Hungry and tired. It's been a long day.
Press
5x45, 5x95, 3x135
2x190 @ 8
2x190 @ 8+
2x190 @ 8+
2x190 @ 9
Reverse Band Bench
5x45, 5x95, 5x135, 5x185, 3x225, 1x275
2x290 @ 8
2x290 @ 8+
2x290 @ 8+
2x290 @ 8+
Pullup: 4x8 @ 45
Tricep Pulldown: 4x10 @ 60 (120 on the machine, but the pulley system halved the weight)
As an aside, I got another one of those "I lift (squat/deadlift) but I'm not interested in powerlifting" statements today. If I had a dollar every time someone said that to me, I would have around twenty bucks. But I think I get it. It's basically a polite way of saying "Your goals are not my own," which is fine. Not everyone's sole athletic goal is to improve the big three. However, the way I see it, there are at least three aspects of powerlifting that are important: technique, programming, and "the hardcore stuff" (to be defined later).
Everyone should have perfect technique. If you don't, you'll eventually injure yourself. 99% of the people who hurt their knees squatting, hurt their shoulders benching, or hurt their backs deadlifting to the point of permanent incapacitation used bad technique. Using bad technique is just dumb. Don't do it.
Programming is a more personal issue. Not everyone lifts to increase the big three. A sprinter, for example, lifts solely to get faster, and she should not give a shit about how much she squats unless it does so. Recreational lifters rarely need to make such tradeoffs. Their choice is to spend 3 days a week over the next 10 years using the same weight for 3 sets of 10 reps or to spend the exact same amount of time and (slightly more) effort to increase that weight using, say, 3 sets of 5. Not to mention that going through the motions is mind-numbingly boring. Even if I ran on the treadmill all day, I'd try to run a little faster, go a little farther, or use a steeper grade. I bet that if I owned a hamster, it would be the strongest, buffest hamster in the world.
Lastly there's the "hardcore" stuff that really defines a powerlifter. This includes eating more than is comfortable so that your body has enough fuel to repair and grow -- what a friend of mine calls "mastering recovery," competing at meets, learning equipment if that's your thing, really perfecting technique beyond what's needed for healthy lifting, and a lot of other random stuff. Incidentally, I hate that term "hardcore." As far as I'm concerned, it should be restricted to porn.
A lot of people throw the baby out with the bathwater. "I don't need to squat deeply/keep my back straight because I'm not trying to lift as much weight as I can." Uh, yes you do if you want to walk when you're 60. The danger doesn't really come from your back snapping during a lift. It's the accumulated imbalances that cause problems. "I don't need to program intelligently because I don't care about getting stronger." Right, and I assure you that you will switch to something new every three months only to return in three years no stronger, no faster, and no better. "I don't need to do all that hardcore stuff because I don't want to compete." That's cool, actually.
So, in my mind, it's really the marginal "powerlifting" stuff that really makes a powerlifter. Technique and programming are important for everyone, and I too often hear the "not a powerlifter" excuse as a reason to ignore the first two, which is a real shame.
Monday, February 13, 2012
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I like ranting Frank. We need more of him.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't want to marginalize what he's saying by calling it a rant. Everything here is 100% valid and all completely true. All I'm trying to say is "seconded."
ReplyDeleteFrank, you make some great points here. I wish more people would dedicate themselves to proper form and regimen. I agree that you should be always be improving some goal.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the 3x5 comment; what would you say to a bodybuilder whose goal is primarily to gain size instead of strength, and who therefore lifts lower weight at higher reps?
@Shanker: Thanks, man. I also think my life would be more fun if I flipped out more often.
ReplyDelete@Jonathan: I just pulled an example of something that worked off the top of my head. While I've never been a bodybuilder, I imagine that they'd reframe the goal slightly, such as: Get to a certain weight at a certain bodyfat percentage, then do whatever exercises are necessary to add an inch to the arms, a half inch to the shoulders, etc. The amount of weight lifted would be a secondary concern in the same way that body composition is a secondary concern to a powerlifter.
I have a fairly Darwinian take on all this: If they feel that way, who the fuck cares? I want them to drop out after 3 months. I am so effing tired of trying to help people who ask for tips, take your help, don't listen to it and then throw it back in your face by casting you as some type of hardcore freak, because THEY aren't mentally tough enough to commit to this, or it isn't a priority in their lives. I don't want them around polluting my training environment, if it's not important to them, that's cool, but it's important to some of us, so don't shit all over something because you can't wrap your head around the fairly basic principles that govern making progress at any type of fitness, and indeed, govern progress in life.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I've given up trying to help the lifting hoi poloi. I would sooner they shut up and stay the fuck out of the way. The powerlifting community is a very generous one, and I will devote a lot of time to help someone that is committed to making the right kind of progress, regardless of whether or not they choose to compete. But if that's not you, don't waste my time, and don't waste yours. At this point, a person has to prove to me that they're committed before I'll do anything more than discuss tertiary weight training topics with them. And honestly, it's made training much more focused and enjoyable, but that's just me...
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ReplyDeleteProgramming (especially having goals) and form are not just essential to lifting, but any fitness activity. If you don't have a goal, a plan to reach that goal, and enact that plan correctly (ie good form), then why even bother. Yes mistakes happen and everyone needs to learn, but for those that don't care or think that it doesn't apply to them are just setting themselves up for disappointment and/or injury.
For example, with the new rugby fitness blog, I see lots of circuits from ladies with low weights and just random things (like machine circuits and bosu ball one legged squats etc). I want to ask every single one what the purpose of those exercises are (some to pick on them, and some because I'm actually curious what they are for), but haven't yet because I don't want to be a know-it-all pushy person to ladies who aren't that accustomed to lifting or doing anything in the weight room.
'Honestly, I've given up trying to help the lifting hoi poloi. I would sooner they shut up and stay the fuck out of the way.'
I think this more and more at the Z.
I agree with pretty much everything you guys have to say, though I still hold out hope for a lot of the people at the Z. MIT folk tend to be pretty open minded, and I see far less bad lifting here than at other gyms.
ReplyDelete