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Joshua Gibson, PhD(c), CSCS, USAW-L2

@josh_philwl

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🔬 @wvucahs PhD candidate
🏋️ @maxsgym_oakland Head Coach
💪🏻 10+ years of developing high level athletes
🎙️ @philosophicalweightlifting Host

POSTS STORIES REELS

The many phases of a coaching career…

2022-2026 USAW Nationals (2026 bronze medalist)
2022-2026 AO Finals (2024 bronze medalist)
2022-2026 USAPL Nationals (3 top 5 finishes)
2025 IDFPA Worlds
2023-2026 High School Strength Coach
2025-2026 WVU Football S&C Intern

Thousands of athletes coached. Thousands of programs written.

EST. 2014 by @josh_philwl

My first @usa_weightlifting Senior Nationals, and I won silver in the snatch and bronze in the total at 48kgs!

Looking forward finals where I learn how to jerk 🤗

thank you to my coaches JoseAi and his creator @josh_philwl

📸 @hookgripusa

@cfpbarbell
@team_aita
@jesseburdick
@jeremyavilla
@californianorthcentralwso by @josh_philwl

Did I place 1st? 2nd? 3rd-6th? No, but I did place 7th.

Look I can tell you guys all day this wasn’t the day I expected and missing all three of my third attempts sucked. And it wasn’t and it did. But I had a lot of fucking fun.

190/418 (+2.5kgs meet PR)
100/220 (-5kgs)
215/474 (-7.5kgs)
505/1113 (-10kgs)
450 DOTS (-11)

I’m so excited to have finally gotten my squats out of the 180s. I fought for my life on that 105 bench. I’ve never grinded for a bench like that. And like I said I had so much fun with all of my family (almost) and so many friends. Old and new. People who were competing and people who drove out to see me. I knew this meet would bring tough competition and I’m honored to even share the platform with so many strong women. I knew I had to get every kilo I could and I just didn’t have it in me this day.

The cool thing about powerlifting? There’s always another meet.

@josh_philwl
@philosophicalweightlifting
@usapowerliftingohio

#powerlifting #girlswhopowerlift #powerliftingwomen #strongnotskinny #rawnationals by @josh_philwl

SOUND ON 🔊

I first tried this weight 7 years ago… Now I can squat 474lbs 🫣❤️‍🔥

Thanks for the great coaching and hype @max_aita

Thanks for the spot @duy_even_lift by @josh_philwl

Fun lil 141kg from a @team_aita training camp a few months ago 🤠 (to beat @cpagelifts 🫣)

Thanks for the 🎥 @wlczar

@maxsgym_oakland by @josh_philwl

10kg PR? Don’t mind if we do @jeanlucaxelrode

Want to get strong? If you’re not training at Max’sGym, that’s the first problem 🫣

#MaxsGymOakland #TeamAita by @josh_philwl

255kg sounded better than 252kg 🤷

@maxsgym_oakland by @josh_philwl

I love all of the great weightlifting content out there.

The only issue is that it becomes so easy to find confirmation for technical quirks, programming problems, and misunderstandings of the basics (read: hard sciences and periodization theory).

Instead of thinking why your uniqueness ACTUALLY is right, think about making corrections that align you with technical models studied for decades.

If your argument is “it works for me” or “this ONE person said”, maybe there are potentially better alternatives :)

#MaxsGymOakland by @josh_philwl

Slippery lil squat for a 1kg PR (465lbs) - 7 years in the making.

Maybe I’ll actually squat 220, @seb_ostrowicz

@maxsgym_oakland by @josh_philwl

5th meet in the books. 🖤🤘🏾

New weight class, new challenges, 1000 reasons to give up… but we went 8/9.

Squat: 292 lbs
Bench: 126.7 lbs
Deadlift: 315 lbs
Bodyweight: 147 lbs

I’m happy, but not satisfied. Proud of the work, hungry for more, and nowhere near done. This is just another step in the journey. 🖤

To the people in my corner who continue to show up, believe in me, and root for me: I could NOT have done this without you. Thank you for being part of this journey and reminding me why I keep going.

A special thank you to @josh_philwl for being the coach that I needed. 🖤♥️

And thank you @maxsgym_oakland for the family, support, and knowledge. There’s something special about having a community that lifts you up in and out of the gym. 🖤

Happy. Hungry. Never satisfied. Back to work. P.S. @ironbuddha_916 these photos FIRE. 🔥

#Powerlifting #PowerliftingMeet #MeetRecap #RoadToStronger #PowerliftingJourney MaxsGym by @josh_philwl

Registration is now open for Max’s Gym’s Lunar New Year Open on February 7, 2027. Come see if the year of the goat brings you strength and PRs. Link in bio. #maxsgym #weightlifting #oakland #usaweightlifting by @josh_philwl