day because he did not gain 30lbs on his bench after ten weeks of intense training.

Meanwhile, he forgot he lost 20lbs*, gained 15 reps on pull-ups, and 8 inches on broad jump.

While his bench may have remained stagnant, his overall athleticism (aka Power Points) went through the roof.

To me, that is all that really matters.

We are not here to manufacture one trick ponies.

Don't ask him to pull a scarf out of his sleeve

We are here to develop complete athletes.

This is not just something we say, it is something we actually do.

If you don't believe me, just look at the data I provided below.

The median jump in Power Point rankings was 31 spots.

Considering the competition, these results are ridiculous.

July 2013 - Increases in Power Point Ranking

July 2013 - Increases in Power Points

*Note: some athletes change positions in college and are required to change their body type. That is why they attempt to lose / gain so much weight. If they can lose / gain the weight and still improve their power point numbers, they are legitimate athletes.

5. It Creates Insane Competition

I love healthy competition.

It makes a good program great.

It makes a mediocre athlete an animal.

And ..

It keeps the soft out of Advanced Training.

Competition Scares Me

If you have no interest in moving up in the Power Point Rankings, you have no place in our program.

With that, I am going to leave you with our new list of Top 20 Power Point Rankings of all-time.

I don't want to name names, but a few of you have been bounced off this list.

No worries ...

You are always welcome to come back to try to regain your place on this list of honor.

Duplicate names have been removed for people who have placed in the top 20 multiple times in different years. Only their highest power points from a given year have been used.

* The Top 20 Rank shows where they stand within the list above (no duplicate names)
* The Overall Rank shows where they stand within all power point totals, had duplicate names not been removed

For a complete listing of the final Power Points for the class of 2013, click HERE.