Good evening all.
I was invited to stop by and check the place out. I haven't jumped in and drove it around the block yet but, I did kick the tires a little and I like it thus far.
Call me SPP for short, not that I'm short at 6' 6" and 330/340lbs. I started my weight lifting in school.... wait that was years ago, doesn't count. I really started getting serious near mid 2011 or so (I'll need to go back and look at logs.) I dabbled in lifting randomly, with no goal in mind. I then heard about CrossFit. I attempted to do it but, being broke, I couldn't justify 125 a month.
Then I got into this thing called powerlifting. No earthly idea what it really was or if I could even do it. I scoured YouTube for "powerlifting" and the squats made me drool. 500/600/800?? OMG. Captain Kirk 1000X2? I gotta do that! Not really sure where to go or what to do, I cracked my knuckles, stretched my back, and started typing....
Utilizing my GoogleFu, I stumbled upon this site called "Starting Strength". Hmmm, I'm sure like the other "About 2,987,543,458,724 results (0.94 seconds)" sites I found, it'd be 500 a month for internet e-training, buy these pills (sorry, supplements), and this gear.... Yeah, no thanks.
So I kept searching and searching and this "Starting Strength" site kept coming up. Damn it! Where do I block this on my firewall? But, before I started trying to figure it out, I started reading, 35 dollar book? It will help me squat, press, and pull? (WTF is that?) I jumped on the forums and read the "Technique" section. People were posting videos of their squats, bench, and deadlifts. Ohh! I can bench...
Moving forward, I posted a few times and that turned into more and more and More and MOre and MORe and MORE!... (okay, sorry).... Did I mention I bought the book? I read it cover to cover several times, okay... Maybe 20+ times. No seriously. I've had a few (too many) knocks to the noggin and I'm only about half lit... No, that the green fuzzy stuff.
Anyways, like everyone else, I started videoing myself (I should be in bed. tired) and posting them. I'd make the adjustments as stated and video myself again and post. (Yes, I'll stop but, over and over.. posting videos.) I started REALLY getting good at squats. Granted, I used a device call Manta Ray (no, not that beautifiul, angelic creature that flies through the water... man I wanna dive with one..) that I found that helped me start squatting.
Deadlifts? Man, those look too hard and don't look fun at all (I still feel the same, although, I do think the are fun now.). Bench? Why? My legs are bigger and I can move more weight.. why bench? I want to squat. Squats it was/is/were? Anyways... I loved squatting all 235lbs of it! What!? You say? 6' 6" and only squatting 235lbs? Yes sir/ma`am. Big fat weakling... Sure, I had strong legs, strong enough to carry my fat ass around, that was about it.
So, I did SS as prescribed (I don't like that, makes me think of another workout thingie..) and went up in the weights every week.... Fast forward again. I went from 345+- pounds to 325lbs body weight and from 235lbs squats (with descent form) to a single 405lbs squat. I believe that was within a year or so. Guess what I did after the 405lbs squat! I stopped working out. I decided that I wanted to take a break and then come back later... (Yes, I'm missing a lot of details but, look how long this thing is so far.. (100 points to you if you've read this far..))
Well, a week break turned into a month, which turned into two months, three, five... Ok, I'll tell you the truth... I got scared. Yes, I'm a wussy. I seriously got scared that I did 405 for one. All of the things I've heard that could happen to you and just not wanting to get hurt, I hung it up.
I picked up other things to do in those several months (Might have be seven or eight months..) and I got to the point financially, I could no longer do them. (No, nothing bad, just expensive.) Well, I made the decision to go back to working out. I really got a taste to do a meet...
So a little over 10 weeks ago, I started going back to the gym (the one I had paid 40 a month for for those months I didn't lift) and decided I wanted to do a powerlifting meet. So, I found one that's local to me and I've been training for it for the last 10 weeks. I got on Twitter and started searching for powerlifters... I followed several and one seemed to take me under her wing... She answered questions and then she suggested that I check out Brandon Lilly's The Cube Method. DONE. I bought it as soon as I was able to. So 10 weeks ago, I read it several times (like the SS book) and implemented it.
Being I had taking so long off, 235 was super heavy but, I know it was going to be and I just started there. As the weeks went by, my numbers went up, not just in the squat but, deadlifts and bench too. I then started videoing my lifts and submitting them to get critiqued. I know I'll never get them perfect and I'm okay with that. I know it will always give me a challenge and I will never stop trying to perfect them. (Squats mostly. It's my strongest lift, get over it..)
So, here I am now. 6 weeks from my first ever powerlifting meet and I'm really excited about the numbers I'm looking to get. Ohh, my "current" (I use that loosely.) on lifts. I no longer use the Manta Ray and I actually love deadlifts. The bench is growing on me now that I'm getting stronger.
Squats: 415lbs
Bench: 125lbs
Deadlifts: 280lbs
I told you that the squat is my best lift.
Lastly, I want to thank the gentlemen that invited me to join here (feel free to speak up) and I hope to get some sound advice and if I can, give sound advice to others. Also, I hope I can inspire and motivate others to get up and lift. Make yourself goals, work toward them, and then kick that goals ass. (Then make another one!)
Thank you all.
SPP
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Originally Posted by SFDan
