Doing work, my own way

[Thrawn]

Okay, been on the forum long enough. Time to start my journey, damnit.
In short, i am a starting powerlifter. Been training since april 2007, but only seriously committed towards powerlifting since december 2007. I am on the road to my first competition, but the date has not been announced yet. I will give my trainingschedule, personal records and weight in kg and us pounds (hope i calculated it correctly: 20kg plate = 45 pounds). Any comments on the schedule (which i think is rather a lot crammed into three days, but it was made up by my trainer and i trust him to know his business), and progression etc is welcomed and encouraged.
Currently i weigh 85,7kg/190,4 pounds at 1.85m 'tall'. BF around 6-7%
Personal records:
Squat: raw 100kg/222 pounds, bandages 120kg/266 pounds
Bench: raw 95kg/211 pounds, shirt also (been a while since i tried that)
deadlift: raw 155kg/344 pounds, never tried belt or suit so far
That makes a total of 370kg/822 pounds and combines for 242.3 Wilks points (370*0.6549).
I want that to be 300 Wilks points before the end of the year (or get as close as i can), so in order to do that with my current weight i would have to total 458kg. And it starts now!

Trainingsschedule: 3 days a week, mostly 1,5 to 2 hours a session. I must note that i have suffered a strain in my back 2 weeks ago and it is still bothering my deads and bench somehow. I state the 'momentarily used weights' also where needed. No belts, no gloves nor straps. Just me, chalk and the weights. Supplements i take: Pak, Flex, RealGains, FastGain3100). When back is healed i will try Kre-alkalyn also.

Monday:
Squat: 3x4 - 85kg/189pnds to 90kg/200pnds
Stopsquat 75%: 3x4 - 70kg/155pnds (stop at bottom, stop at 75%up)
Frontsquat: 3x5 - 55kg/122pnds to 60kg/133pnds
Leg ext: 4x12 - 30kg/66pnds
Benchpr: 4x5 - 75kg/167pnds to 80kg/178pnds
Small bench 75%: 3x5 - 65kg/144pnds (to 75% up)
Small bench 3x6 - 65kg/144pnds to 70kg/155pnds
Cable crossover 3x8 - 30kg/66pnds
Deadlift 3x4 - 115kg/255pnds to 125/278pnds (for now 100kg/222pnds)
Stiffleg DL 3x6 - 75kg/167pnds
Leg curls 4x8 - 45kg/100pnds
shrugs 3x5 - 80kg/178pnds to 100kg/222pnds
abs exercises and reps differ, mostly 3x25 roman chair/leg lifts

Wednesday: speed day: less weight, max 45 seconds between sets (if possible)
Bloklift 4x3 - 130kg/189pnds to 140kg/311pnds (for now 110kg/244pnds)
Deadlift 3x5 - 90kg/200pnds
legpress 45dgr 4x8 - 140kg/311pnds to 160kg/355pnds
Benchpress 3x5 - 75kg/167pnds
Cable crossover 4x8 - 25kg/55pnds
Lat pully 4x8 - 55kg/122pnds to 60kg/133pnds
Seated row 4x8 - 60kg/133pnds to 65kg/144pnds
Upright row 4x8 - 30kg/66pnds to 35kg/78pnds
Bentover row 4x8 - 50kg/111pnds to 60kg/133pnds
Neckpress 4x8 - 30kg/66pnds to 35kg/78pnds
Side raises 4x8 - 9kg/20pnds
Barbell curl 4x8 - 30kg/66pnds
Hammer curl 4x8 - 14kg/31pnds
Triceps pushdown 4x8 - 50kg/111pnds
Reverse bic. curl 4x8 - 25kg/55pnds

Friday
Squat 4x5 - 80kg/178pnds
Benchpress 4x5 - 75kg/167pnds to 80kg/178pnds
Small benchpress 3x6 - 65kg/144pnds
Deadlift 4x5 - 105kg/233pnds
Calve raises 4x10 - 300kg/667pnds (machine, can't go heavier, so i up reps)
Nosebreakers 4x8 - 35kg/78pnds to 40kg/89pnds
Dips 4 x max (first set normal, rest with 15kg/33kg chains around neck)
Incline bic.curl 4x8 - 30kg/66pnds
Abs exercises and reps differ, mostly 3x25 roman chair/leg lifts

So. Took a lot of typing and converting, but there it is, where i am now. Most ppl in my gym call my schedule a 'horrorshow' but i must say that i have adepted to it. I DO have to admit that especially mondays take a toll. I am thinking about going 4 days to the gym and lighten the load per day a bit.
My thing. My journey. Love it. Want it. Want to share it. Tell me what you think.

Thrawn

[Toni69]

Cool stuff. Im still learning the PL'ing lifetsyle as it is a bit different from the lifestyle of a BB'r but we do share common goals amongst which is the passion we have for what we do and how we do it...or demonstrate it.

I look foward to seeing you move toward the direction of your targets and goals and when you hit a speed bump, we are here to give you a bit of a nudge.

[Thrawn]

Cool stuff. Im still learning the PL'ing lifetsyle as it is a bit different from the lifestyle of a BB'r but we do share common goals amongst which is the passion we have for what we do and how we do it...or demonstrate it.

I look foward to seeing you move toward the direction of your targets and goals and when you hit a speed bump, we are here to give you a bit of a nudge.

I totally agree. We all face the iron and rigors of the challenge ahead. Its that and our attitude towards it that binds us here. I sometimes team up training with BB'rs at my gym, because i am the only one focussing on PL in my gym. I just up the weight and lower the reps.
I choose the PL direction because, although i am bulking well beyond what i thought i could (15kg in 11 months now) i found that my body responded better to the lower reps/higher weights training. I tend to wear out quickly when reps go up. Guess its just how my body works. Although i am focussing on PL now i am also continuing to bulk quality muscle. Growth comes rather easy so far, and at 1.85m and 85-86kg i definitely can still use more mass (personal taste).
Thanks for dropping in on my journey, Toni69. I will make sure to keep an eye on yours too.

All hail the new flesh, muscle ache rules. And yes, yesterdays session gave me some =)

[Thrawn]

So far still backproblems, wonder how it will be in the gym tonight. This strain has been with me for three weeks now and still counting.
But fridays sessions left me with a smile.
Because of my strained back i performed the deadlift a little bit different. I kept the barbell closer to my shins and started the upward motion more from my legs. And, how stupid this my sound... then it hit me. That is the form i was taught in the first place. Without even realizing it, i had deviated from form somehow. Maybe because i always train alone and dont have proper guidance for 95% of the time. Dont know and dont care. Guess this sprain was about to happen anytime.
Nothing much else to this story/update, just a realization. The journey is a learning curve for sure. And injuries can teach you the most maybe.

[Thrawn]

Well. This evening's session sure sucked.
It was not my body letting me down. I got lost mentally. And i hate myself for it.
Doing my warmups, all is good. Going to the squatrack, warming up there. Notice how many ppl are around not taking this game serious and still getting good results. Hell, there was this dude doing 90kg benchpresses for reps that i cannot do. And he is a partymonster, not eating proper, taking it as a joke. And he's growing like he suckling on a whale...
And it got to me. It irritated me. I have to work damn hard for every extra pound, be it on my body or on the barbell. Ofcourse from there matters could only get worse. My strained back bothered me more then it should. Needless to say, the rest of the session went totally awfull with me being completely out of focus... Since my injury this has happened a few times. I am sick of it. Makes me lose the fun in the game.
If i don't get my mind focussed on ME again those 300 Wilks points is not gonna happen this year. It will be hard enough as it is with my slow recovery.
Just had to get this off my chest, maybe it helps. Normally i am the silent type and keep it bottled up. I will remember this incident and hope i will not let if affect me again.
Long journey ahead...

[Thrawn]

Sometimes the problem you have is so obvious you wouldnt see it if it was marked with a ten ton red dot. Got some usefull conversation about diets going with Toni and all of a sudden she told me some stuff that made total sense. I felt so relieved about finally getting a hold on what went wrong with me last few weeks besides my injury that i took some hours of to get a good meal and workout going. And it worked like a charm. Can't say it was as good as usual yet, but that will return. I told myself to just go there and have FUN like you used to, dont get fixed on numbers. That will return when i am all healed up again. Toni, this one was for you.

Speed day; max 45 seconds rest between sets and exercises if possible. All numbers in kilo's. In this routine weight is not most important. Form and speed is. Normally i use free weights and barbells as much as i can, but for variety i included some today.
By the way: i found that reversing my alternating grip on deads lessened the strain in my left lat... cant explain it, dont even want to. If that feels better, thats what i will do for now.

Block deadlifts: 4x3 100/105/110/120 (also pulled 130 one time) Back held up great
Legpress 45degr 4x8 160 (could really feel mondays leg session still linger)
Benchpress machine 3x5 95/105/110
Pek deck 4x8 60/65/65/70 (was damn hard somehow)
Lat pully 4x8 50/55/55/60 (last set only 6, but NO back problem)
Seated row 4x8 55/55/60/65 (a bit strain when starting the exercise)
Upright row 4x8 30/35/35/35 (difficult)
Bent over row 4x8 55 (felt good, almost no pain)
Neck press machine 4x8 30/35/35/35
Side raises 4x8 9
Barbell curl 4x8 25/30/35/35 (felt GREAT, been a while)
Hammer curl 4x8 14 (ditto)
Triceps pushdown 4x8 50/55/55/60
Reverse bic. curl 3x12 30

Because in todays session i finally felt rythm again i also treated myself to my first attempts at olympic lifting. I tried clean and jerk. Only technical with first empty barbell a few sets of slow controlled movements. About 3x10. After that i went up to 35kg and did 3x6 i think. I just kept the split out of the movement as that shocked my back too much. So just pulling up, getting it up to chest/shoulder and a small push/jump to press out. Felt great.
Got the feel of the rythm and the tired body. Gotta keep this going. I want that 300.

[Toni69]

Mikhail Baryshnikov once said, "“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to to dance better than myself.”

This is a powerful statement....nothing will ever be perfect, and we will always be forced to face obstacles and challenges to throw us off track. This inconsistency is what makes us grow, become more skilled, more self-confident and more successful as we set higher standards for ourselves.

Im glad our talks have helped you get back on track..sometimes an outside source can shed a bit of light on something that has been right in front of you the whole time...and its normal for one to overlook the little things cause we get caught up in so many other things.

Now its time to get into gear...no more excuses...just do it!

BTW...GREAT WO! and whatever alleviates pain off that lat...use that to your advantage..a slightly different grip, a different stance, foot position...use it to your advantage.

[GRUNT]

Sometimes the problem you have is so obvious you wouldnt see it if it was marked with a ten ton red dot. Got some usefull conversation about diets going with Toni and all of a sudden she told me some stuff that made total sense. I felt so relieved about finally getting a hold on what went wrong with me last few weeks besides my injury that i took some hours of to get a good meal and workout going. And it worked like a charm. Can't say it was as good as usual yet, but that will return. I told myself to just go there and have FUN like you used to, dont get fixed on numbers. That will return when i am all healed up again. Toni, this one was for you.

Speed day; max 45 seconds rest between sets and exercises if possible. All numbers in kilo's. In this routine weight is not most important. Form and speed is. Normally i use free weights and barbells as much as i can, but for variety i included some today.
By the way: i found that reversing my alternating grip on deads lessened the strain in my left lat... cant explain it, dont even want to. If that feels better, thats what i will do for now.

Block deadlifts: 4x3 100/105/110/120 (also pulled 130 one time) Back held up great
Legpress 45degr 4x8 160 (could really feel mondays leg session still linger)
Benchpress machine 3x5 95/105/110
Pek deck 4x8 60/65/65/70 (was damn hard somehow)
Lat pully 4x8 50/55/55/60 (last set only 6, but NO back problem)
Seated row 4x8 55/55/60/65 (a bit strain when starting the exercise)
Upright row 4x8 30/35/35/35 (difficult)
Bent over row 4x8 55 (felt good, almost no pain)
Neck press machine 4x8 30/35/35/35
Side raises 4x8 9
Barbell curl 4x8 25/30/35/35 (felt GREAT, been a while)
Hammer curl 4x8 14 (ditto)
Triceps pushdown 4x8 50/55/55/60
Reverse bic. curl 3x12 30

Because in todays session i finally felt rythm again i also treated myself to my first attempts at olympic lifting. I tried clean and jerk. Only technical with first empty barbell a few sets of slow controlled movements. About 3x10. After that i went up to 35kg and did 3x6 i think. I just kept the split out of the movement as that shocked my back too much. So just pulling up, getting it up to chest/shoulder and a small push/jump to press out. Felt great.
Got the feel of the rythm and the tired body. Gotta keep this going. I want that 300.

Dammmmnnnn, thats alot movements...I'm tired just from looking at it. If your a beginner in the power lifting field, you seem to be grasping the concept nicely. Very nice session. Have no doubts that you will reach your goal. Just keep on the grind and dont worry about anyone else. I understand about having to work hard, just like in my journey, I dont have the best foods out here to make gains but I do what I can and bust my ass daily. Keep on it, you'll make waves.

[Young&Hungry]

Hey bro, I think you seriously need to re-evaluate your powerlifting program. Why so much volume? Why so many machines that will have no significant carryover into the big three? I don't think you're grasping the concept of building a powerlifting program at all just yet. In any powerlifting program, generally speaking the volume should be low and the intensity high. Read up on some articles. I myself am a powerlifter and there's plenty of experienced vets on this forum as well. Go to these websites and try to read as many articles as you can. If you need help with setting up a program, please feel free to PM me.

http://www.westside-barbell.com
http://www.elitefts.com

Some good powerlifter's logs to read up on this website would be Strongman427, Boar, Hartschuh, Tek, Matt Dickerson, IRBS, BEASTOFRAGE, and myself.

[Thrawn]

Toni: thanks and the workout felt great! been sore for two days and that has been a while!
Grunt: much appreciated! Be assured that i will spill my guts to reach that 300. Should be starting a new program soon. Tonight i train at my mentor (technical session to improve my form) and evaluate where i am now.
Young & Hungry: maybe you refer to the speedsession only? Mondays and fridays dont have much load and reps are much lower. Wednesday session is meant to improve stamina, not build strength. I can move those weights with relative ease back to back. The program was custom made by the coach of the Dutch powerlifting team himself. I trust him to know his business. I have no own experience to say it is a wrong or bad program so it is difficult for me to judge how 'solid' this program is. I can say tho that the TOTAL program has worked wonders for me: in three months on this program i increased my pr's as follows:
Bench: 85kg to 95kg raw
Squat: 75kg to 100kg raw and 120kg with bandages (i really sucked at start)
Deadlift: 90kg to 155kg raw
Guess it works different for all of us. But i WOULD be interested to see other programs. That was also one of my questions in the opening post. So if you could show me some other optional workout routines it would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your comments!

[Young&Hungry]

Alright brother, I don't doubt that your program was designed by some sort of coach but I can see some major design flaws in his programming abilities. The biggest design flaw is the overall volume. You need to understand that powerlifting and bodybuilding are two totally different arenas. Templates for both are similar but at the same time radically different. Powerlifting is a very CNS intensive sport because you are training to move an extremely heavy weight for one repetition, which requires your motor neurons to be able to fire fast and effeciently. The thing with all the unnecessary volume is after you move heavy weight, it looks like you're doing 1-1.5 hours of accessory work on bodybuilding movements that will have no carryover into 1RM's of the squat, bench, or deadlift. This adds unnecessary strain on your nervous system for moves that serve no purpose to a powerlifter.

Day One:
"Stopsquats" - are you referring to paused squats? If you're actually stopping the ROM 75% of the way up, you're putting a lot of unneccesary strain on the supportive tissue in your knees. A better substitute for these would be box squats.
"Small Benches" and Cable Crossover - unnecessary volume that is overtaxing your CNS. Pec strength has little carryover into a power bench.
Deadlifts - deadlifts are the most demanding power move on the CNS. You're better off doing them 1-2 times a month
Leg Curls - little carryover into the squat. Better substitutes are the GHR, Reverse Hyper, or SLDL/RDL.
Heavy Shrugs - more unnecessary CNS taxing.
Squatting, Benching, and Deadlifting heavy in one day - too CNS demanding, you are overtraining

Day Two:
Speed Day - this is an idea copied from the Westside Barbell routine, except your coach does not know how to implement it into this day at all.
Deadlifting - refer above.
Leg Press - unilateral quad training such as lunges or split squats are better for squat carryover.
Benching heavy again - overtaxing the CNS and not allowing the muscles or neurons in that area to recover.
Cable Crossover - refer above.
Bodybuilding type workout - too much volume after deadlifting and benching heavy. Many of those moves are isolation movements are and could be better substituted.

Day Three:
Too much volume and too heavy on the squat, bench, and deadlift after going heavy on them for the past two days. Rep ranges could be better.
Nosebreakers/Dips - poor carryover into the power bench press. Better substitute would be board presses, close grip, JM's, etc.

Bro, I am not trying to offend you with this or insult anyone whose helping you out at home, but as you can see your program doesn't look effective to me. I think you'll end up overtrained and your progress will stall out quickly because of this. For your height and weight, your numbers could use some improvement and I don't think this program will do much of that for you anymore.

I will reccommend either a Sheiko/Korte program to you or a Westside routine. Sheiko/Korte is based off percentages of your 1RM, and the volumes/intensities are waved very nicely and can be managed by your CNS. There's little accessory work, but a lot of volume on the big three which is great for a beginner like yourself to become accustomed to the power lifts. They're old school and the programs of choice by the Eastern Bloc IPF guys. Westside is probably the most popular powerlifting program on Earth. The best part about it is it's highly customizable, and once you learn how the system works, you can very easily tailor it to your needs and avoid overtraining. I myself use this program and so does just about every powerlifter on this website. I put 100 pounds on my box squat, 30 pounds on my bench, 40 pounds on my deadlift, and 15 pounds of bodyweight in 5 months of using Westside.

I'd like you to read more about these two programs, and hopefully when you decide to change your mind about your current program I'd be happy to help you set it up:

Sheiko/Korte: http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-...=54819&tid=138
http://www.t-nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1411071

Westside: most articles on EliteFTS and Westside Barbell (just google, you'll get a million results)
Matt Dickerson, Hartschuh, IRBS, BEASTOFRAGE, Tek, and my own log.

If I can be of any more help please let me know.
-Y&H

[Thrawn]

Young&Hungry: Thanks for your post and comments! I have sent them trough to the coach of our National team and will see what he thinks about your suggestions.

Yesterday was technical training at my mentors garage. We were gonna do the big three, but more ppl turned up for training, especially benchpress. My form problems were most urgent with squad and deadlift, so we decided to focus on those.
My weight has increased again, so that's a plus.
My squat has improved and is now good enough for me to enter competition. Going through the movements i felt good and gained confidence so in spite of my back injury i decided to go for a new personal record. I squated 105 kg raw with relative ease =). Good to know i keep improving rather well. I did not push any further, still had the deadlifts to go, which had been very problematic lately because of the strained lat.
Deadlifts are now also much better regarding to form, so also green light on that now. I can officially enter competitions without worrying about bad turns (they can ofcourse still happen, but that is then all my fault). My mentor lifted his series before me which fired me up a little. Hadnt been able to pull more then 100-105kg last weeks but managed a nice 140kg at the end of the session. NOT my best lift, a bit shaky and hesitant, but i got it up again with relative ease. It did feel a bit scary on my left lateral, so i decided to keep it at that. Recovery is most important now. New training program is being made for me and i will compare it to suggestions made above.
Untill next time, brothers.

[GRUNT]

Hey Thrawn,

If what your doing has been working for you and its giving you success then stick with it. You know your own body and the program your on might be for a reason. Just keep hitting it hard and listen to your trainer.

[The Wanderer]

If it works for you, continue doing it. Your gains are quite impressive, good work.

[Young&Hungry]

Does your coach have an e-mail address or something? I've heard of high volume powerlifting routines like Pricilla Ribic and her USAPL crew do, but nothing like this. I am not gonna bag on your coach but just because he has x or y certifications does not make his word gold. Hopefully another powerlifter who is more experienced than I can get in here and try to convince you to take a serious look at your program because in all seriousness I am worried about the overtraining and future lack of progress this will lead up to, and this may lead to a serious injury. Although I totally don't agree with what you're doing I do wish you the best on your journey.

[Matt Dickerson]

I don't know any top level power lifters that would dream of using that much volume in one session. Heck, I don't know many bodybuilders that would use this much volume either.

You said your main purpose is to train for power lifting but then you tell young and hungry that some of your days are for endurance or stamina and that is exactly what you are training for. Those are completely opposite goals. You might see short term progress with this routine if you are fairly new and just getting in to lifting, but after your poundages initially go up you will stagnate. If you insist on more volume, add in one more day rather than trying to cram everything into 3 days. I would do 2 upper body days and 2 lower.

If I were to do a 3 day split, and I have with great success, I would Rotate my speed and max effort work like this and do only 4-6 movements per day with great focus. Go balls out on each movement and leave nothing in the tank. That way you don't need to do 14 different exercises per day. Doing that many different exercises is akin to doing cardio. You will have a hard time gaining or even maintaining your current weight with your current routine.

Remember this in training: You can Go hard or you can go long, but you can't go hard and long. The sensation might feel like you are going hard, but you won't be. Here is a 3 day split I think you would do much better with.

Week 1.

Monday. Max Effort Bench

1. Main movement variation. Do triples up to 2-3 heavy singles.
2. Accessory like DB reps or BB extension variations 3-4 sets of 5-12 reps.
3. Tricep pushdowns 3 sets of 6-12 reps
4. Lat movement 5 sets of 6-12 reps
5. rear/side delt movement 4 sets of 6-12 reps

Wednesday. Speed Squats/DL

1. Speed box squat 10x2 reps with 50-60% of 1RM wave the percent up over 3 week period.
2. Speed Deads every other week 6sets x1 from 60-75% of 1rm
3. Lower back movement. (Reverse Hyper, 45 Degree Hyper, Pullthroughs, gm's, 3 sets
4. Hamstring movement if needed (GHR, Bent leg pull throughs, light stiff leg deads, leg curls)
5. Heavy Abs 4-5 Sets
6. Grip/Bicep/Neck work -rotate every week

Friday. Speed Bench.

1. Bench. 6-8 Sets of 3 reps at 60% of raw max. Grip inside of rings.
2 Overhead press for reps or incline press for reps, 3-4 sets
3. Tricep movement like on monday 3 sets
4. Lat movement like on monday 5 sets
5. upper back/rear delt movement 3 sets
6. extra delt or bicep movement for 3 sets

Week 2

Mon. Max Effort SQ/DL

1. Main movement (Squat Variation, DL Variation, GM variation) DL heavy twice in a 10 week period. Squat Twice. And GM's should be about 6 times in a 10 week period. Do triples up to 2-4 singles. GM's you might want to stick with triples.

2. Lower Back movement 3-4 sets for 6-12 reps
3. Extra Hamstring movement 3-4 sets for 6-12 reps
4. Shrugs. 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps
5. Heavy Abs. 4-5 sets
6. Heavy Oblique work

Wed. Max Effort Bench like week 1 except using a different main movement.

Fri. Speed Sq.Dl like week 1 except you use a different percent for your speed work.

This is how I would do a 3 day per week split. I would keep rotating. 4 guys at my gym do this and it works well for them. Remember to keep the volume down and focus on improving on your poundages every week. That is what will get you stronger and bigger if you eat for size. Choose the movements that give you the most bang for the buck and go balls out on them. This way you will get stronger more quickly, and you won't waste your calories doing "cardio."

[Thrawn]

Young&Hungry: he does ofcourse. And i know you are not putting down on my coach. Neither am i on your methods. For me this is all new and i have NO way of knowing what is right or wrong. My mentor and national coach are very experienced so i have given them your input objectively. I will see the response and give the feedback here.
Matt Dickerson: thanks for stopping by and your suggestions and comments. They are very much like Young&Hungry's and i will stress this to my coach.

I am supposed to get a new program soon and even I did note them that i think volume is too much (see my opening post). I have had no real trouble doing this program, but i feel i should concentrate more energy. So on that aspect we do agree =) I am looking seriously into both your suggestions and will also make my own program i think is good for me and hand it to my coach. In that program i will certainly incorporate your suggestions. I seriously value both your suggestions and know you are not putting down on me or my coach.
So far this program does seem to work for me and that is also something i have given as input to my coach. Fair is fair. But personally i would like a bit less volume or maybe split over 4 days instead of 3 so i can keep focus longer.

Grunt and the Wanderer: thanks, brothers! I love what i am doing right now and i will certainly spill my guts for those 300 Wilks. Be it on this program or another: my determination is not wavering on this.

Thanks for all the input! This forvm is a TREASURE in knowledge!

[Gazzara]

Thrawn, that link to Westside is a good one. You should check it out just for some inspiration. You will be overwhelmed by the number of men and women that Louie Simmons has trained to lift huge weight there. On the Elite Members page Westside has 50 members who squat over 800 and 70 who bench over 550 http://www.westside-barbell.com/elite_members.htm

You have to experience Westside from the website since you are over there in the Netherlands, but I am fortunate that the gym is only 10 miles from me here in Columbus OH and I actually got to go there and train just this past Friday. You might not care to use their methods in your training, but you certainly would enjoy watching those lifters in action.

The stretch bands and chains are clever ideas to boost your strength past your sticking points. On deadlifts the heavy chains are attached to the ends of the bar so that your initial pull from the floor is the weight on the bar, but as you rise and pull more chain with you the weight you are holding goes up. With the stretch bands, they are attached to the floor in front of the ends of the bar, run over the bar, then are attached to the floor again behind the bar. The more you rise up, the more tension that you are pulling. At the Animal Cage at the Arnold Expo [fortunately also here in Columbus] I watched some of the pros reverse this on the deadlift with an over-max weight on the bar and the bands looped over the ends of the bar and attached about 5 feet above the floor to assist in pulling it off the floor, leaving you with the full load when standing erect.

So the gym itself is not impressive - its just a small warehouse, but the lifting was amazing. There was a group of guys squatiung with 500 to 600 pounds, but Louie said that the heavy bands that were attached to the floor added another 500 pounds.

I went there for help with my deadlift because I always have done it using too much of my back, as you apparently have, because that's where my strength is. I expected to be chided for this and I was. Louie told me that while the deadlift is primariliy back and hips, it is the weak points that you have to work on, not the strong points. That meant sitting way back and dragging the bar up my shins, just as you described. He pointed to the bruises up and down his shins then I looked at the other guys - same thing. Stiif, from the Animal Forum, basically told me the same thing when we worked out after the Arnold Expo. But as Louie said, nobody wants to do the things that they suck at - but that's where the work is needed.

Louie had me doing sumo deadlifts with a really wide stance to strengthen my hips. It was awkward and I think I was only pulling about 225, but this will be my new deadlift routine. So in that wide stance I had to point my toes out to the sides as far as possible, almost to the plates. With my ass all the way down he had me forcing my hips forward to pivot the bar off the floor, the knees acting as the fulcrum. Normally when I would try to do a regular deadlift with "good form" I would try to drive my heels into the floor and lift straight up with my quads, rather than my back or hams. For this sumo lift Louie had me pushing out sideways through my toes, pushing toward the plates, while pulling my hips into the bar and forcing my shoulders straight back. He said that the quads are not the main push in the deadlift. Again, it is the back and the hips. The sumos were to improve the weak hips so that a regular deadlift would go up.

So, sorry to fill up your log, but here is a final comment that you probably will not find on the Westside website. Louie was showing me the posted list of 50) 800 pound squaters and 70) 550 benchers. I asume he was apply this to the big dudes when he said that after a year of training, anyone who could not squat 800 and bench 550 could not come back to the gym until they could. Basically, move up or move out. Louie Simmons is a great guy who will tell you everything he knows about lifting weights. But you have to apply it if you want to come back.

[Thrawn]

Hey Gazzara, thanks for your post. My log is free for all to comment and say what they want, as long as its constructive. That leads me to clarify one thing: i get the idea that ppl think i am NOT listening to Matt or Y&H. Believe me, I am. I am taking all comments seriously and my coach also. He is looking into the program Matt send me, and the comments i gave on the program i followed so far. I just stay 'out of the discussion' as i am a greenie and do not have the knowledge. PL is soooo unknown in the Netherlands its hard to get good info. I can only say the program has worked good for me so far (good improvements in lifted weights, good improvents in mass) and for now, there seems no sign of progress slowing down.

I know the bands and chains, i have trained with them already (bands for squads and chains for deadlifts). Loving it. I even have my own chains at the gym i train now and before my injury would use them on my deadlifts and dips.
Great to hear how you improved your technique with Louie! My mentor had me squatting with just the barbell untill i would finally stand up straight after the squat =) ONLY after that was i allowed to put on the plates, LOL.
Must be great to live in a place where there is so much access to info and good gyms. Over here gyms are not that pro, most will not allow you to use chalk or chains and stuff, there is almost no knowledge about heavy lifting. But those are the cards i am dealt and i will play as smart as i can with them.
Thanks again for checking my journey!

[Young&Hungry]

Thanks for listening to our comments brother. I think the progress you're seeing from this program is just because you're so green. My first three months in the gym, I was going in and doing chest for two hours one day, tri's for two hours the next, back for two hours the next, seven days a week. I was growing like a fuckin' weed even though I was ridiculously overtraining. So even though you're overtraining yourself into the ground, you're still seeing progress because your body is still adapting to the stressors of lifting weights. I think if you made the switch to such a program as Westside, Sheiko/Korte, 5x5, 3x3, Kilgore's Starting Strength, whatever - you would see so much more progress because you're going to have to switch to these sooner or later because you're gonna see your progress diminish with the extreme rate of volume you're on.

I think the fact that you seek out a technical guy to help you with your form is awesome, I wish I had someone as knowledgeable as he on the form because I'm still tinkering my form on everything nearly three years later. I do think the whole coach thing is unnecessary. I've educated myself in powerlifting my disciplining myself to read at least three hours a night (usually much more), whether it be other people's logs, watching interviews, disecting people's form on YouTube, learning about other programs, reading programs and making sense of everything, scientific dissertations, and most importantly being on this forum. Read the good stuff and the bad stuff and use CRITICAL THINKING to make sense of it all. I think you'll learn much more doing it this way than listening to only one potentially biased source. Anyways I do hope you come to your senses and get on the track of finding a better program. Good luck.