Been lifting for 4-6 months and looking to compete in a powerlifting meet around November of 2015. 17 years old as of this post. Any tips for beginners?
Current stats is
Height : 1.73m
Weight : 73kgs
Squat : 130kgs
Bench : 75kgs
Deadlift : 150kgs
Bench is really weak but hey, I am still working on it. Give ne some tips and advice on training routines/diet/etc. Share how your first powerlifting meets went cause it would be interesting to hear from all you more experienced folks.
This may go against what some believe, but if I want to improve on bench press, I train it more frequently. I also push a daily max single (meaning the heaviest single I can go that day before it turns into a grinder) then drop back 30-60lbs and do 2-3 sets of doubles or triples. I’ll train that way everyday until I feel a need for a short break. It works well.
However, with you just in the beginning stages, depending on how you are training now, general rule of thumb is try and work in the 3-5 rep range to increase your bench. Make sure you eat enough. Hit some heavy singles once in a while to get used to being under a heavier weight.
Good luck and train consistently.
[quote]osu122975 wrote:
This may go against what some believe, but if I want to improve on bench press, I train it more frequently. I also push a daily max single (meaning the heaviest single I can go that day before it turns into a grinder) then drop back 30-60lbs and do 2-3 sets of doubles or triples. I’ll train that way everyday until I feel a need for a short break. It works well.
However, with you just in the beginning stages, depending on how you are training now, general rule of thumb is try and work in the 3-5 rep range to increase your bench. Make sure you eat enough. Hit some heavy singles once in a while to get used to being under a heavier weight.
Good luck and train consistently. [/quote]
First off, don’t wait until November of next year. Compete now. As soon as possible. Get your first meet under your belt at the first opportunity. There’s absolutely no downside, and it’s a fantastic experience.
I definitely agree with OSU on using higher frequency. Most accomplished lifters hit all of their lifts multiple times a week. The schools of thought that are in disagreement certainly exist, but they’re in the minority. I only hit each lift once a week, but that’s because I don’t see any lifts truly lagging behind others, and my training time is very limited.
I don’t believe in hitting a heavy single every session. I’ve seen my best progress when I’ve avoid heavy singles and doubles for a month or 2 at a time. That’s how I’ve been able to break through plateaus. More volume has helped me tremendously. Although this applies more to the squat and bench than deadlift.
Thanks for the advice! I would compete more but there’s only 3 meets that happen in my country a year(I live in Singapore) and 2 of them are invite only so I’m only left with the November ones. And I definitely can’t make it for November of 2014 so I guess I’ll just have to wait till 2015.
Do you have videos of any heavy work you have done? A form check will provide the most gains short term and long term.
Here’s a video of my 140kg deadlift. Had to control the weight down cause of my gym has some rules regarding dropping heavy weights(the floor tiles are starting to crack).
^ That looks like a solid lift. You remained tight throughout the lift and it doesn’t look like you have any imbalances.
Thanks! I’ve much to improve on though.
Would it be realistic for me to achieve the following goals by November of next year? Squat 165kgs bench 100kgs deadlift 225kgs
It depends how you respond to linear progression and simple periodization programs because those will likely give you the quickest gains. You would need to start off having solid technique with little muscular imbalances and your diet, sleep and stress management have to be dialed in to provide maximum recovery to match the high amount of effort in training. You’re basically living to train by doing everything within your power to provide the best conditions for progress. Having a coach would greatly increase your chances as well. If you can’t hire a coach then all you can do is try your best. If you don’t win the sub jr. division, you still have 4 years in the jr. division.
That’s the next thing, military service is compulsory in my country so I’ll basically be wasting away 2 years of my life at 20-21. That and maintaining strength in the military is pretty hard from what I’ve heard. Do you have any recommendations for what program I should follow to maximize strength gains? I’m currently on 5/3/1 (adding twice the weight every cycle though), but I doubt I can keep it up in the long term.
What is twice the weight? Personally I would run the 5/3/1 BBB 3-Month Challenge to build strength and then go into the regular 5/3/1. Once stalling out on all lifts I would start with the BBB Challenge again. That high volume is what helped me build strength when I ran 5/3/1 and the regular cycles allow time to work on weaknesses. Don’t stop what you’re doing now until the gains stop.
Well, I’m currently on the BBB 3-Month Challenge but I set it at 80% of my max (stopped training for a month or two, damn school gets to you) and I’m adding 10kgs to Squats/Deadlift and 5kgs to Bench/Overhead press every cycle.
[quote]Benanything wrote:
Well, I’m currently on the BBB 3-Month Challenge but I set it at 80% of my max (stopped training for a month or two, damn school gets to you) and I’m adding 10kgs to Squats/Deadlift and 5kgs to Bench/Overhead press every cycle. [/quote]
I would personally keep it at 5 kg for lower and 2.5 kg for upper. What’s done is done with the two months of lost training - you can’t take that back. That just means next time you have to make it to the gym regardless and sacrifice leisure time like surfing the web or whatever else. I know how busy school can be because during my jr. year as an undergrad I averaged less than 6 hrs of sleep each night (including weekends) for the whole year because of taking extra classes and being on the FSAE team. I still went to the gym 3 times a week. Slow progress was better than none. You just have to prioritize.
Adding that much weight is just going to make you stall out sooner. So slow down and get that volume in with the lower intensity top sets. When I ran the 5/3/1 challenge, my conventional deadlift max was 405 but I dropped it to 330 (close to 80% like you, my sumo was probably around 375) to really learn to pull sumo. Four months after the challenge I hit 315x14 and 3 months later hit 345x15. At the end of 12 months total I hit 460. I eventually had to reset a couple times and only put on 10-20 lbs after another 8 months. The deadlift progress slowed down significantly when I was maintaining high intensities for the squat. If I could do it over I would always reset (once all the lifts have stalled) with the BBB Challenge using 80-90% of true max for training max because it was the volume that built the strength. For the regular 5/3/1 I would stick to BBB assistance or an assistance movement to bring up a weakness. Give yourself time to build strength.
The 5/3/1 BBB 3-month challenge has worked for so many people because of the volume. If you recover well while doing it you’ll make great progress.
Alright thanks mate, I’ll keep that in mind.