I am doing my first powerlifting competition May 1st. I am competing against my nemesis who is a bodybuilder. He thinks he is the strongest guy at our work because he is massive. I am not massive but have been training stronglifts 5x5 and 5/3/1 for almost 2 years. He has been training for 10 years.
Please don’t tell me powerlifting is about competing with yourself. I want to beat this guy.
I have to beat this guy.
He does not want to do a pound for pound champ because I would destroy him. I am 190 5’10’’ 22% bodyfat he is 6’2’’ 240 pounds 10% bodyfat.
My question is if I gained 20 to 30 pounds in the next 6 months how much do you think that would help my training/total? Is there anything else I can do besides stretch, eat big, sleep, and train hard (5/3/1) every other day? Thanks for the feedback.
Gaining weight will definitely help you, especially if you’re training hard while gaining this weight. Eat big like you said. Personally, I’ve found drinking a ton of whole milk (one of Wendler’s favorites) and scarfing down a couple peanut butter sandwiches anytime I can between meals is a great way to really up your protein and fat intakes.
As for programming, if 531 is working for you I’d say stick with it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I would give Beyond 5-3-1 a read if I were you though, especially the part he has about a 12 week programming cycle for 5-3-1 leading up to a meet.
I love this competition by the way. Good luck and be sure to circle back and let us know how it goes.
What are his weights and yours respectively. Lots of things you can do but, if he is out totaling you by mile then it represents a problem and your options are going to change.
I have only lifted with this guy once. He is my sworn enemy
He told me he focuses on leg press and hack squats because his low back is weak. He does not squat as much and does not deadlift much at all. Lately he has been coming back with some suspicious numbers. I am in the process of getting a mole at his gym to gather Intel.
My numbers right now are
Military Press - 160 new PR today!
Bench 230 New PR Friday
Squat 320 - will retest this week
Deadlift 335 - will retest this week
His numbers I think are
-Military Press - A million pounds - his shoulders do not fit in any work shirts and they look like giant turtle shells
Bench - Whiskey barrel chest maybe 320 strict
Squat - 320
Deadlift - 250
I am going to get smoked in chest but I think I can get 20 pounds or more than him on squat and destroy him on deadlift. I can turn into a chub scout if I have to. I am so ready to take this guy down. Every day in the break room he flexes in front of the mirror and his gold chains keep getting bigger and bigger. He tells me the reason I can’t beat him is because I have too many kids and he gets focus 24/7 on “numero uno”
I have not looked into Smolov but I am open to anything. I built a power rack out of 4x4’s and am ready to do battle with the weights. I really appreciate yall’s advise. I don’t have a coach so I am in your hands. My brother told me to ditch the military press so I could focus better on the big 3. This meet will be a squat, bench, deadlift competition. I am going to pay for a ref otherwise he will try to do 4 inch deep squats and use straps on the deadlift. We are going to follow the Texas High School Powerlifting rules because we both use to be coaches and we work at a school. I thought it would be hard for him to argue with anything in there. A lot of our former and current students want to be at the meet to see Goliath go down.
I will keep this post going with progress, PR’s, videos, and updates. BTW I am not a mirror hater or a bodybuilder hater. I was small and weak until I woke up two years ago and said " it is now or never, lets get strong (30 years old)". I don’t have a lot of equipment besides a power rack, weights, and 80’s metal.
Well if those numbers are true he only got you by 5 lbs. Although about his deadlift being that much lower than his squat i find hard to believe but with bodybuilding anything is possible (lol)
Dont ditch the military press it is a great upper body movement.
If you gain 20 lbs and follow wendler as prescribed you will smoke his ass on maybe everything but the bench.
I can see your numbers being “at least” this if you bust your ass follow wendler and eat sleep and train right.
Squat 345-375
Bench 255-280
Deadlift 375-405
Remember this is only my estimate. So dont be suprised if you lift more than this.
Stay on track stay healthy train smart and kick his ass in the competition. You got this bro.
Him being that heavy and that lean, then he is lying about his numbers… that’s very very weak for that size of a guy. As for you I don’t think you need to gain much weight, just beast out. Your body fat is kinda on the high side for being under 200 lbs… just train and you should pull off a decent total. As for programming I’d say that 12 week 531 program the guy above spoke of and you should be cool… and don’t listen to him… I have a full time job married and 5 kids… you can do anything. Good luck.
Here are a couple of pics of me before I started training (2 years ago) and now. My plan after all of your advice is to update my maxes this week and then use Dec - April to train like a mother trucker. Smolov for Squats looks really hard. I like that. I feel like if I stick with 5/3/1 I can get 60 pounds on my squat and deadlift. If I run Smolov I think I can get more on my squat but am unsure about the deadlift.
I really want 405 squat, 405 deadlift, 250 bench. If I got those numbers I could care less what my nemesis got ( and that is saying alot.
4000 cal diet? If you kill it in the gym you can lose weight! I lost 2 lbs a week on a 4500 cal diet. Trust me, don’t cal count unless you’re scared you’re not getting enough… at your size you can destroy him and I’m sure t nation will agree! I’m in your boat (weak bench) but that means your lower body has to win it… keep us informed and take that fool down!
4000 cal diet? If you kill it in the gym you can lose weight! I lost 2 lbs a week on a 4500 cal diet. Trust me, don’t cal count unless you’re scared you’re not getting enough… at your size you can destroy him and I’m sure t nation will agree! I’m in your boat (weak bench) but that means your lower body has to win it… keep us informed and take that fool down!
The truth is he is probably capable of a lot more than the dead number you listed for him. It may not look pretty but if called upon a 300+ lb bencher who does not train the deadlift can still pull low to mid 4s any day. Given how big this guy is, probably more. On squat I am guessing he will be limited by how comfortable he is getting to the legal depth. But again I would expect something around 3 bills minimum and given his size very possibly 4.
So you have to realize you’re starting behind in every single category, really. Squat, bench, deadlift, bodyweight. There is nothing you can do in this time period to catch up on bench. So the best use of your time would be:
Get the person who will ref the competition to check your squat depth RIGHT NOW. Usually when squat and dead are so close it’s because the squats are high. If you know who the judge is going to be, make sure you are squatting to depth and fix any problems immediately. Then train to the depth you need for the remaining time. For your opponent, wasting attempts in the squat due to depth will be costly.
Fix your deadlift. 2x bodyweight is a minimum standard and you will need to surpass it before the meet. If the squat is legit then your deadlift form sucks and you need to fix it ASAP.
If you are going to run this contest as a powerlifting meet, read up on attempt selection. Specifically, do not waste 3rd squat or bench going for PRs you don’t need. Pace yourself and pick numbers you can hit. Open light and go 8/8 heading into the final deadlift. At this point you should have a reasonable idea of what you need to pull for the win. Then put that in and not a pound more.
These posts got me so fired up!!! Awesome tips. I want to go outside and kill the weights. Yall have all been 100% right on!
Plan
I called the gym that schedules the refs for the high school and local meets. Once I get in contact with a ref I will have him come to my house or go to his gym and get checked for depth and max out. I will put some sort of rope across my powerrack so I can make sure it hits my butt when I am at the correct depth. At the meet my brother will be there. Can I squat down and wait for him to tell me “up”?
I am going to count calories for a few days to make sure I am getting 4000. Once I get a feel for it I will just start eating big. I have 80 pounds of chicken in the freezer right now. The diet plan is egg whites, chicken, oatmeal, potatoes, frozen vegetables, fruit, and a gallon of milk a day.
I am thinking about programming Smolov for my squats (13 weeks), dont deadlift at all, bench and military 5/3/1. My other idea was 5/3/1 for all lifts and really maxing out the last work set. Like you are going to pass out at 6 reps and somehow you get to 11 reps.
Do you think my deadlift + squat total will go up more with Smolov or 5/3/1?
I am ready to get my max’s confirmed this week and then Dec 1st start training like my family’s life depends on it.
pk0ad . . . I think you are 100% right on about a 300 bencher can bust something out on squat and dead if he wants to. What I think is going to happen is he will open with a squat weight like 300. He will perform the lift and then red light. He will be like “WTF”. I dont think he can lower the weight on an attempt and I guarantee he will not read the rules I sent him because according to him this will be like “taking candy from a baby”. So then he will have to stay at 300 and get to depth before he can move on. This will cost him big time. I know he is the lifting strap guru. Sometimes he walks around with them on at work! Can you believe this guy? I cant … and that is why he has to go down.
[quote]pk0ad wrote:
The truth is he is probably capahble of a lot more than the dead number you listed for him. It may not look pretty but if called upon a 300+ lb bencher who does not train the deadlift can still pull low to mid 4s any day. Given how big this guy is, probably more. On squat I am guessing he will be limited by how comfortable he is getting to the legal depth. But again I would expect something around 3 bills minimum and given his size very possibly 4.
So you have to realize you’re starting behind in every single category, really. Squat, bench, deadlift, bodyweight. There is nothing you can do in this time period to catch up on bench. So the best use of your time would be:
Get the person who will ref the competition to check your squat depth RIGHT NOW. Usually when squat and dead are so close it’s because the squats are high. If you know who the judge is going to be, make sure you are squatting to depth and fix any problems immediately. Then train to the depth you need for the remaining time. For your opponent, wasting attempts in the squat due to depth will be costly.
Fix your deadlift. 2x bodyweight is a minimum standard and you will need to surpass it before the meet. If the squat is legit then your deadlift form sucks and you need to fix it ASAP.
If you are going to run this contest as a powerlifting meet, read up on attempt selection. Specifically, do not waste 3rd squat or bench going for PRs you don’t need. Pace yourself and pick numbers you can hit. Open light and go 8/8 heading into the final deadlift. At this point you should have a reasonable idea of what you need to pull for the win. Then put that in and not a pound more.[/quote]
For depth just tape your squats from the side. Every working set and as many warmups as you need to. Film from the side judge angle. Don’t rely on the rope or an up call, you have to have a feel for where the bottom is and rebound out of it without waiting for an up call.
If you’re not deadlifting 2x bodyweight, not deadlifting at all for 13 weeks might not be the worst possible idea, but it’s pretty close. Fix your deadlift now.
The best thing you can do with your program is do what you know works and don’t get carried away with pie in the sky plans. Yes “killing it” or “going beast mode” is fun for the ~2 weeks you can manage it but you need to make progress over 13 weeks and if you overreach now you are wasting valuable time.
If you know 531 works for you do 531, after fixing your form. Experiment after the meet.
I suspect the squats will go down just like you’re describing. Now you have to put in the work and make smart attempt selections so you go 3/3 and build your total while he struggles to get a squat in.
[quote]pk0ad wrote:
The truth is he is probably capable of a lot more than the dead number you listed for him. It may not look pretty but if called upon a 300+ lb bencher who does not train the deadlift can still pull low to mid 4s any day. Given how big this guy is, probably more. On squat I am guessing he will be limited by how comfortable he is getting to the legal depth. But again I would expect something around 3 bills minimum and given his size very possbehind in every single category, really.[/quote]
I have yo disagree i know alot of bodybuilders who cant pull 405 but can bench 400+ and only do high squats with 405 and think theyre doing something.
It says in my rule book that I can wear knee wraps. Should I train with these or just use them for the meet. This guy will say that I am cheating even though he has the same opportunity to use that equipment.
If the guy’s stats that you posted are true, I would be VERY suspect of those lifting numbers of his. 240lbs, 10% BF @ 6’2", with 10 years of training experience, DOES sound like a guy who’s doing at least something right. That is, assuming he’s not exaggerating his weight and leanness. Are you sure those numbers of his are 1RMs and not the weights he uses for working sets?
He may be complacent, but I think there’s a good possibility that he’ll show up at the meet with much better numbers than the ones you posted.
pk0ad gave you very good advice so far, here’s some stuff to add:
Powerlifting meets aren’t always won by the strongest guy, but sometimes the most strategic (hence the several mentions about smart attempt selection!). This also means familiarizing yourself with the rules of competition. If he doesn’t, it’s his funeral. This means finding out what constitutes legal/illegal form and fixing any form issues that might give you red lights. When you get closer to the competition and start doing your meet prep, it’s certainly not a bad idea to practice doing the big 3 with someone giving you whatever commands will be given in competition. It’s really easy to make the stupid mistake of missing a command and getting red lighted for an otherwise good lift. Find out what equipment/brands are allowed and take advantage of it. You may potentially consider getting a belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps, appropriate shoes, chalk, baby powder (for the deadlift). If you decide to invest in some equipment, start practicing with it NOW.
In terms of weight, you’re at a serious disadvantage. Even if you bulk up to match him in size, he will still have a lot more muscle mass than you. In the interest of fairness, why not base the competition around Wilk’s score? This allows us to compare lifters of different sizes without the bias of BW ratio comparisons.
EDIT: Don’t use baby powder. It’s not legal according to the rules you posted. As far as knee wraps go, the rules posted (granted I just skimmed them) didn’t make it clear to me whether they are considered raw or equipped. Different feds have different rules as to whether knee wraps are considered raw or not (I’m assuming you’re doing raw). Make sure to double check on that soon.
I was thinking about switching to sumo deadlift, getting some coaching on my DL, and programing 5/3/1. As soon as my camera is working I will post some pics. Thanks again for all the great tips. 158 days left.
