Starting out in powerlifting

[Go Away]

BI hit the nail on the head.
It'll take a bit of understanding yourself to see what assistance work you need. When you try and bench heavy, where's the sticking point? Was it hard to get off your chest and halfway it flies up like nothing? That would call for full ROM incline presses, paused bench presses, wide grip bench presses, etc. Something to work that lower half of the lift.

Was it fast as hell off the chest and then a grinder to lockout? That would call for lots of triceps work and partial presses starting a few inches above the chest: upright dips, board presses, pin presses, close grip stuff, etc.

Are you explosive off the floor and slow to lockout? Work the top half of the lift and hip strength with RDL, block pulls, rack pulls, Dimel Deads, hip thrusts, etc. Slow off the floor but once you hit your knees you can lockout easy? You need some deficit pulls to work the lower portion of the lift. Since the first part of a deadlift is pressing strong with your legs, leg presses, front squats, etc.

Squats are tough outta the hole? Paused squats and speed work. Tough at lockout? Do the same stuff for lockout with deadlift work since the top half of the squat is the hip thrust.

Other accessory work can target growth to reduce range of motion, like growing your chest so it makes less space between you and the bar...

I've been studying this shit for years and still learn new exercises and techniques constantly. Keep reading, keep asking specific questions and most importantly, pay attention to your lifts and where you're strong and where you're weak. It'll change over time as your lifts get stronger and your body gets more mass.

 

[5.0]

Great information for you here, looking forward to seeing the progress. Get strong and stay safe!

 

[porky little keg]

I'll start by recommending that you find an established group in your area..... go to a meet and find the best lifters in your area and go train with them. Even if they do things differently than you'd like, just spend a year doing exactly what they tell you to do and you'll improve more than the best canned program can help while training on your own.

I like the analogy to drag racing. I was just at a meet this morning helping a teammate and saw a LOT of this...... it's easy to add lots of power to a motor, but all that power won't do you any good if the chassis can't handle it.
A lot of guys build up a great amount of strength training on their own but never hit bg numbers in a meet because they don't have the expertise to put that power to the ground.

I spent 6 years training on my own to hit a 1315 total in a meet ( only powerlifting 2 on my own).... I got in with one of the best teams in the country and 6 months later went mid-1700s ( yes, still drug free).... within 4 years I had gotten in to lifting in gear and went 2200 ( still drug free) and now, 5 years later I just barely missed a lift ( the bar dipped on the way up but I still locked it) that would have given me 2600..... I couldn't have achieved any of this without a team..... go find a team.


As for running your own training, 5/3/1 is good because it's all spelled out for you. The Lilliebridge method is great for this too... it's SO simple and it absolutely works.
Rep calculators are complete bullshittery.... I've seen guys do 8 reps with 725 but not be able to hit 750 for a single..... I've done 1060 to legit depth but couldn't double 1000. We're all different and we all have different sticking points and weak links..... go and actually do a 1 rep max ( not projected max, not 90%, a max where you couldn't do another 5 lb jump).... and film it for yourself. That 95%+ rep will show you more about your weak points to work on that anything else will.

 

[Mass5]

Thanks for great advice for me to digest. Nice to find such a helpful forum with experienced/ knowledgeable members.
Is it ok to just keep asking questions through this thread or do I need to start new one ?

 

[PillarofBalance]

Thanks for great advice for me to digest. Nice to find such a helpful forum with experienced/ knowledgeable members.
Is it ok to just keep asking questions through this thread or do I need to start new one ?

Yeah you can update this. At this point though I would suggest you start training and keep a log here. We can all check in on you and let you know when you are doing dumb shit. Which we all do from time to time.

 

[Mass5]

With the assistance exercises , how many would you suggest to do each workout ?

 

[PillarofBalance]

With the assistance exercises , how many would you suggest to do each workout ?

Enough lol

Depends on what rep ranges and the layout of your program. For assistance lifts like good morning floor press etc I like 5 to 7 reps 4 or 5 sets. For accessory/supplemental I go for a quick pump

 

[Halo]

I'll start by recommending that you find an established group in your area..... go to a meet and find the best lifters in your area and go train with them. Even if they do things differently than you'd like, just spend a year doing exactly what they tell you to do and you'll improve more than the best canned program can help while training on your own.

I like the analogy to drag racing. I was just at a meet this morning helping a teammate and saw a LOT of this...... it's easy to add lots of power to a motor, but all that power won't do you any good if the chassis can't handle it.
A lot of guys build up a great amount of strength training on their own but never hit bg numbers in a meet because they don't have the expertise to put that power to the ground.

I spent 6 years training on my own to hit a 1315 total in a meet ( only powerlifting 2 on my own).... I got in with one of the best teams in the country and 6 months later went mid-1700s ( yes, still drug free).... within 4 years I had gotten in to lifting in gear and went 2200 ( still drug free) and now, 5 years later I just barely missed a lift ( the bar dipped on the way up but I still locked it) that would have given me 2600..... I couldn't have achieved any of this without a team..... go find a team.


As for running your own training, 5/3/1 is good because it's all spelled out for you. The Lilliebridge method is great for this too... it's SO simple and it absolutely works.
Rep calculators are complete bullshittery.... I've seen guys do 8 reps with 725 but not be able to hit 750 for a single..... I've done 1060 to legit depth but couldn't double 1000. We're all different and we all have different sticking points and weak links..... go and actually do a 1 rep max ( not projected max, not 90%, a max where you couldn't do another 5 lb jump).... and film it for yourself. That 95%+ rep will show you more about your weak points to work on that anything else will.

This is the best post for any beginning powerlifter, period. I worked hard for decades and had a 500lb squat 365 bench and 500 deadlift. I was super apprehensive about going to the local powerlifting gym where I used to live, on their website was "We train to compete and if you're not competing don't come here" LOL... I'd never competed so it took me a while to get to the point where I wanted to commit. When I got there no one took me in for about a month, after being there for a couple of years it was clear why. Many people come and most people quit, so the team was looking to see if I had staying power, I'm not right in the head so I fit in pretty well. Like PLK's experience what took me forever to gain was quickly eclipsed by why I gained in far less time and in the end what I hopefully gave back a little of what was given to me by my team, they changed my life. When I left I had an 860 squat 501 bench and 705 dead in competition with some bigger numbers in the gym. I had great coaches and mentors who are still a huge part of my life as I am now have my own gym in a different state.

I'm also with PLK on the 5/3/1, it's easy and you will get stronger. But if you have a team it will exponentially increase the gains, your knowledge and your safety which can't be overstated as one of if not THE most important thing. Once you get past the point where you're hitting the biggest numbers you can hit with your pure strength you will need to dial in form and equipment, wraps, suits, belts etc all optional of course.

One other thing was when I was training for meets I never saw the numbers that I ended up with on the platform. Here is something crazy for my situation that tells you how much I trusted my team. I knew my openers because we set them a week and a half out by doing 3 sets of 1 rep with 5 min in between, but second and third attempts I didn't even know what I was lifting. They would ask me how the previous lift felt and then pick my next number. All the calls are in kilos and I'm so focused it din't even think about it for a second. I never had an opener in question, nothing worse then seeing people bomb out.

I went from training 6-7 days a week to 3 days and like PLK the high reps were gone because they never translated to platform performance. It was all a huge change for me and it's a hard change for people to make because it doesn't sound right but trust me it is and it will be the thing that builds a stronger you.

Anyway not to drag this out, get with a team as soon as you can you will regret any time you miss later.

 

[Mass5]

Again thanks for great advice. Hooking up with a team is not a option at moment as nearest powerlifting gym is about 40 minutes drive for me. Gym I'll be using is a commercial gym and only 5 minutes from my house but has a couple of good squat racks and deadlift area. Hopefully I'll be able to hook up with a couple of lifters but to start with it's going to be solo training. Also my lifting weights are really low compared to what I see on here, so my max weights will be others warm up weights. Do want to start a journal on here as advice has been excellent but bit apprehensive as my weights don't compare with other journals I've been following.

 

[uncxrt]

Again thanks for great advice. Hooking up with a team is not a option at moment as nearest powerlifting gym is about 40 minutes drive for me. Gym I'll be using is a commercial gym and only 5 minutes from my house but has a couple of good squat racks and deadlift area. Hopefully I'll be able to hook up with a couple of lifters but to start with it's going to be solo training. Also my lifting weights are really low compared to what I see on here, so my max weights will be others warm up weights. Do want to start a journal on here as advice has been excellent but bit apprehensive as my weights don't compare with other journals I've been following.

Don't worry about how light your weights may seem. Everyone here is great, and no one is going to judge you. Everyone has to start out somewhere. When I started lifting, I was barely able to bench the bar for a few reps, and this was when I was about 19-20 years old!

 

[porky little keg]

Again thanks for great advice. Hooking up with a team is not a option at moment as nearest powerlifting gym is about 40 minutes drive for me. Gym I'll be using is a commercial gym and only 5 minutes from my house but has a couple of good squat racks and deadlift area. Hopefully I'll be able to hook up with a couple of lifters but to start with it's going to be solo training. Also my lifting weights are really low compared to what I see on here, so my max weights will be others warm up weights. Do want to start a journal on here as advice has been excellent but bit apprehensive as my weights don't compare with other journals I've been following.

To put it in perspective, in the two years it took to get my total from Elite to Pro I was working full time, doing my masters degree at night, doing a 20 hour a week internship for a year of it, and driving an hour each way 4 days a week to train.

I still drive an hour each way, 4 days a week to train. I wish my gym was only 40 minutes.

Shoot, even to start making the trip once a week you'll benefit.

 

[porky little keg]

Don't worry about how light your weights may seem. Everyone here is great, and no one is going to judge you. Everyone has to start out somewhere. When I started lifting, I was barely able to bench the bar for a few reps, and this was when I was about 19-20 years old!

Absolutely.... I started at 17 and it took me 9 months to bench 135. I was joking about this the last time Brandon Lilly and I talked. We are both about the same size with about the same geared total and both started off really scrawny. Don't worry, everyone has been in your situation before.