bozodos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfzsT1rHNGw

Any confirmation on Greene's non attendance?

Yeah I'm not talking Eleiko gear. We're allowed to use our regular generic stands and bench in local comps, as long as dimensions are correct. Every gym in the country almost has a power rack that squats can be walked out of. The expensive part is the calibarated plates and comp bar. Your mate would be 17th in Australia this year if he totalled that in an IPF comp. Puts it a bit more into context when you say he's been training for 5 years.

I'm of the opinion that squats should be walked out, using equipment that any gym would have rather than a very expensive, specialised tool. Yes I've read the proponents of monolifts talking about the safety benefits, I'm not convinced. Yes you can say that your fed has wraps for raw as it is written in the rules. To me as a PA lifter it is equipped. I know how much it hurts - I train with equipped lifters and help them with their gear and training. Equipped lifting is harder than raw IMO and only an idiot would try and argue otherwise. I personally do not use knee sleeves or the like. I've watched enough videos of lifts from multiple angles to have a fair knowledge of what is and isn't legal depth for a squat. With the ones Markos used to post, you'd have to freeze frame it to see that the hip crease had passed below the top of the knee. I know I can squat more if I half squat it because I've tried it out. Different feds, different judging standards etc. I disagree with using extra equipment to move more weight to make it more of a spectacle. Fair comment on me trying out monolift squatting, I guess I'd have to go to a PTC or Fuzzy's in Adelaide to try it out. I find squatting out of free standing racks to be harder mentally than squatting in a power cage. Yep I have an opinion and I'm free to give it as you are to rebut it. But refrain from the personal attacks, it makes you look like a fool. I help out my club - I wasn't even interested in competing, that I do to support my local PL club and coach. I also help out with setting up our competitions, and newbie lifters who come to our gym, I've donated some equipment for use at competitions, I also open up the gym when no one else is able to train in case there are non members wanting to try it out. I also promote powerlifting at work, and my commercial gym. So you can bugger off with saying that I do nothing for the sport. It may not be much, but it's more than some. I'm saying that Markos would be a fool to say "oh yeah most of our good lifters are on 3 steroids a day", because it would cause a shitstorm against him, GPC and PTC as a brand. You know that steroids are a media favourite. But when a federation does not outright say they are against PED use, then that is an implication that they are ok with it. The lifter made that particular statement about PED use at a comp and detailed information of his steroid cycles (without anonymity mind you), it's all there for the public to see. Whether it is, in fact true or not, is kind of beside the point. Again don't try and strawman me as saying that it's all gear and no effort, I'm saying that if they gave such a small benefit, no one would bother with the cost, expense and illegality. I know the history of PTC - I did read all of his newsletters etc. Like I said, I admire what he's done to encourage people to get into strength training. If he was serious about growing powerlifting, why didn't he affiliate with Powerlifting Australia? As for the Arnolds, in the US the powerlifting ath that event is all USAPL. I have no idea why PA isn't doing it here. We can't associate with people who have been sanctioned for PEDs due to ASADA rules, the non association with non IPF fed members in a training context is a PA rule, and one that I personally don't agree with. I think that it's counter productive, and is a disincentive for those who train at non PA strength gyms from joining up with us. On the other hand, I can also see why IPF/PA would not want to give any other powerlifting federation any sort of legitimacy, and would want to distance themselves from feds that do not have an anti PED stance. Jangles: how heavy is you friend? And I made the sweeping statement about PED use, because how can you be competitive where people are using if you are not, unless you are a genetic freak (assuming that diet / training are similar). The better way to compare totals would be to see the variance in untested lifters lifting to IPF rules and equipment IMO.

Hold up with the personal attacks for a minute. I said that I'm not a huge fan of untested feds. Yes my opinion has changed on that since I started actually powerlifting. I haven't met Wilkes, but from what I've heard and how I've seen PA ran, I'm not a massive fan. I'll reserve judgement of him for if and when I ever meet him. I have respect for Markos and his posting on forums to encourage people to get interested in strength training, something which I have mentioned to every PA lifter I've ever met. That and the effectiveness of the PTC franchise model. I find it disappointing that he chooses not be PA affiliated, but it is what it is. I don't like people trying conflate GPC results across to IPF given that we are drug tested and have stricter judging and equipment standards (not to mention 2 hour vs 24 hour weigh ins, different weight classes etc), therefore it will never be an accurate comparison. I also do not like the implication that PA/IPF lifters are 'weaker' because of this. I'll admit that to start with I thought IPF was full of fat weak people due to the discrepancy in numbers and physiques in the heavier weight classes until I knew the reasons why. Jangles: You can speculate all you like about how many elite IPF lifters are cheating, but at least there is an effort made systematically to eliminate it. If your mate can do that sort of total to IPF standards, why on earth would he not compete with us? He would be an international level lifter. Tolga: I'm being honest here, it might piss you off because I'm a nobody in the lifting world, it wouldn't really make any difference if I was an elite lifter though. I'm not saying that non IPF lifters are weak not dedicated, or trying to attack Markos as a person, or denigrate what the man does. I was initially interested in GPC, but the equipment and dodgy squatting put me off, as well as no local presence. Hence I ended up in PA. It's not very well managed or promoted, but it is the official Australian powerlifting federation. You can scream about it til you're blue in the face about how 'most' of the lifters in other feds are natural, but where PED use is unofficially condoned, I find it hard to believe that. For what conceivable purpose would you not use if you were intending to be competitive there? It also does not help for powerlifting to be taken as a serious sport. I also find it amusing people (usually on the gear themselves) who try and argue about how 'little' it improves performance and recovery. Powerlifting as a sport is why I am against PED use - I'm pretty sure I stated it somewhere else. I couldn't care less what non competing lifters do. It's a circular argument - you're going to strawman me as a weak idiot who is in love with Wilkes, I'm going to assume that you can't handle the bant in regards to powerlifting feds, and neither will see eye to eye. I didn't actually start out fed bashing (I will admit my first comment about fake feds was snarky though.) I'm sorry if I offended you by having a strong opinion on the matter. One last thing - while I may be sorry about any offence caused to you, Markos or other non IPF lifters (and yes I am genuine about that), I didn't post here deliberately out of obscurity, it I were to do so I would have done it anonymously on 4chan/fit, and I'm pretty sure I posted my views on powerlifting feds in the 40 page odd shitfight on AusBB not all that long ago.

To be honest I assume every non IPF 'powerlifter' is on some sort of PED. You need to remember that Markos makes quite a lot of money out of the PTC franchises and GPC powerlifting. He's hardly going to talk about what gear his lifters are on etc. Birds hits on a good point - sleep with dogs end up with fleas. Easy way to tell: the fact that IPF and Olympic weightlifting only have classes up to 120kg+ vs untested powerlifting feds with up to 140+. Also check out the physiques of just about any IPF lifter over 115kg vs in the other feds. It's possible to be aesthetic, natural and strong, but generally speaking not big as well. It really wouldn't bother me if they didn't call it powerlifting, or it was its own sport like strongman, where the only real 'fed' is untested. I find it hard to believe a lifter who has never competed can put down a 760kg total if they were natty. Even allowing for non IPF equipment and technique allowing for more weight to be moved. Honestly if Markos / PTC methodology was seriously THAT good with natural lifters, they would be entering PA comps and thrashing all of Wilkes' disciples, and carving a niche for themselves with PA lifters.

The non association stuff is fairly onerous, but I believe that most of it comes from WADA, so would be applicable to any other sanctioned sport as well. Personally I'd find it silly of an IPF lifter to want to compete in a competition that does not use the same equipment and judging standards that we do, but again it comes back to the fact that those other feds are not drug tested, therefore lifters cannot associate. I just do not see the point of having more than one federation for a sport, unless it's a totally amateur one with no records etc.

It's disingenuous to say that a lifter of a certain fed is 'stronger' because they total more, when IPF is not only drug tested, but has the most rigorous and consistent judging applied to it. The rulebooks of most feds read the same, but you look at any video of a GPC / CAPO 'raw' squat, and you would probably get red lit in a PA comp. Same with the benching (bar bouncing off the chest etc). There are some dodgy IPF lifts that have been white lit, but on the whole it is more consistent. I've read a GPC lifter on another forum comment on how DBOL tablets were being passed around at one of their meets, as well as openly discussing his PED use - make of that what you will. Even if the management aren't openly condoning it, they're not denouncing it either. I've been training specifically for (and at a PA gym) for powerlifting for a bit over a year now, for whatever relevance that has. I've no great love for how PA is run, but I would not join or compete in any other as a 'powerlifter'.

Testing in and out of competition, generally speaking it's the better athletes who get tested more often (it's random). CAPO and GPC are not tested at all. As to why I have disdain for non IPF feds (and trust me despite being a PA member there are a lot of things about PA/IPF that piss me off too), I have the following reasons: Use of monolifts for squatting, wraps for "raw", crap judging, specialised bar for deadlift (to allow more weight to be moved), foot and posterior placement on bench (as well as the judging). I won't get into the equipped side as I'm a raw lifter, but multiply does not compare to single ply. I got sucked into thinking they were the "stronger" feds when I first started lifting, thanks to Markos spamming his videos endlessly. You can't compare across federations like that. I'm sure I could squat a shitload more if I was half squatting, not walking it out and wearing knee wraps too. I find the drug use and promotion within these feds to be counter productive to making powerlifting a legitimate sport, and to be honest I would rather them direct non steroid using lifters to PA, but that won't happen. Some people use the 'cheat' SBD sleeves by buying a smaller size, however the lifter has to be able to put them on unassisted. I have seen about a 10kg (dubious) increase in a lifter at my PL gym from using them. Personally I don't lift or compete with any kind of wraps or belt.

Fake Fed = non IPF 'powerlifting' federation. I'm sure all the GPC/CAPO lifters will beg to differ. Birds I think he mentions 3 scoops of protein powder as a supplement per day - none of the top tier powerlifters I know are much into supplementation apart from eating right / caffeine. Especially since the onus is on the lifter to know exactly what is and isn't a banned supplement or ingredient.

Jonnie Candito fairly well known - international level powerlifter with a fairly popular (and very good) Youtube channel. I suppose those who are into fake fed PL may not know of him. https://www.youtube.com/user/CanditoTrainingHQ http://www.canditotraininghq.com/free-strength-programs/

I started doing Candito's 6 week program last week after nearly 2 years of various 5/3/1 variants, it's bloody hard work so far!

Wow amazing collection of New Old Stock parts, where on earth did you find them all?