Rethinking Powerlifting with Taylor Starch

This episode is a crossover between the Instagram version of MOPs & MOEs (punchy, oversimplified, sometimes deliberately instigating, etc.) and the podcast version of MOPs & MOEs (more thought out, addressing nuance, etc.).

I (Alex) recently connected with Taylor Starch over a discussion about spinal flexion in strength training. Seeing some of Taylor's subsequent content got me thinking about the outsized influence of powerlifting on strength and conditioning in general, and especially the tactical space. While powerlifting is not alone in this, it does seem to face the least scrutiny - squat, bench, and deadlift are broadly accepted as the core of strength and conditioning.

If you missed my post articulating this, this episode is essentially a discussion about how that conversation rapidly devolved. Since Taylor sent me down this rabbit hole in the first place, we thought we'd include him in the discussion, and he added some really interesting perspective.

Taylor Starch has his bachelors in health and exercise science and health promotion from Colorado State, where he was on the cycling team and competed at the national level. Since then he has accumulated roughly fifteen years of experience from personal training to running his own company and now to tactical. His last six years spent in tactical have included time with Air Force Special Warfare and currently with the 56th Fighter Wing. Along the way he has acquired an astonishingly extensive list of professional certifications, and if you follow him you'll quickly learn that he's a big trail runner.

You can find Taylor on Instagram

Drew mentioned an Elon Musk video discussing first principles

Alex mentioned a study showing mixed results from the Tactical Athlete Performance Center