Powerlifting And Long Arms

[quote]Scott613 wrote:
when are you guys going to learn… being in shape simply means being lean. it is more cool to be a whopping 150lbs and able to see your abs than be 250 and able to squat 800; pullups are the TRUE mark of a man and the only exercise that is really tough; all you have to do to bench big is wear a bench shirt and take roids,screw balls to the wall training; and what Zeb says trumps anything a powerlifter says cause powerlifters are fat. being skinny strong rules! i think i am going to go on the warrior diet and trim down from 220 to 150 so i can be skinny strong and see my abs and do pullups, cause that is what being “in shape” really is.[/quote]

Such a very sad and uneducated post.

I have the pleasure of training at a truly hardcore powerlifting gym. The average member at our gym weighs well over 250lbs. We have several over 300lbs. They may be big boys but I guarantee you they are not out of shape. We do cardio everyday in the form of tire flips and sled dragging. All of our big boys are able to do pull-ups as well, which is far more impressive at 300lbs than at a weak ass pencil dick 150lbs.

You have opened your mouth and proven your stupidity. You have no knowledge of what it is to train for gear and to wear it. I wish it was as easy as putting on a bench shirt. The truth is that most lifters see a decrease in their lifts when they first try gear. The gear doesn’t lift the weights itself. You have to learn how to use it properly and how to get used to the very restrictive feel of it.

You have absolutely no business whatsoever speaking of such things which you are completely ignorant to. So try shutting your mouth or saving your uneducated posts for a thread that applies to weak ass fairy boys.

Anytime you are ready to walk the walk I invite you to come on in to Diablo Barbell. Tell El Diablo Ericka sent you.

[quote]djoh615893 wrote:
ok, ok, I saw the title of the column and thought “hey, that sounds like me, I wanna be a better powerlifter and I have some long-ass gorilla arms.” I was laughing my ass off as I read postings where you all badger the shit out of each other. Bravo! I’m going laugh the rest of the day. But seriously, I have long arms and imagine I’m built very well for deadlifting and squatting, but I’ll be damned if I can get more than 10-15 pounds added to my bench each month since my long ass gorilla arms make it pretty hard to power that barbell all the damn way up to lockout. Now, I’ve already began using the variations ie. floor presses, JM presses (god those are rough), etc and they do help for sure, however if someone out there is a gangly bastard like me, tell me how you adapted.

Balls Deep!! Dustan[/quote]

There are couple of people at my gym that had this problem. They sloved it through form work, ie: tighter lats, pushing shoulders into bench more, tighter arch, wider grip, and bending the bar harder. Also a lot of 4/5 board work.

Guys, chill…Im 99% sure that djoh was kidding…I don’t think that he is stupid enough to even think or post something like that…especially if he is a T-Magger.
-Matt

yeah, it was pretty obvious that he was kidding…

im not going to argue that a powerlifter is more athletic than a football player, for example, but if anyone here thinks bodybuilding is better than powerlifting for an athlete, you are sadly mistaken.

Ok. So I will try to re-hash the real intention of this post, which was to get tips that people who are my size (6"4 and above) and who either need to or want to stay at or around 220lbs, and who want to increase their total. If you guys have some tips please share. I know I have to get stronger Ham’s and lower back.
Thanks
Will42

Erika,

Check your PM. I guess sometimes sarcasm doesn’t come across the right way over the net!:wink:

Mako,

YES, I am guilty of being a “bit” sarcastic at times. Sorry if the post was a misunderstanding!

[quote]Will42 wrote:
I was reading some posts on elitefts.com about gaining weight, and most of the responces said that you should gain weight untill your deadlift stops increasing. So does this mean that everyone should be 275+? Or am I missundersatnding this?
Thanks in advance
Will42[/quote]

ok, back to the topic… What I believe is meant by this is that you should gain weight until you have trouble deadlifting. Meaning that your muscles/gut are getting in the way. Yeah, gut AND muscles. You want to be heavy enough that you get as strong as you possibly can in squat/bench without interfering with deads. Once again this is how I understood it when I read that article, but I may be wrong. Just an educated guess.

[quote]Will42 wrote:
Ok. So I will try to re-hash the real intention of this post, which was to get tips that people who are my size (6"4 and above) and who either need to or want to stay at or around 220lbs, and who want to increase their total. If you guys have some tips please share. I know I have to get stronger Ham’s and lower back.
Thanks
Will42[/quote]

if you’re 6’4" why the hell would you need to or want to stay at 220 lbs? That’s skinny as hell…

as long as you have a moderately low body fat level you’ll still look thin at 270 lbs…but you’ll be alot stronger…

here’s my tip to you…gain muscle mass and start to perfect your form in the bench, squat, and deadlift…

good luck.

Ummm…in what universe is 6’4" and 220lbs “skinny as hell”? Sometimes I wonder whether some of you ever venture out into the real world. The only way someone at 6’4" would look “thin” at 275 would be in a funhouse mirror.

you are a complete moron for not reading this as sarcasm

[quote]DonM wrote:

Ummm…in what universe is 6’4" and 220lbs “skinny as hell”? Sometimes I wonder whether some of you ever venture out into the real world. The only way someone at 6’4" would look “thin” at 275 would be in a funhouse mirror.[/quote]

I suppose it’s all a matter of perception…

in the ‘universe of strength’ being 6’4" and 220 lbs is a string bean…perhaps that’s great size if you’re playing basketball…but if your goal is to increase your total in powerlifting I would encourage a 6’4" 220 lbs lifter to gain muscle mass and perfect their lifting technique…

a lean 6’4" 275 lbs powerlifter is going to be alot stronger than a lean 6’4" 220 lbs powerlifter.

Ok, here’s a question for you all to debate:

What’s the best way to keep bodyweight down while pursuing a powerlifting style method. I’m using Westside protocol, but I want to keep my weight down (under 205). I’m 6’1" and I have long gorilla arms as well. Yeah, I’m a string bean in the “universe of strength”. Then again, my universe is rock climbing and martial arts, so bodyweight ain’t exactly my friend. I’m thinking of eliminating the repitition method from my training, and replacing it with low rep or explosive work. I love my Darkside training, just not when it costs a weight class or the ability to haul myself up sheer cliffs. Does anyone think dropping repetition method will stall strength progress? Any thoughts on it would be great.

Sorry for the hijack. Here’s my two cents on being a long-armed lifter: use accomodating resistance and a lot of starting strength work. They end up helping you at your weakest points.

[quote]Aragorn wrote:
I’m thinking of eliminating the repitition method from my training, and replacing it with low rep or explosive work. I love my Darkside training, just not when it costs a weight class or the ability to haul myself up sheer cliffs. Does anyone think dropping repetition method will stall strength progress?
[/quote]

you can get strong using the maximal and dynamic effort methods w/o the rep method…it’s just not optimal…

I would think that the rep method would be a good idea to keep for a rock climber…control your weight with your diet.

[quote]Aragorn wrote:
What’s the best way to keep bodyweight down while pursuing a powerlifting style method.[/quote]

watch your diet. if you don’t overeat you will not put on weight. just constant protein turnover while your cns efficiency improves. laters pk

The first post here by chris aus is one of the best posts i have read in a while…he is dead on…in a sport like professional powerlifting, wich most guys at elite fitness are or are trying to be, i myself also have this goal of one day getting in the wpo, so i understand first hand…you have to do some very extreme things that 99% of the peolple that walk this earth do not want to do…it is no diffirent than professional skate boarders, football players, what ever extremem sport one decide to participate in…soem people think its crazy and guess what there 100% correct…weight gain is part of this…and all you guys can sit here on this site and say that extremem weight is not needed to be a great powerlifter and you will all be proved wrong, becuase there i s a direct correlation between body height and body leverages in the sport it cant be argued…sure there are light weight classs guys like ron palmer, wade hopper, but most these guys are between 5’5 and 5’7…ed coan went up to as high as 275 at 5’6,travish mash 5’6 230, if your 6 foot or above your going to have to weigh 275+…is this the way most people want to live NO…but its the game and the game isnt changing…if you dont like it dont do it…and yes in the sport of powerlifting a 6’4 220 guys is very very skinny…bm

Big Martin,
Thanks for all the info, and the perspective. I never thought about it like that, but it makes sence just like any other sport. The only thing I am worried about is my waist getting over 38in, because that could really fuck up my PFT score, but I’m gonna give it hell.
thanks
Will42

everybody read Big Martins post again. Erika can testify that though i put on about 35lbs in 5 months at diablo, and yes a lot of that was in my gut, that my conditioning was second to none while i was there. I worked up to a level that i was dragging a sled 2400-3600 feet 4 times a week with 135-300lbs in additon to lots of high volume work in the gym. My resting HR went from 80 down to 60 during this time and my systolic bp went from 125-130 to 110-115. even though when i started i was 202lbs with a 34" waist, and now i am 235lbs with a 38" waist! lol! there is more to being in condition than being skinny and seeing your abds.

How tall is Chuck Vogelpohl?

What is the average weight class for someone who is a little under 5’10"? Just curious as that is my height although I don’t plan on going above 181 any time in the near future.

My last meet (which was also my first) I competed in the 165 class although I weighed in way light at 154. Pulled 420 though (35lbs pr) :).

chuck is around 5’9 i am failry sure…he comeptes 220 that means he weighs in at 220 24 hours before i have heard he up around 245 the next day wich is his training weight…5’10 the class is usually the 275 pound class…242 if your carrying large amounts of mass with low body fat…rb