#352 One Mistake And You're F*cked: A Multiply Powerlifter's Reality | Connor Karwowski
Dave Tate's Table Talk
Dave Tate
4.9 • 586 Ratings
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏱️ 177 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We welcome Connor Karwowski to this episode of Dave Tate's Table Talk Podcast!
Connor Karwowski is a multiply powerlifter and the founder of Conjugate Strong, an online training business built on the proven principles of the Conjugate Method. With a best total of 2518 lbs in the 308 lb class—including a 1040 squat, 766 bench, and 775 deadlift—Connor has carved out a name for himself in the world of equipped powerlifting as both a fierce competitor and an accomplished coach.
Since launching Conjugate Strong in 2018, Connor has helped lifters across the country optimize their performance with strategic, high-intensity training rooted in the Westside Barbell system. He holds a CSCS and is Westside Barbell Special Strengths certified, combining his academic foundation with real-world success under the bar.
Connor is also the head strength and conditioning coach at Whitefish Bay High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he oversees athletic development and fosters a culture of strength from the ground up. With a master's degree in kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he brings science, structure, and a relentless work ethic to every athlete and team he works with.
His powerlifting journey began during college and has since followed a path shaped by both passion and family. From his time in Madison, to Indianapolis during his wife's medical school, to his current home in Milwaukee for her residency, Connor has continuously evolved his coaching and training environments while staying deeply committed to the iron.
Follow Connor's lifting and coaching journey at @conjugatexstrong.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So after the eight weeks I sat down and I ate 144 bowls of pasta. So the next year rolls around and I said, okay, let's double that. I was also coincidentally, you know, trying to prep to, you know, qualify for the Arnold. Olive Garden ended up interviewing me for it. Never used anything with my answers because I was honest with them. I was like, look, I just wanted to gain weight. And I think when they got my answers, they're like, this is not healthy. We can't tell people about this. |
| 0:21.6 | Yeah. |
| 0:35.2 | It's time to sit down, keep it real, and cut the bullshit. |
| 0:37.2 | All right, guys, we're back with another episode of Table Talk. |
| 0:39.6 | Today, my guest is Connor Karwowski, |
| 0:42.7 | a multi-ply power lifter with a 25-15 total, |
| 0:48.2 | founder, owner of Conjunctant Strong, |
| 0:51.1 | head high school strength coach, |
| 0:53.3 | and he's got a degree in this shit we just kind of put it |
| 0:56.4 | that way so the did I forget anything in there I don't think so I'm pretty simple yes so it's |
| 1:04.1 | the public you walk to walk you talk to talk and you also have the education behind it so it's |
| 1:09.7 | going to make for a very interesting conversation. |
| 1:11.7 | Where I want to jump off on is because I ask people for some of their topics and you had one in there. |
| 1:16.7 | They're just like, oh, I got the Olive Garden story. |
| 1:19.1 | We'll just jump off with that. |
| 1:21.1 | Okay. |
| 1:22.1 | So every year, Olive Garden runs a promotion. |
| 1:25.1 | It's a never-ending pasta bowl. |
| 1:27.1 | And for a handful years, they sold runs a promotion. It's a never-ending pasta bowl. And for a handful of years, |
| 1:30.5 | they sold a pasta pass. So it's basically a credit card that they gave you. You know, he paid |
| 1:34.8 | a hundred bucks up front. You had about eight weeks to go in and you can eat as much as you |
| 1:39.8 | wanted. So it was, it was basically an unlimited pasta buffet. |
... |
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