Great powerlifting isn't just built in the gym. It's built in the conversations between coaches: the debates about programming, the lessons from failed attempts, the ideas most people never get to hear. Iron Minds brings those conversations to you. Every episode features a coach worth knowing, talking about the work they actually do and why they do it that way.
Give Every Sheffield Lifter a Bad Mindset and Some Would Still Make It w/ Steve DeNovi
In the twenty-first episode of Iron Minds, Samuele sits down with Steve DeNovi to talk about what actually separates Sheffield-level lifters, why mindset may matter less than we think in a low-skill sport, and how he builds programs that a lifter 500 miles away can execute.
0:00 - Intro
1:26 - From hockey to bodybuilding to powerlifting
6:41 - From percentages to RPE to integrating everything
13:25 - Why more beginners should try extreme programs like Smolov
17:05 - Why he's still not on the velocity tracker train
20:03 - Variable percentages and the art of programming
22:40 - How much programming matters at the elite level
27:36 - How flexible a coach's system should be
32:32 - Why intermediates plateau: lifestyle first
36:28 - Ranking the six variables behind Sheffield athletes
47:58 - The pressure and expectations of being elite
53:52 - Why mindset matters less in a low-skill sport
56:22 - Technique: dictate for beginners, self-organize for elites
1:06:32 - Top-down blocks, adjusted to the body's response
1:10:04 - Push into fatigue, don't sustain it
1:12:56 - What to track: sets, tonnage and E1RM
1:20:24 - Injury risk: it all comes back to load management
1:24:35 - Powerlifting in 10 years
Samuele: https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/ (https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/)
Steve: https://www.instagram.com/prs_performance/ (https://www.instagram.com/prs_performance/)
8 Oct 2026
Coaches Who Say Tracking Is Pointless Are Just Lazy w/ Joe Sullivan
In the twentieth episode of Iron Minds, Samuele sits down with Joe Sullivan, multi-time world record holder and legend of the sport, to talk about what really drives progress when the program isn't the problem.
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - From a 310-lb 14-year-old to the powerlifting club
3:29 - Wrestling, college, and switching to powerlifting
5:47 - ADHD, obsession, and the first national podium
7:37 - Two degrees and the first elite total
11:19 - How the sport has changed — and his hot take
13:37 - Why a submaximal extra bench day is dynamic effort work
16:43 - How important is programming? Leave room for vibes
19:58 - Advice to an 18-year-old: plant the seeds
22:17 - Nick Walker and a 1,000-lb jump in total
26:39 - The Jordan mentality and the tight grip / loose grip
31:12 - The world record that changed nothing
33:44 - Why plateaus are rarely the program
39:04 - The accessories debate
41:59 - Coaching as storytelling
47:16 - Tracking metrics: controlled variables are the best PEDs
51:36 - Intuition vs data — and ego disguised as intuition
57:00 - If he could track only one variable
1:03:30 - Top-down vs bottom-up: Adapt or Die
1:08:37 - Technique: self-organization, cues, and Bull Durham
1:14:44 - Percentages, RPE, exertion levels, and velocity
1:18:48 - Injury risk: stress and sleep
1:21:44 - One last recommendation
Samuele: https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/ (https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/)
Joe: https://www.instagram.com/joesullivan_aod/ (https://www.instagram.com/joesullivan_aod/)
1 Oct 2026
The Real Gap Between Italy's Women and Men Is Consistency w/ Carlo Alberto Bonomelli
In the nineteenth episode of Iron Minds, Samuele sits down with Carlo Alberto Bonomelli - coach of Chiara Bernardi and sub-junior Aurora Scapini, and one of the partners behind the Strong4Real powerlifting and weightlifting team - to talk about why he keeps training simple, sustainable and built on trust, and why his athletes' meet week looks just like every other week.
0:00 - Intro
1:01 - From soccer to coaching, and building Strong4Real
5:37 - Three words: psychological, sustainable, practical
10:08 - Ranking the six success factors (and taking genetics out)
13:12 - 100% trust: why coach, athlete and program are one factor
16:52 - Why technique comes last
20:45 - Why Italy's women are world-class and its men aren't yet
29:34 - Why intermediates stall — and the new-coach honeymoon
36:05 - Top-down vs bottom-up programming: 4-week blocks, no percentages
41:28 - Meet week looks like every other week
48:47 - Smolov kids and the cost of monster volume
53:43 - The Agata Sitko thought experiment: frequency and nine bench sessions
59:27 - Quality over quantity
1:03:21 - Velocity trackers: solidity beats speed
1:07:46 - Technique: natural movement vs coach-built lifts
1:12:12 - Intuition vs data: programs on paper
1:16:30 - What really causes injuries
1:20:26 - Powerlifting in ten years
Samuele: https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/ (https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/)
Carlo: https://www.instagram.com/carloalberto.bonomelli/ (https://www.instagram.com/carloalberto.bonomelli/)
Strong4Real: https://www.instagram.com/strong4real_/ (https://www.instagram.com/strong4real_/)
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