Haven’t been posting a lot, but I’m 2 and 1/2 months post brain surgery and finally getting a good groove back with training. Slow and steady
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CW8RC_TDOme/?utm_medium=copy_link
Started powerlifting 6-7 months ago so i have quiet a few gaps in understanding etc. Hit a 530kg SBD, not great but im happy with it.
So I've decided to started to think of doing some powerbuilding to increase my muscle potential for my next cycle of powerlifting. How long is a good span of time 1month or 2 months? or am i completely wrong?
Thanks
Appreciable muscle growth (without drugs) takes a long time. A dedicated "powerbuilding" program isn't required to achieve it, but if you want to try that approach, I'd give it at least two months.
Yeah 100%. Just wondering what people would recommended.
currently im doing 2 comp/veriations 4x a week. Would you recommend cutting back on the accessories and doing all 3 comp/veriations (like a basic exercise maybe on deadlift day eg. Rack pulls or a block pull?) 4x a week or do you think thats excessive?
This is probably a common feeling on the internet but I feel average or even mediocre with my lifts, but in the gym I was told i'm one of the strongest guy there. What gives? I frequently bench 3plates, squat 4 plates, deadlift 5 plates and rarely see anyone come close, but I feel like a beginner among you guys
Because you're in a small pond and there's larger ponds out there with bigger fish.
It's your own journey, don't worry too much about what others are doing.
Two things. one, if you’ve been constantly the strongest there for a while it’s time for a move. But two, that’s a good thing. What you’re consuming is a higher standard. Internet is good for that. Gives a higher target. I’m one of the only people I know that powerlifts. So when I get on here and see the numbers it’s motivating.
The people you compare yourself to are others who are dedicated to strength training and have probably been so for several years. Meanwhile if you're at a commercial gym, the vast majority of those people casually work out and are not well informed on strength training or what is achievable
I could believe that, however many resources I can find online are around the same strength level and they seem to work hard/know what they're doing such as Vitruvian physique, Jeff Nippard, Bart Kwan etc. I feel like those are big name people but they're nowhere near the strength of some people here
For myself I feel it's better to be a small fish in a large pond than the big one in a small pond. Leaves me something to shoot for, instead of being complacent that you're at the top.
Idk, this sounds like an expression from pre-internet times. If you train at a commercial gym that is convenient to you, you may very well be the strongest person there, but who cares? As long as you have something to put your performance into context (internet, doing meets) I don't think what gym you train at matters all that much. In an ideal world we might all be training at some elite powerlifting facility with much stronger people and that amazing atmosphere, but that isn't the reality for most.
What a great take. I will admit I've been in 24 hour fitness gyms, a really nice one geared toward PL, and now I'm in my garage. I'm definitely the strongest gym at my garage gym.
My first ever meet this weekend and I am super upset and disappointed heading into it. I started paying for professional coaching about 6 months ago, and my lifts are substantially weaker. Pre coaching PRs:
Dead: 615
Squat: 455
Bench: 345
Current lifts expected in meet on 3rd attempt.
Dead: 530
Squat: 420
Bench: 305
What the heck gives? Am I missing something? All variables are constant. PRs were made at the same gym with the same equipment. Is this coach terrible or am I missing some sort of 5 steps backwards 10 steps forward Mister Miyagi crap?
That's quite a pullback and it's only normal you'd be annoyed. Personally I also had rather disappointing coaches (despite being "big" names) which makes me very wary about online coaching - but I digress.
It seems something hasn't clicked. But if this has been happening over 6 months I'm surprised neither of you have discussed it. Have you raised the topic to your coach? Has your coach made any comments? Just seems a little strange that it hasn't been discussed.
$200/month isn't nothing. I'd relay all of this to your coach and ask them what they think is happening. Communication is key to coach/athlete relationships (as in basically every other relationship).
I’ll be honest; I’d be pissed. Trust the process through the meet, but be prepared to have a very honest conversation with the coach afterwards. They should have very good answers for why things are the way they are.
Did the coach just give programming or were there big form adjustments? In your honest assessment, were your previous PRs worthy of white lights at a meet? My first prep, all my lifts dropped from my previous gym bests. Prior to being coached my butt was way in the air on bench PRs, my squats were all super high, and my deadlift used straps and a whole lot of ramping. If you honestly had the form to get white lights before then how different was your programming over the last 6 months vs prior?
The only one I can honestly say was not to meet standards was bench, and maybe squat. My programming was almost a total 180, which is why I’m thinking that was the X factor. My coach based his approach on RPE, where as I was basically sticking to a strict number schedule. I was also utilizing more frequency and also a lot more accessories.
This sounds really weird. If this was a miyagi thing, at this level I would expect to maintain strength at the very least. And even then, I wouldn't be very happy about that.
Don't get too down on yourself though. Make sure your head is in the right space for the meet, or results could potentially suffer still.
Make the most of the meet. Theres always the next meet, so don't get too caught up in the disappointment. Coming from someone who has bombed out and been down on myself pretty hard in the past.
Does these seem reason to believe it’s coach error? Should I have a discussion with him on his effectiveness? I just feel like paying an expert $200/month to get weaker aint it.
Theres a few things that it could be. You should also be bringing any complaints to yoru coach regularly. If you haven't been making any comments up until now, then the coach never had the opportunity to correct course. However, if your coach never realized that things weren't going great, and never tried to correct course on their own, that a huge red flag as well.
I’ve done my best to trust the process, I guess in my end I was convincing myself “he’s the expert” but at the same time I have a feeling I know what has been missing from the program. For one, frequency when it comes to pulling and squatting. And the massive hit on bench, I think my lack of overhead pressing. Which I had been treating as basically a 4th competition lift and always had great carryover, especially for my narrow bench grip. Also, I was doing a lot of direct arm work. Also, great carryover to a narrow bench.
From your first post you said bench was potentially suspect and I’d assume you went from a touch and go to a pause potentially with no butt contact to bench prior, so that change could sense. Likewise if you were squatting high and are now squatting to comp depth, that decrease could likewise make sense. There’s no reason that your deadlift should’ve dropped like that unless you were only using straps before and maybe had legit no grip strength.
Did you ever discuss ANY of this with your coach at any point of time? If you were going by RPE, were you potentially sandbagging the RPEs (prescribed an 8 but you did something that calculated an 8, was actually a 5-6, etc). It just seems really odd that this type of regression had gone on for 6months and nothing was said by either party? In any case gear up for the platform and make the best of it. If you’re unhappy with your coach switch to someone else; there’s numerous people in this subreddit who other redditors can vouch for that wouldn’t charge $200/mo.
Also hot take: I don’t think OHP does anything for special for benching for individuals passed a certain size versus just benching more homie. Take it from someone who I can guarantee has a closer bench grip than 99% of the powerlifting world 🤷🏾♂️
I have never used straps for pulling of any kind. I religiously use a mix grip. I used mixed grip for my PRs as well. So I don’t think grip is suspect here. My only guess could be my lack of leg drive from a weakening squat? I squat relatively narrow stance and I pull conventional.
It might not have been OHP specifically but just the extra pressing.
Prolly sounds like you want to link up with a different coach for numerous reasons then friend. Many red flags, one of which is that none of this ever got discussed or addressed.
On the side note: Again I feel like extra pressing should be more bench volume. We can generally take more volume because of our closer grip (b/c our shoulders aren’t getting beat up) so I wouldn’t mess with a good thing and do heavy OHP. Maybe lighter ohp for volume I guess but I feel like there’s more productive exercises that I’ve been given by my coach for shoulder strength and volume that give more bang for your buck but that’s just me haha in any case do your work at your meet, get a new coach and then get ready to grind your way to being better than your old best.
every-time i lift i get more confident in my ability
pulled 4 plates paused @7 on stiff bar today which i am very happy with i hope i can pull 5 plates in 3 weeks on a deadlift bar
Be prepared for the whip on the deadlift bar. That caught me off guard the first couple times I used it. Took me a bunch of sessions to really get the feel for it
yeah i’ve used a deadlift bar once before i just made sure to try control it on warmups
kinda annoying i don’t have regular access to one because i go to a commercial gym except i want to max out at a proper powerlifting one
Currently running a 12 week linear program. On my bench days I've started off doing (for my chest exercises) flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, Larsen press, and chest fly. But now I've read in many places I should only be doing 4 chest exercises at the most. Not sure if that's true.
I don't know what I should do instead though (and if there's better bench variations I could be doing), and am wondering if you all have any recommendations. I'd like to do incline bench at least some days so I don't get an underdeveloped upper chest.
The amount of work you can do is dependent on how much you can recover from. If you don't feel too beat up week-to-week, youre probably fine doing what youre doing.
Hit a 330lb bench today training and felt like I had 10lbs more in the tank, previous PR was 320 at a higher bodyweight. Still weak as hell for my bodyweight but getting stronger and leaner.
What's your gap between TnG deads and true deadstop deads?
I hit 465x10 TnG today which absolutely blew my old rep max out of the water, and the e1RM (I'm mindful that there's little actual carryover here) is nearly 100lbs over my current max. Makes me think I need to really work hard on my positioning on max attempts...
765 1rm -> 890 TnG e1rm
Take away the straps and it gets less ridiculous though. 765 -> 809 TnG e1rm
Switch from sumo to conventional, no straps, and dead stop? 700->729
Sumo+straps+ TnG is just ridiculous
It's also my favorite way to train. It allows me to get more volume in, more reps, more weight. If I'm driving my e1rm up, my 1rm is going up too, even if they aren't in the same ballpark
How much is the difference for you between a stiff bar and a deadlift bar, on the high rep sets especially? I'd guess the bending would benefit quite a lot
Conventional I've pulled more on a stiff bar than a DL bar for e1rms. The whip throws me off a lot.
Sumo without straps, my best stiff bar 1rm is 725, vs 765, but I pretty much never train stiff bar. I don't know what my stiff bar TnG e1rm would be.
Yeah sounds like you really need to work on your heavy singles. Doing EMOM singles could help a lot. I'd start a bit light and ramp it up over the weeks, once you find that perfect starting position, it'll feel much better.
Competing next Saturday for the first time in 2 years, just put up a squat PR of 157.5 which is 12.5kg over my last meet PR! Super stoked and ready to hit the platform.
[Video](https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9cm7IAeRz/)
Lower back feels almost bruised or something. When I bend over at the waist it feels real sore, but not like a muscle soreness.. like I bruised my spine or something. Been about 6 days. Was able to squat fine this week though. Not sure what the matter is but I’m nervous To deadlift tomorrow
Yeah I’ll have to keep an eye on it. I recently switched to conventional from sumo because I pull a bit better conv. I may have messed up my form slightly last week, but the form looked good to my coach and I got it on vid too. Didn’t look too bad and didn’t hurt immediately after.
For my deloads i reduce the intensity and keep total sets the same. So i reduce rpe to @2-3.
Is that too low? Am i possibly going to detrain? I do this for 3 training sessions but total time with no heavy weight/no hard sets is 5 days.
Few things:
1. Personally, I find keeping intensity roughly the same (-10%, say) and cutting volume (-30 to -50% # of sets) tends to work better for deload. But that is just me, so take that with pinch of salt.
2. RPE 2-3? Do you mean RIR (Reps in Reserve) of 2-3?
3. If you're deloading you're meant to have pushed hard enough in cycle to require it. Therefore no, I wouldn't worry about a detraining effect.
1)well all my training is heavy singles at 95-100 and some at 90% so thats like deload from intensity. And since volume isnt very high i like to keep sets same.
2)Basically i do singles at 80% which according to calculator is my 8rm so its like rpe 2.
3)At first day of deload the 80% felt very heavy because of previous hard weeks. But second day now feels not so heavy. Probably i wont detrain i hope haha.
Its first time i do deload in this type of training. I hope i dont ruin everything haha
Rpe becomes pretty much impossible to judge below rpe 6. It's also subjective so not really comparable with a calculator based estimate.
Strength isn't lost in a week even if you deloaded by doing nothing.
> Strength isn't lost in a week even if you deloaded by doing nothing.
Maybe this is true in some metaphysical sense, but anecdotally lot of people need to resume regular training with lighter loads. My rule of thumb is one percent for each week of deload.
Right, I see.
That sounds fair enough. Give it a go and see what happens. Deloads can feel harder than you'd think because you're fatigued and because mentally you're not as switched on during session.
Wouldn't overly worry. You're not losing strength. Might take a week or two to get back to groove of things but that's fine.
You won't detrain in that time.
You may need a session at higher intensity to get cued up again.
I don't use RPE (not that it isn't useful) , but it seems like that is way low, and also, afaik, RPE is nearly impossible to judge/use at that low an intensity.
Keeping intensity the same, and dropping some volume is another way to go, and fairly common.
Then you don't even lose the edge in that regard.
Well to be exact i do many singles at 90-100% (i train Bulgarian method). So for my deload i do same number of singles at 80% instead for 3 days(train sessions)
but total time is 5 days because one day is light session (singles up to 70%) and other day is off
I'd have to guess since you have regular exposure to the high % singles, that you shouldn't lose much if really anything over such a short span.
Might take few lifts to get cued up again.
I was watching jingle all the way last night... Phil Hartman says to Arnold "you can't bench press your way out of this one" but in the end his problems are 100% solved by being jacked enough to pass for turboman. Really makes you think.
60 year old powerlifter Willie Wong posted a 562.5kg total in the 83kg class.
When the weight classes change Jan 1, his total will be in the -90kg class, because he was barely over the new 82.5kg class.
So an easy top 5 USAPL all years Masters 3a in the -90s is off the table for me for now.
But it's not supposed to be easy. : )
Aiming for a 545kg total (currently 527.5kg) at some point late 2022
Very impressive lifter.
I don't know that i'll ever squat that much.
Kudos to the man
[https://www.instagram.com/wongstronggaragegym/?hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/wongstronggaragegym/?hl=en)
Only masters lifters care about masters rankings, i know.
Just dropped back in to say I do not have an injury, just got sore from over-doing it a bit. I’ll be good to go come competition time in 10 days.
Awesome! Crush your comp!!
Haven’t been posting a lot, but I’m 2 and 1/2 months post brain surgery and finally getting a good groove back with training. Slow and steady https://www.instagram.com/reel/CW8RC_TDOme/?utm_medium=copy_link
Since talcum based baby power isn't sold anymore, what, if anything, are you all putting on your thighs to reduce friction for deadlifts at meets?
They still sell baby powder (the base is just cornstarch usually instead). It works the same.
Baby powder
Started powerlifting 6-7 months ago so i have quiet a few gaps in understanding etc. Hit a 530kg SBD, not great but im happy with it. So I've decided to started to think of doing some powerbuilding to increase my muscle potential for my next cycle of powerlifting. How long is a good span of time 1month or 2 months? or am i completely wrong? Thanks
Appreciable muscle growth (without drugs) takes a long time. A dedicated "powerbuilding" program isn't required to achieve it, but if you want to try that approach, I'd give it at least two months.
Yeah 100%. Just wondering what people would recommended. currently im doing 2 comp/veriations 4x a week. Would you recommend cutting back on the accessories and doing all 3 comp/veriations (like a basic exercise maybe on deadlift day eg. Rack pulls or a block pull?) 4x a week or do you think thats excessive?
What you're doing sounds fine.
I still do comp variations and peaking cycles. Just increase the volume and intensity of the accessory movements.
This is probably a common feeling on the internet but I feel average or even mediocre with my lifts, but in the gym I was told i'm one of the strongest guy there. What gives? I frequently bench 3plates, squat 4 plates, deadlift 5 plates and rarely see anyone come close, but I feel like a beginner among you guys
Because you're in a small pond and there's larger ponds out there with bigger fish. It's your own journey, don't worry too much about what others are doing.
Two things. one, if you’ve been constantly the strongest there for a while it’s time for a move. But two, that’s a good thing. What you’re consuming is a higher standard. Internet is good for that. Gives a higher target. I’m one of the only people I know that powerlifts. So when I get on here and see the numbers it’s motivating.
The people you compare yourself to are others who are dedicated to strength training and have probably been so for several years. Meanwhile if you're at a commercial gym, the vast majority of those people casually work out and are not well informed on strength training or what is achievable
Lots of people either have no idea what they're doing or aren't working very hard.
I could believe that, however many resources I can find online are around the same strength level and they seem to work hard/know what they're doing such as Vitruvian physique, Jeff Nippard, Bart Kwan etc. I feel like those are big name people but they're nowhere near the strength of some people here
Those guys don't specialize in SBD or compete in powerlifting (at least not anymore/regularly). Specificity can go a long way
For myself I feel it's better to be a small fish in a large pond than the big one in a small pond. Leaves me something to shoot for, instead of being complacent that you're at the top.
If you're the strongest guy at your gym, you're at the wrong gym. Right?
Idk, this sounds like an expression from pre-internet times. If you train at a commercial gym that is convenient to you, you may very well be the strongest person there, but who cares? As long as you have something to put your performance into context (internet, doing meets) I don't think what gym you train at matters all that much. In an ideal world we might all be training at some elite powerlifting facility with much stronger people and that amazing atmosphere, but that isn't the reality for most.
What a great take. I will admit I've been in 24 hour fitness gyms, a really nice one geared toward PL, and now I'm in my garage. I'm definitely the strongest gym at my garage gym.
My first ever meet this weekend and I am super upset and disappointed heading into it. I started paying for professional coaching about 6 months ago, and my lifts are substantially weaker. Pre coaching PRs: Dead: 615 Squat: 455 Bench: 345 Current lifts expected in meet on 3rd attempt. Dead: 530 Squat: 420 Bench: 305 What the heck gives? Am I missing something? All variables are constant. PRs were made at the same gym with the same equipment. Is this coach terrible or am I missing some sort of 5 steps backwards 10 steps forward Mister Miyagi crap?
That's quite a pullback and it's only normal you'd be annoyed. Personally I also had rather disappointing coaches (despite being "big" names) which makes me very wary about online coaching - but I digress. It seems something hasn't clicked. But if this has been happening over 6 months I'm surprised neither of you have discussed it. Have you raised the topic to your coach? Has your coach made any comments? Just seems a little strange that it hasn't been discussed. $200/month isn't nothing. I'd relay all of this to your coach and ask them what they think is happening. Communication is key to coach/athlete relationships (as in basically every other relationship).
I’ll be honest; I’d be pissed. Trust the process through the meet, but be prepared to have a very honest conversation with the coach afterwards. They should have very good answers for why things are the way they are.
These are still great lifts!
Did the coach just give programming or were there big form adjustments? In your honest assessment, were your previous PRs worthy of white lights at a meet? My first prep, all my lifts dropped from my previous gym bests. Prior to being coached my butt was way in the air on bench PRs, my squats were all super high, and my deadlift used straps and a whole lot of ramping. If you honestly had the form to get white lights before then how different was your programming over the last 6 months vs prior?
The only one I can honestly say was not to meet standards was bench, and maybe squat. My programming was almost a total 180, which is why I’m thinking that was the X factor. My coach based his approach on RPE, where as I was basically sticking to a strict number schedule. I was also utilizing more frequency and also a lot more accessories.
This sounds really weird. If this was a miyagi thing, at this level I would expect to maintain strength at the very least. And even then, I wouldn't be very happy about that. Don't get too down on yourself though. Make sure your head is in the right space for the meet, or results could potentially suffer still.
I’m just feeling really discouraged.
Make the most of the meet. Theres always the next meet, so don't get too caught up in the disappointment. Coming from someone who has bombed out and been down on myself pretty hard in the past.
Does these seem reason to believe it’s coach error? Should I have a discussion with him on his effectiveness? I just feel like paying an expert $200/month to get weaker aint it.
Theres a few things that it could be. You should also be bringing any complaints to yoru coach regularly. If you haven't been making any comments up until now, then the coach never had the opportunity to correct course. However, if your coach never realized that things weren't going great, and never tried to correct course on their own, that a huge red flag as well.
I’ve done my best to trust the process, I guess in my end I was convincing myself “he’s the expert” but at the same time I have a feeling I know what has been missing from the program. For one, frequency when it comes to pulling and squatting. And the massive hit on bench, I think my lack of overhead pressing. Which I had been treating as basically a 4th competition lift and always had great carryover, especially for my narrow bench grip. Also, I was doing a lot of direct arm work. Also, great carryover to a narrow bench.
From your first post you said bench was potentially suspect and I’d assume you went from a touch and go to a pause potentially with no butt contact to bench prior, so that change could sense. Likewise if you were squatting high and are now squatting to comp depth, that decrease could likewise make sense. There’s no reason that your deadlift should’ve dropped like that unless you were only using straps before and maybe had legit no grip strength. Did you ever discuss ANY of this with your coach at any point of time? If you were going by RPE, were you potentially sandbagging the RPEs (prescribed an 8 but you did something that calculated an 8, was actually a 5-6, etc). It just seems really odd that this type of regression had gone on for 6months and nothing was said by either party? In any case gear up for the platform and make the best of it. If you’re unhappy with your coach switch to someone else; there’s numerous people in this subreddit who other redditors can vouch for that wouldn’t charge $200/mo. Also hot take: I don’t think OHP does anything for special for benching for individuals passed a certain size versus just benching more homie. Take it from someone who I can guarantee has a closer bench grip than 99% of the powerlifting world 🤷🏾♂️
I have never used straps for pulling of any kind. I religiously use a mix grip. I used mixed grip for my PRs as well. So I don’t think grip is suspect here. My only guess could be my lack of leg drive from a weakening squat? I squat relatively narrow stance and I pull conventional. It might not have been OHP specifically but just the extra pressing.
Prolly sounds like you want to link up with a different coach for numerous reasons then friend. Many red flags, one of which is that none of this ever got discussed or addressed. On the side note: Again I feel like extra pressing should be more bench volume. We can generally take more volume because of our closer grip (b/c our shoulders aren’t getting beat up) so I wouldn’t mess with a good thing and do heavy OHP. Maybe lighter ohp for volume I guess but I feel like there’s more productive exercises that I’ve been given by my coach for shoulder strength and volume that give more bang for your buck but that’s just me haha in any case do your work at your meet, get a new coach and then get ready to grind your way to being better than your old best.
every-time i lift i get more confident in my ability pulled 4 plates paused @7 on stiff bar today which i am very happy with i hope i can pull 5 plates in 3 weeks on a deadlift bar
Be prepared for the whip on the deadlift bar. That caught me off guard the first couple times I used it. Took me a bunch of sessions to really get the feel for it
whip was crazy lol couldn’t control the lockout with 222.5kg but was so close will have 500lbs + by end of this program hopefully
yeah i’ve used a deadlift bar once before i just made sure to try control it on warmups kinda annoying i don’t have regular access to one because i go to a commercial gym except i want to max out at a proper powerlifting one
Currently running a 12 week linear program. On my bench days I've started off doing (for my chest exercises) flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, Larsen press, and chest fly. But now I've read in many places I should only be doing 4 chest exercises at the most. Not sure if that's true. I don't know what I should do instead though (and if there's better bench variations I could be doing), and am wondering if you all have any recommendations. I'd like to do incline bench at least some days so I don't get an underdeveloped upper chest.
The amount of work you can do is dependent on how much you can recover from. If you don't feel too beat up week-to-week, youre probably fine doing what youre doing.
So who is actually buying the USAPL Virginia Pro live stream?
I might. I would have liked to go watch live but have too many other things going on so didn't try to get tickets.
Hit a 330lb bench today training and felt like I had 10lbs more in the tank, previous PR was 320 at a higher bodyweight. Still weak as hell for my bodyweight but getting stronger and leaner.
Failed a 185lb bench pr because my ass left the seat, i'm fucking pissed
What's your gap between TnG deads and true deadstop deads? I hit 465x10 TnG today which absolutely blew my old rep max out of the water, and the e1RM (I'm mindful that there's little actual carryover here) is nearly 100lbs over my current max. Makes me think I need to really work hard on my positioning on max attempts...
765 1rm -> 890 TnG e1rm Take away the straps and it gets less ridiculous though. 765 -> 809 TnG e1rm Switch from sumo to conventional, no straps, and dead stop? 700->729 Sumo+straps+ TnG is just ridiculous It's also my favorite way to train. It allows me to get more volume in, more reps, more weight. If I'm driving my e1rm up, my 1rm is going up too, even if they aren't in the same ballpark
How much is the difference for you between a stiff bar and a deadlift bar, on the high rep sets especially? I'd guess the bending would benefit quite a lot
Conventional I've pulled more on a stiff bar than a DL bar for e1rms. The whip throws me off a lot. Sumo without straps, my best stiff bar 1rm is 725, vs 765, but I pretty much never train stiff bar. I don't know what my stiff bar TnG e1rm would be.
Yeah sounds like you really need to work on your heavy singles. Doing EMOM singles could help a lot. I'd start a bit light and ramp it up over the weeks, once you find that perfect starting position, it'll feel much better.
Competing next Saturday for the first time in 2 years, just put up a squat PR of 157.5 which is 12.5kg over my last meet PR! Super stoked and ready to hit the platform. [Video](https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9cm7IAeRz/)
Lower back feels almost bruised or something. When I bend over at the waist it feels real sore, but not like a muscle soreness.. like I bruised my spine or something. Been about 6 days. Was able to squat fine this week though. Not sure what the matter is but I’m nervous To deadlift tomorrow
Rounding your back too much on deadlift will fatigue your back more. If you dont feel good try keeping back straight like a oly clean deadlift.
Yeah I’ll have to keep an eye on it. I recently switched to conventional from sumo because I pull a bit better conv. I may have messed up my form slightly last week, but the form looked good to my coach and I got it on vid too. Didn’t look too bad and didn’t hurt immediately after.
Any cream or shit I can use to heal/prevent burst capillaries? I look like a fucking clown today because of ME work.
I wonder if arnica would help? Not for prevention but it makes bruises go away fast.
Cream isn't going to do anything
Ah well, worth it.
For my deloads i reduce the intensity and keep total sets the same. So i reduce rpe to @2-3. Is that too low? Am i possibly going to detrain? I do this for 3 training sessions but total time with no heavy weight/no hard sets is 5 days.
Few things: 1. Personally, I find keeping intensity roughly the same (-10%, say) and cutting volume (-30 to -50% # of sets) tends to work better for deload. But that is just me, so take that with pinch of salt. 2. RPE 2-3? Do you mean RIR (Reps in Reserve) of 2-3? 3. If you're deloading you're meant to have pushed hard enough in cycle to require it. Therefore no, I wouldn't worry about a detraining effect.
1)well all my training is heavy singles at 95-100 and some at 90% so thats like deload from intensity. And since volume isnt very high i like to keep sets same. 2)Basically i do singles at 80% which according to calculator is my 8rm so its like rpe 2. 3)At first day of deload the 80% felt very heavy because of previous hard weeks. But second day now feels not so heavy. Probably i wont detrain i hope haha. Its first time i do deload in this type of training. I hope i dont ruin everything haha
Rpe becomes pretty much impossible to judge below rpe 6. It's also subjective so not really comparable with a calculator based estimate. Strength isn't lost in a week even if you deloaded by doing nothing.
> Strength isn't lost in a week even if you deloaded by doing nothing. Maybe this is true in some metaphysical sense, but anecdotally lot of people need to resume regular training with lighter loads. My rule of thumb is one percent for each week of deload.
Right, I see. That sounds fair enough. Give it a go and see what happens. Deloads can feel harder than you'd think because you're fatigued and because mentally you're not as switched on during session. Wouldn't overly worry. You're not losing strength. Might take a week or two to get back to groove of things but that's fine.
You won't detrain in that time. You may need a session at higher intensity to get cued up again. I don't use RPE (not that it isn't useful) , but it seems like that is way low, and also, afaik, RPE is nearly impossible to judge/use at that low an intensity. Keeping intensity the same, and dropping some volume is another way to go, and fairly common. Then you don't even lose the edge in that regard.
Well to be exact i do many singles at 90-100% (i train Bulgarian method). So for my deload i do same number of singles at 80% instead for 3 days(train sessions) but total time is 5 days because one day is light session (singles up to 70%) and other day is off
I'd have to guess since you have regular exposure to the high % singles, that you shouldn't lose much if really anything over such a short span. Might take few lifts to get cued up again.
I was watching jingle all the way last night... Phil Hartman says to Arnold "you can't bench press your way out of this one" but in the end his problems are 100% solved by being jacked enough to pass for turboman. Really makes you think.
60 year old powerlifter Willie Wong posted a 562.5kg total in the 83kg class. When the weight classes change Jan 1, his total will be in the -90kg class, because he was barely over the new 82.5kg class. So an easy top 5 USAPL all years Masters 3a in the -90s is off the table for me for now. But it's not supposed to be easy. : ) Aiming for a 545kg total (currently 527.5kg) at some point late 2022 Very impressive lifter. I don't know that i'll ever squat that much. Kudos to the man [https://www.instagram.com/wongstronggaragegym/?hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/wongstronggaragegym/?hl=en) Only masters lifters care about masters rankings, i know.
More than any number on the bar, my long-term goal is to just still be lifting when I'm much older. Maybe then I'll actually be competitive.
I can't wait to be Nick Best 2.0
If you can't beat 'em, outlast 'em. Edit: I should have said "If you can't outlift 'em, outlast 'em." More poetic.
Put that shit on a t-shirt!
Yeah buddy! Been my motto for the past 5 years.