I have some very serious questions for powerlifters. Need serious advice.

[jonathan2994]

I want to be really big. The best example I can give you is that I want to be about the size of Robert Trujillo (the bassist for metallica), fat and all. My father and family do and always have doubted me. I'm small with a some leanness and about 13 percent body fat. I'm 5'10, 143 pounds. My max out on bench press is about 145, which is a rough estimate from my last max and the work I've done since, and that's all I know as far as maxing.

I consume plenty of protein, carbs, fat, and what have you. Because of my age and metabolism, I can consume a lot of fat without gaining anything, so don't worry about offering me advice in that field. I use whey, creatine, and nox2 (I take 3, 2 hours before each workout).

I'm a powerlifter, so I do sets of 5 with a weight I can handle.

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POINT: According to some people, you don't have to lift a LOT of weight to build muscle when powerlifting (or any other type of training, for that matter), just somewhere around 75 percent of your max, and you just have make sure you maintain perfect form and repitions. They also say to only workout each muscle group 1 time a week. Now, for all of you powerlifters, what works for you? Do you go as light or lighter than 75 percent of your maxouts on all excercises? If not, what do you do?

My weight training coach is a huge guy. He's chubby because he doesn't burn all the fat and carbs he consumes, but he's very, very strong. When I see him work out, he'll curl and bench just about the same weight we do, but with ease. He'll work out on bench with 200 lbs. doing 4 sets of 5, and his max is well over 300. He uses perfect form; breathes correctly, doesn't rest the muscle, goes ass to grass on squats, go slow on the negatives and fast on the contractions, etc. Is this what you big guys do?

Is diet and form really that much more important than the weight you do? I know that anyone can do 75 percent of their maxout on any excercise, no problem, but do you really gain that much muscle by doing everything else (diet, form, routine, etc.) perfectly?

I saw Jose Consaco (can't spell his name) on 60 minutes working out, and he said that since he uses steroids, he never had to do that much. He was curling about 30 pounds in each hand (with bad form, even) and he was HUGE!

I do each muscle group once per week (all of the major 17 or however many there are), doing 4 or 5 excercises per weekday and breaking on weekends. Workouts usually last for about 35-45 minutes.

EDIT: Also, if my muscle is sore and in pain the next day, did I overtrain?

Should I have to strain to get big? No one else seems to have to. My goal is to reach 200 lbs. by the end of the year on bench press (reminder: I'm at about 145 now), and with the aid of creatine, whey, and nox2 (just for a little while longer since my bottle is running low and the stuff is expensive), and the workout principles expressed in this thread, do you think I'll reach my goal? I'm not at all worried about a little gut either, so I eat protein rich foods like a lion. Any suggestions as to how I can modify my plans to reach this goal by 2006?

Was any of the information I've been told or observed false? Please make sure you've read my whole post and PLEASE give me an analysis on what you read, and in return, I'll beat you in an arm wrestling match some day.

Seriously, this are pretty much all of the questions I have ever (and ever wanted) to ask on bodybuilding and never found any answers.

Thank you for reading,

Jonathan Shepard


P.S. You might find this in other sections of the forum, but that's because I want to get as much advice as I possibly can. I may even PM it to some people.

[insaNe kraZi]

Who gonna post the first colin?


Anyway, there is a powerlifting fourm, use it.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumd...aysprune=&f=33

[Muscle D]

Gaining 55 lbs in 9 months is a bit high. 2-5 lbs per month would be reasonable with, of course, the more weight you put on in a short amount of time, the more fat you are likely to be gaining.

Why don't you try the powerlifting section since that is what you are primarly focused on. Here is the link: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

There are also many good articles on this website. Just read up on nutrition, the stickies at the top of the main forum pages, and powerlifting articles for beginners. It would also be a good idea to check a few different sources before you commit to something someone tells you. A few years ago when I was just starting out, I took the wrong advice from a forum member...but at least I learned from my mistake, experience is very valuable.

[jonathan2994]

Gaining 55 lbs in 9 months is a bit high. 2-5 lbs per month would be reasonable with, of course, the more weight you put on in a short amount of time, the more fat you are likely to be gaining.

Why don't you try the powerlifting section since that is what you are primarly focused on. Here is the link: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

There are also many good articles on this website. Just read up on nutrition, the stickies at the top of the main forum pages, and powerlifting articles for beginners. It would also be a good idea to check a few different sources before you commit to something someone tells you. A few years ago when I was just starting out, I took the wrong advice from a forum member...but at least I learned from my mistake, experience is very valuable.

I am trying to raise my bench press, not my body weight. But thank you for the advice, I will take it.