Blog | Training Why Progress Requires Heavier Weight

Author / John

3 - 5 minutes read

Why most athletes still need heavy weights.

Louie Simmons was one of the most influential strength coaches of all time and the man behind the Westside Barbell system that changed how athletes train for strength and power. I was lucky enough to have spent a lot of time with him. Over the years, we talked about everything from max effort training to the biggest mistakes athletes make in the weight room.

Louie always had a way of cutting through the noise when it came to strength training. He was quick to point out how so many athletes get it wrong because of misconceptions about what real strength training looks like. One story he loved to tell was about Karl Gotch, a legendary wrestler who got incredibly strong without ever touching a barbell.

Gotch was all about bodyweight exercises, push-ups, squats, and other basic moves. And yeah, he got results. The guy wasn’t just strong; he was muscular as hell, even though he wasn’t a bodybuilder. But Louie always made sure to emphasize that Gotch was the exception, not the rule. Most people simply can’t achieve that kind of strength without picking up weights.

The Exception, Not the Rule

Another was Tommy Kono, a name Louie liked to drop. Kono was a weightlifter who broke world records at will but lacked great technique. Kono even had his athletes snatch broomsticks at Ohio State, thinking they could perfect their form without heavy weights. Louie found that approach off putting. Kono could get away with it because he was so strong that his raw power compensated for the lack of technique prowess.

Louie believed that most athletes can’t rely on strength alone – it’s about the balance between power, technique, and training.

Strength Principles Apply to Every Sport

One of the things Louie was known for was how adaptable his methods were across different sports. He’d talk about how powerlifting principles could be applied beyond just powerlifting. World-class athletes from all sorts of disciplines, whether it was football, MMA, or track and field, were incorporating pieces of his system into their own training.

To Louie, that was proof that his methods worked. It didn’t matter if you were trying to be the strongest person on the planet or just trying to get faster or more explosive; his principles had something to offer.

Strength Training Is the Foundation

The conversation always came back to one core belief: Strength training is essential, and the principles of powerlifting are flexible enough to elevate performance in any sport.

The issue with bodyweight training alone is simple: eventually it stops being enough. Push-ups, squats, and pull-ups can build a base, but once your body adapts, where do you go next? You can only do so many reps before the stimulus disappears. Barbells solve that problem. They allow you to progressively add load, track progress, and keep forcing adaptation. That’s why every serious strength athlete eventually ends up under the bar. Bodyweight work has its place, but if you want to build real strength over the long haul, you’re going to need some iron.

If you want real strength, you have to train for it. Our training programs put these principles into practice, to build real-world strength, power, and durability for athletes at every level.

John

John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and host of Power Athlete Radio. He is a 9 year starter and veteran of the NFL. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and for starter for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. He was a four year lettermen while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympic athletes and Military. He travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition and records his podcast, Power Athlete Radio, every week with over 800 episodes spanning 13 years. You can catch up with John as his personal blog, Talk To Me Johnnie, on social media @johnwelbourn or at Power Athlete Radio.