PLing solo possible

[srb5046th]

Im on riptoes right now and eating like a pig and ever since I started I am totaly putting on muscle and getting stronger. I am putting alot of effort into my benches, squats and deadlifts. I have nobody to lift with and never will. I am not asking where to meet people. I am asking if it is possible to become a competitive power lifter lifting only solo. I do have a cage and have been using it as a spotter on my benches. I have also been doing box squats.
Thanks for any input.

[JellyBeans]

I don't see why not

[srb5046th]

does anybody else solo powerlift and lift really heavy ie; 400 lbs squats, big benches?

[Alex_Kap]

r u doing this at home or something similar or is this at a gym and u just train alone?

cause personally i train solo, but i get ppl at my gym to spot me just in case for heavy squats and bench, so just an idea if thats what u were asking.

[Drew23]

Been doing it for a year and a half. 500 squat, 315 bench, 500 DL. Bench getting ready to breakthrough, so I may get that 400 yet.

[Boridi]

If you use your brain, lifting solo is perfectly fine from a safety stand point.

A partner is good for technique help, motivation etc.

[GoldLabel]

Been lifting solo at home for over 3 years now.Use a power rack, no problems.
Max Lifts:
510 squat
390 bench
615 dead

[kenners]

You can have great success by yourself. I trained with the same group for 5-6 years. They lost motivation and I ended up training alone in my garage. Things have never been better. My workouts are shorter and more intense.

[phreak]

does anybody else solo powerlift and lift really heavy ie; 400 lbs squats, big benches?

Not really heavy (shirted bench about 450 now, raw 385-405(???)), but I lift solo and never have any problems with it. As long as your rack is set up okay, and you can feel safe on heavy sets, then there is nothing stopping you from achieving your potential.

[powerman2000]

Not having a training partner is a disadvantage, but it won't stop anyone from being successful.

[BPP]

why only box squats? you have a rack, squatting with no spotter is fine

[beast69]

I train for strongman by myself in my garage....I may not be putting up the same numbers as some of the guys on here, but I am seeing dramatic increases, with only my music blasting, my rack, and some good videos to pump me up before-hand.

[GoJu]

I don't see not having a training partner as a disadvantage, use a power rack if you want to feel safe and train the right way and you should be good. Brooks Kubik has a chapter in his book about John Davis an olympic weightlifting champion and amateur powerlifter/strongman who put up amazing numbers before the era of steriods during his competitive years of 1937-1956. Some of his most notable lifts at a bodyweight of 200 were:

Clean and Jerk - 375 (at a contest), 400 (in training)
Olypmic Squat - 550 x 3, 525 x 8, 500 x 10
Deadlift - 705
Bench Press - 425
One Hand Snatch - 215
Barbell Curl - 215
Dumbell Clean and Press - 142's
Bent Press - 275
1-arm DB Curl - 103

and this guy trained by himself in the basement of his church, kubik also says he did it with a non-revolving exercise bar. If that doesn't inspire you to go train, even if it's alone RIGHT NOW (I'm going to the gym after breakfast), I don't know what will!

[powerman2000]

I don't see not having a training partner as a disadvantage, use a power rack if you want to feel safe and train the right way and you should be good. Brooks Kubik has a chapter in his book about John Davis an olympic weightlifting champion and amateur powerlifter/strongman who put up amazing numbers before the era of steriods during his competitive years of 1937-1956. Some of his most notable lifts at a bodyweight of 200 were:

Clean and Press - 375 (at a contest), 400 (in training)
Olypmic Squat - 550 x 3, 525 x 8, 500 x 10
Deadlift - 705
Bench Press - 425
One Hand Snatch - 215
Barbell Curl - 215
Dumbell Clean and Press - 142's
Bent Press - 275
1-arm DB Curl - 103

and this guy trained by himself in the basement of his church, kubik also says he did it with a non-revolving exercise bar. If that doesn't inspire you to go train, even if it's alone RIGHT NOW (I'm going to the gym after breakfast), I don't know what will!

Your view of what a training partner can be and the value it has is very narrow. A training partner is not just a spotter.

Sounds like maybe you've never been a competitive PLer with a good training partner/s.

[Danimal]

I've spent most of my training days training alone. I've had periods where my son lifted with me, and now I have a new workout partner, but I feel 100% confident in lifting as heavy as I can alone in a cage. The worst part is not having a liftoff for a heavy bench, but it's still not that big a deal. When I do board presses or something like that, I get my wife or daughter to come down and hold the boards for me. Heavy is all relative, I lift heavy for me but what might be light for others. Squats in the 500 to low 600's range, bench in the low to mid 400's.

[GoJu]

Your view of what a training partner can be and the value it has is very narrow. A training partner is not just a spotter.

Sounds like maybe you've never been a competitive PLer with a good training partner/s.

I've never had a consistent training partner and I'm doing just fine, if you're looking for inspiration to lift from others, well mine comes from my anger that I'm still so weak after all my years of hard work, that alone keeps me going more than anything!

[srb5046th]

Thank you all for the responses. I lift alone in my garage. I live in a rural area with no access to good equipment. I just never see any videos or read any articles about people lifting alone. I always see a guy on a bench with about 5 people around. Just wondering if I was the only one.