Powerlifting is rarely just about the weight, it is rarely just about the platform. Most of the real struggle happens in the mind.
-The doubt before the attempt.
-The possibility of failure.
-The pressure we place on ourselves.
-The frustration of progress not happening as fast as we want it to.
-The comparison.
-The ego.
- The potential for injury
The battle between who we are today and who we are trying to become.
The barbell simply reveals it.
That is why powerlifting becomes so much more than strength.
It teaches patience.
It teaches humility.
It teaches resilience.
It teaches you how to face yourself.
Every lift tells a story, but the heaviest battles are often the ones no one else can see.
Not the plates on the bar, but the thoughts in your head.
And learning to overcome those may be the greatest strength this sport can give you.
Onyx Strength & Conditioning
Strength & powerlifting coaching focused on building strong, durable, technically sound lifters.
Onyx Strength & Conditioning is a powerlifting-focused strength coaching service based in Edmonton, built on one principle: the foundation decides the ceiling. We specialize in building strong, durable, technically sound lifters — from first-time gym members to competitive powerlifters. Coaching is individualized, data-driven, and focused on long-term progress, not shortcuts. Powerlifting & Streng
06/01/2026
Be wise enough to seek peace through wisdom.
Be formidable enough to defend it.
There is a common misconception that strength and kindness exist at opposite ends of the spectrum.
I don't believe that.
True strength isn't the desire to dominate others.
It's the ability to exercise restraint when you could choose otherwise.
Wisdom allows us to solve problems before they become conflicts.
It allows us to build relationships, communities, and trust.
But wisdom without capability leaves those things vulnerable.
The goal is not to seek conflict.
The goal is to become the kind of person who rarely needs it.
A person capable of protecting what matters, while possessing the judgment to know when and how to do so.
Seek peace.
Build strength.
Value both.
"We are what they grow beyond."
Failure is not the opposite of success. It is part of the path.
Every missed lift teaches you something. Every bad training day gives you information, and every mistake shows you where the foundation needs more work.
The problem is not failing. The problem is refusing to learn from it. Strength is built through repeated exposure.
You attempt.
You miss.
You adjust.
You come back better.
That process is not a setback. That process is training. Success is rarely built from perfect days. It is built from the days that force you to pay attention, adapt, and keep moving forward.
Failure gives you feedback.
What you do with that feedback is what determines the outcome.
As a coach, a lot of what I teach comes from the failures I had to learn through first.
The missed attempts.
The bad calls.
The rushed decisions.
The impatience..
The ego...
The lessons I had to earn the hard way. If I can use those lessons to help someone else avoid the same mistakes, then those failures were never wasted.
We are what they grow beyond.
"Do or do not. There is no try."
Yoda had a point, and he's 900 years old 👀 that's a lot of years of wisdom.
But there is something valuable hidden in the message --
Most people don't fail because they lack knowledge or capability.
Most people fail because they stay in the planning stage.
The intention stage.
The "I'll start Monday" stage.
The gap between where you are and where you want to be is almost always filled with action.
Not perfect action.
Just action.
Small actions don't seem powerful in the moment.
But repeated effort and action do. They change everything.
Trying is where most journeys begin.
Action is what moves them forward.
05/29/2026
The same can be said for knowledge, discipline, ambition, and power.
None of these things are inherently good or bad. They simply amplify the intentions of the person wielding them.
Strength isn't measured by how much force you can produce. It's measured by how well you can direct it.
Build yourself. Build your family. Build your community. Build a foundation strong enough to support the people who depend on you.
Because in the end, what matters isn't how powerful you become.
It's what you choose to create with that power.
Love the process as much as the outcome.
To be clear, I'm not saying beginners shouldn't compete. I absolutely LOVE working with new lifters.
Some of my favorite coaching memories have come from helping first time lifters through their first meet.
What I am saying is that there is no prize for rushing.
The platform isn't going anywhere.
A few extra months spent learning technique, building strength, developing work capacity, and gaining confidence can completely change the experience.
Learn how to squat to depth.
Learn how to pause a bench press.
Learn the commands.
Build some muscle.
Build some confidence.
Then go enjoy the platform.
Your first meet should showcase your training, not replace it.
The foundation decides the ceiling.
Value the craft, not the test.
"Carbs make you fat."
Bagels
Pasta
Fruit
Some people would look at meals like these and assume they're terrible for fat loss.
Too many carbs.
Too much sugar.
Too many calories.
The reality?
No single food determines whether you gain or lose weight.
Fat loss is driven primarily by overall energy balance.
You can lose weight eating:
Bagels
Fruit
Potatoes
Rice
Pasta
Just like you can gain weight eating:
Chicken breast
Salad
Greek yogurt
Oatmeal
Food quality still matters.
It affects:
Health
Recovery
Performance
Hunger management
But calories still count.
Where most people struggle isn't food selection.
It's sustainability.
They build a nutrition plan they can survive Monday through Friday, then spend the weekend fighting cravings because the plan never included foods they actually enjoy.
A nutrition plan doesn't need to survive Monday.
It needs to survive Saturday.
The best nutrition plan is usually the one that balances nutritious foods with foods you genuinely enjoy while still supporting your goals.
Because if the plan falls apart every weekend...
*******It was never really the plan.*******
"He knows about thermodynamics, right?"
"I wouldn't count on it." 😏🍎
05/26/2026
Does this sound familiar?
Monday to Friday your diet is locked in. Meals are planned. Calories are controlled. You’re “being good.” (The old 5/2 diet)
Then the weekend rolls around.
Suddenly delivery food starts looking REAL convincing.
For me, it was weekly eat out breakfasts (easily 3000+ underestimated calories), + sometimes Chinese food on Fridays, pizza, or whatever sounded good that night.
To justify it, I would lower calories harder during the week thinking it would “balance out.”
And technically? My bodyweight stayed fairly stable.
The problem was: I was trapping myself in a cycle of under fueling during the week and over consuming on weekends.
This can lead to:
poorer recovery
inconsistent performance
elevated fatigue
more cravings
poorer sleep
lower training output
feeling “flat” during sessions
spinning your wheels in maintenance
As a powerlifter, this mattered far more than I realized at the time.
Yes, I could still move decent weight. But recovery and performance were suffering.
Now that I keep calories more even throughout the week, everything has changed.
Body composition has improved. Energy is higher. Bar speed has improved. Recovery is better. Body fat has come down. Training output is MUCH higher.
Ironically, I perform far better now sitting close to 210 lbs than I did at 230-250 lbs.
Not because I became “hardcore.” Not because I started starving myself.
Because I stopped swinging between restriction and compensation.
When habits change long term, cravings often change with them.
That might sound like a stretch if you are still stuck in the cycle, but I used to think the same thing.
Over time, as nutrition becomes more consistent and your body starts feeling better, you stop chasing the same reward-based eating patterns.
Not through willpower. Through changed habits and repeated behaviors. Because as powerlifters we know, all battles are fought in the mind, not on the platform.
Physical change is often the result of mental and behavioral change first.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is consistency.
The foundation decides the ceiling.
05/25/2026
Coaching is more than just simply being handed a program.
Real coaching is what happens after the program is written.
Every week inside Onyx Strength & Conditioning, athletes go through two structured check-ins designed to keep progress moving forward instead of guessing week to week.
Wednesday:
form review
video analysis
technique adjustments
load/RPE modifications
program updates
Friday:
nutrition review
habit tracker review
recovery analysis
weekly trend assessment
program touch-ups
Recovery, stress, sleep, hunger, bodyweight, ex*****on, and nutrition all matter.
Consistency > Perfection
Identifying patterns early, and making smarter decisions over time.
That’s how long-term progress is actually built.
**The foundation decides the ceiling.**
Interested in coaching?
Apply here :
https://www.onyxstrengthandconditioning.ca/application-page
Online Coaching | Hybrid Coaching | In-Person Coaching
The video might be blurry, but the picture is clear.
Justin reached out to me because he was getting strong fast, but wasn’t fully confident in his technique or how to progress properly. There was a lot of hesitation around deadlifts and the fear of tweaking something, so he decided to invest in coaching and build things the right way.
Before starting with me, he had already lost 40 lbs. Since beginning this coaching journey, he’s dropped another 10 lbs while adding a massive 63.5 kg to his total in just 4.5 weeks.
That kind of progress doesn’t come from shortcuts. It comes from structure, consistency, and building a foundation of technically sound movement that can actually support long-term strength.
Very excited to see where this goes from here. Happy to work with you, partner 🤝😎
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