Met w/ Strength Coach, Need More Advice

Training Over 35 Lifter
1

Hi all,
I’m 36 years old and started lifting again 3 months ago after a one year layoff. I’ve sensed that I needed some help because I cannot squat, even to parallel and I wanted to pattern my training so that I could compete in powerlifting competitions.

So, I decided to meet with a strength coach. Last night I met one who trained under Charles Poliquin, so I figured he’d know what he was talking about. It’s fricken expensive, but I think I’m going to get my money’s worth. I need some advice from you guys. Here’s what the coach found after taking me through my initial consultation:

  1. My shoulder girdle strength f***in’ sucks - HIS WORDS!! He tested the strength of my Rhomboids, Traps, and Shoulder extensors and said they are extremely weak. He said I should stop doing whatever lifts I’ve been doing and bring my shoulders up to strength first.

He said if I don’t do that then I can injure myself doing benches and said that my progress in getting strong will be severely limited. Can anyone comment on that? He’s designing a program for me and I start working with him next week.

  1. He had me try to squat and said I can’t squat because my hip flexors are tight and I have a weak left adductor. I’ve never been able to squat even to parallel. Does anyone know if I’ll ever be able to get below parallel if I can work on those issues??? I want to squat and do it correctly. He said I should be able to squat ass to heels ideally.

  2. He told me my diet is pathetic, but I thought I was doing pretty good. He said the way it is now I’ll never get strong. I eat alot of chicken and turkey. He told me to stop it and instead eat beef, lamb, bison, ostrich, salmon or any other meat except chicken and turkey. I’m hypoglycemic and haven’t been eating the proper breakfast.

He said to eat a beef burger and organic vegetables for breakfast because that will regulate my insulin better. He called it the Caveman Breakfast. He said that I have to regulate my insulin or I’ll never get into an anabolic state. Can anyone suggest a diet link on this forum or speak from personal experience on this issue?

Thank you!!!

2

  1. on the shoulder stuff, i think he is correct. I have found that since I started doing some very specific shoulder rehab/prehab, my shoulders are far more solid. Before I started doing this, I would not be able to bench 1 week out 5 due to shoulder issues.

  2. yes, everyone should be able to squat. Do what he says, and unless you have alien physiology (or have had an accident) he will get you squatting.

  3. He is recommending meats with better omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratios. I don’t know if I agree that you can’t get strong on bird flesh.

There have been tons written on this site about the caveman/paleo diet. search in the articles. I am doing a version of it from a book called Protein Power Lifeplan by dr M Eades. I have only recently started, so I can’t say how good it is, but there is a strong argument from a health standpoint. Make sure you are getting sufficient protein. you will need at least 1g protein for every lb bodyweight.

Poliquin has written a pile of articles on this site, since you will be going with someone of his “school” it might pay you to read those articles if you haven’t already.

good luck.

Oh. and do 5/3/1 or we’ll kill you

3

He sounds like he has very sound advice. If you are going to compete in the future all of your weak points need to be adjusted. If you cannot squat to parallel then you have a long way to go.

  1. Get a foam roller
  2. Do not modify what he is advising you do
  3. Ask him to show you guys he has trained. If he is a quality guy then he will have successful people to back him up.
  4. The path to enlightenment is long and hard, so is heavy weight lifting. Do not expect to compete this year, if you want to go on this path have a 1 year, 2 year, 3 year plan etc.
  5. DO STRICT FORM. We are not kids any more, one major injury can set you back years. Do not worry about putting up big numbers right now. Work on Form and then the weight will come. Put your ego aside and think long term.

That is all and yea do 5/3/1 eventually or we will have to kill you. :slight_smile:
Later