POWERLIFTING

[Slapnut]

Your average powerlifter looks like this.

Now what sport apart from powerlifting could he do? He'll get gassed out walking a flight of stairs, it is of a limited use as an exercise plain and simple. I do weight training, just not the ridiculous amount of weight that these guys do. All I see with the people bashing me are people trying to pretend to themselves that they're healthy fit people because they do weights and I'm an idot who because I do mostly cardio with the odd bit of weights thrown in.

 

Why does he have to do any other sport? He's a powerlifter because that's his hobby. Competition-wise, in the same way the aim of football is to score more goals than your opponent, the aim of powerlifting is to lift more weight than your opponent, so why should he have to be able to run 20 miles without getting gassed to prove his worth?

[Rey_Piste]

Funnily enough I also work as a gardener for the local council, I just don't see what powerlifting has got to do with that. I used to play rugby and boxed at an amateur level in my teens. I now do MMA and have done for nearly 2 and a half years, powerlifting is just something I've never seen the appeal in because as I've mentioned it is only of a limited useage as an exercise. In that time I've lost a lot of weight because of exercise and diet, because I got fat in my mid twenties, due to being fairly idle. I was around 17.5 stone, I'm now hovering around 15, which is only a few pounds over my fighting weight of 205lbs. The only weight training I really do is kettlebells and dumbbells, which is more to create core strength. So I'm not a small weedy guy, but I have stamina, something which powelifters lack. I'm obviously not going to get through to you about this so I'll just leave the thread alone and leave you with your enlarged hearts and shrunken testicles.

[ShortOrderCook]

You're generalising in a massive, massive way. I'm not on here for long and i've tried to avoid getting into the discussion because i don't really have the time to get into a heated debate on the subject and i know to avoid Youtube commenting stubborn types but, it is a subject i'm passionate about and know about.

 

You can fuck right off with your pathetic enlarged hearts and shrunken testicles comments. Olympic lifts/Powerlifts have massive carry over into most sports and general every day movements, certainly not limited usage. The movements involved strengthen and train our basic primal movement patterns, so actually constant, essential usage. If you think you can't have a healthy heart, gain cardiovascular fitness through incorporating these lifts into your training and only through general, conventional cardio then you a very, very narrow-minded. And wrong. Furthermore, if you train in MMA and Rugby then you'd do yourself a favour in incorporating these lifts, frankly.

 

Also, if you want to gain some core strength...performing a heavy squat with correct form requires and develops a huge level of core strength.

[Chest Rockwell]

Shame you don't have more time to dissect man, because I'd really like to understand it a bit more. Starting right from the basics, like, what is even the definition of this over other types of weightlifting / working out? There's been a bunch of conflating going on in this thread and I don't think anyone has been particularly clear on what they're arguing for or against.

 

A civil discussion on this between y'all would be very interesting for me to read as someone who doesn't know too much either way, but just enjoys going to the gym to release some energy, look good and stay fit.

[Finbar]

I hope Rey does just leave, he's not worth engaging with any further.

 

Back on topic what kind of programming are people following? It was Rippetoe and Starting Strength that got me started lifting and something similar has formed the core of my program for the last couple of years. At the minute though I'm putting myself through Smolov for the back squat so I'm squatting four times a week and not doing much else. Just finished week two of the base cycle and I'm really enjoying it. Undecided whether I'll go on to do the Intense Cycle as that's crazy hard but might just repeat the Base Cycle again with a higher working max.

[goldeneye86]

I Rey does just leave, he's not worth engaging with any further.

 

Back on topic what kind of programming are people following? It was Rippetoe and Starting Strength that got me started lifting and something similar has formed the core of my program for the last couple of years. At the minute though I'm putting myself through Smolov for the back squat so I'm squatting four times a week and not doing much else. Just finished week two of the base cycle and I'm really enjoying it. Undecided whether I'll go on to do the Intense Cycle as that's crazy hard but might just repeat the Base Cycle again with a higher working max.

 

It was mark rippetoe for me that got me started aswell. Before that I did mainly isolation exercises however these days i focus more on compound with a couple of isolations over a 3 day split. I train 6weeks on then take 1 full week off and repeat to avoid a plateau. training for me is mainly one day push the next pull exercises and day 3 resistance/bodyweight training increasing the weight each week. I train 30-45mins per session as I like to get in and out, That along with grappling trainning and a high protein diet has gave me great mass gains and strength over the years

[Finbar]

Shame you don't have more time to dissect man, because I'd really like to understand it a bit more. Starting right from the basics, like, what is even the definition of this over other types of weightlifting / working out? There's been a bunch of conflating going on in this thread and I don't think anyone has been particularly clear on what they're arguing for or against.

 

A civil discussion on this between y'all would be very interesting for me to read as someone who doesn't know too much either way, but just enjoys going to the gym to release some energy, look good and stay fit.

 

You can download the book Starting Strength here. The first chapter explains why we should do the barbell lifts and their benefits better than I ever could. The whole book is a must read for anyone interested in strength training but that first chapter at least is a very worthwhile read.

[goldeneye86]

Shame you don't have more time to dissect man, because I'd really like to understand it a bit more. Starting right from the basics, like, what is even the definition of this over other types of weightlifting / working out? There's been a bunch of conflating going on in this thread and I don't think anyone has been particularly clear on what they're arguing for or against.

 

A civil discussion on this between y'all would be very interesting for me to read as someone who doesn't know too much either way, but just enjoys going to the gym to release some energy, look good and stay fit.

 

You can download the book Starting Strength here. The first chapter explains why we should do the barbell lifts and their benefits better than I ever could. The whole book is a must read for anyone interested in strength training but that first chapter at least is a very worthwhile read.

 

Totally agree with you. I read this book a while ago now but on my website I recommend this to anyone starting out. A Great Read

[scotboy15]

Wow, some very bizarre opinions in this thread!

 

Anyway, I am currently following Wendlers 5/3/1 program and am loving it. Am only 2 weeks into it and before that I did Stronglifts 5x5 and then moved onto Madcow.

 

Current 5 rep maxes (as never tested my 1 rep maxes) at a bodyweight of 78KG are:-

 

Squat 160KG, Bench 110KG, Deadlift 180KG and overhead press 62.5KG.

 

Oh and Rey, I have also ran multiple 10K's, the London Marathon, play football and have never taken roids.

[Kaz Hayashi]

Ive just started squat lifting, i was unable to do much work on my legs due to a big knee injury last year and have only just been cleared by physios to do any kind of proper training.

 

I have recently had my 5th session in the gym (in relation to squat), and am currently up to 70kg. I happy its working out and as of yet, no knee probs.

 

I'll keep pushing.

 

Any little tips at all?

[neil]

No shock to see Rey_piste spouting stupid opinions about this.

 

ShortOrderCook covered it perfectly. Deadlifts are amazing. No need to do them with a ton of weight either. Correct form is great for your back. I got RID of a lot of back pain by doing deadlifts.

[Finbar]

Ive just started squat lifting, i was unable to do much work on my legs due to a big knee injury last year and have only just been cleared by physios to do any kind of proper training.

 

I have recently had my 5th session in the gym (in relation to squat), and am currently up to 70kg. I happy its working out and as of yet, no knee probs.

 

I'll keep pushing.

 

Any little tips at all?

 

Sit back. Rather than trying to sit down between your legs, push your arse back as if you were going to sit on a chair behind you. Doing that activates the hamstrings a lot more than going straight down and also helps keep your back in the right position. Also, squat deep. The myth that squatting is bad for your knees is due to people following out of date advice and not squatting deep, and with the feet parallel. Another thing, if you don't already, is to take your shoes off when you squat. You're more stable and can transfer force to the floor better as well as giving better body geometry during the lift and and a higher level of stimulation to the nervous system.

 

 

I've got a week left of my current squat cycle then a week off before testing my maxes for the first time in more than 6 months. Hoping to crack 200kg on the squat and maybe 220kg on the deadlift, though I've not deadlifted at all for last 6/7 weeks. Not great numbers relative to my bodyweight but I'll be happy.