My First Meet

Training Powerlifting
41

[quote]agr117 wrote:
conorh wrote:
agr117 wrote:
apwsearch wrote:
It is not an issue of when you are allowed. You should always choose your accesory work wisely.

The fact that you stated you intend to do some lock out work but not make it your only focus shows you are basically getting the point. If you think your triceps are holding you back add in some additional volume for them. I will state that I would probably evaluate your upper back and lat strength, as well.

Sometimes in these threads where the shift in dialogue is made to ‘training your weaknesses’ I think simple things such as just putting on more muscle and gaining weight, or hitting the gym consistently and working hard, are deemphasized to the tune of a whole bunch of accesory movements or speed work.

The answer is probably more akin to increased efficiency/skill in the core movements and adding and/or decreasing some volume here and there.

Congrats on your first meet. You are right that experience is the greatest teacher. Let us know when you are preparing for your next one.

thanks…and i agree with you completely…and i don’t think anyone was really saying to ignore everything else and just focus on lockout…

as far as back strength goes…i think i’m pretty decent in that area…nothing crazy…BW + 80 x 6 chins…235 x 6 BB rows 120 x 12 DB rows…

one thing thats always confused me is the use of the lats in benching…are they supposed to play a passive or an active role…
thanks

Your lats should be flared hard. Try to bend the bar and you’ll feel your lats kick in. Like you’re trying to supinate your wrists and “screw” your upper arm into your armpit.

Do you train by yourself or do you have a crew/team/training partner or something?

nah i’m by myself…wish i had a crew…
and thanks i’ll try that out…and just to further explain myself…i’ve always had trouble flaring my lats while keeping my shoulder and scapula tight…[/quote]

Well yes i will say even though apwsearch tore into my ass with good cause im sure he has a lot of experience so id stick listening to him. For your lats try T-bar rows. Ive had very stubborn Lats and this exercise helped bring them together and learnt to use them nicely.

You should really find at least one other guy to just be there for a spotter and be that douche yellin for one more rep. It makes a big difference even ask Carl!! haha…keep lifting strong man

42

AGR117:

Congrats on your first meet! I am a firm believer that you will learn much more actually competing than you will just training.

As for the lifts themselves, I agree that you left a lot on the platform for the deadlift. The form looked fine, but, since the wieght went up so smoothly, I wouldnt be able to tell you where it would break down.

With the bench, why do you choose such a close grip on your bench? Well, at least it looked that it was a close grip. I usually take my with my index finger on the ring. Different people are stronger with different grips, but if you widened the grip, the range of motion would naturally be shorter. Your leg drive was bare to minimum and an arch would be benificial.

Here is a brief explanation of the bench.

It starts with your feet and leg drive. Push yourself on to your traps, squeezing your shoulder blades together, and keep the leg drive that got you there. Be careful of your ass coming off of the bench. This is done by setting your ass down(of course), opening your hips and squeezing your glutes.

Then, take your grips on the bar and crush that motherfucker in your hands. As you lower the bar try your hardest to bend it and tuck your elbows. After it touches push yourself away from the bar and try to spread the it.

Attached is a video to show you a little of what I am talking about.

However, I think that your biggest problem is education. If this sport is important to you, and you want to be one of the strongest motherfuckers to walk the planet, I would read everything on strength training that you can get your hands on,watch videos on youtube and various powerlifting websites (westside barbell and elitefts would be very benefical here), and get hooked up with a group to train with.

Of course, you can train alone, but it is by far less benifical in the persuit of lifting huge wieghts than training with a group. Basically, ask questions, read, watch, and get your ass under the bar.

Shane, Sean, or Combo.

43

[quote]Shane Mesias wrote:
AGR117:

Congrats on your first meet! I am a firm believer that you will learn much more actually competing than you will just training.

As for the lifts themselves, I agree that you left a lot on the platform for the deadlift. The form looked fine, but, since the wieght went up so smoothly, I wouldnt be able to tell you where it would break down.

With the bench, why do you choose such a close grip on your bench? Well, at least it looked that it was a close grip. I usually take my with my index finger on the ring. Different people are stronger with different grips, but if you widened the grip, the range of motion would naturally be shorter. Your leg drive was bare to minimum and an arch would be benificial.

Here is a brief explanation of the bench.

It starts with your feet and leg drive. Push yourself on to your traps, squeezing your shoulder blades together, and keep the leg drive that got you there. Be careful of your ass coming off of the bench. This is done by setting your ass down(of course), opening your hips and squeezing your glutes.

Then, take your grips on the bar and crush that motherfucker in your hands. As you lower the bar try your hardest to bend it and tuck your elbows. After it touches push yourself away from the bar and try to spread the it.

Attached is a video to show you a little of what I am talking about.

However, I think that your biggest problem is education. If this sport is important to you, and you want to be one of the strongest motherfuckers to walk the planet, I would read everything on strength training that you can get your hands on,watch videos on youtube and various powerlifting websites (westside barbell and elitefts would be very benefical here), and get hooked up with a group to train with.

Of course, you can train alone, but it is by far less benifical in the persuit of lifting huge wieghts than training with a group. Basically, ask questions, read, watch, and get your ass under the bar.

Shane, Sean, or Combo.[/quote]

That must be one of the best arches ive ever witnessed. :slight_smile:

44

that is an incredible arch…and thanks for the awesome description…as far as the narrow grip goes…i used to use a much wider grip but it hurt my shoulders some…so i went narrower…but that was before i learned alot of the technique stuff…i’ll have to try it wider again…and will read up on it all too…thanks again for the help

45

lots of good advice in here, I’m taking notes myself, but bottom line bro, you pr’d by 20lbs on your deadlift, and you probably could have prd by 15lbs on your bench, your doing great…after that last meet I’m finding myself more and more interested in powerlifting than I am in bodybuilding…hmmm