Hi guys. I'm a 21 year old male from Norway, and I have some questions for you all.
First a little bit of background:
I have been losing weight for quite some time, going from 330lbs to 211lbs, and still cutting. I stumbled upon Powerlifting via my research for how to best retain muscle, and I've been doing the stronglifts 5x5 program for about 4 months until I sustained a shoulder injury in wrestling training. My lifts have gone up:
Bench: 100lbs - 185lbs
Squat: 155lbs - 240lbs
Deadlift: 265lbs - 405lbs
Since I've been cutting this whole time, I'm guessing that I haven't taken full advantage of the program. Also, I'm looking to get some gear, as I am quite sure this is what I want to do - Setting new PRs is the best feeling in the world and I want to keep progressing as fast as I can. So here are my questions:
Belt: I'm thinking about ordering an inzer belt. 10mm vs 13mm pro's cons? Money isn't really an issue here, would like to hear your thoughts here
Oly shoes:: I use chucks for lifting, but I feel a raised heel would help my squats. Are they a good investment? If so, Adipowers vs Power Perfect? Other shoes? Thanks
Program: I'm wondering if I should just continue following the noob program until I reach a certain weight in each lift, or how I should be going about things? Would like some feedback on your thoughts about SL5x5 (I'm basically doing babylovers tho 5x5 tbh) for me, and when I'll be ready to move on to another program.
Ok thats it guys thanks in advance.
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02-27-2013, 03:56 PM #1
Aspiring powerlifter needs advice!
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02-27-2013, 04:29 PM #2
My various coaches have always recommended 10mm. I hear great things about the Inzer Forever... So great, in fact, that I ordered one today. (In hot pink, obviously.)
A raised heel would help your squat, if you wanted to do Olympic lifting. Olympic lifting requires your "squat" to be much much lower than parallel and the angle of the shoe helps you do that. All the powerlifters I know just wear Chucks.
What's your noob program? There are some great (free) Wendler 5/3/1 apps out there that do your programming for you, including your accessory work. I highly recommend them.
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02-27-2013, 04:34 PM #3
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02-27-2013, 04:38 PM #4
I'm planning on doing powerlifter-squats, but I've noticed some youtubers (ben rice for instance) do own oly shoes. I do not plan on doing narrow stance super deep squats, I'm going to go just deep enough to get the "good lift" if I were to do it in a competition somewhere down the road.
The program I do now is a ABA BAB setup:
A:
Squat 5x5
MP 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Tricep 3x8
Pulldowns 3x8
B:
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
Bent over row 5x5
Curls 3x8
Cable rows 3x8
Chins 3x8 (can only do 4 chins as of now so I do them in the pulldown machine, same goes for pullups btw)
Any specific reasoning as for why the 10mm > 13mm?
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02-27-2013, 04:48 PM #5
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02-27-2013, 04:50 PM #6
I don't know why a powerlifter would wear Oly shoes but, thankfully, I'm a pretty flexible person. I wouldn't wear them just to avoid LOSING any ankle mobility. It's probably just a matter of preference. If you can hit parallel without them, screw it. If you can't hit parallel without them... Mobilize. lol
A new belt is unpleasantly stiff. I've ended up with some awesome bruises from attempting to break them in. The thicker it is, the more time it's going to take to get through that process. Which is, obviously, not ideal.
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02-27-2013, 04:55 PM #7
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02-27-2013, 05:06 PM #8
I can hit parallell, my only problem with squats really is my back / stability i.e I am lifting weights that are laughably easy for my legs, but the rep gets extremely heavy because of the taxation on my back. This would explain my ridiculously strong deadlift in comparison to my squat. I understand that this is first and foremost technique issues, but I'd like to make things as optimal as possible, and if oly shoes will help my squat then I want 'em!
I think the point with a raised heel is that its simply easier to go deeper. Its kind of the same concept as with the hack squat machine, I think.
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02-27-2013, 05:18 PM #9
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02-27-2013, 05:19 PM #10
- Join Date: Jan 2006
- Location: Georgia, United States
- Age: 34
- Posts: 14,092
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Its not only mobility. I don't need heels to make depth (which isn't parallel, its below parallel), but I can squat more in them. Same holds true for the majority of the powerlifters I've ever met and at least 90% of powerlifters I know who have ever tried them.
Honestly the only person I know who went to oly shoes and switched back was Martin_Mathers
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02-27-2013, 06:14 PM #11
- Join Date: May 2012
- Location: San Diego, California, United States
- Posts: 8,089
- Rep Power: 22739
I just did some high bar squatting in weightlifting shoes tonight & it felt awsome. Just for kicks I tried my low bar stance with them, didnt feel so awsome. Seems like they are only good for a medium to narrow stance, when you start getting a little "wide" raised heeled shoes become a hinderence. Right now I use very flat deadlift'ish slippers to squat and it lets me point toes out & get a little wider then shoulder width. Just my experience with them.
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02-27-2013, 06:55 PM #12
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02-27-2013, 07:02 PM #13
Ben Rice also tried Oly shoes a couple times and said he hurt his back and went back to Chucks.
Buy an Inzer belt. I was told to get a 10mm and that is what I got but it seems like everyone on here recommends 13mm. Buy some Oly shoes, many raw and single ply lifters use them very effectively. You can still use Chucks for deadlifts and if you ever don't like the Oly shoes you'll still have your Chucks to fall back on. Stay on a 5x5 program for as long as you can.1372 @ 205
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02-27-2013, 08:24 PM #14
Dafuq...are you really comparing the slight heel of a solid weight lifting shoe to the skinny piece of **** that's slapped on stilettos...you don't stay "heel heavy" in girly shoes because you'll snap the stem, that's the only reason...that and the nice pop it gives to your booty by walking on your front pads...
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02-28-2013, 05:47 AM #15
I could see getting a 10mm if you were dead set on a single or double prong. With a lever though, I would definitely get a 13mm. I'm not going to say the break-in will be painless, but consider it a right of passage.
I got a pair of Nike Romaleos 2 recently. They are awesome. I felt the benefit immediately. I squat with a pretty narrow stance and never had a problem hitting depth before the shoes or after.Training log: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=165829701
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02-28-2013, 07:09 AM #16
1. 13mm Inzer Forever Belt
2. Get a good flat shoe first, and if you find you need a heel, get a pair of oly shoes. Everybody in my gym that uses a heeled shoe wears Do-Wins.
3. Stay on a basic, linear progression as long as you possibly can. Switch when you get to the point that you've reset/deloaded a couple of times, you know your recovery is as good as it can reasonably be, and you're still not gaining.314/231/352/881@123
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02-28-2013, 08:18 AM #17
Thanks for the help guys. As it stands, I'm going to go for Inzer 13mm forever lever belt.
When it comes to oly shoes, are the DoWins and Romaleos comparable to adipowers in quality? As in, are they as good? Anything specifically I should think about when choosing shoes? I'm a sucker for adidas, but obviously if there are shoes that are cheaper, which will benefit me as much, I'll go for those instead.
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02-28-2013, 08:21 AM #18
- Join Date: Mar 2009
- Location: California, United States
- Posts: 16,397
- Rep Power: 121105
Belt: 10mm inzer forever lever will last.. forever
Shoes: The power perfects should work fine.. no real need to spend 200$ on your first pair of shoes. Pendlay do-win's or Wei Rui warriors work, too.
Program: Purchase one of the 5/3/1 manuals, or use an online calculator. These are pretty awesome for beginning/intermediate trainees as they allow for very visible linear progression while still maintaining flexibility so you can do assistance workouts you enjoy too
Edit; also, congrats on your weight loss. I know that feel - was 296lbs a little over 4 years agoLast edited by Big.Jazayrli; 02-28-2013 at 08:31 AM.
Picking things up and putting them down since '09
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02-28-2013, 08:42 AM #19
I'm going to go for the Power Perfects then. I'm guessing the 13mm forever lever belt, too, will last me forever? Basically what is making me unsure here is that it seems as though the 13mm is the "best" belt, but I'm concerned about it being bad for deadlifts. Also, if a 10mm will be of great benefit for me for years to come, then I guess I won't really be needing to think about the 13mm as I'm a noob still. 5/3/1 vs 5x5 thoughts? What I'm doing now is basically doing warmup, then I do two sets a little bit under my "top set", which I add 2,5kg (or approx 5lbs) each time I do the excercise. My only concern here is in the deadlift, where the program states 1x5, which makes it hard for me to really do the linear progress thing as deadlifts have basically been "slap amount of weight on the bar and watch it go up" for me for some reason. Its hard to stay consistent and get any linear progress on it.
Also thanks, any tips for how to about things when cutting specifically? I've got my diet in check, counting cals and hitting macros, but more on the lifting part - Should I just be training as if I was bulking?
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02-28-2013, 10:25 AM #20
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