NickR33

Not just any mono either... an AMFX Warlord!

Push pull is on the 7th of December and there's a novice on the 21st. I was going to do the push pull but have a wedding on that weekend. I'll be at the novice though. Thanks mate, progress has been pretty consistent apart from time out due to injury. Still a long way to go before I'm truly competitive.

Had a decent day at the recent GPC comp in Melbourne. Went 6 for 6 on squats and deads but botched my bench press... again... only getting my opener, which was 10kg down on my gym pb (150kg) I set a week before the comp I ended up with 255/140/265 for 660kg @ 96.5kg and first place in the 100's. Actually totalled the same as the guy in 2nd but weighed 2kg less so I get the win. Only a small comp, most of the strong guys did ProRaw and sat this one out, but still nice to place for once! Squat and dead weren't max efforts so looking for a 700kg total next year

I find a belt a must for heavy squats. That said I squatted 180kg @ 88kg before I started using one. I never used a belt for deads as I could never get comfortable. Until I realised I needed to loosen it and wear it much higher than when squatting. I now wear it around my upper abs/mid back, rather than down around my lower back. If you can set your lats tight and fight the rounding of your mid back you can transfer more of that initial leg drive to the bar. That's where a belt can help. Once you lose tightness in your mid back all the load get's transferred to your lower back and you will have trouble at the top locking the weight out. I don't see a belt as a protective device. Plenty of people have hurt themselves wearing one. They're just an aid to keep tight and not let an power leak out during a lift.

Progress has been slow with a new baby at home, running my own business, mortgage blah blah That said I hit some gym PR's recently and currently looking for a PR total at GPC Melbourne Cup in November I squatted 220kg no wraps and pulled 260kg. Looking for 250+ squat and hopefully a 600lbs (272.5kg) deadlift... and I finally might bench 150kg... I don't know why people wait to do comps until they can total 'xxx'. Your first time is just to experience a comp, see how it all works. Just like popping your cherry it's never going to be your best performance, better to get it out of the way so you at least know what your practising for;)

I haven't been round these parts in ages, how's everyone going? Was awesome to see Birds and Leesh at the novice comp a while back. You both did great. I should get Markos to update this thread with some ProRaw 6 vids. Was an epic comp with nearly every winner being decided on the last lift of the day. Unfortunately I have a new baby at home so missed the deadlifts:(

just like back squatting it stops hurting after a while A good vid on the different grips... I like the straps option

haha yep it would be nice! Motivation for lifting is waning at the moment. Injuries have taken the fun out of it so I'm trying to heal up as much as possible so I can make a run at GPC Nats. Work is has also really ramped up and that's the priority at the moment. I'm going to run a modified broken man program into Nats. Heavy deads will be kept to a minimum (every 2-3 weeks) and I'm going to do a lot of lighter stiff legged deads. Squatting will become the priority and I'll bench as much as my shoulders let me. Shoulders were great for ages but the left one is now very inflamed. I've been playing a lot of basketball recently and really enjoying it. It doesn't take the full mental/physical commitment of powerlifting and I've been doing it for so long it comes so naturally... definitely done my 10,000 hours with a basketball in my hands lol I get very competitive so sitting on the sidelines watching others hit PBs is hard for me. I don't mind if I'm not the best but I love to compete.

Good work Boz. Only real powerlifters squat more than they deadlift! Don't need to worry about knee wraps but a belt for squats is really handy, especially once it gets heavy. Just helps you keep tight and makes the whole thing a nicer movement. It doesn't really protect your back and only maybe gets you a handful of kilos but it's definitely worth having.

That's very kind but I have to agree... If I can add 10kg to that 145 by then end of the year I'll be delirious with joy... If I can bench 150kg at Nats I'll be very happy Bench moves very slowly for me... like glacier slow

It depends on what part of your back is rounding. Nearly everyone will round through the middle/upper back, which is fine (just makes it hard to lock out). Rounding in the lower back can cause problems but I've seen people pull heavy weights that way and never hurt themselves. I wouldn't teach it that way though.

Reggie was spotting lol Yep, introduced for 2014. To stop the old soft hand out.

Thanks peeps, well and truly earned these extra few kgs Leesh: I'm not sure to be honest, my head never used to move. Since I revised my technique, letting the bar sink right into my abdomen, my head just kind of wants to come up. I'm also not arching as hard and I've put my feet further out in front rather than trying to tuck them underneath me as much. I seem to be able to drive better with my legs this way. I think this style is better for raw benching. The extreme arch/bringing your belly up to meet the bar style is better suited to equipped lifting I think. It shortens the ROM but makes it hard to generate speed off your chest. I basically tried to copy Dan Green lol

Finally got over the 140kg hump

lol yep seated dumbbell overhead, flat bench dumbbell, incline barbell, overhead barbell, close grip barbell bench press, lateral raises and I use the Nautilus seated shoulder press/lateral combo thingy Mitch: My best comp bench is 140kg but I only got 135 at the last comp which is why I totally revised my technique got 132.5 x 2 paused today, fairly easy, looking good for 140+

yeah I think so... will find out in a few weeks at a bench comp coming up... I got 4 x 125kg paused the other day... was meant to be 3 x 3 @125 but I got an extra rep on the last set... hoping for 145kg I think there's a good carryover from overhead > incline > bench press... strong shoulders are a must for raw benching

I didn't know where to post this but as I haven't been able to squat or deadlift heavy this is my only joy at the moment lol overhead strict press 80kg x 3... getting close to a bodyweight single oh and mine are actually strict presses... not the ones you see dudes posting where they're clearly locking and unlocking their knees to drive the bar up... or leaning back so far it's a standing chest press lol

my injury is between L5 and S1 so even though I wear a belt it, I can't get it low enough to support that area. It's right down at the top of my glutes. what TTT said about falling forward is really good advice. It took me a long time to learn how to sit back into a squat and use my glutes instead of shifting my weight forward and using my quads. I was a lot stronger squatting from my quads in the beginning. Any time I felt the weight get heavy I was shifting weight onto my toes. Wasn't helped by the oly shoes I was wearing. This was until I started having crippling knee pain. Its was so bad I was hobbling around and couldn't sit for long periods without them aching. So I ditched the oly shoes and practiced sitting back, having the weight on my heels. I would actually lift my toes off the floor as I squatted to make sure I didn't come forward. Later I also switched to a low bar position which also helped and I do a lot of front squatting as assistance. Very difficult to not sit back when front squatting as TTT suggests. This fixed my knee pain but makes it really hard to buy pants/shorts as my ass is heaps bigger! lol

Dan I have prolapsed disk in my lumbar. Did it last year, stopped squatting and DL for a couple of months, got regular Chiro/Osteo treatment, then started from scratch again. Just the bar, then added 10kg a week until I was back to squatting heavy again with no pain. I did the same with deads. People laughed at me as I was squatting less than the girls for weeks. I ended up hitting PBs in both squat and dead by the end of the year. 230kg squat, 250kg dead, up 20kg and 10kg respectively. Re injured same disk training for states about a month ago. Back spasms so bad I had to be basically carried out of the gym and driven home. This time recovery has been MUCH better/quicker. I'm already back to squatting and deadlifting. Working on my ROM and mobility a lot more than I used to. The body is an amazing thing. It will heal as you get stronger. Find a way to train that works for you. Injuries happen, as long as you learn from it you can still make progress. Front squats are a great way to get a good training effect without having to go too heavy, so are pause squats. Try squatting really slowly, use a belt, really brace your core as you descend, try not to drop to quickly into the hole. If you feel it pulling or pinching in that spot stop and ice it immediately. I now know what the warning signs are and hopefully in future I won't ignore them. Unlike a muscular issue you cannot train through a disk injury. Eventually your body will say enough and spasm all the muscles around the injured disk to protect it... which I'm here to tell you is fckn painful!

Ah okay I thought it was from pressing. You need a safety bar to squat with. The one with handles at the front so you don't have to get your arms back behind the bar.

Yep just a flare up. Yes I used Jason Mawby Chiropractor last time. He is a Powerlifter but he's in Rosebud. I can't get down there so have been going to my old Osteo at the MOSIP clinic in Caulfield. Also very good, not lifters but definitely know what a squat is.

My right shoulder has always been an issue when I do a lot of pressing. However this training cycle has been the first time I can press heavy twice a week without my shoulder flaring up, it's never felt better. It's a lot of volume, usually 3 sets of bench press, 3-5 sets of incline press, 3-5 sets of dumbell flat press and 3-5 sets of close grip bench press. That doesn't include warmup sets those are all work sets. Then on the other press day it's bench, overhead barbell, overhead dumbell etc etc The only difference from my last program is I have changed my bench technique. Not because of my shoulder because I wanted to lift more but the bonus is a healthy shoulder. Basically I now let the bar rest on my chest for a count or two before I press it. As the bar rests I keep my back tight but relax my arms/shoulders. Then press. I do this on every rep, even warmups.

Prolapsed disk between L5-S1. No MRI to confirm but pretty sure that's the diagnosis. It's settling really quick this time though so if it keeps improving I should be back to training soon. Was hoping to squat 250 at states so that might not happen but Nats is the goal this year. I overhead pressed today without any pain. Not heavy though.

600lbs will have to wait