He actually posted here too, haha.
It was definitely a great era. I have all the issues of Mark Bell’s “Power” magazine downloaded, to be able to go back and look at it. Raw powerlifting had just entered the scene, and it was so cool to see all the freaks come out of the woodwork.
You know, this reminds me of something Mark Bell said on his podcast.
Paraphrasing here, but basically he was saying to a newer generation lifter “you guys have figured out programming, it’s evidenced by all the records being broken. Us old guys didn’t really know how it all worked, so whenever we wanted to chase bigger lifts, we pushed intensity, we pushed food, and we pushed drugs”
I think that kind of mentality lead to some all time iconic powerlifters, even if their records have since been broken.
Definently true. I’m very much still stuck on the “old” way that Mark Bell describes and I’m sure many others are in the same boat as me, but I don’t really like defining what’s old and new, especially with something so personalized like strength training. I’m just someone who operates better with simple to follow guides and the “old way” just ends up being that lol.
Obviously the next generation is going to be better (generally) than the last. It’s just how things goes. But I think the reason the Powerlifters from the early days were iconic in my opinion is because it felt like it involved real grit and also, personal connection. These guys didn’t care about clout, they were regular average joes. This is maybe just something I gravitate towards though.
Derek Kendall was a elementary school teacher when he set mind shattering records (that are still fucking insane, 855lb front squat) and never had no social media presence, actually I don’t even think you can find him anywhere.
And, I think a lot of what we see now is watered down and simplified. Just another identical teenager copying another teenager copying another, everyone regurgitating the same thing and using the same filter. There’s almost too much theatrics involved now. It’s a reason I stay off TikTok especially lol.
Now it’s a trade off because Powerlifting has grown MASSIVELY as a sport in the last 5 years. The talent pool is huge and will get bigger, social media is a big part of this. And I’m glad. More talent and more competition is good and allows more cash to come in. Payouts still aren’t big for meets. I’ve heard you’ll lose more money in fees than you win. Maybe that’ll change eventually.
A lot of my own training is based on the old guys. Like to look at it as me hitting a nail hard with a hammer until it works lol, super simple minded but easy for me to comprehend.
Shit, I don’t even know why I do one set of 2, or 4 sets of 20 reps, or even the reason I do burnouts some days. It probably does more harm than good but I get strong and big and it makes me feel good and happy to put in the effort. So that’s cool.
When he replied casually saying his best was 315 for 62 or some shit , I laughed my ass off lol. Absolutely atrocious strength that is not fair for anyone to have 
February 26th
Paused Squat - Beltless
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
385 x 8 RIR 4
RDL - Beltless
225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
405 x 12 RIR 4-5
Plate Loaded Shrug
4 x 495 x 15
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
3 x 140 x 15
1 x 140 x 9 (Failure)
Seated Cable Row
4 x 120 x 15 RIR 5+
Single Arm Plate Loaded Iso Lat Pulldown
135 x 12
4 x 225 x 15 RIR 5+
Absolutely sickening pump. It hurts. I absolutely love how the Lilliebridge’s program accessories in, it’s the first time I actually feel the skin splitting pump people talk about.
Squats felt effortless. RDLs also felt effortless. I changed up the squat technique and ditched the talon grip. I could stack my forearms better. I also tried to copy John’s setup and it actually felt really nice.
I know I’ve always been quad dominant like John Haack is , his squat involves alot of forward knee bend which is why I wanted to try it out. I felt very strong like this despite being a little more narrow. I’ll play around with it more.
Goals still too early to make. But short term (next 6 weeks), I think 455 x 8-10 is realistic on the squat.
This should put me at my Pre-Tear Maxes. The reasoning is because the Squat is probably my single most important indicator lift for everything else. If this is the number I’m at, I know everything else will fall into place strength wise.
I got a compliment on my RDLs and Physique, made me feel great. I gave the guy some advice on periodization and the importance of bodybuilding for strength. Even better was he thought I was a bodybuilder I’ll take that compliment.
February 27th
Paused Larsen Spoto Bench - Close Grip
3 x 135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 2
250 x 1
265 x 4
275 x 4 RIR 4
Standing Military Press
45 x 20
135 x 5
155 x 12 RIR 3
Incline DB Flye
65 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 8 RIR 5-6
DB Skullcrusher
50 x 8
55 x 8
65 x 8 RIR 3
DB Lateral Raise - Seated
5 x 20 x 15
Concentration Curl
5 x 25 x 15
Upright Cable Row (KG)
5 x 87.5 x 15
Same as last time. Everything felt easy and I’m feeling confident. Another 2 reps added to Military Press with 2 reps left. Bump up to 165 next week.
Larsen Spoto also moved very well. No struggling to note here. Bump up to 275x7 next week.
Threw in Lateral Raises and Curls as per the Lilliebridge’s Programming. I’m hitting muscle groups I’ve always neglected. Traps and Biceps. Fuck proportionality This’ll be my new motto to live by lol.
275x10 on my Larsen Spoto should be a breeze here in the next 4 weeks. The goal is really to hit 295x10. Should put me at 315 x 8 which would surpass my 320x7. This should put me at around 350x8 on my regular competition bench.
Day off, got some powerlifting motivation. Already wanna be back in lol.
March 1st
Paused Squat
135 x 10
5 x 225 x 5
Paused Deadlift
5 x 225 x 3
Leg Press - DL Stance
225 x 5
405 x 3
495 x 2
585 x 1
2 x 655 x 8 RIR 2
Barbell Hyperextension
135 X 5
185 X 5
235 X 10 RIR 4-5
Paused Bench Press
3 x 115 x 15
Rather fun session. Not even close to a PR on hyperextensions but the fact that I’m close to peak strength is enough in itself.
I decided to go a lot easier on the volume tonight. I just got off a 11 Hour Shift. My Injury started acting up after hyperextensions. Nothing’s strained, just felt sketchy. So I stopped there.
Threw in bench to practice technique.
March 2nd
Paused Larsen Spoto Press - Close Grip
135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
265 x 2
275 x 2 RIR 5
285 x 2 RIR 4-5 (Honestly, these both moved the same speed on video, so I’m just gonna say 5)
Standing OHP
135 x 5
3 x 165 x 5 RIR 5
Seated DB Lateral Raise
5 x 25 x 15
Concentration Curls
5 x 25 x 15
Didn’t feel like I needed to do anything else. It feels like I tweaked/strained my lat, which is also why I stopped. No big deal. Just need to work around it.
Larsen moved great as always. Did a few sets of 2.
Standing OHP moved great. No struggling and a pause on the last rep. These felt powerful and had good drive.
A lot of this is Russian Submax Training and I’m loving it. Everything is moving good. I’m recovering quickly session to session.
Everything is pretty much competition standard (only difference obviously is variations) and no equipment, so I’m in a very strong position right now.
March 5th
Paused Squat - Beltless
3 x 135 x 5
235 x 2
315 x 2
395 x 8 RIR 4
405 x 2 RIR 5-6
Barbell Row
225 x 4
315 x 3
365 x 11 RIR 3 (miscounted)
Leg Press - DL Stance
300 x 5
390 x 4
480 x 3
570 x 2
640 x 8 RIR 5-6
Standing Plate Loaded Shrug
315 x 8
405 x 8
3 x 485 x 20
Seated Leg Curl
5 x 120 x 15
Single Leg Leg Extension
5 x 100 x 15
Everything moved easy, no complaints.
Weight has maintained a steady 215. Hasn’t been going up or down and that’s fine. Bodyweight wise I feel very compact and dense and I actually really like it. I still feel athletic and can move fine.
The upside as well, people who trained with me 2-3 years ago when I was walking around at 245 said I look much better at 215. I’ll take that.
Need to start doing shrugs with the barbell. Sets of 20 is stupid for this exercise. I want to go hard and heavy on these.
I met a retired strongman today. I watched him push press behind the neck 385 or some stupid shit, absolutely disgusting. His best deadlift was 840, squat was 640 and his strict log press was 355 or smthn.
March 7th
Paused Larsen Spoto
3 x 135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 2
250 x 1
275 x 7 RIR 1
Standing Military Press
115 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 8 RIR 3-4
Incline DB Flye
65 x 10
75 x 10
85 x 10
Concentration DB Curl
3 x 30 x 15
I was pretty shaky with everything, had no caffeine coming in. Essentially raw dogged all of this and it felt terrible but got it in.
Military Press felt easy surprisingly. Bench was rough. But with the last variable in mind, this makes sense.
Sometimes I like to do no caffeine / pre workout days to force myself to operate at a lower baseline. It just means once I take some stimulants again, I’ll smash it easy.
Just a way to trick my brain mentally into working harder.
Good insight! By training easier, you have to Work harder. That’s the essence of RPE 7-8. If you can stay in that zone workout to workout you can make progress, with the benefit of not breaking yourself down. And then you can still keep Insane Mode in reserve for when you really need it.
March 8th
Conventional Deadlift - Paused 1" Deficit Beltless
3 x 135 x 2
3 x 225 x 2
3 x 315 x 2
455 x 4 RIR 4
Paused Squat - Beltless
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 1
2 x 405 x 2 RIR 6-7
Didn’t have time to do anything else but still got some good work in.
Misloaded the bar, I was using the women’s one because the regular bars here SUCK ass and also have no whip. This is the closest to a deadlift bar as I’m going to get.
Deficit Paused Pull has to be around 550x1 based off this. Very strong starting point.
I like this final form of my deadlift, for once I was happy with my setup and positioning, looked beautiful and natural. Not stiff at all.
405 on squat was easy. Just getting reps in getting used to the weight before I go for my set of 8 next week. Should be a breeze.
You word it way better than I ever could lol. But yes, this is exactly my thought process.
It’s been about 4-5 months training this way and I absolutely fell in love with it.
It removes almost all ego involved because I’m forced to stay at submaximal weights.
The trade off is in less fatigued and drained for both work, personal life and also, recovery wise. As someone who loves to train high frequency, this works out in my favor.
My technique has been getting more and more dialed in, the groove is easy to hit, and I generally feel very confident with the weight I’m handling which in turn allows me to be calm.
This obviously shows in my training videos because I’m never truly struggling. Even my “slow grinders” really aren’t grinders, I’m just slowing down haha. They don’t feel like grinders to me.
This training style resonates with me. I really love it. It’s teaching me mastery over the weight and body.
March 15th
Paused Larsen Spoto
3 x 135 x 8
185 x 4
225 x 3
255 x 2
3 x 285 x 3 RIR 3-4
Standing Military Press
115 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 10 RIR 2-3
175 x 5 RIR 2-3
Incline DB Flye
75 x 8
85 x 8
95 x 8 RIR 2
Concentration DB Curl
4 x 30 x 15
Seated DB Lateral Raise
4 x 30 x 15
Tricep Pushdown (KG)
3 x 57.5 x 15
Upright Row (KG)
3 x 57.5 x 15
March 16th
Paused Squat - Beltless
3 x 135 x 3
225 x 1
325 x 1
2 x 405 x 3 RIR 5
Power Shrugs Barbell
235 x 8
315 x 8
405 x 2 (straps slopped)
495 x 5 (slipped again, got fucking pissed)
RDL
315 x 20
405 x 15
455 x 10 RIR 2-3
Pete Rubish Hyperextensions
135 x 10
185 x 10
250 x 10 RIR 4-5
Was already having a really bad day and then I guess the shrugs and straps slipping set me off.
Might’ve been angry but still exerted SOME self control. Allowed myself to go a little psycho though.
Don’t have a lot of money right now, trickled back down to 208lbs from 213ish.
I looked in my work trash can the other day after lunch. Two empty bags of cheese puffs, an empty wrapper of powdered doughnuts, and an empty Cup of Noodles for lunch. At least I had been drinking Diet Coke. I get it!
This and this:
Aren’t completely unrelated, get the basics ingredients, get in the kitchen and save money and improve your results.
(Not saying this will make it break your finances, but every little thing you do will make an impact).
