I’m not upset, don’t get it twisted, you’re at the bottom of the list of things that are significant enough to upset me. I’m annoyed with your continued hijacking and general incivility to everyone involved in this thread. If it seems like I’m upset, then you’re just confusing that with the fact that I am generally an asshole with little patience for people like you.
As you get heavier, you (if you are training correctly and actually gaining muscle), then you will also get faster.
EG Why they have weight classes and not height classes. All other things held equal (skill, etc), someone 5’6" and 150 will get their ass handed to them someone 5’6" and 200, given that that extra 50 lbs is the result of getting stronger (and therefore, faster).
Flexibility has nothing to do with weight. I’ve seen 300 lb powerlifters place their hands flat on the floor with their legs locked.
Physics actually proves my point quite well, since force = mass x acceleration.
ZesusNathan, I’m actually ahead of schedule in terms of my meet prep, and it’s pretty much because Stronghold has been helping with my programing since early January, I give most of the credit in terms of where I am in Powerlifting to Stronghold here.
and yes, i am only 160lbs because i choose to be.
i do not wish to be 5’6 @ 220lbs, unable to wipe my ass. i box, im a striking coach, id be useless if i couldnt move my hands.
i devote 70% of my training to weights, and 30% to boxing.
my best lifts
bench 245lbs for five
squat 315lbs for five <–prior to mcl injury
deadlift 415lbs for one
pull ups bodyweight +90lbs for eight
dips bodyweight +115lbs for five
not on gear
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Nathan: I was shocked by this. Shocked. The way you’ve been bashing me and Stronghold and others and throwing your “secret program” around like it’s the end-all-be-all of weightlifting, I figured you for minimum 250 lbs of pure muscle. I’ll be up to your numbers within a year, I suspect (except the 415 deadlift you’re claiming; my goal is just a measly 315).
Actually, I’m kind of impressed: How can someone who weighs only 160 lift that much weight? FYI, I was 145 about two or so years ago, now I’m between 180 and 185. My target weight is 200, but with low (for me) BF%.
No offense, but now I’m really not interested in your “program” at all… Like detazathoth says, I’ve accomplished a lot by listening to Stronghold and others more experienced (than you) on T-Nation… Not trying to be mean to you, but, really, you just come on way too strong (your words, I mean) for what you really have to offer. Try being cool and fitting into the community and maybe people will consider your ideas! You might really have one or two good ones. Just be cool about it!
As for me, I’ll take greystoke’s and Stronghold’s advice and go check out the “Over 35” forum. Sounds like reasonable advice! I’ll keep posting here, too, but I really should hear from guys my own age and who face similar challenges…
Making progress. The ramping protocol is the way to go, IMO, for safe strength gains. Since you have had some injuries in the past, it’s OK to leave a rep or two in the tank, rather than going to failure, on the top set in order to maintain form. Just don’t use it as rationale for not trying to beat your previous best.
And, as was mentioned before, don’t avoid the Over 35 section. A lot of experience in how to get bigger and stronger, making progress even with injuries and some seriously strong guys there. There are also fewer dipshits.
A few of you guys have asked for a “photo update”. I hesitate to post these, but a friend took a few shots on Saturday when a few of us were doing the USMC PFT with an 18-year-old guy from our church who just enlisted. (For the record, I’m six crunches from [hypothetically] graduating First Class from Marines boot camp for my age group…)
If I was giving advice to myself after looking at these pics, I’d tell myself to keep eating more and hitting the weights harder! Pretty much what you guys have been telling me…
Just read through most of your thread. Great progress, especially in the last 6 or 7 months – you’ve nearly doubled your squat in that time period. What do you think most contributed to these increases (intensity?, food?, volume?, hormonal fixes?, consistency?)?
[quote]speakman wrote:
ZeusNathan wrote:
im @325 myself @155lbs bodyweight
its a race to the 400 pound squat
Right now, I’m purposely limiting my squat to 325 until I can get my deadlift up to at least 315. Then I’ll start adding more to the squat…
Not sure if this is the best approach, though. Open to any and all input…
[/quote]
Why would you do that?
[/quote]
Just another of my theories that I come up with that might be a bit unfounded. Back on 4/9/09, MEYMZ gave me some specific numbers to shoot for:
Squat: 315
Deadlift: 315
The fact that these numbers are the same makes me think that, ideally, the squat and deadlift should be about the same (?). Since my deadlift had been lagging quite a bit behind my squat (I find deadlifts to be a lot harder than squats; maybe this is common), I thought it might be a good idea to “relax” at around 315 on the squat until my deadlift could catch up (so I’m not more tired than I need to be on my deadlift days). Maybe pointless, but as of Monday this is a non-issue: I pulled 2 reps at 315 on the deadlift!
So, looks like I’ve sort of reached the goal that MEYMZ gave me almost 8 months ago. Note that at that time I was lifting well under 200 on both the squat and deadlift, and that felt like a LOT of weight to me at that time. So, I feel like I’ve really made some progress…
I say “sort of reached the goal” because I’d like to be pulling at least 6 reps at 315 on the deadlift before I feel like I’ve really “arrived”. I’ll shoot for at least 3 reps tomorrow…
FYI, my deadlift rep scheme on Monday looked like this:
Set 1: 8 reps at 135 pounds
2: 8 reps at 225
3: 6 reps at 255
4: 6 reps at 285
5: 2 reps at 315
Just read through most of your thread. Great progress, especially in the last 6 or 7 months – you’ve nearly doubled your squat in that time period. What do you think most contributed to these increases (intensity?, food?, volume?, hormonal fixes?, consistency?)?[/quote]
Great question, and good timing – As I mentioned above, on Monday I finally reached my goal (that MEYMZ suggested to me in April) of 315 on both the squat and deadlift.
What’s contributed most to the progress I’ve made is being on T-Nation, no joke. The articles and feedback here are better by far than anything else on the Web. That said, here are a few points that I think have really helped me to finally start making some progress:
Having a specific goal. Big thanks to MEYMZ for giving me some specific numbers to shoot for.
Workout intensity, volume, consistency, etc. All of the guys here have been talking to me (or flaming me) about this for forever. Stronghold, TribunalDude, even ZeusNathan (who, you might have noticed, I haven’t always gotten along with but am now) have really laid into me about just adding weight to the bar. Against my own mindset, I’ve really pushed to get my numbers up. As an example, just last week it seemed like a strain just to pull a few deadlift reps at 285, but I was determined to push to 315 on Monday. Sometimes we can do more than we “think”, I guess!
Food. Another thing I’ve picked up here is that I need to EAT. I used to be “morbidly obese” (literal diagnosis from a doctor), so after losing all the fat weight I’ve stayed nervous about getting fat again (I’m the classic skinny-fat guy). But the guys here convinced me to start eating, and that’s helped a LOT. I’m still experimenting in this area, and my current thing is to absolutely pig out in the 6-hour pre-, peri- and post-workout window and eat fairly light the rest of the time. We’ll see how that goes, but I can say that my strength is still going up in the gym while my fat level seems to be under control…
Hormones. I have clinically low Testosterone, so I get a T injection once per week. This obviously helps a LOT. It’s really, really obvious to me now that if your hormones are shot, it doesn’t matter what else you’re doing, you’re going to fail in the gym. FYI, my hormone replacement therapy just keeps me at “normal” levels; I’m not doing anything crazy here, and most guys are probably fine in this department.
Supplementation. I used to take every pill and magic potion on the market, thinking that these would really help me. They really don’t. I’m down to a multivitamin and fish oil, and that’s it! And making better progress than ever. I’ve even replaced my protein shake with FOOD. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with protein shakes and drank them daily for years. But – and this might be heretical to say – I seem to be getting more results from peri-workout “nutrition” that consists of a couple of double burgers from Burger King (that I sneak into the gym, since food isn’t allowed there) than I ever got from whey powder and creatine… Just my personal experience, and maybe I’ll change my mind on this again later, who knows…
Long post, I know, but looking forward to any feedback!
