PowerLifting/Strongwomen!

[twisttx]

Awesome job!

[medusa11]

Anyone else IPF around here?

[Amanda20]

I started training with my dad who is a great strength training coach. The combination of all the treatments increased my strength, realigned my spine and allowed me to compete in power lifting. In fact I have been traveling and speaking about what I have accomplished in my young life despite my physical setbacks

[poshbird]

Just thought I would pop in.. I've started on my new exciting journey into powerlifting.

[sbilyeu75]

I'm considering getting into Power Lifting and possibly Strongwoman, but I don't know where to begin. I started lifting in 2009, but since I had my last baby 2.5 years ago I've lacked focus. I'm looking for websites, books, training workouts, etc. Basically, I'm trying to get as much information that I can. I also would like to know if it's even possible to start now, or did I get interested too late in life. I'm near Dayton, Ohio and have reached out to a couple of gyms, but they have not responded back yet. Here are my physical stats, current lifting stats and challenges.

Physical Stats:
Female
39 years old
5'2"
170 lbs.
34.8% est. body fat percentage

Lifting Stats:
Bench Press - 95 lbs x 3 reps
Barbell Squat - 125 lbs x 8 reps (I honestly don't think I've been going down low enough)
Barbel Deadlift - 135 lbs x 6 reps (The last time I did this lift was the end of May)

Challenges:
I do get sacroiliac joint pain now and then. I'm managing it with chiropractor visits.
I homeschool and have two young children. I need to continue to use the gym I belong to now (LA Fitness) because I need the childcare.
I had an emergency C-Section 2.5 years ago. This has left my abdominal muscles weak.
I want to do this drug free.

Thanks so much!

[LittlexMermaid]

Hi
I'm so impressed by your numbers. 225 lbs on squat it's a lot of weight. But i have a question... you're doing how many rep? Cuz I squat 145 x10 x3 and i don't know how I could put more weight. You're so awesome girls!

[didiSMALLZ]

I've recently gotten into the powerlifting style of training. What would an ideal strength to body weight ratio be for a female for the OHP, bench, squat, and deadlift?

[sbilyeu75]

I really wish there was a section not just a thread for women's powerlifting/strongwomen. Oh well, I did my first Strongwoman Challenge on Aug 30th. Here were my results:
Axle DL: 165 lbs for 12 reps
DB Clean and Press: 45 lbs. 7 reps
Sandbag load: 100 lbs. 32 sec. (I almost got the 125 up there, but didn't)
Farmer's Walk / Keg Medley: 115lb Farmers walk /50 lb keg 40 sec.
Truck Push: I missed the finish line by about 3 feet.

The event was to introduce women to the strongman/strongwoman sport. I had a blast.

[IReallyWonSize]

Hi everyone! I've been getting into PL for the last year or two, just did my first meet this weekend. Would LOVE to do strongman, but don't know where to start with it...

Congrats on your first meet.

[becomingflu]

Hey PL ladies! I'm just finishing my 2nd Wendler (5/3/1) cycle and plan on continuing for at least 4 more. I love Oly but PL is definitely where my heart gravitates! I would love to be part of the community here! I've been lifting on-and-off for a little over a year (started in Crossfit).

Right now I am struggling to make progress on my upper body lifts (typical female issue, I know) so I've been doing a boring-but-big approach to my assistance work on those lifts this last cycle and will probably continue the same in my 3rd cycle. I am afraid I'll stall on press this next cycle but we'll see. Any advice on those lifts would be appreciated!

I'll be looking around/reading back in this thread to get to know people but I look forward to getting to know y'all more!

[trickyfit]

I am always impressed to those women who are in to power lifting.

[chalkNcheers]

Hey PL ladies! I'm just finishing my 2nd Wendler (5/3/1) cycle and plan on continuing for at least 4 more. I love Oly but PL is definitely where my heart gravitates! I would love to be part of the community here! I've been lifting on-and-off for a little over a year (started in Crossfit).

Right now I am struggling to make progress on my upper body lifts (typical female issue, I know) so I've been doing a boring-but-big approach to my assistance work on those lifts this last cycle and will probably continue the same in my 3rd cycle. I am afraid I'll stall on press this next cycle but we'll see. Any advice on those lifts would be appreciated!

I'll be looking around/reading back in this thread to get to know people but I look forward to getting to know y'all more!

Have you ever tried running Smolov Jnr for your bench? The sheer volume and intensity of the program makes results possible, just be prepared to bench at least 3 X per week. Before a recent push/pull PL comp I was benching 4 X per week running Smolov Jnr... this made me easily hit the numbers I wanted.

[chalkNcheers]

I've recently gotten into the powerlifting style of training. What would an ideal strength to body weight ratio be for a female for the OHP, bench, squat, and deadlift?

A bodyweight bench, 1.5 X bodyweight squat and 2 X bodyweight deadlift seem to be benchmarks for respectable strength... not sure for OH press though. Here's a good link to gauge your strength: http://strengthlevel.com/.

[chalkNcheers]

I have a quick question for the ladies who train in powerlifting. Do you guys supplement your training with cardio? I try and add a 30 minute HIT cardio session into my regime each week, but am wondering if it's unnecessary. Is lifting heavy enough, or would a session of cardio be beneficial for training and overall health?

[becomingflu]

"They" say too much cardio interferes with strength/power adaptations, but I don't think one 30 minute cardio session would cause much issue, especially if it is separated by at least half-a-day from any lifting activity. I inadvertently do some cardio, just because I commute short distances via a bicycle, but I have implemented zero cardio into my training regimen.

I have a question for the group (x-posting): During my last de-load week for 5/3/1 I experienced quite a bit of piriformis pain (to the point I was rolling it between sets to make it through) so I took one week off to stretch/roll/rehab it and then began de-loaded weights this week. So far there has been no pain and very little pain when rolling it now. I want to return to doing my squats and DLs next week to start a new 5/3/1 cycle but I am uncertain if I should just continue where I left off or start at a lower level weight-wise.

Last cycle's training maxes were:

Deadlift: 95kg (3rd week I did 7 reps @ 90kg)
Squat: 65kg (3rd week I did 7 reps @ 62.5kg)

Any suggestions?

[byond]

Have you ever tried running Smolov Jnr for your bench? The sheer volume and intensity of the program makes results possible, just be prepared to bench at least 3 X per week. Before a recent push/pull PL comp I was benching 4 X per week running Smolov Jnr... this made me easily hit the numbers I wanted.

From what I've been seeing around, smolov is a "priming" program, to get you ready right before a meet. After the prime period, most of the strength gain is lost fairly quickly, and that loss seems to be most drastic for bench press. I have done high volume training for squats and my experience is consistent with that.
To really increase bench I think there's no magic formula; it takes benching of course, and also varied assistance work (such as OHP and rows, plus isolation work), different rep ranges, etc.. and apparently a certain amount of bodyfat (!)


Anyways,
I am considering a 5/3/1 cycle to get stronger on my main lifts, but wondering if I should wait until I hit a plateau on all my lifts before doing so. Opinion on this?

[bull.dogz]

Glad to see there are other ladies who love getting stronger. Just competed at the Reebok Record Breakers meet his past weekend.

[LunaLifts]

Glad to see there are other ladies who love getting stronger. Just competed at the Reebok Record Breakers meet his past weekend.

That was nothing short of amazing. Very impressive numbers! Way to go.

[FallenAngel80]

Glad to see there are other ladies who love getting stronger. Just competed at the Reebok Record Breakers meet his past weekend.

Wow, well done! I had to do a double-take on the numbers, that's amazing

[M0n5ter9]

Glad to see there are other ladies who love getting stronger. Just competed at the Reebok Record Breakers meet his past weekend.

Wow, Very impressive

[M0n5ter9]

chalkNcheers, The link was helpful, thank you!

[jrobb82]

[QUOTE=bull.dogz;1402766153]Glad to see there are other ladies who love getting stronger. Just competed at the Reebok Record Breakers meet his past weekend. [QUOTE]

Whoa super impressive numbers. I am looking to compete in my first Novice PL'ing comp in a few months The clip of your meet is super inspirational!