Well, I just celebrated my 35th birthday this past Saturday. I am a raw powerlifter in the 220 class.
I began training for powerlifting in the fall of 2004 and competed in my first meet in September 2005 (330-275-408 for 1014 in the 198s).
My next meet was in November 2005 (360-285-425 for 1070 in the 198s).
I did a bench-only in April of 2006 (310@209) before doing another full meet in June of 2006 (400-315-430 for 1140 in the 220s).
I took four months off at this point because I started working an extra job.
I started lifting again in December of 2006. I did a local meet the next month (January 2007) and only benched 280@213 and pulled 445@213…
I trained steady until May when I took another two months off because I stopped taking my antidepressants.
I started training again with a December full meet in sight. I did that meet going 405-315-460=1180@214…
In January of 2008, I lost my car and stopped going to the gym.
I began lifting again in mid August, doing bench-only training because my gym is a Planet Fitness (I walk there because it is really close).
It was depressing as fuck to weigh 200 and bench 245x1 with a struggle.
I am back up to ~300 based on my training results.
I am doing a comeback meet on 12/13 (APA Iron Barbarian) where my goal is a 315 bench at 208 or so…
The point of all this rambling is to give a better picture of what type of lifter I am.
I am genetically average, a bit overweight due to my psych meds messing with my metabolism.
I am only 5’5 so I do have a very short bench stroke.
I guess I am looking for encouragement from other guys who picked up the sport late and have had difficulty training consistently.
My 2008 goal as I mentioned is 315 BP but I would like to someday hit a double bodyweight raw bench.
Thanks for the kind words, Elaikases and streamline.
I am guilty of measuring myself again the lifters who routinely beat me into last place… but then again, some of them have been lifting steady since high school/college and that’s 15+ years of experience when you get to be this age.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
This place seems to be attracting super-burly midgets lately.
Welcome to the Geezer Pile, abebesheir! Looking forward to reading about your training and maybe getting some tips from you.[/quote]
Actually, I prefer the term dwarf… LOL. Seriously, I will post a little about my training.
Basically, I have 2-3 workouts per week. Two are benching workouts and one is a SQ/DL workout. I have been skipping the latter lately due to fatigue.
The benching workouts are separated into an off-the-chest day and a more triceps oriented day.
I used to do 2 board presses on my triceps day but I now lift at a Planet Fitness where they dont even let you do deadlifts and power cleans let alone board pressing.
So for variety, I am doing partial 8 inch grip bench presses on this day. Because your hands are so close together, its difficult to bring the bar all the way down to chest. That is the point as you are to stop about 3 inches above the chest…
Here is the template for next Tuesdays session:
8 inch grip BP- 165x3 for 3 sets
Nosebreakers- 85x10 for 6 sets
Hammer Curls- 3 sets of 12
Lat Pulldowns- 5 sets of 10
H Rolls- 4 sets of 15
The off-the-chest day starts with what my coach terms skill sets. Singles for form and explosion.
Then I do two triples as down sets before moving on to paper presses. Paper presses are when you place a sheet of paper on your chest, you bring the bar down until it just touches the paper… pause then press back up. You are not supposed to let the bar sink into the chest.
Then I do paused incline presses, dumbbell rows for high reps and more H Rolls.
Template for Saturdays session
BP- 225x1 paused, 235x1 paused, 255x1 touch-and-go
225x3 for 2 sets touch-and-go
Paper Press- 185x3, 175x3, 165x3
Paused Incline BP- 145x5 for 3 sets
Dumbbell Rows- 45# to failure for one set
H Rolls- 3 sets of 20
Today, I am gonna try to get to Golds Gym to deadlift. I’ll have to pay the daily fee. The reason I dont get a full membership there is that it is too expensive and the gym is a hours walk away.
I have not deadlifted since January 12th 2008. My first session back is supposed to be 380x1, 335x3, 265x5 off block.
welcome. you have found a good place. the good morale here is infectious. one thing everyone here has in common is that we all have a hill to climb. the taller the hill, the better it feels when u reach the top.
The fatigue is pretty much every week. I am scheduled to bench Tuesday and Saturdays and to do something for my legs on Thursday.
Often Thursday, being my day off from work, is taken up by errands and catching up on my sleep…
I have thought about switching things up but I am in meet prep mode and don’t want to mess up my carefully laid plans.
Welcome aboard. Ignore Skids comment on your vertically challenged condition. Everyone’s the same height on the internet. You’ve got some good numbers going. And you’ve used a new term, to me. Paper press?
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Welcome aboard. Ignore Skids comment on your vertically challenged condition. Everyone’s the same height on the internet. You’ve got some good numbers going. And you’ve used a new term, to me. Paper press?[/quote]
I’m only mean from jealousy. If I was his height at my weight I’d be much stronger…
I feel your pain on the psych meds! Its tough to loose weight when your on them. Have you had your hormones checked? I was fatigued so I went to a single chest day. It helped a bunch.
[quote]daddyzombie wrote:
Nice to meet you abebesheir. Another powerlifter! Great to have you here, I just did my first two meets this year at 47.[/quote]
Thanks! The great thing about powerlifting is that it is simple. You don’t need great endurance, co-ordination or speed. Even though you picked the sport up very late, you can still achieve a small amount of success if you remain consistent and dedicated.
Well, on 11/5 I went across town to Gold’s Gym for a deadlifting test.
This was the first time I pulled since January.
I had to rely on my grip strength because I couldn’t find my lifting straps and the gym doesn’t allow chalk.
I made it up to 345 before my grip gave out and I decided to stop.
This was kinda disappointing because I was doing sets of 3-5 at 405 in January.
Oh well, I am more determined than ever to stick to bench-only competitions.
On 11/8, I had my last benching workout. Here are the numbers:
BP
warm up- BARx20, 95x10, 135x5, 175x4, 205x3
skill sets- 225x1p, 240x1p, 260x1 t&g
work sets- 235x3 for 2 sets t&g
Paper Press
190x3, 180x3, 170x3 all 5 second pauses
Incline BP
165x5 for 3 sets all paused
DB Rows
50x30 for one set both arms
H Rolls
4x20
Tuesday’s workout will be:
8" Grip BP
warm up
205x1, 225x1, 165x6 for 2 sets
Nosebreakers
85x12 for 5 sets
Hammer Curls- 4x8
Lat Pulldowns- 5x10
H Rolls- 3 sets
Next Saturday’s workout will be:
BP
skill sets- 235x1p, 255x1p, 275x1 t&g
work sets- 245x3x3 t&g
Legs-Up Paused BP
200x3, 190x3, 180x3
Incline BP
175x6 for 4 sets all paused
DB Rows
55xFailure both arms
H Rolls- 4 sets
Doing your benches with legs up takes away your leg drive and makes your chest, shoulders and triceps work harder.
I’m gonna be pausing them for a five-count, too… so they’ll be especially tough.
My friend is the one designing my routine and he’s going by the fact that I lift at Planet Fitness.
I can’t bench with bands or chains nor can I do board presses or floor presses.
The DBs only go up to 65#, so I’m limited there as well.
Previously (when I lifted at World Gym) I had an off-the-chest session and a two board/triceps session.
That routine got me from a 285@192 to a 315@207 in just a few months.
Congrats on the comeback man. I just started PL’ing a few months ago @ 37 and had my first meet last weekend (NASA submasters/masters nationals). I’m loving it and plan to compete in February in an APF meet. Keep up the great work and look forward to seeing your progress towards getting back in form.
(albeit with a lot of cracking, popping, and pain relievers)