Been lifting with a focus on powerlifting for about 7 years, my last meet total was 515 squat, 585 deadlift and 336 bench at 185 lbs. Be patient, get on a tried program, put in the work, eat and sleep and it'll come.
I am curious if you had to deal with any injuries over the years. My body seems to be the type that gets injured easily, no matter what I do I seem to get injured. I am obsessive about form, I seem to get "overuse injuries", shoulder impingement, sensitive it band ect.
Can't speak for GP, but I kept hitting a wall in strength gains with shoulder or lower back pain until I made mobility work a priority. It doesn't have to be fancy or extreme, frequency is the key. Search out Joe DeFranco's Limber 11 and Simple 6 for a decent routine and try to get 3-4 times a week minimum. After a month you'll be surprised how different your body feels.
Interesting. Same question someone else asked: What's your injury history been like?
Coincidentally, I just got back from the doctor. I had my right ankle x-rayed because it's been sore for couple of weeks. I kind of limp in the morning until it warms up and then I can walk normally but step the wrong way and it can be painful.
Nothing wrong. They said it's probably a strained ligament issue.
I am doing 200 lbs squats and same on Romanian deadlift. My guess is that my squat biomechanics is off and I am doing a number on my right ankle. I just started reading "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe and will get some coaching to see about fixing problems.
I got cocky as a novice, and fucked my back pretty bad and was out of comission for a 4 months or so. Got cocky chasing huge (for me, at the time) numbers and ended up losing way more progress than I gained. Minor things here and there in my shoulders and elbows, which I ended up fixing by tearing apart my own bench press form and being meticulous with ever part of the lift. Bench press is, in my opinion, the most technical lift of the big three.
Slow consistent progress wins out in the long run, I'm a huge fan of sub-maximal training and going for rep PRS and not maxing out often. I only compete at most twice per year, and don't bother going for max attempts when I'm not at a meet.
All of my training these days is based around the principles in Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 and I've slowly added my own tweaks and customizations over time to it and it hasn't let me down.
Don't neglect mobility work. It's boring, but it'll save you in the long run.
This is making me really want to start powerlifting again. I got up to a 420 deadlift (sumo style), and 320x4 back squat, before I wound up drifting away from it.
I think once my shoulder finishes healing (rotator cuff surgery), I'm going to start lifting seriously again.
dominotw|10 years ago
krrrh|10 years ago
rebootthesystem|10 years ago
Coincidentally, I just got back from the doctor. I had my right ankle x-rayed because it's been sore for couple of weeks. I kind of limp in the morning until it warms up and then I can walk normally but step the wrong way and it can be painful.
Nothing wrong. They said it's probably a strained ligament issue.
I am doing 200 lbs squats and same on Romanian deadlift. My guess is that my squat biomechanics is off and I am doing a number on my right ankle. I just started reading "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe and will get some coaching to see about fixing problems.
hyperchase|10 years ago
Slow consistent progress wins out in the long run, I'm a huge fan of sub-maximal training and going for rep PRS and not maxing out often. I only compete at most twice per year, and don't bother going for max attempts when I'm not at a meet.
All of my training these days is based around the principles in Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 and I've slowly added my own tweaks and customizations over time to it and it hasn't let me down.
Don't neglect mobility work. It's boring, but it'll save you in the long run.
mindcrime|10 years ago
I think once my shoulder finishes healing (rotator cuff surgery), I'm going to start lifting seriously again.
hyperchase|10 years ago