The third edition of the TSF Team Champs is set to take place on March 12th. Camaraderie, teamwork and the social aspect of sport have always been fundamental pillars and values that we’ve strived to uphold at TSF, and nothing highlights that more than the Team Champs.

I’d like to unpack with you a little history, some stories and some of the reasons why we think running the Team Champs is so damn important.

Getting started in strength training doesn’t need to be a super intimidating, complicated process. If you can move, you can strength train.

At its foundation, strength training is about adding load to human movement. It’s one of the things that I love about it so much; that it is infinitely scalable, which makes it incredibly accessible. Even an 80 year old with no experience with sport or exercise can start strength training in some form.

Perhaps you’ve read a little about strength training and it’s benefits and you want to get started. In this article I discuss where to start and what to focus your efforts on in your first six months in the gym.

In a couple of weeks time, I’ll be hitting the platform in my 32nd powerlifting contest. Seven weeks before this meet, I flew to Singapore and the Philippines on a 23-day holiday. In that time, I trained three times — and one of those sessions was a dumbbell only workout in a hotel gym.

So it’s fair to conclude that I won’t be achieving anything spectacular at this upcoming meet. I won’t be in my best physical condition and I won’t be hitting any PBs. That said then, why am I doing it?