First I’d really like to thank everyone on these powerlifting forums for being so active and helpful. Not only when people replied to my posts, but also the great discussions that were had here, that I’m sure helped out many of us. This community really helped me steer my training into the right direction and has been a great contribution to my 3 meets this year.
Second, I’d love to hear how everyone’s 2015 was for their lifting. Numbers hit, lessons learned, obstacles overcome, etc.
I started 2015 with little powerlifting knowledge and completed 3 meets.
By the numbers:
Squat: 300-445
Bench: 245-295
Deadlift: A very shitty 405-a solid 485/a wonky 500
My biggest accomplishment would have to be my complete deadlift overhaul. At the beginning of 2015 my deadlift was complete shit and now I finally managed to train it the way that works best for me.
Biggest thing I learned that I will take into 2016 with me is that patience and belief in your long term goals is probably the most important aspect of my training. We all know this, but I have witnessed it firsthand many times throughout the year.
Biggest fuck up is my shoulder injury that I am recovering from right now and still not having my leg checked out for what appears to be a calcium deposit that I promised myself I would do back in January.
So that’s it people. Thank you all again. Would love to hear how everyone’s 2015 went. Happy New Year and may it bring us all more plates on the bar!
Ditto on the gratitude for this place and all its contributors. Particular gratitude to Reed, for helping random bastards on the internet at all times.
Started the year 425/230/455, hit 515/295/515 @ 178 in a Brooklyn meet in November by running a ridiculously high volume variation of 5/3/1 1.4 from March to end of October.
Best thing learned: squat every day, and if you’re not going to do that, squat every damn workout. Period.
Second best thing learned: if you’re not laughing at some point during training, you’re doing it wrong.
Obstacles overcome: a torn intercostal on my left side which meant no squatting or pulling for a month. Ran a variation of Strong Bodybuilder for that.
I had pretty good lifting year. At the beginning of 2015, my PRs were a 605 squat and a 375 raw bench. Now at the end of the year, I did 720 squat in the gym and raw benched 425. Also, I learned to use a shirt and so far have pressed 465. I pushed my bodyweight over 300 for the first time (I guess that’s kind of an achievement, lol).
On a down note, I also bombed out of a meet for the first time (on depth).
Back from Spring 2012 to early Fall 2014, I could afford to go to the gym 4-6 times a week, hitting everything with high frequency and letting my numbers gradually go up simply by improving technique (except bench, which has always sucked). Starting in early 2015, my priorities have shifted some, with grad school on the near horizon and a long-term relationship to maintain, meaning I seriously needed to change the way I was doing things. I wasn’t sleeping or eating enough most of the time, but my training still reflected the type of training I was doing while those were still fine, except at a lower frequency because of time constraints.
The result was an absolute mess, dropping down to about 175 lbs. from a high of 195 half a year prior, and with only backwards progress in every lift (except for one deadlift rep PR, but that strength quickly went away). I toyed around with some weightlifting movements for a few weeks just for the fun of it and because I needed a break, but quickly got bored and realized I didn’t have the time to dedicate to really do well at the movements.
I began to realize my biggest problem: all of this time spent powerlifting I have been focusing on getting GOOD at the three movements instead of getting STRONG, my primary goal for lifting in the first place. With some trial and error over the past several months, I have made progress toward this goal of just getting overall stronger by focusing my training on strongman instead of powerlifting while also working toward a method that will fit in better with my schedule and minimize wear and tear on my joints, something that is becoming more and more of a problem. Fortunately, I very much enjoy the new training I am doing and can see it being a great long-term solution to the many problems that I have faced in the past couple of years.
The main goal I have for 2016 is to stick with the training plan and be patient. Beyond that, I would like to compete in a Strongman show and, if possible, have access to a gym with real strongman equipment, although I’m doing quite well with some jury-rigging of standard gym equipment. I could set some goal numbers, but with so many things changing in my life this year, predicting 12 months of progress is not going to happen, so I’ll take any progress as it comes without getting too overzealous. If I can get bigger and stronger overall in 2016 while not acquiring injuries and setting myself up for the following year, I would be more than happy because it would be a far more productive year than 2015 has been.
Definitely big thank you to everyone on here who gave me advice, Reed being one of them who helped my squat a bunch.
It’s been a good year both in powerlifting and outside it for me.
Powerlifting: had my first meet, and overall competed four times. Three full power, one push/pull. My bench went from 242 to 286 and my deadlift from 484 to 561 from end of March to early December. My squat went up too, but I messed up my prep for my final full power meet so was unable to show anything for it. See below.
Training: learned the value of patience and humility. Getting stapled in a meet does that to you. Either way, I’m a wiser lifter than I was a year ago and it shows.
Size: went from around 187 lbs to 214 lbs with a small drop in bodyfat over the year.
Last but not least, I think I may have helped a few people get their lifts moving both here and in my own gym.