It’s been about a decade since i kept a training log. I used to post a lot on these forums back in the day. Figured I would keep another training journal since I’ve been back training for awhile now.
Some background- I used to be a sponsored powerlifter back in the day. I went by rawelite and maraudermeat. I’m obviously older now but I’m still hitting it hard in the gym. I still training mostly for strength. I train three times a week- Bench/overhead press and triceps, squats and quad crap, and deadlifts and back work. pretty simple but affective. I’ve been videotaping my lifting for awhile now and will post up videos when there’s anything worth seeing. I’ll paste in a couple videos that are recent. I really enjoy deadlifting, front squats, overhead press and benching…mostly.
I’m in my 50’s now but feel like I’m 20.
thanks! good to be back! you’ve definitely been here awhile. How’s your training going? i was looking through my old videos from when i was sponsored and wanna see how close i can get to some of my old lifts…especially my overhead press. my best was 315x5. i tore my shoulder up a little over a year ago and i’m just now getting back to 100%
this was my best overhead press for reps. I’ve hit heavier for singles.
It’s been a wild ride these past few years, but I’ve gotten everything sorted out and think I’ve got a pretty awesome way ahead of me now. I’ll join you onboard that “recapture my youth” train there.
Life has a way of doing that. I’m a firm believer in always moving forward…always trying to improve on yesterday…being a better version of one’s self.
I look forward to following your progress!
If this is the place for old boys who want to recapture the strength of their youth, then sign me up. Good to see you back posting , and great to see you still strong as hell.
thanks!! trying to stay ahead of the curve… I don’t feel like i ever really hit my potential as a powerlifter actually. I was quite the drinker back in the day and looking back I now attribute my injuries to my drinking. I’ve torn quite a few muscles and tendons throughout my time lifting and at the time I attributed it to over training, not enough protein or not enough rest. But once i stopped drinking I never tore another muscle or tendon… wish i had learned that sooner. Anyway…in competition my best lifts are-
RAW at 242lbs BW
bench - 520
deadlift- 765
squat- 725
I’ve also benched 470 raw with a reveres grip in competition just for shits and giggles. I remember the barbarian brothers back in the day hitting a 500lb reverse grip bench on tv when i was a kid and i always wanted to do that. I’ve hit 500 in training but couldn’t do it in a meet.
My best standing overhead press is 365.
I’ve deadlifted 785 in training and attempted 800 but tore my distal bicep tendon during that attempt.
I’ve benched 560 in training and have squatted 765 in training as well and my best front squat is 585…
I feel as if i had stopped drinking during my prime i could have hit mid 500’s on bench, 800 dead and 800 squat. the weights never felt crushing, I just always ended up injuring myself once i got to these numbers.
I’m feeling great now but I have no interest in attempting these numbers now but my short term goes are a 700lb deadlift, 315lb standing press and 500lb front squat.
here’s a vid of my 470 reverse grip bench in competition.
Me too!! most of the guys i idolized when i was younger were professional wrestlers or bodybuilders.
yep… got it repaired right away and made a full recovery. I don’t pull mixed grip anymore even though my dr. said that that tendon has the strength to handle something crazy like 3000lbs. I’m not looking to do that again. I tried hooked grip by could never really get it, so now i pull double overhand with straps when it gets heavy.
Deadlifts- I’ve been following a pretty simple deadlift routine for awhile now. I switched over to conventional deadlifts about 6 months ago to give my hips a rest from sumo pulling. I’m much stronger at sumo pulls but feel, personally, that a real deadlift is done conventional. anyway, I’ve been doing a 3x10- 2 reps and 10 sets with the 10th set being a rep out set. I started at about 60% of my max and have been adding about 20lbs every time i start the cycle over. It’s been working really well. nothing has felt heavy or slow…yet.
tonight i worked up to 655, doing single on the way up with 90lb jumps to about 425 and then 50lb jumps from there. I’ll plan to do another cycle of 3x10 for three weeks and then hit 675.
close grip pulldowns
started at 100lbs for 5 and added 20lbs until I was using the stack which is 250lbs plus I added a 25lb plate.
seated rows
same as the pulldowns…started at 100lbs and added 20lbs until i was using the stack plus a 25lb plate. warm up sets were 10 reps and last set was 20.
that was it… my training is very simple but very heavy and i typically finish with a high rep set to completely fatigue the muscles being targeted.
My leg day is coming up on sunday and after front squats I’m going to start incorporating zercher squats into my training. i’ve gotten a lot of carry over to deadlifts with them in the past. my goal is to get back to my previous paused zercher for reps of 385 and then move them up to 405.
Leg Day
Started with Front squats. Worked up to 475 with the Buffalo bar pausing on pins.
Moved to Zercher Squats. In hind sight, probably not the best idea to follow front squats with zerchers. I’ll probably start with zerchers and then do two other accessory movements afterwards for at least one or two cycles.
worked up to 275. Felt light but don’t want to over do it right out the gate. this is a good starting point for these.
Did a couple sets with 225 and 185.
Walking Lunges
Each set is 10 steps. Started with about 20lbs per kettle bell, jumping 10lbs per kettle bell on each set. Finished with 90lb kettle bells. These were hard because I was tired…lol.
finished with seated calf raises. I don’t do much bodybuilding training but I’ve had a goal of getting my calves up to my bicep size… which would be 20 inches. they are at 18 1/2 now. just a bunch of sets with various weight and reps.
Awesome…thanks for the support. Tonight is bench, overhead press, and tricep work. I’ve set a couple short term goals in my training. And on bench and overhead press I wanna get my over head press back up to a respectable number.
Bench, overhead press and triceps
*Flat bench paused
I’ve been taking my time getting my strength back on bench. I blew out my right shoulder about a year and a half ago. I have it back to almost 100% but there’s still some discomfort at higher weights. I use bench as a warmup mostly.
worked up to 405 for a pause.
Standing overhead press
This was my second time overhead pressing since my shoulder injury. I’m weak as piss at these right now. I did 185 for 5 reps last week and upped it to 205 this week wanting to get 3. The strength is there but i need to get my stability back. I got out of the groove on my 3rd rep. I’m hoping that I progress quickly on these.
Dips
started with BW for 5 reps and then added a 25lb plate each set until i reached 100lbs. These were pretty easy but again, I’m taking it easy on the shoulder and making sure it heals completely before doing anything too crazy. I’ve mentioned it before, but i attribute all of these previous injuries to heavy drinking. If you are reading this and you drink, it WILL catch up with you. Especially if you are a lifter. Alcohol doesn’t allow your muscles to repair themselves after a hard workout regardless of rest and protein intake.
Finished with Cable crossovers
started with 40lbs each side for 20 reps and went up 10lbs a side until I reached 100lbs a side. All for 20 reps.
Did sets of 3 adding between 90 and 50lbs on each ascending set. Worked up to 535 for 5 reps. next week i’ll up this by 30lbs or so.
t bar rows
sets of 10 reps starting with a 25lb plates and adding one plate until i reached 11 plates
Preacher curls- one arm
i like to do preacher curls one arm at a time. I start with reverse grip, thumbless, then switch to neutral grip, thumbless and finish with regular grip. I don’t count reps, just go to failure and then switch the grip. This great for the forearms and biceps.
