Good thread. I haven’t been in the powerlifting game too long, but I hope I can pick some stuff from you guys. Currently been doing 5/3/1 for the past few months. Best maxes so far are 315/255/405
Legacyfighter: I really like your routine. Very I, BB inspired. It’s like you’ve taken all the specialization days on each body part and put them together but with more realistic rep/set schemes. How is it working out for you? Was thinking of trying your routine next month when I’m done with my push/pull/legs phase.
Asoss
I’ll play. My thought process is to build a very strong base RAW and then move towards PL gear. I would like to compete in RUM in the future and shoot for a 1700-1800 @ 275. Right now, current best is a 440/401/567.
I am fairly new to PL (1 year) and I have been trying various training techniques each cycle leading up to a meet. However, I believe I have finally found something that fits me and allows for recovery. The program I will be following is a west side template and after hours of reading I believe I finally understand how to properly implement the program.
Next meet I want a 500/425/625 in July at Springs Texas which will allow me to compete in RAW nationals iin Denver 16 July.
I have a training log called “Trying to be the Strongest in the World”
For the record, my patellar tendon loves the knee wraps better than knee sleeves. So I will have to take things slow and steady without knee wraps to ensure I limit the possibility of injury.
Asoss,
That’s pretty much exactly how i got my routine. I took the activation clusters for the first exercise of each day. Then did force spectrum ramping for the second exercise (worked up to true 3rm though). Then I added in my accessory work, still trying to maintain max force on all reps. So far its working really good for me. Example, bench was 265x3 during last week of chest phase for I’BB. Now i’m at about 300x3. I’m not sure how well its worked for my squat, because my last squat session was the day after a VO2 max test on a cycle ergometer, and about 3 hours after doing an hour worth of stairs. I’ll be able to give a little better measure for squats next week when i’m recovered. Its working nicely on deadlifts. went from 335x3 to 365x3, and a max of 405 to a max of 445. Also, i’ll have to deload once every 4-6 weeks, which will also be when i rotate out my some of my movements such as squats to box squats GHR’s to leg curls.
Legacyfighter: Thanks for the response. Yeah everything seems pretty logical and plus you can’t go wrong with Thibs stuff anyways. The bench press increase sounded really impressive. Hope everything works out with the routine. I’ll keep you updated when I start on it myself. Good luck bro=)
Asoss
Nice! i just had my first competition (AAU) back in february so this thread popped up just in time. I just finished 3-4 weeks of band work for close-grip bench press so this week i will have my first week without them. My tris never get a great workout from bench variations but with the bands they got BLASTED. It will be interesting to see if my speed and lockout strength has increased.
I will do one or two more regular chest workouts before I start 3-4 weeks of board pressing (3-board) for the first time.
[quote]Wild_Iron_Gym wrote:
No, it’s Marcus. I own the gym. [/quote]
Oh shit, my bad. I post more on bb.com, Bill and Becky post over there a good bit.
[quote]WalkingGunShow wrote:
[quote]Super Mario Bros wrote:
It seems like the more often I can hit the main lifts, the better. I don’t really like doing assistance work.[/quote]
I think no matter what, you need to do something for your lats. Lats arent really directly hit at all by the main lifts. A strong back helps lock out your deadlift and takes some of the load when you descend on your bench, thus saving energy for the positive done by your chest,tris, and shoulders.
How often have you worked up to? (hitting the main lifts)[/quote]
Chins are a huge part of my workouts, besides that I pretty much only do squats/bench/deadlifts. My biceps are weak so I do some heavy cheat hammer curls sometimes.
Right now I am doing Squat/Bench/Chins on M-Th and Deadlift/(anything I feel needs work) on T-F.
So far this week I did something like this:
Monday
- Squat 405x3 455x1 (no belt)
2A. Bench Press 315x2 275x8 225x15
2B. Chins 80x3 50x8 BWTx15
Tuesday - Deadlift 495x3 455x5 405x8 (straps, no belt)
- Cheat Hammer Curls 50x12-12 60x8-8 70x4-4
That is pretty much how I train all the time, just heavy compounds. I just try to set rep PRs with various weights, though my training has been coasting a bit as of late. 1-2 work sets for squats, 3 for bench/chins, and 1-3 for deadlifts depending how I feel. I try not to push deadlifts to failure (or anything really for that matter). Rarely do I try to hit 1RM, the 455x1 on monday was intended to be a triple, same with the 315x2 on bench.
Good thread idea. I just started competing, and have done two in the past 4 months. I have just competed push/pull to get started and hope to focus on getting my squat up and compete in a full meet by the end of the year. I have used 5/3/1 pretty consistently for the last 12+ months. After my last meet on 2/20, I decided to try conjugate/westside for the first time, mostly just to try something new/different. I based it off of the EFS basic training manual, westside bp manual and the article 600lbs of raw bench by Matt Rhodes. I have my next meet in May and am looking forward to seeing if I used the conjugate style correctly. There are some strong-ass raw lifters that post logs here that lifted at RUM/Arnold and hope to see them post here.
Meet results:
11/09
BP - 395
DL - 525
2/10
BP - 425
DL - 550
Yes, this thread is a great idea. I just competed in my first PL meet Sunday. I am currently doing a 5/3/1 , 4 day split , bench/deadlift/Press/Squat.
Current Lifts:
Squat - Did 430 at the meet after bombing out due to the depth of my squat and had to play it conservatively. I have done 480 parallel in the gym.
Bench - Did 345 at the meet after bombing out on the first two as well due to 1/4 of my foot not being on the ground. I have done 365 x 2 touch and go in the gym.
Deadlift - Did 545, I played it TOO conservatively as it is my best lift.
Questions:
Do most of you bench with your feet totally flat on the ground? I have always benched with a larger arch, and therefore my heels lifted. It really threw me off at the meet when my entire foot had to be down. Also I would like to know if wide stance box squats(westside style) helped your raw carryover and if having a dynamic day and max effort day is more effective than a 5/3/1 split. - Note I’m not looking for absolutes, just opinions.
[quote]zooropa1150 wrote:
Questions:
Do most of you bench with your feet totally flat on the ground? I have always benched with a larger arch, and therefore my heels lifted. It really threw me off at the meet when my entire foot had to be down.[/quote]
I try to train with my heels totally flat, since like you, had some major problems keeping my heels flat at my first couple meets. Also, for me at least, having a big arch doesn’t seem to help a ton for benching. I just get enough of an arch to get my shoulders pulled back and my glutes/hammies/lower back tight, nothing too exaggerated.
Current raw lifts
Squat 565
bench 305, 320 in the gym
deadlift 635
My biggest observation is that bringing in your stance /grip on all lifts raw will aid in injury prevention. Also the best assistance lifts are variations of the main lift.
[quote]Super Mario Bros wrote:
[quote]zooropa1150 wrote:
Questions:
Do most of you bench with your feet totally flat on the ground? I have always benched with a larger arch, and therefore my heels lifted. It really threw me off at the meet when my entire foot had to be down.[/quote]
I try to train with my heels totally flat, since like you, had some major problems keeping my heels flat at my first couple meets. Also, for me at least, having a big arch doesn’t seem to help a ton for benching. I just get enough of an arch to get my shoulders pulled back and my glutes/hammies/lower back tight, nothing too exaggerated. [/quote]
I am usually always on my toes, and try to push my heels to the ground on the start of the push, to get my momentum going. APA has never cared to call me for my feet not being flat on the ground. My feet are usually behind my knees when i bench, so its damn near impossible to lay them flat that way.
[quote]Cronus wrote:
Nice! i just had my first competition (AAU) back in february so this thread popped up just in time. I just finished 3-4 weeks of band work for close-grip bench press so this week i will have my first week without them. My tris never get a great workout from bench variations but with the bands they got BLASTED. It will be interesting to see if my speed and lockout strength has increased.
I will do one or two more regular chest workouts before I start 3-4 weeks of board pressing (3-board) for the first time. [/quote]
Have you done board presses before? Do you have problems locking out the weight? I am asking cause i never got too much out of board pressing. For example i can get 455 with a three board, but have only bench 365, and 390 with chains.
[quote]WalkingGunShow wrote:
[quote]Super Mario Bros wrote:
[quote]zooropa1150 wrote:
Questions:
Do most of you bench with your feet totally flat on the ground? I have always benched with a larger arch, and therefore my heels lifted. It really threw me off at the meet when my entire foot had to be down.[/quote]
I am usually always on my toes, and try to push my heels to the ground on the start of the push, to get my momentum going. APA has never cared to call me for my feet not being flat on the ground. My feet are usually behind my knees when i bench, so its damn near impossible to lay them flat that way.
[/quote]
Riight , I have always benched by setting my feet underneath the bench and having my toes touching but heels up. It looks like I’m going to have to bench with a wide foot placement.
[quote]WalkingGunShow wrote:
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
I’m really interested in exercise selection. Common knowledge is that lift variations donÃ?¢??t have as much carryover for the raw lifter (boards, bands, and boxes), but guys like Meat have great success with all kinds of variations and implements.[/quote]
I think chains have given me a lot of carryover to my main lifts. I would say that accommodating resistance improves speed whether you train with gear or not. I also still do my speed work with box squats, but i make sure to pause for a sec at the bottom, that way, it might improve my speed out of the hole.
I would like to hear others chime in on this too. Are chains and bands helpful to raw lifters? Dave Tate i believe says go for it and Jim Wendler thinks they carryover more to equipped guys. [/quote]
I used chains today on deads for the first time. Loved it. I stoped lifting for about a year(b/c Im a lazy pos) and started back up again a little over a month ago and thinking about doing a raw comp. around the end of the summer.
[quote]zooropa1150 wrote:
Yes, this thread is a great idea. I just competed in my first PL meet Sunday. I am currently doing a 5/3/1 , 4 day split , bench/deadlift/Press/Squat.
Current Lifts:
Squat - Did 430 at the meet after bombing out due to the depth of my squat and had to play it conservatively. I have done 480 parallel in the gym.
Bench - Did 345 at the meet after bombing out on the first two as well due to 1/4 of my foot not being on the ground. I have done 365 x 2 touch and go in the gym.
Deadlift - Did 545, I played it TOO conservatively as it is my best lift.
Questions:
Do most of you bench with your feet totally flat on the ground? I have always benched with a larger arch, and therefore my heels lifted. It really threw me off at the meet when my entire foot had to be down. Also I would like to know if wide stance box squats(westside style) helped your raw carryover and if having a dynamic day and max effort day is more effective than a 5/3/1 split. - Note I’m not looking for absolutes, just opinions. [/quote]
I’ve never tried 5/3/1, but I have been using a Westside template for about 4 months now with pretty good results. 40lb increase on deads and bench, about 20lbs on squat, but I’ve been struggling with a knee injury.
A wide stance off of a medium-height box worked very well for me, I made a 20lb PR after just a 3 week cycle on the box. Assistance work is very important as well though.
I recently oompeted in an nonsanctioned high school powerlifting meet. I’ll include my own meet video and the team meet video to provide reference. I hit PR’s on all my lifts. My third squat could have been lower, and I’ll be working on that. My bench was a 20 lb PR in 4 weeks after I started working floor presses into my bench days.
Team Video
165StateChamp Meet Video
Any comments are welcome =) Yes, the vast majority of my teammates squatted high. There are a few impressive lifts in the video though.
what works for me for raw bench… I press 4 times a week rotating flat bench, incline, shoulder press, and close grips. Then I follow up with at least 2 back movements (pullups at least once a week and chins at least once a week) and then I finish off with bis, tris, and/or shoulders. I usually squat once a week (rehabbing a severely effed up knee/leg) and then deadlift maybe every other week (but should do more).
Only raw meet was a push/pull in Nov 08. benched 345 and pulled 455 @ 220.
Gym and equipped numbers (all at 220):
best squat in a meet 518 (single ply poly AAU)
best raw squat in the gym 405 (belt only and deep)
best singly ply squat out of monolift 600
best single ply gym walked out 545
best single ply poly bench 405
best raw touch and go bench 380
best dl in meet (single ply poly AAU) 518
best belt only pull gym 505
Goal is a 400+ bench @ 198 before end of the year.
[quote]matsm21 wrote:
I remember reading somewhere that the number one thing to help you squat/dead as a raw lifter was to strengthen your lower back/abs so the do what a suit would do, make that area the strongest link. I think having that in mind has made a huge difference. I do heavy goodmornings every week, beltless, and that has become my indicator lift. if that goes up, my dead/squat goes up.[/quote]
I couldn’t agree more! A strong core will not only increase your total, it will also help prevent any serious injury.