Sure. It’s a powerlifting system, not a bodybuilding program with a diet. Just eat as much as you possibly can and make sure you follow the guidelines with picking your working max. You’ll probably notice you need to eat a bunch more than before is all.
The best mindset to go into it with is what Greg told me when I asked if he’d take me on: for 20 bucks a month, what have you got to lose?
Remember that it isn’t a T-Nation program or a system designed to sell. It’s a system for building a bigger total over time. It isn’t fun, it isn’t easy, and it’s all about delayed gratification. You read a lot of the logs here and people are focused on multiple goals, or want to enjoy their training more than anything, etc. That’s fine, but it compromises results in the long term.
Wow Mark these two last posts is probably among the best posts in a long time.
20 bucks is not a lot of money, if you really are into powerlifting and want a better total on the platform, this sounds like a great place to be.
Btw looking forward to see you progress on the March meet.
@mortdk thanks. I know it’s been pretty boring recently just being beat up and getting in work while complaining about eating I promise it’ll get interesting soonish.
This is all true, but I can’t imagine wanting to return to the gym week after week if I felt like crap all the time. I guess I’ll have to settle for my better-than-average but far-from-elite performances
I think I might need to quit my job if I really wanted to reach my goals. And I’m pretty sure I’d get injured pretty regularly. I want the elite CrossFit stuff—physique, conditioning, strength, endurance, etc. They can do it all but it’s a full time job. I can’t get much better by training each aspect once a week. I also don’t know how they sustain such a grueling training schedule year after year (the cash payout for winning probably helps).
I watched the Froning video on Netflix and he pretty much hangs out in his gym and does multiple CrossFit workouts a day (or he did back when he was competing).
Yeah, lifting is a hobby for me. One that I’ve been enjoyed and been able to do alright at, so I’ve investing more of my time/energy into it (not playing hockey or competitive fastball anymore). As soon as the enjoyment of this hobby is lost, my attitude seems to shift. Now those 4-6+ hours per week of what used to be time I enjoyed away from stress/etc now just add to it. This last year of powerlifting has no doubt helped my numbers, but oh boy would I be OK to never bench press again.
I think that most Crossfit competitors still have full time jobs. I only think they make this their full time job once they have brought home some earnings from the Games and are able to acquire enough sponsors, media presence, etc to be able to make a living off of it.
Two of the top Canadians (Vellner and Fikowski) have full time commitments outside of Crossfit. Vellner is/was going to school full time for Chiropractic or Kineseology or something, and I think Fikowski is an accountant still working full time. (If I remember the documentary correctly)
Even though it can be done, it would take some insane work ethic. More than most of us could fathom.
Those poor guys! Although I miss going to school. College was easy. I had class for three hours a day tops and had all afternoon to train.
Froning didn’t work in his documentary and I’m pretty sure Fraser no longer works, but why would he when he’s taken home $250k the last two/three years? The top 20 Games competitors get paid and they win money for finishing in the top 3 in any event.
I just looked at 2018’s numbers. Fraser got $312,000 (Claire Tia-Toomey beat him with $313,000). Vellner got $102,000 and Fikowski got $54,000. Vellner took 2nd and Fikowski was 4th; that’s a big drop off in prize money (but I think Vellner won a couple of events).
And that’s great. It’s all that matters. Your goals and motivation don’t have to be the same as mine. I’m just happy that you know what you want and pursuing it makes you happy—not everyone in life can say that.
I agree with @Frank_C. It’s awesome that you have the goal of being a good powerlifter set, and are willing to put in the long game to get there.
Working out is an outlet for me, and I need to keep variety in my training to enjoy it (strongman, bodybuilding, powerlifting…and I’d like to start incorporating even more things in like: gymnastic/bodyweight work, olympic lifting, Crossfit, etc.). I know it’s not the best route to take if I’m purely in it for the numbers. I’m very happy that I dedicated the entire 2018 training year to powerlifting. I have hit/am hitting numbers I never thought I would (or at least this quickly).
But now I’m starting to feel fat and slow, like a powerlifter (shots fired).
I’m probably going to spend 2019 heading in a different direction than powerlifting. I’d like to get my cardiovascular health back up to snuff, shred back down to a decent bodyfat, and return some of my speed/athleticism I feel I sacrificed for the static strength.
Hips, especially right, feeling tight. No idea why. Maybe too much sitting, maybe I was pushing hard into the hole because I’ve been cutting depth recently and I need to fix that.
Squat, walked out
2x5xbar/66 lbs
5xplate/154 lbs
3x2 plates/264 lbs
3x2 plates with belt on because stupid
2x3 plates/352 lbs
4x1x407 lbs, bare knees
4x407 lbs, bare knees
12x407 lbs, wraps (6 revolutions) - this was an AFSAP so happy I did it in one
just being beat up and getting in work while complaining about eating 
I promise it’ll get interesting soonish.
