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Max Strength Training (update!)

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A lazy man's obsession is another's dedication.

When I started lifting I was like deeko, working out damn near every day. I was probably overtraining a bit, but at the time honestly I made huge gains. Maybe he is obsessed, but it's better than watching four hours tv every day. I wish I still had that lust for it like I used to, but in the past decade I've only averaged three times/week, and not balls-on-the-table sessions, either, which is why I've made essentially no progress in a decade (though that's still better than regression, whcih is why I still do it).
 
I would have to repeat the suggestion about mixing it up, dont do any one exercise for more then a month, and if you run out of routines, change up the reps/sets combo's.
And Reverse Pyramid works best to crank up your max lifts...IE 4,6,10(12)....
 
Originally posted by: Deeko
Alright ATOT weightlifters, I need your help.

I've been lifting every day for the last 3 years, and made HUGE gains. I generally do 12,10,8,6 or 10,8,6 sets for a combo of strength & tone.

We had our pound club last term, and I didn't do that well. I did 810 in bench, squat, deadlift. What killed me was deadlift(I never really did them) and I've improved vastly in that since then.

Starting March, 3 weeks before the next competition, I want to start a max strenght training to improve my max(I never work my max). I weigh about 160 now, I finished at 5.25 per pound, 2nd out of the 10 guys that competed, but 1st got 6.1. I need to beat him. With my improvements in deadlift I'm up to about 5.8.

What do you guys suggest?
Click to expand...
You should PM Spamela. He and his son are both Competitive Power Lifters so if anyone here at AT would know what it takes it would be him.

 
I can tell you straight away with the rep and set scheme you WERE NOT going to lift a lot of weight for a 1RM. Your doing TOO MANY REPS.

Your not 'use' to doing low rep and that means 'heavy' weights. If your not use to it you won't be good at it.

You 'should' have a good base.

I would lower the reps down to 6reps x 5sets. This will help you lift heavier. AFter a while longer you can move down to 4reps x 5 sets and 3reps x 4 sets and do 2reps x 3-4sets.

Keep the volume lowish as you don't need volume for a good 1RM.

You got 3 weeks? That is NOT ENOUGH to ses a huge gain. If you get 5% extra that would be a big improvement. If you have trained 3 yrs you won't be gaining huge in 3 weeks. I'd say if you get 10% that would be GREAT RESULTS. But not knowing your form it is hard to gauge. If your form was POOR you will get a meaty 10% quite easily with good form.

WORK YOUR BACK and AB MUSCLES. They will need to be strong to do well in the DeadLift.

Forget the reverse pyramid Stick to the basics. These are pretty much gimmicks as magazines can only say so much about the basics. Telling people the basics DO NOT SELL MAGAZINES.

Post up some videos.

810lbs in bench, squat and deadlift is good 160lbs. 5.25lbs per 1lb bw is good. But to up it to 6.1lb per pound is beyond you at this point for 3 weeks work imo. UNLESS you did the lifts with BAD BAD BAD FORM. If your form was good it would be tough to beat.

Good luck.

Koing
 
Some quick responses: No, not EVERY day, generally M-F, and yes I still have an active social life, I'm at the gym maybe an hour or so...no big deal.

As for my diet, its protein-rich but in general pretty bad. I really should eat healthier, for many reasons.

As for my progress, when I did the competition I did 225 bench, 345 squat, 240 deadlift. The bench was down from where it usually is(245), bad day or somethin, squat was solid, deadlift was obviously horrible. For my last set of 6 reps I'm doing 295 now in deadlifts, so I'd say my max has improved signifigantly, my bench as well. Idealy I'd like to get my bench up to 265, squat to 365 or 385, deadlift to 365. Even if I gain some weight, its feasable, and would put me at 6.15(assuming my bodyweight goes up to 165).

Ragingbitch, i registered, I'll have to check that out. Thanks.

Koing, I actually have about 6 weeks, its somewhere around March 18th, but when I start this training program I won't be working other exercises as much(military press for example - my best exercise), and I don't want to lose that much in those areas. I had planned to start March 1 but I could always start it sooner. I've been told I have good form, its something I strive for, I'd rather not throw out my back doing deadlifts.
 
Originally posted by: Deeko
Alright ATOT weightlifters, I need your help.

I've been lifting every day for the last 3 years, and made HUGE gains. I generally do 12,10,8,6 or 10,8,6 sets for a combo of strength & tone.

We had our pound club last term, and I didn't do that well. I did 810 in bench, squat, deadlift. What killed me was deadlift(I never really did them) and I've improved vastly in that since then.

Starting March, 3 weeks before the next competition, I want to start a max strenght training to improve my max(I never work my max). I weigh about 160 now, I finished at 5.25 per pound, 2nd out of the 10 guys that competed, but 1st got 6.1. I need to beat him. With my improvements in deadlift I'm up to about 5.8.

What do you guys suggest?
Click to expand...

for starters, to improve in the 3 powerlifting lifts you need to train like a powerlifter.
this means 2-4 workouts per week of about an hour each & minimize cardio.
i do 3/week, but it depends on your recovery - some guys only train deadlift once every
10 days, for ex., & get good results.
focusing on the 3 lifts means forgetting about trying to look like arnold.
you can't train heavily or to exhaustion for very long or you'll get injured,
weaker, and otherwise overtrain.

your # of reps are on the high side.

3 weeks isn't enough time to train for new maxes.
most PL programs are 6-16 weeks.

for nutrition, nothing beats this

for deadlift training, do hamstring & back work: deadlift off blocks,
rack deadlifts, good mornings (standing or sitting), stiff-legged deadlifts, or
wide-stance squatting. you should increase the weight each week during a program
(eventually lowering reps), but always keep good form. don't go below 3 reps doing standing good mornings.

taking 7-10 days off before a competition once you've been doing
powerlifting workouts for awhile will improve your competition results.

i use a lever belt from here.
you have to have chalk and flat shoes for
max deadlifting. ammonia caps help in competitions.

you can "cheat" & buy powerlifting gear: a squat suit and a bench
press shirt will help you lift a lot more (the former kind of pricey),
but you have to train with the gear for a few months before using
it effectively. suits don't help much with deadlift.

the Powerlifting discussion forum here
has a lot of guys who can be very helpful. the "Archive" section has
dozens of training articles from some of the big names in powerlifting.
finding some powerlifters who can give you some tips, especially on form, is a good idea. if you can't find any in a gym, try a firehouse or a police station. but, just because someone can lift a lot doesn't mean they know much about competitive powerlifting training.
serious lifters read Powerlifting USA magazine to be inspired/humbled.

HTH.
 
Originally posted by: erwin1978
Getting a life is funny.

I do jumping jacks. You should do those.

On a serious note, I've been told before that if you're not in pain then you haven't worked out hard enough. I don't necessarily believe in this practice. I used to do reps to the point of muscle cramping and even going beyond. Then for the next several days my muscles slowly stiffen and ache so badly that I pretty much rest for those days. Moving my arms would be painful.

On the other hand, I find that by not burning out my muscles by doing reasonable reps, I can pretty much eliminate my rest days and lift everyday. For me there's a fine line between reasonable reps and muscle burn-out. Sometimes, all it will take is just one more pump and I'm sore for several days. I've learned to know where this fine line is.
Click to expand...

Trying doing MISSISSIPPIs. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: MadCowDisease
Oh, I forgot to add. ROTATOR CUFF. Do rotator exercises prior to your shoulder/bench sets and strengthen those up. They help with a.) definition, b.) lifting because the shoulder is such an integral part of both the deadlift as well as the benchpress.
Click to expand...

yeah rotators are muy importante but i usually just throw in a couple work sets *after* my deadlift training. works well for me.
 
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