At Warwick Barbell, we're open to all types of lifting and experience levels - whether you've never stepped foot in a gym or if you've competed 100 times, being a member of Warwick Barbell will allow you to train with us, helping you to reach your fitness goals.

Most of our lifters train for either Powerlifting, Weightlifting, Bodybuilding or Strongman, but we also have members that lift as part of their training for other sports, for fun or for health and members that are just here for the socials

Powerlifting consists of 3 lifts- the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. Weightlifting consists of 2 lifts - the snatch (floor to overhead in one movement) and the clean & jerk (floor to overhead in two movements). At Warwick Barbell we support people looking to improve at both of these sports, whether just for fun or if you're looking to compete.

Powerlifting (left) & Weightlifting (right)

Not at all! Whether you're a champ or you've never set foot in a gym, the only thing that matters to us is that you want to get stronger. You don't have to choose between powerlifting or weightlifting or any other exercises, and you don't have to compete if you don't want to - Warwick Barbell is for everyone wanting to get stronger. That being said, we hold internal meets which we encourage getting involved in, it's a really fun atmosphere to max out lifts in with a lot of cheers and support.

All women are welcome, we have plenty of women in our club, and our women are doing fantastically! Head over to our women's page to find out more!

About getting bulky - for the most part this is a myth. Gaining muscle is a slow process and it is very difficult for women to become 'bulky'. Ultimately if you don't love how strong you're getting, since it's a gradual process, you can always take a step back.

Warwick Barbell train at the Sports and Wellness Hub, which most people will know as the campus gym. As part of your Warwick Barbell membership, you'll get free access to the gym during our club sessions on Wednesdays and Saturdays, meaning that if you train elsewhere, you won't have to pay for two gym memberships to get involved with the club and our training!

We train as a group twice a week, on Wednesday 1-3, and on Saturday 12-2, but you'll likely see many of us around in the gym on other days of the week too! Most of us enjoy training 3-5 days a week at Warwick Sport, so you'll likely always see some friendly faces in the gym whilst you train. Both of these sessions are free with the Barbell membership, so you're picking up over 4 hours of free gym membership a week!

If you don't train at Warwick Sport, but still want to be a part of Warwick Barbell, that's okay!

You're more than welcome to train at your own gym, and join us for competitions, socials, and other events.

Most importantly, you'll be joining a group of like-minded lifters, all of whom are at different stages, and are always happy to help with any questions you might have. During our training sessions, we'll be available to support you in anything lifting related, and we'll be more than happy to share some tips and tricks that you can use to improve your own lifting.

Our members get exclusive use of our power bars that we store in Warwick Sport which are ideal for powerlifting. You can also access our club powerlifting programs provided by expert coaches including technical support from said coaches. We can also provide you with competition advice and support on the day if that's what you're interested in. We get some benefits with Warwick Sport, such as the privilege of reserved rack space in the gym during our training sessions, which means that you'll be able to work in with people you know! Warwick Sport are also generous enough to allow us to use their rack space to host our internal meet each year, in which you'll be able to test your strength and max out in front of a small crowd under competition conditions.

Our members are also entitled to competition reimbursement, so that getting to competitions is easier and more accessible. Further, our members will have the opportunity to compete at our club Varsity in February, which is a GBPF affiliated competition and can serve as a pathway to national competition and beyond.

Finally, Warwick Barbell is fortunate enough to have partnerships with a number of sports brands, such as StrengthShop, SBD and weightlifting house. Buying your equipment and supplements through us means that you'll be able to get things for lower prices!

Not at all! So long as you're in gym appropriate wear, you're welcome to join us at any session.

For weightlifting and powerlifting, if you are a beginner or you don't want to spend money on specialist shoes, we strongly recommend wearing flat shoes like converses as they're a little more stable for lifting in. Other options can be found in our "Equipment" article.

Other than that, equipment is optional. If you're looking to buy more equipment, you can ask members, check our sponsors & partners or our equipment article.