Thanks kmc. I try not to comment either. In this case, though, I am really trying to see what depth looks like. I know Meat goes much deeper than the guy in the vid…but that doesn’t mean he HAS to go that deep.
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks kmc. I try not to comment either. In this case, though, I am really trying to see what depth looks like. I know Meat goes much deeper than the guy in the vid…but that doesn’t mean he HAS to go that deep.[/quote]
With strict judging (the way it’s supposed to be), yes you do.
I just find video always makes dudes look like they are squatting high.
I’m late to the discussion, again, but your recent posts about goals interests me. Is your goal to compete or just get as strong as you can? I know you’ve come a long way in the weight loss area. As for establishing goals, short term and long term. BTW, the guy in the vid squating. I think it’s like you’ve got to knock out the champ. At these guys level it takes a pretty obvious fault to red light.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
I’m late to the discussion, again, but your recent posts about goals interests me. Is your goal to compete or just get as strong as you can? I know you’ve come a long way in the weight loss area. As for establishing goals, short term and long term. BTW, the guy in the vid squating. I think it’s like you’ve got to knock out the champ. At these guys level it takes a pretty obvious fault to red light. [/quote]
You know…I don’t know. If my numbers keep going up, and my back continues to play, I could see myself entering a meet at some point…if for no other reason than to do it. It would require much better numbers than I currently have, though. I can handle not winning (though I never like it), but I have no desire to look completely outclassed.
The flipside is that I started with this particular training to get stronger, period. I feel better about life in general when I know that I have the strength to do something that most people can’t. I don’t really care whether anyone else knows it or not. It is sufficient that I do. That is not to say that an occasional “wow!” or “that’s impressive” isn’t nice, though 
LS, you are a strong guy and there is no reason to wait forever if that is something that you want to do. 6 months ago I never would have even thought about entering a PL meet. Now I am thinking, why the fuck wouldn’t I? I know I’ll never be the strongest guy on the planet, but so what? I think sometimes you have got to train hard and then lay it on the line when it counts and see what you got, just to find out something about yourself.
jjack, I agree. I did start just for strength, but the bug of maybe competing was caught, once I ran across this site. I decided then that if I competed it wouldn’t be until I was 42. I figured it would take that long to have a realistic chance at having enough strength not to embarrass myself. That would be 21 months from now.
Right now, though, I am more concerned about T levels and my back. Once both of those are addressed, I will get more serious about the possibility. It would be interesting, if nothing else, to see how I reacted to a competition. Unfortunately, complete fear is what comes to mind. Not because of the competition, but because my Aspie-ness makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable in front of folks I don’t know. There was a time that it was almost paralyzing.
In the end, though, nothing pushes someone like competition and the desire to save face
Y’all are having an interesting discussion of goals and how they effect your training and psyche. It’s funny, In my original log I was trying to loose some weight, get ugly strong and get off some damn scripts. Seems I realize I may be on the meds till the cows come home and the final body weight goal may be harder to achieve than I imagined. Now I realize the mission of wanting to be ugly strong is just a cute way of saying “I don’t have any real goals. I’m lifting to lift and not for a real purpose.” I can see I need some specific goals to motivate my training. I need to get past a workout and move towards a training regime.
I also recognize I can be more talk than action. Keep up the good work LS. You re a strong moo-foo!
[quote]j_willy3 wrote:
Y’all are having an interesting discussion of goals and how they effect your training and psyche. It’s funny, In my original log I was trying to loose some weight, get ugly strong and get off some damn scripts. Seems I realize I may be on the meds till the cows come home and the final body weight goal may be harder to achieve than I imagined. Now I realize the mission of wanting to be ugly strong is just a cute way of saying “I don’t have any real goals. I’m lifting to lift and not for a real purpose.” I can see I need some specific goals to motivate my training. I need to get past a workout and move towards a training regime.
I also recognize I can be more talk than action. Keep up the good work LS. You re a strong moo-foo![/quote]
Yeah…I think doing it to do it falls under what 63G said earlier. There has to be fun or it becomes drudgery. And I definitely wouldn’t say that you are more talk than action. There is no way I could make myself do your workouts. I just don’t have the gumption. Talk about drudgery!
And thanks for the compliment, but I still don’t feel that way. I can lift more than anyone else I work with. If I start to feeling too good about that, though, all I have to do is come here and I feel humbled. I hope there comes a point whenI think, “Yes, I am strong.” Even though being strong does not remove the want of being stronger. I think a lot of that is rooted in self-perception and potential, though. I THINK that I am capable of one day moving really heavy weights. Since I don’t feel I am close to reaching my potential (delusion), I don’t feel strong.
Every one has issues w/self perception. Stronger in some than others. Guys like me and you suffer more than most. In my case at least, its extremely hard to believe that I can even remotely be considered strong. I think thats why I was pushing so hard. I didnt want to go into the meet and be humiliated. The thought of lifting in front of all those people was, overwhelming.
It didnt matter how many times JimmyT said how strong I was. I didnt/dont see it.
I see that same thing here. I cant tell you how many times guys are calling you strong, stout, whatever. I dont think you quite get it. ANYONE that pulls 500 off the floor IS strong already. I dont care what the other lifts are. What percentage of 40plus yro men in the world can do it?
This shoulder thing has helped me put things in perspective. I dont care now. Im back to having fun, lifting iron and rockin the house when we all get together.
If your training to be strong, you win. Im pleased to have been around to watch.
If you want to got to a meet, I still have plans to go in Feb. or June. Lets go together.
BTW you probly arent close to you potetial.
[quote]63Galaxie wrote:
Every one has issues w/self perception. Stronger in some than others. Guys like me and you suffer more than most. In my case at least, its extremely hard to believe that I can even remotely be considered strong. I think thats why I was pushing so hard. I didnt want to go into the meet and be humiliated. The thought of lifting in front of all those people was, overwhelming.
It didnt matter how many times JimmyT said how strong I was. I didnt/dont see it.
I see that same thing here. I cant tell you how many times guys are calling you strong, stout, whatever. I dont think you quite get it. ANYONE that pulls 500 off the floor IS strong already. I dont care what the other lifts are. What percentage of 40plus yro men in the world can do it?
This shoulder thing has helped me put things in perspective. I dont care now. Im back to having fun, lifting iron and rockin the house when we all get together.
If your training to be strong, you win. Im pleased to have been around to watch.
If you want to got to a meet, I still have plans to go in Feb. or June. Lets go together.
BTW you probly arent close to you potetial. [/quote]
Thanks 63G. Point taken. And you are right. You are strong. I can see that with no issue…as can everyone else on the forum. You and I, and others, do tend to be harder on ourselves, or hold ourselves to a different standard, though, than say…the guy on the other side of my cubical wall. 500# is an enormous amount of weight to the average Joe (no offense JoeGood!). To those pursuing strength, though, it really isn’t. The good side of that being the drive/motivation that can be derived from it. The downside is that it can lead to frustration.
D@mnable perception… I think there is a tendency to compare ourselves to a slice of the population, as opposed to folks in general.
I remember when I 1st became a cop, our Lt. jokingly said that he was pairing with me for the football games (Athens, GA) because of my size. It struck me as odd, because I didn’t consider myself any bigger than anyone else. I compared myself only to those I considered a threat, 6’5", 300# football players. To them, I wasn’t big, or even on par. I didn’t compare myself to fellow officers, of which I was the biggest. Well, at least until we hired one of the ex-ballplayers Talk about a gentle giant…and scared of his own shadow…lol.
Oh yeah…
63G- Let me know when the meet is. I would love to come down and add to the cheering section! I’ve never been to a meet before. Watching one where I have a vested interest would be a great way to start.
Deload part II-
I was supposed to do squats today. As my back is still achy, from DLs, and my left knee is still bothering me, I stopped after the bw sets. It is a deload, after all. No need to push it.
Squats
bwx10x2
Shrugs
135x15
225x12x2
Holds - don’t know what to call these. Just picked up the BB with a double overhand grip and held it…to work on grip.
315x10sec
275x15secx2
Delt Death - quadrangle (laterals, rear delt raises, fwd. raises and DB OH press)
15sx10x2
Reverse Flyes
15sx10x2
That’s it. Planning on another deload day Thursday…chest, tris and bis.
Sunday is either going to be back to it, or one more deload day, depending on how the knee and back feel.
I looked at competing like jumping into cold water. I just did it, and I only pulled 460. I ended up taking 2nd in the overall masters. I was really pumped.
I do have to say that I had some motivation. I trained for two meets in the 90’s and I had to drop out of the first because I tore an abdominal muscle, and the second b/c I ran into a huge work conflict. I didn’t want to be known as that guy who said I would, but never did.
I think I will throw my hat in at some point…assuming everything keeps working. I just need to get my head in the right place. While acknowledging that there is never the perfect time. At some point you just have to do it, if you are ever going to (or me, in this case).
Question about classifications…
Is there a single classification known as “Masters?” Or are there multiple Masters levels/tiers? Or does it depend on the federation?
At 40-42 years old, where would I fit in?
In NASA Masters 1 is 40-49.
As far as being ready, Ive thought about our chat. I think its easy to get a skewed view of our status as lifters. Mainly BECAUSE of this site. What I mean is, your dead lift 500 correct? JimmyTs 5+,Meats who the heck knows, and so on. Heres the thing: when were on here we are talking with the ELITE. So it gives the wrong impression to a good lifter. It kinda diminishes our accomplishments. IF we dont get that, Ya know?
[quote]63Galaxie wrote:
In NASA Masters 1 is 40-49.
As far as being ready, Ive thought about our chat. I think its easy to get a skewed view of our status as lifters. Mainly BECAUSE of this site. What I mean is, your dead lift 500 correct? JimmyTs 5+,Meats who the heck knows, and so on. Heres the thing: when were on here we are talking with the ELITE. So it gives the wrong impression to a good lifter. It kinda diminishes our accomplishments. IF we dont get that, Ya know?[/quote]
I would agree. On the Meat/Pete/Fischer/bunny/Eco scale I’m middlin’ smalltime, but I can go into any gym in the area I live and freak people out.
Associating with these guys is what is drawing my lifts forward, because being a midsize fish among small ones is not satisfying.
Strick, take in a session at a commercial gym on a busy night. It’ll put things in perspective as far as comparing your strength to that of the general population.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
63Galaxie wrote:
In NASA Masters 1 is 40-49.
As far as being ready, Ive thought about our chat. I think its easy to get a skewed view of our status as lifters. Mainly BECAUSE of this site. What I mean is, your dead lift 500 correct? JimmyTs 5+,Meats who the heck knows, and so on. Heres the thing: when were on here we are talking with the ELITE. So it gives the wrong impression to a good lifter. It kinda diminishes our accomplishments. IF we dont get that, Ya know?
I would agree. On the Meat/Pete/Fischer/bunny/Eco scale I’m middlin’ smalltime, but I can go into any gym in the area I live and freak people out.
Associating with these guys is what is drawing my lifts forward, because being a midsize fish among small ones is not satisfying.
Strick, take in a session at a commercial gym on a busy night. It’ll put things in perspective as far as comparing your strength to that of the general population.[/quote]
How true about the commercial gyms. LS, people would stop and stare at the weight you hoist.
63G, DCA, danjo-
You are right. And looking at it from that perspective, it makes complete sense that I would see my lifts as adequate at best. I haven’t been to a commercial gym in a decade. I do remember the stares, and comments, though, when I would stack 45’s on the leg press until you couldn’t add more and do sets for 6-8 reps. Then go over and put 3 plates per side on bench. I can only remember 2 people benching more. I don’t recall seeing anyone leg press more. 'course, the hosses were probably doing squats and deads.
I was looking at the OK state records for Masters, in a couple of federations, and noticed that the bench records were in the mid 400’s and the deads were in the upper 500’s. That isn’t so bad. I just have this lingering fear that I will end up with a Meat in my group
And DCA, you are definitely right. Much better to be a small or middle fish here than a shark in a goldfish bowl. The shark has no reason to grow.
Thank you for the reassurance and insight, gents.
How much do you weigh?