Latest / The Platform: a Michigan High School Powerlifting Association Podcast / Tod Miller, MHSPLA Founder, International Coach & Competitor, Pt 1 | The Platform Episode 15
Transcript
- Chris Whittaker: Welcome to the platform where the stories weigh a ton. This is where some of the MHS PLA's best tell real stories about what it takes to build themselves and their teams under the bar. I'm your co-host Chris Whitaker, and we're glad you're here. Hey, if you're enjoying the show, please make sure that you subscribe, follow, and leave a review on all major podcast hosts Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, and many more. That support helps us to continue to grow the show and bring the conversations that you want to hear right here to the platform. If you'd like to give us feedback or suggest a guest or topic for the show, please email info at mhspla.com and we'll get back to you. Today's episode is episode number 15, featuring part one of our conversation with powerlifting coach and MHSPLA founder, Todd Miller. Todd's fund a fundamental voice in Michigan High School powerlifting. And in this first part, he takes us on a deep dive into what it actually takes to build and run a successful program. We talk about his coaching philosophy and how he builds team dynamics that work. The evolution of training programs over the years and how to read what an individual athlete needs to succeed. Todd breaks down the technical and science side of equipped lifting and covers common mistakes beginner lifters make and shares the lessons that he brought back from training at West Side Barbell. We get into the nitty-gritty of coaching logistics and equipment management, tapering, and strategy heading into the meet and how to make a smart attempt selection, especially when it counts. Plus, Todd reflects on his role in founding and growing the MHS PLA. And a coaching legacy he's most proud of. It's a masterclass in building community through powerlifting. Stick around for Thursday when part two drops of this great episode. Until then. Step up. Lock in. The bar's loaded. For Todd Miller, episode 15. Hit the intro music. Right, and here we are back with another episode of the platform. Ladies and gentlemen, the bar is loaded today for a founding member of the Michigan High School Powerlifting Association. His name is Mr. Todd Miller. Todd, welcome to the show. Tod Miller: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Chris Whittaker: And we have Todd here with us. We're really excited about this one. Coach Gillum, I got so excited I introduced the guest before I even introduced us. Chris Gilliam: That's all right. I'm excited for this as well. just so everybody knows, I'm Chris Gillum. I'm executive director of the Michigan High School Power Lifting Association. My co-host, Chris Whitaker, he's the chair of the MHS PLA. Our guest today is a highly successful powerlifting coach from the west side of Michigan. He led three different schools to powerlifting state titles while he coached. He coached the Plainwell. Knights men and women teams to 2001 USAPL national championships, first place finish. He was so highly respected by the USAPL. He was twice selected as the U.S. sub junior national team head coach. He also had the distinction of being an assistant coach for the U.S. women's national team that competed at the IPF World Championships in Germany. Let's welcome our guest. The legend Todd Miller. All right. Yeah, you're you're welcome. It was well earned. there's probably a lot more monikers we could give you. let's start up. What brought you to the sport of powerlifting? How did you get started? Tod Miller: Guys, I appreciate that. I was a football coach and track coach, head football head track coach at Plano High School. And we're at the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association in Battle Creek at that time. And I was having a daddy pop with Don Eastman and w bragging a little bit about our power our how strong my football team is And he goes, Well, if you think you're so strong Chris Gilliam: To the pu Tod Miller: We got these little meets we're starting a few of us that just little meets we're trying to get going. And you know, you're more than welcome to come and show off your talents there. So thought about it and I took them up on it. So that was our first meet in ninety-six, ninety-seven school year. I took six boys and two girls to that meet, and everything evolved from that. We enjoyed it. We did okay, but being the competitive person I am, I go, Hmm, I'm not doing this again if we're not winning it. So that's how it all got that's how it all got started. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, I understand. for sure. No, that's great. So obviously you kinda let in the motive for getting your program was you didn't want to just enjoy the meats for individuals. You wanted to build this thing so your team could be successful, correct? Tod Miller: Yep. Yes I did. I was fortunate enough to have a weightlifting class, three of during the day. So I was able to recruit not just my football players or some track guys, you know, usually the shot and their discus guys or the quarter milers, but I could recruit a few of the others and then I started after that first year I saw the different weight classes. So okay, if I fill all the weight classes, I can win this thing was my motto to start with, okay. 'Cause I figured I can that we're strong and we've got to be able to start following rules and doing it that way. So it grew into the next year, 97, 98 year. I believe we actually won the thing at that point in ninety eight. This duh if I miss a year or say a year too much, I'm sorry about that. I apologize to anybody out there that I might step on their feet. But that was the year it took off. We went there and our men did really well. So okay, my daughters have been lifting for a long time. They I started them about two years before that and I said, I want this to really go for them and do it really well for women. So I said, We're gonna make sure we do this on the women's side the following year also. So again I recruited and I didn't think that much about things and you know, the numbers and stuff, but this is something that I texted about seven of my former lifters trying to get any info that might be really or something I didn't think about. And what she said is is we won in two thousand, but you recruited me and ruined my cross country career because I started three years I lifted after that and like cross country wasn't it didn't quite help my running career. But that's not What she said is she goes, if you remember, I I thought I was gonna be one of a few girls coming out and we went to the we went to get ready for the meet and I was one of ninety one that was at that meeting that took off to the first meet. I go, Well yeah. I bet they don't know that that I had ninety to a hundred lifters every year. Up until the last couple when I wanted to weed it out. I couldn't take some of but got to be too much. but yeah. By the year three or four, whatever that is, by year two thousand, we had up to ninety lifters and that took off. We won every year men's and women's after that point until ninety-six, ninety seventh school year, ninety five, ninety six, whatever year it is. Okay. Right. We did not win in two thousand two, I believe, because we went to the USAPL Nationals. I sent my B team what's that? Chris Gilliam: Not go ahead. Tod Miller: Yeah, I sent my B team there. No, I sent my B team there and they didn't quite win it. So it's it's been a joke ever since that they ruined our streak though. Those guys were my former lifters. I think all the time about it all the time. Yeah. So Right. That's how I got started. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Coach Whitaker, just so you know, back in two thousand two, the USAP PL high school nationals were the same day as our MHS PLA state meet. So Todd took his bus lifters to high school nationals and then basically, you know, the second string if you want to call that competed at MHS PLA State Meet. They finished fourth still as a team. Tod Miller: Okay. Chris Gilliam: Being coached by his former lifters. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. Chris Gilliam: That's pretty impressive. Chris Whittaker: That's crazy. Yeah, but in my in my research on you, coach, I was able to to find that. your men You guys were fourth at nationals, for the men, second at nationals for the women by one point is what I found. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. That's pretty awesome. Like your first four years of thousand two. Tod Miller: What year was that? What year was that? Chris Whittaker: two thousand two is what I what I found here. Tod Miller: 2002. Okay. And we went into, I don't know, we won a a few either women's or that combined after that. I know that we did fairly well. I will tell you though, this I don't know if it's gonna come out later, but this is probably one of the most funny, ironic things that happened in my career. When we first took four lifters to the Nationals, Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Tod Miller: We took them to the men's teen junior. They have two different nationals. They have a high school national and they have a national for your age group. Okay, so you compete strictly across your age. And that was called the juniors and sub juniors and men's. Back before I didn't know anything, hardly. The the first year we did fairly we second year we did really well as far as men at the state meet. Well, I want to take my four best. They qualify we went to a national qualifier and they qualify for that. We went to this meet, it was in Chicago and we went there thinking we were gonna set all the national records. We saw all the tolls and we knew what our tolls were and you know my guides were swimming the day before, laying in the sun, hanging out in the sauna, doing you know, things I learned that you don't do is you're a lifter. But We're getting ready to put our openers down and this one li young lifter who I thought looked like a renegade, he really did. He looked like long hair down to his waist and he goes, You guys might want to change your openers. And I we go, No, this we can do these. He goes, We really can do these. And the kid leans over to me, goes, The the they have to be in kilograms, not pounds, coach. And I go. we're not gonna do so well here. All of a sudden I realized that I'm I'm glad. Yes, exactly. Well, so we got our first lifter up and he bombed out in the squats. Now I'm here I am thinking of first year there, thinking how I didn't know everything about the sport. Second lifter bombed out in the bench. So we were really rooting just to get a lifter through. Chris Gilliam: You're doubling the weight. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. Tod Miller: Luckily the last two didn't bomb out, but they didn't do near as well as we thought they were gonna and we lost two to start with. So that was my first experience going to an USAPL meet. Chris Gilliam: I gotcha. Well, and the USAPL was fairly new at that time because they had previously been the ADFPA, if I'm not mistaken. And so it was fairly new organization at that time. So that's great. Awesome. Go ahead, Chris. Chris Whittaker: So coach, Coach Gillum alluded to it, right? You coached at Plainwell, Portage Northern, and Manistee all to state championships during your time. what were the differences between the schools and what did each have in common? Tod Miller: First all, the what is in common is you can always find a certain number of kids that really are individually motivated. And that's what I did as a coach, you know, why I was successful. I didn't necessarily pick the strongest people to start with. I didn't necessarily pick the, you know, the premier athlete that everybody thought in the school. I picked the people I looked around, I saw who is motivated doing this on their own, who wants to really be good on their own. So the common thing was is I always can find some kids that want to do great. Okay. There's always that four point student. They're always great for power lifting. There's that guy that or girl that had nothing in life and the parents are, you know, have not treated them right or whatever. I can find those type of kids, believe it or not. So my teams I always the joked were, you know, the outlaws and the four point students, you know. So but I always every school I went to found kids that would just were intrinsically motivated. Those the kids I picked a and asked if they wanted a power lift to start the team though and everything. what was different about it Portage Northern, the large school. There's so many athletes to choose from. It was so easy there. I g I gotta tell you guys, it was like I thought it was unfair. I don't know, but you know, I had a couple three good coaches that really bought in and all of our athletes bought in and the 2013 year, I was reminded today that I forgot about that, but two of the meets we scored perfect hundred and twenty points on. We won ten week classes at two of the regionals and I had forgot that that we did that. And the they were good they were it was it was and it was quick, you know, there. And then you know and Man of C was I'm not sure how we did it. We just got lucky. We went to Mona Shores and there were just enough good teams that split all the points up and I think we won by one point and I think third place was by two or three points and we shouldn't have won that. I don't know how we did, but you know couple of teams had somebody bomb out and we skunk by. So I I I was just happy. Things are just rolled our way with that one. But you know, the the big thing is is you can find kids that really care and want to lift at every school. At least I could at that time. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, that that Manesty one, that was two thousand sixteen, I believe, at Mona Shores. I remember that meet because in one of the gyms, because that meet they had racks in three different gyms, Coach Whitaker. So as a coach, you were putting in some steps with your lifters that that whole weekend 'cause the night before was the women and then the next day was the men. That was crazy. And I just remember in their one side gym. Which would probably be like their main PE gym. It had nice bleachers and stuff in it, but I remember three of those platforms, the top lifters, bombing out on either squat or bench that day. And I remember like I had a lifter that would have been ranked like fifth or sixth. He ended up finishing second behind a manasey kid. So though those two kids benefited because two people bombed out in their way class. I mean it just that's the stuff that happens. Sometimes people just don't open correctly. they have a rough day and others get to benefit from it, but that was a crazy day. That was a huge meet. That was before we started limiting the number of participants too. So that was a long weekend, I think. Tod Miller: Which needed to be done. Chris Gilliam: yeah. So all right. Tod Miller: I re you know, I remember near the end of that meet, you know, I was a couple of racks left and my young coach who I just was enjoying coaching at that point. I was not to the where I was bloodthirsty or anything like that. But my young coach, Jason comes up, he goes, We won. I go, Huh? What are you talking about? I go, I go, there's no way he goes We won. There's no way Away can catch us with the last rack or two. And I'm calling, you gotta be kidding me. I I was just surprised. But I remember him t had all the points added up and showing me. So it's like, Okay, good for great sweet. I was pretty happy about that. Chris Gilliam: for sure. That that's pretty sweet accomplishment. what can you tell us about the Plainwell Knights? That was like a powerlifting club that you started because the research I did, the it went from ages, you know, like ten to sixty some. You had just a powerlifting club that included all ages. Tod Miller: Yes we did. it went to the Plainwell Knights because if we called it the Plainwell Trojans, which was the mascot at the time, it was frowned on that we went outside to nationals and all those types of things. So I wound up doing the same thing you guys did and getting the You guys know the letters of the four three, whatever it is right now, whatever you guys got. I wound up doing the same thing for our program. And I became the executive director of that and we became the Plainwell Knights. So and I d I just opened up the gym and we opened it up at night and we opened it up during the the morning. And if somebody wanna community want to come in during one of my classes, we d allowed that to happen too. and at that point. We had a couple of sixty year olds in there, the wrestling coaches, mom and dad. And they wanted to lift competitively. And we had a few a few others and you know, my daughter was ten at the time, so we just started traveling to either AAU meets or we went to the U S A P. L meets, that w for the age group ones and you know, at some meets we had teens lifting and we had Mama Steele at age sixty seven lifting at one meet. So So that was it was fun. It was fun to see her excel and her husband to excel, and it was fun to see just that camaraderie. I mean, she was sitting there cheering my daughter on and pigtails and ten years old and my daughter's helping wrap her knees. And my ten and twelve year olds are wrapping her knees for the final as nobody else could wrap because they wrap too tight. So they had my two daughters who were little kids doing but our lessons. That was fun. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Tod Miller: That was a memory you brought up a memory I hadn't thought about today. So thank you. Chris Gilliam: For our listeners that aren't sure, like what everybody needs to understand, back then there w really wasn't raw lifting. Everybody was equipped, right, coach? Tod Miller: Everybody was equipped and that's where we had an unfair advantage because we had equipment and we were sponsored by Titan Sports and they sent us all sixty suits for our lifters and we had knee rats for everybody and we had an unfair advantage because you know my daughter started along with the well we had five lifters that were that had won world championships in a two or three year period. You know, my daughter's won two or three each. And we had a couple other girls do the same thing. Aaron Dickey, Carly Nagel both won World Championships. My daughter f finished second in the World Games also in Germany. So we just had got to somehow be known in the powerlifting world and For us to compete at the high school had the equipment we had, it wasn't fair. It really wasn't. I mean, I I'm being honest. yeah. The the raw the raw level the field. And you know, I think the big thing about that I I'm happy about and I and I didn't think about this, Chris, when you asked your question about the differences between the schools, but I had equipment at Plainwell and went to Raw at Portage Northern in Manite State. And you know, it it the field got much closer with those things that for a while there, you know. But in my own mind, my programs worked our what we did to how we program kids and how we prepared work because you could do it with equipment or without equipment. So it was more rewarding for me winning those ones at Portugal Shore than Manasseh because they were raw and I enjoy raw, and I think that's all the sports should be, to be honest with you. So you know, I d one hundred percent agree that the everything should be raw. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, I well, you know, you can't take credit away when you're allowed to use it and you guys did and you were successful, but you proved you didn't need the equipment because you did it at two other different schools. So I agree with you a hundred percent. Your programming must be very good because you had four other state titles at two different schools. So it speaks for itself. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, and even like Tod Miller: Thank you. I do appreciate that. Chris Gilliam: Very well. Chris Whittaker: You see it a lot with some of the equip lifters going into Raw. Like you hear a similar story. Like I'm I'm a big follower of Matt Wenning from West Side Barbell. And he talks about the same thing. They were doing all that stuff equipped, but then he takes all the gear off and he's still stronger than everyone else, you know, without without the gear on. Like good programming gets you stronger. The gear At that point it's really more skill acquisition of how to use it and get the most out of it. Chris Gilliam: Hmm. For sure. Tod Miller: You know what? You do know my app? Chris Whittaker: I I've met him I've met him one time at the Arnold just enough to to shake his hand and he talked to some of our kids for a while. I followed his stuff for a long time. yeah, we we train conjugate. So that's you know, a lot of those guys, you know, from West Side, and like that whole Louie tree basically that comes out now, Dave Tate, Matt Wenning, Nate Harvey from the University of Buffalo. those are kind of the main people I'm following and and learning from and have for the last ten years now, my plus. Tod Miller: Yeah. Well, this will interest you that back when I wanted to learn a program, that's where I traveled was down to Louis and the West Side Barbell and I asked them if I could come down for the weekend and I sh and learn from them and I I'm glad I brought clothes 'cause I said you're gonna be doing all this stuff yourself right while you're here, you know, and Louie I remember laughing a couple of times at me. I'm laying on the floor. Like can't even breathe after some of their workouts. I'm like, my God. But yeah, I worked on a lot a lot of their stuff I took. I think more of their auxiliary workout. I combined that with I met with the Russians and I met with them in Germany one time because I they wanted my g people were first ones to start beating them in the deadlift. And they were the squat king. So we exchanged information and deadlifting coaching versus that. And I I curbed their percentages and cut down to six week cycles, but I used all things I learned about a lot of the auxiliaries and how to put those and how to incorporate and how to never be happy. I mean, Louie was once you see somebody mastering a auxiliary, get on something else 'cause they're you know They need to grow in another area, you know, continually rotate. So I learned those things, you know. I I spent Friday afternoon through a Sunday. I couldn't wait to leave, to be honest with you. First I was intimidated. Second, they about killed me in the workhouse. And they scared me, to be honest, you guys. They scared me being in a room with all of them. They are all they're pretty Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Double double. They're pretty scary guys. They're super intense and they're large fellas. Chris Whittaker: So what what year was that when that you went to Westside? Tod Miller: I saw What's that? Chris Whittaker: What year was that when you went down there? Tod Miller: It was either ninety seven the summer or ninety eight the summer. One of the two. It was right when I started. Chris Whittaker: At that point, Chuck Vogelpool is running wild. Dave Tate, they're all still there. I think ninety seven Tod Miller: Dave Tate Square. Yeah. Dave Tate squ scared the hell out of me, okay? But no, Dave was there when we were there. He's he's he's not like he is on his podcast now, okay, you guys. He's a he's seems mild on the podcast, but Chris Gilliam: Well yeah, when he lifted he was a person he's a scary dude. He's intense. I I like him. Chris Whittaker: Was was Matt Dimmel still alive when you were there too? Tod Miller: Yeah, I don't remember him. I do not remember him. you know, I just I wish I wish I'd have thought about that and researched a little more f when I before I got here about who all was there when I was there so I could tell you that. But I just I don't know. I just remember contacting Louie and of course they're open to anybody, you know. So come on down. So it was fun. It was do they? Chris Whittaker: And they still advertise that. Yeah, like now Tom Barry has has taken it and seems like he's really trying to continue the legacy k but that that's crazy that you've been there. That's that's cool. O other than Matt Wenning, you're the first person I've met that's been there. And and and you've done you've done one of my my life goals that I'll never get to do is is meet Louis Simmons and learn from him. So that's awesome. That's Tod Miller: I've been there. I've got it, Louie. Chris Whittaker: We'll we'll talk more conjugate as we go, I'm sure. but getting back to the our association here, our our MHS PLA. I I you might have touched on this already. how many years were you active in the MHS PLA coaching? Tod Miller: I think just from that ninety six to two thousand six era, I think that was about it. Chris Gilliam: Well through two thousand sixteen. Tod Miller: to remember but I don't think I well no I did that and then I did Portage Northern and I did Manistee so it was quite a while. I had a two or three years off plain will decide they didn't want me to be their football coach so got my got fired from there but it's probably the best thing that ever happened to me. So Pete Skirmahorn called me the next day and asked me to be his defensive coordinator in Portage Northern so I actually learned football because I as an assistant you can learn too many managing problems as I book out nowadays so but so from nineteen ninety six until twenty sixteen I would say that I was involved in MHS PLA. I'm proud of the fact that I sat in the room in summer of ninety seven with Dennis Reinhardt's Tony Anise Noel Dean sent his assistant Jason Cott And Jeff Setsky was there. And the other big lifter had two sons that lifted for Montrose was there. That's the group. And we were because the there was an old what's that? Chris Gilliam: Was it Stiverson? Tod Miller: Yes. Thank you. Nice. Yes. Is that Alan Stiperson? Or is that the song? I don't know. That's exactly who it was. Yep. And we were putting together a rule book. I just said, what are we doing? The US APL's got a rule book. We're sitting here going trying to do this from page one to page two. Let's just adapt it. Let's tear out the pieces we don't want and use this. So we did. And that's what it was as a framework. Chris Gilliam: Not not for that. Tod Miller: For many years and that was our original governing board, I believe. So Noel Dean was on instead of his assistant, but that was a group that I think and Chris you probably know more than I do or not or one of you guys probably knows more than I do about if there was anybody else involved in that group. That was who was sat Chris Gilliam: That was the that was the That's the main people I heard, Todd. So Tod Miller: I just felt it I felt fortunate they asked me to help So I think it was after in ninety eight we did we decided to get a rule book together because I had at least proven myself to them. So they asked me to come. That was the original group. That was the original gor governing body and I'm just proud to see where you guys are today. Be honest with me. I be honest with me, it's like, wow, see what you guys are still continuing and to see the number of lifters and you know, I don't know. Two or th three or four years ago I went to a state meet incognito and watched, so I was pretty happy about that. Only a few people recognized me that were still coaching, but I sort of sat away and with a hat on and Just watch, you know. But I don't know, just to be know that I was part of the beginning of that, just makes you feel good. Makes you feel like you accomplished something, you know. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and that's one of the big reasons why we wanted to have you on is, you know, somebody like myself, you know, I'm from upstate New York. As we talk on these podcasts, you know, tell everybody I'm I'm from New York. so I don't I don't know the history of this. And you're quite literally the start of this whole thing that we spend all this time working on and coaching our kids and building and and Gillum is doing a ton of stuff here to to take us to another level as our leader. but it's so cool to be able to to talk with you and hear and hear from you about how it all went down. Tod Miller: It's not So we talked about I think the the original go ahead. I think I just want to make sure that you know those originals were a couple of years before me. So I mean I know that I was heavily involved in getting it organized and getting it a rule book put together and that, but you know, Noel Dean and Tony Anise and Jeff Setsky just did this. The Veer guys did this for some way to keep their kids doing something during the winter is what they told me. That's exactly what they told me. They told me after I started winning I was interrupting the their veer that I better go to the veer. I said I'm the wing key guy. And I Nope, not doing They said, Well we're gonna kick you out of powerlifting if you don't run the veer. And I said, Mm, no, not happening, and I'm not kicking me out either. So that's true. Chris Whittaker: Noel Noel is coaching at Chelsea right now, which is our rival from Dexter, as you may know. My wife works there and we spent a lot of time there. And I can let you know he's still running the veer. Tod Miller: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: Straight downhill view. Tod Miller: He tried to do that he tried to do that in Georgia. Didn't work out so well for him, but I did coach with him a year down here and that was okay. They weren't not very happy with him running the veer down here. But anyway. Hi Noel, if you're listening. Chris Whittaker: well, hopefully no list and and if Noel was one of the originals, Coach Gillum, you know, I don't know if he'll answer an email from me when it has Dexterschools.org on the on the end, but Chris Gilliam: He'll answer me. Him and I go way back. We went to the same college, so Chris Whittaker: There you go. Alabat, Alab College. Tod Miller: Yeah. Chris Gilliam: Well it's a university now, but Chris Whittaker: The the University of Alabama. Chris Gilliam: so Tod Miller: You've mentioned like Chris Gilliam: Y Todd, you mentioned like the Plainwell Knights and we know what that was. And you had said to us earlier, like when Plainwell got to be its biggest as far as the high school team, how many members did you have for the boys and for the girls? Tod Miller: Total. We had somewhere between any year between ninety and a hundred and ten, hundred and fifteen. Yeah. Managing it that was real fun, especially when you were using knee rats on everybody. Chris Gilliam: That that was what my next question is. You all your kids were equipped. You guys had to have a lot of equipment. Tod Miller: We had a lot of equipment. I I still got a tub of knee wraps sitting around here that I I keep donating to people so I'll get rid of eventually. But you know, I had like three tubs and we had we had the engineer the guy that was an engineer in Portage, I wish I could remember. One of the aircraft ki people. But he ha they sat around a table and did an E wrap roller, which was the sweetest thing you ever see and everybody wanted it. I still have it. It just Click, click, click, click, like this, it wraps them super tight. Click, click, click. And then he's got a little arm that knocks the knee wrapper roller off. And you do it with, you know, he made it so my 10-year-old daughter could use it, you know, when he did it. So yeah, we had wrap rollers and we did teach every kid finally to wrap their own knees. And once I learned what I thought was the best way, my best lifters didn't want anybody but themselves to wrap it. A lot of people say, well, I used a lot of energy. We found out how to manage the time before getting on the platform and wrapping knees and you know, they swore that the only put knee wraps they wanted on their knees were by themselves. So and they they put tighter than I ever could get by the end, you know, even the girls. So 'cause the rap roller rolled them the rap roller rolled so freaking stretched out and tight that all they had to do was wind. So but yeah, it with equipment it was crazy. It was crazy. There's no doubt about that. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, I mean t I mean, we probably could have a whole different episode on how equipped lifters have to deal with the meat because, you know, the time that to s you know, space yours yourself for getting your knee wraps on. if you're benching, putting a bunch shirt on. I mean, there's a whole different science to equipped lifting than raw lifting. And so we might have to have that type of discussion with you down the road, Todd, because I find that stuff interesting because that's when I was watching you guys do that. When I was first breaking into the power lifting scene, we couldn't afford the equipment. All my kids have been raw since the beginning. so but I remember watching everybody wrapping knees, getting the bench shirts on. It was quite a spectacle and very interesting. Tod Miller: Yeah we managed to get it down to what I call a science right now with how money we had to do it with and you know, I I feel we did a pretty good job of of our lifters and former lifters coming back to help. I mean, I can't thank the former lifters enough because they became my coaches and they became my workers and you know, us putting on a meet was easy. I mean I could have fifteen platforms and have enough workers. for every platform, including spotters and loaders. So, you know, it just became where we could do that and it was not a problem. So but yeah I you know one thing I would I would you mentioned putting the bench shirts on, you know, of course we used to put you know we had a down pat you know put the Walmart bags on, hold them up, wrap the hair here, slide the sleeves up as far as you can get them and then you take the Walmart bags out. But we were talking about today some of my former lifters that were my coaches. you know, I I was he goes, I don't think I could do a coach with you today. And I said, Why? He goes, It's not different when you were here. There's no way you can reach up and pull a girl's sports bra down and make sure before you pull the shirt down, you'll be sued, you'll be thrown out and fired and everything. He goes, I couldn't I couldn't coach with you with girls anymore. And I go You might be right. I don't know if I can coach with the girls anymore. Cause he's really worried about it. You remember how we used to put on? Remember how we used to ha you know, get the legs in the squat suits and you know the you Yeah, it was it was it was spectacle, like you said. It was a s it was a show and today is today's world has changed, let's put it that way, okay? Chris Gilliam: Yeah, l a lot less work nowadays. but yeah, that's Chris, I think you're up. Tod Miller: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. talking about lessons, right? And you and you've already shared some, but what's the biggest mistake that you saw beginner powerlifters making in their first year of the sport? Tod Miller: The guys always think they can do more than they can and the girls always think they they always do way less than they can. They have no confidence. But one of the biggest is the guys trying to everything they do is overestimating their abilities and trying to get back to a level head. That's even on the daily workouts. I mean you figure out right away who's trying to do too much and that and we I'm sure we'll get into the programming, but we did a lot of stuff based on Percentages. The percentages that are workable. And then we also did the auxiliaries where I'll get into it that we've which is totally different where we do a five, four, three. They do three sets. And sometimes they do a mini pyramid, but sometimes we just do a we do the first week or sets of five for three sets, and they work up the last set is as much as they can do. Well the boys, their first set would be They're supposed to be doing a set of five and they do two or three. You know, it's like, guys, that's not what it's about here. You know, your last set is supposed to be your maximum amount you can do a set of five in, you know, and the guys are terrible about that. You know, one of did you ask what one of my biggest mistakes was? Chris, is that what you asked what my biggest mistake was? Chris Whittaker: No, just just that you Tod Miller: Yeah. You know, and and what I saw from all the other schools, which we learned, which I learned real fast because I suffered the same casualties as a lot of other schools did, is the opening lifts were way too high. We treated the three lifts as a warm up, a warm up, and then where we're at for the day, okay? And make sure we count points on every lift, don't get a zero. You know, that doesn't do it. And ever It just amazes me. Even when I lifted myself three years ago, okay. It just amazed me how many people bomb out. What are you doing? I mean, why are you you know? And I think a lot of that comes from the former lifters. I Westside Barbell, I think they want to do three rep maxes almost in a you know, they don't wanna sit there and do an eighty five percent or eighty seven and a half percent or for their first rep. They don't do that. And I don't Unless they've changed their ways now. When I was there, it was like hammer, hammer, hammer. And you better be doing a trying to do a you know, if you're doing a bench for five hundred, the bet it should be five hundred, five ten, five twenty, not like four seventy five, five hundred, five seventy, twenty-five. Okay. So there's a difference in that. So but the biggest mistake I saw in high school and even on some of the other l levels is that opening left was either too much and they bombed out. or too much and that was all I got in them. So those are the biggest mistakes I see all the time. Chris Whittaker: And we still see today? Yeah. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, but it hasn't changed. Tod Miller: Every you do. You can every rookie coach you can tell a rookie coaches. Chris Gilliam: yeah. Chris Whittaker: Another part of the reason why we're doing these podcasts, like it's another way to help educ educate the young coaches, you know. Tod Miller: Okay. That's a great way. Chris Gilliam: The taper. What's your approach to the the taper and peak week to ensure that your lifters recovered without losing their nervous system sharpness? What what was some things that you felt worked well with your lifters and your program? Tod Miller: Now this is where you might throw darts at me and go, there's no way, okay? I am a person on six week rotation, six week program, okay. Six weeks every six weeks for the whole year. I tell my lifters, if you can gain ten pounds every six weeks, let's multiply that out with a break in between there with an extra few weeks. I got it. There's four weeks extra or whatever. But if we do that and multiply, that's 80 pounds. Would you be happy going up 80 pounds in your swap for the year? Yes. Okay, we're gonna go five pounds on the bench. Would you be happy going up 40 pounds in your bench over the year? Absolutely, coach. Okay, we're gonna look at this different than we're not gonna we we want your the the thing I did best was teach them mentally how to deal with where they were at. Okay, that they had to be satisfied with the gains based on what they brought to the table to begin with, okay. Whether you could bench press 200 pounds, 100 pounds, 300 pound weight you brought to the table, you wanted to increase that. So we do it by six weeks. I take the three main lists, swap bench, and dead. All right. Week one, it works up as a warm-up. There's three or four warm-up sets, and then it works up to five sets of three at 80% of your max. All right. That's a that's like a baseline right there. Okay. Five by three of that. That's you should be able to do that. If they can't do that, we Five by three of the first week is a baseline. The next week we go up to three singles at ninety percent. Week three, five by three of eighty percent. Our kids get to this is the three main lists. I still do it today. Okay. Back before I got shingles, I was benching four eight or four three and I rank third or fourth in the world at two twenty if you look it up, okay? I may say three eighty, but I did it or three eighty six, but I did another lift because I had four lifts, whatever. But I could do four three, I I still do that workout today. Week f four was three by one a singles again of up to ninety two and a half percent of your max. Don't go over it. You'll tax the central nervous system. Don't go over it. Okay. Weeks five is a total week four by two of eighty percent. Week six, we re-max again. We do a single max rep max. So you look at it, we had those rest periods of the baseline weeks of five by three, five by three, four by two. But in between we did three by one of ninety percent, three by one of ninety-two and a half percent, three by or whatever your max was, and re-max for the next six weeks. And we kept track of that. We charted every individual on that. All right. Auxiliaries. This is where we changed up if we were in season or out of season. Okay. If we were in season, our auxiliaries, we did three auxiliaries, maybe four. We weren't in the weight room. The what the time was doing those percentages more than anything else. We did auxiliaries based on every six weeks. I rotated them. When I was really at our peak, I was rotating it individual. I'd have different lifts for you guys. If you guys were doing deadlifting, you do your five by three, whatever, then you'd have your auxiliaries. One of you would have three certain types of auxiliaries, one would have another three types. But one thing I do different is week one, you do a three rep max. You work your way up and do a three rep rack. Week two is a two rep max. Week the next week is a one rep max. Okay. The following week is a two rep max. The following week's a one rep max. After week three I changed up your auxiliaries again for during that six week period. Is that making sense? Am I explaining that and is there a question mark how I'm explaining that? Chris Gilliam: No, perfect. I like that. That was good information. Especially Yeah, nice. Tod Miller: Good. That's my six weeks. Yep. I do not I don't let you know, the auxiliary, okay. You do a single rep max on a skull crusher, okay? That's not gonna tax your nervous system too much. All right. But it is building. And that's where I changed up differently from everybody else's that type of mentality with the auxiliaries. if it's in season, like f if it was football season, my auxiliar would be such max set of eight, max set of seven, max set of six. Okay? And they do three or four rep trying to get their best one. Sometimes the what would happen then is I eliminated a little bit of that lifter that does the first set and that's all I can do. Okay, well you're done with that. I don't want it that way. We've taught him that we want you to warm up to that and try to see, you know, when you get to that top end we want you to do as much as you can. But I eliminated him Doing something we didn't want him to do, baby s basically. Because if in a if you did three by five and the first one he did a set of three, then he lowered it down and did a set of three again, they lower still getting frustrated, lowered it down. That that ruins the mentality of that person a little bit. If he's doing a s a max set of, let's say six at the time, and he just gets six on the first time, he's then destroyed his mentality. But they learn to do a a first set. Whatever exercise it is, maybe you do 80, 90, then 100, and you okay, I got a hundred coach, but I just got a little more in it. Okay, set four then. I don't make a set three, whatever. I I set it as set four, but they know they should get that max and set three, four, or five of those sets. They know it, okay. They just get to learn to do that. But it allows them to figure out where and how to do that, but it also doesn't let them fatigue themselves past what they do. you guys can help me a little bit because this is what I haven't figured out with a new era. I I don't like the back down sets afterward. And I have not had a coach yet explain to me explain to me personally and something that in my mind is a reason to do your main set hard and then just back down from it. You're warming up. Just warm up and do those back down sets. I don't know. They try to tell me what fatigues you from being able to not if you do it right. And I I've had this argument. So I've argued like ten good coaches down in the south and nobody can come up with a reason what where this backdown sets came from. So if you guys got a good explanation, throw it at me. So but I don't use those at all. What I do is that six-week program I told you. And based on in season, out of season, the auxiliaries, the number of reps we do. It's either three, two, one if we're in a real good strength phase or getting ready for meats coming up. And we might do that for twelve weeks in a row or eighteen weeks in a row. it just depends where we're at in the season and what's coming up. Okay. Chris Whittaker: Right. Yeah. It's like that that's so you're even on your accessory lifts, you're hitting max sets in those rep ranges five and and below at times. So you're you're like grouping it all into like the strength, a strength theme, even with your accessories. Tod Miller: Yes. Yep. Yep. And it's amazing how my lifters always were the ones being tested looking like they should be on drugs, you know. Mm-hmm. I mean you guys can remember the some of my lifters looked like beasts, okay? They look like where did they get that from or how did they get that way? Okay. And you know, we're the most tested high school kids in the nation there for four or five years. But I don't the auxiliary that part of it did not hurt our growth or anything either. So I think growth and at that level, I don't think they push they know to how to push themselves. So I think they get growth just by lifting weights because they haven't. I think you just grow and have you're you're naturally growing during those high school years. They're naturally gonna get stronger each year no matter what. And I'm not sure sure, but I have done this in my age and you know I'm fighting back coming from the worst shingles anybody could ever have and four surgeries on my face and losing my left sight in my left eye. I'm coming back from that. And I just hit you know, I just my wife sitting, I just told her that I'm getting my strength back finally. She goes, What do mean? 'Cause I've been complaining and you know, I've been really frustrated and about ready to give up and give up on everything with that lifting and last week I hit three fifteen again for a single at one ninety eight. So At my age of being sixty five, sixty-four, pretty happy with that. And still doing the same still doing the same program that I I'm telling you about. Okay. I still do it with squat. I still do it with bench. I still do it with deadlift. Only I don't do as many auxiliaries. I learned that you know on deadlift, if I do more than two auxiliaries, I'm totally fatigued, okay? And that's something I would take back to my kids. If I got a top lifter. I'm not gonna make him do a ton of auxiliaries. I'm gonna make him do ones that he needs to based on his muscle structure, based on his needs to get stronger in the main lift. So, you know, we still do the percentages that I've told you about, which came from a little bit from Louis's background and a little bit for the Russians background with the p with the pen and I just adapted them to using kids that didn't w didn't use drugs, to be honest with you. Okay. A lot of my percentages are those things are just lowered down from some of the things that you know, they didn't before me. I didn't invent the wheel. I just I said I said that to somebody, I don't I didn't invent the wheel. I just made it a little smoother and rounder to go faster. So that's all I tried to do. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, and well the Russia was probably regarded as one of the strongest nations back in powerlifting in the in the nineties and two thousand early two thousands, right? Tod Miller: They were by far the superior group until they got too many busted drugs and got kicked out of the the world championships. So they were number one. my daughter, Caitlin, and I don't remember the year. Do you guys know the years that sh she may have been at the sub juniors? You can look it up. Her first year at sub juniors, she was the first female lifter. And that includes Larry Melee's daughter. who he was the head of the USAP L and his two kids were the best lifters. His son Jason was the one that was when I told the story about the guy telling us to lower our weights. His son Jason was the who was the one who did it. He sent Larry sent him over to tell us we needed to lower our weights 'cause Larry saw how stupid we were being at the time. But anyway, my daughter was the first one to beat a Russian and 100% true swearing a Bible. They slapped her after the meet and we never saw her lift again. Cause she lost to an American. And she cried the whole time the United States National Athlet was played on the podium. So almost so bad. My competitive competitive guy. Yeah. Okay. That's fun. Watch her. Look at that. yeah, look at that. That's what we want to have. Chris Gilliam: That's Yeah, felt bad for split socket. yeah, I understand that. That's hilarious. No, you that that's good stuff. I love that. So go ahead, Chris, you got question. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. Tod Miller: If you want to talk powerlifting, yeah, you guys got my phone number. Just call me. Or yeah I should go show you right what's sitting by my desk in there about one of the lifting books is sitting right on top by my dresser. Chris Whittaker: You know, trying to trying to get through and really decipher a lot of this stuff, you know, bonder ch I could just look at the shelf here to my right and all all the Soviets and all Louis stuff and and you got to learn from these people firsthand. So I I'm definitely I'm definitely gonna keep you on my on my list of of people. I I answer your question about back down sets. I don't program them much. Usually only time I'm gonna program them is If we're working up to a heavy single and then I would like to get them more specific work because we do rotate the different bars. Yep. So that's the only time I'll I'll program them is whether I want to bring back down and get some technique work, perhaps. Tod Miller: Different bars as in the safety bar and O's type or different bars in high bars, low bar, which one what were you referring to? Chris Whittaker: We're rotating the the different the different bar. Safety squat bar, okay bow bowl bar, rackable cambered bar. those are our main main three squat bars along with the straight bar. Tod Miller: I love those things too. So I I do personally I don't haven't taught any kids in a recently, but I I personally do the percentages I told you and I do exactly as you do. I rotate bars all through it. So I just again the back down set that's that's the primary reason that I can accept when people do it when you what you say. Some of the other far out things I've been hearing I don't agree with, you know. that but you're you're saying exactly what the people I say I can see that. I understand that, especially if you're programming up to a single, which you know I okay. Yeah. Yeah. Chris Whittaker: we talked a little bit about attempt selection earlier in the show. What is your philosophy on attempt selection and how do you set those things? I don't know if you shared that with us earlier. Tod Miller: They all have their max coming into the meat. When I had a hundred lifters, my first thing was is I had to do something where I didn't lose a lifter being doing being rogue on themselves or one of my coaches that didn't know what they're doing. So first lift was always eighty seven and a half percent to eighty nine and a half and we we looked at that lift on that four by that four week four that when we went to ninety two and a half percent. I saw how strong they were and based it on that. Now a lot of lifters I didn't see when it got later in career when there's that many and they all lifted at different times. I had to rely on some of my coaches to do that. I always didn't see them and sometimes we lost a lifter or two. And I always knew what coach was in charge of them based on who we lost because they didn't listen to me on some of this stuff. But it became mandatory that the lift was between eighty seven and a half and eighty nine and a half as the opener. Couldn't do more. If you were warming up and you felt weak that day and you looked weak, we immediately lowered it down to 85% in that time period where they allow beforehand. And that was all three lifts. The second lift was always ninety-four percent, right around there, give or take five or ten pounds either way, depending. You know, if it's a you know, a five hundred deadlifts, it's you know, ten or fifteen around that area. If it's a three hundred pound deadlift, we let them alter at five or ten around that ninety-four percent. Yeah, it's how the a lot was how the what they thought. That's where the girls underestimated and the guys always overestimated. It was just became clear on that every time. So it was hands down. Girls were cautious and guys were not cautious for any other dumbasses for any lack of word. Okay. Chris Whittaker: I get it. It's the same with today's kids. Tod Miller: My listeners listening to this will laugh when I say that, okay? 'Cause then they'll go, Ooh, that was me. He's talking to me now. Chris Whittaker: They know it's true. Yeah. They know you're speaking the truth. Tod Miller: And the last lift was just based on what you felt that day, you know? Is it time for a new max or is it time just to score? Do we need that points because of the team? And that's the one thing we bred into the team comes first. And a lot of times somebody had to just get another lifting to get another ten pounds to win. Basically wanted to go another forty and they didn't argue with us. Okay, we're gonna win this event. We're gonna win, you're gonna win. We're not gonna sacrifice that, okay? We're gonna go up to as high as you can go because we're gonna push that lifter because they're gonna probably beat you, but we want them to have to deadlift every single human pound that's on that bar. Okay. Now I used to on the last lift, on the last deadlift. A lot of people wanted to beat us, wanted to beat us, so I'd put a weight on the bar and, you know, they'd put their weight on the bar and they go way up. And then all of a sudden they weren't paying attention. I'd lower a bar down a little. And we get to lift in and they wouldn't get it in. So or vice versa, you know, who was first on the deadlift. So got to play masterful games on that. I felt that that was the best chess match time of the and you know, I will tell you this, and this is true, and all my coaches know it. Every one of them listening to me will say he's right. I am still the only one, and knock on what if I coach again that didn't lose a lifter ever in a meet. So All those guys I talked about even at nationals were coached by somebody else. I had the other lifters. So I just I feel pretty proud of that. Never lost a lifter to me. So and that's a lot of lifters. What's that? Chris Gilliam: I that's awesome. I mean, w one thing I wanted to interject with what you said, I mean the opening percentages. Yep. That's what how I've always been. People always said that we would sandbag, but how how did you come about those percentages? Did you learn that from someone specific? Or was it just your own gut feeling? Because I'll be honest, I I listened to you talk to your lifters at meets when I was first starting. And so I I eavesdrop. Tod Miller: Yeah, I Chris Gilliam: Trying to learn, you know, and so one of the things that you know you always get all these conflicting things. People are like open at ninety to ninety-three percent and then go, and you know, I started that way, but after watching you at a few meets, I then changed my openers. Like I lowered them. Yep and Tod Miller: I remember you did too. I remember you did. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, and then we everybody's like, you're sandbagging. Yep. Because especially when it came to deadlift, I just was like let them think they can beat you right now. And like loading the b you know, let's give a absurd third attempt. Yep. See if they really want it and then we'll change it. And it's just it's a mind game that's was more fun back when we were just on paper. Tod Miller: Yeah. Yes. Chris Gilliam: Now everybody's got like the computer they can look at and then see how many points they're away, you know. But it like if their coach wasn't doing their homework, you could so easily, you know, outsmart Tod Miller: Yep. No, I the computer today bug bothers me because it takes the fun. It takes makes it easy for the guys that couldn't do it that you could help coach. So yeah. Chris Gilliam: And we're we're about to make it easier for everyone with this new app that we've had developed. It's really cool. Todd Tod Miller: Changing up from the one that you've been using, the mana C one? Are you changing up from that? Yeah. Chris Gilliam: So now what's happening is we still use that same document, which you know that's the other thing, Chris. He was part of the development of our current system spreadsheet. So we have a guy that took he created an app that uses that sheet, and then he has a coach mode, and it all it does is it filters it filters all of your kids off of it, and then it tells you if they're eight out. Six out if they're on deck in the hole, it lets you know and it tells you what platform they're at. So as a coach, we had kids this year at the state meet. we had coaches, they never missed any of their lifters' attempts because they the app was telling them when and where they were lifting. Wow, and you know how many lifters attempts we've missed in our year? Way too many. Tod Miller: Way too many. Chris Gilliam: And so it's a pretty neat tool that our coaches are gonna have access to full time this coming season. so we're excited for that 'cause, you know, everything's about trying to make it easier for the coaches and then the kids benefit as well. So but we'll talk to you about that at some other point and let you kind of browse through it and then you'll probably get a little jealous and maybe make a comeback again. Tod Miller: You never know. You never know. Yeah. But yeah. But you guys asked me where I get those. I just Chris Gilliam: No. Tod Miller: I mean, I wish I had a reason why. I just did it because it was work. the a guy that's into ph physiology and Susie Hartwig's husband. you may know him, Gary. he's a New Yorker too, I think. What's his name? Gary. Well, it's Susie Hartwig's husband. And he called me and he wanted to know about how we did a test because he saw how that we never lost anybody at the nationals and how we managed with so many kids. And I I said, I wish I had an answer that, you know, was scientific for your purposes, but it's not. It's just what I found worked for us and worked the best. And You know, we just hung with it and adopted it. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Well, and I found through the USAPL some of the elite level lifters when I was taking my daughter through it, like they basically the way they best explained it to me was your opening attempt should be your last warm-up set. Quit warming up to you know so high because you're gonna tax your your nervous system too much, especially at a big meet. Tod Miller: Yep. Cool. Chris Gilliam: that you won't have much left in the tank after your opening deadlift if you're not smart with your warm up sets and your opening attempts. You know? And so I just took that to heart and I adopted that philosophy. Tod Miller: That's so true. I mean, we never we had some lifters. this is sidetracking, sorry you guys. But I would have some lifters that could only take one warm-up in the deadlift because you could tell they're starting to be fatigued in the bench. I mean, if they they weren't doing their usual, they were struggling with the squat. We cut down warm. I mean, when we programmed it, we always programmed four warm-up sets for the squat, three for the bench and two for the deadlift. and meats. So and they all had their little card that we filled out for them, did it for And they could just look at their card what their next warm up was supposed to be. Chris Whittaker: All right, that's part one with Todd Miller. Stick around Thursday. Thursday, part two drops, and you'll be able to hear more on the mental side of competition, international competition, and Todd's advice for coaches just starting out. We'll see you then. This has been the episode of the platform with the stories weigh a ton.