Should I lift heavy?

[xdmorganx]

Okay, so people have been telling me not to lift heavy. I have been for months now and I haven’t gotten any injuries from lifting over the past 7/8 months. I’m 15 years old, 6ft 2 and 205lbs. When I started lifting I was 171lbs so it has benefitted me massively, and I started on 5x5 workouts.

So my question is, should I continue to lift heavy. Test my one rep maxes every now and again, I’m 10kg away from the ‘1000lbs club’ and I’m 16 next month. If I switch my focus to more bodybuilding style I’m not necessarily going to get the 1000lbs by the time im 16.

So what’d you guys think? Should I continue doing low reps (5x5) or switch my training up now.

[koweanguy]

1000 from the Big 3 is a huge milestone, especially at your age.
I'd stick with the 5x5 for a bit longer to bump your bench a bit.
Squats and Deads are looking good, but hopefully you do them with proper form!

[xdmorganx]

Deadlift form is a bit off, I’m trying to get that better now. But my squat form is good I think, I’m not sure how to upload them to here but when I hit the 1000 I’ll upload all three together

[gokitty199]

Deadlift form is a bit off, I’m trying to get that better now. But my squat form is good I think, I’m not sure how to upload them to here but when I hit the 1000 I’ll upload all three together

nice work dude thats very impressive, heck your 5 years younger than me and getting close to surpassing me lol. your routine seems to be working well for you so keep it up and lift safe, your doing great!

[YouWillPrevail]

You got pretty good lifts, I recommend you get someone trusted, like a very experienced personal trainer or someone that really knows their ****, to watch you and judge whether your technique is good enough, you yourself can't judge, I've been training a little over a year, but I still haven't gotten to the heavy part yet (starting next month). Just make sure you get someone that can tell you got your **** good and yeah go for it. But remember, it's a process don't go too heavy, get someone to tell you what to go to. A lot of people our age, aren't all that knowledgeable and think they know it all, or don't care all together. Be careful, you're a big dude so you can handle yourself, trust the process, train smart. That's what my trainer always said's to me. Train smart. Goodluck dude.

[Henchmandan]

You don’t get injuries from lifting heavy...you get the best gains tho.... if it’s working for you and your getting results. Why change anything. Injuries come from poor form

[xdmorganx]

Thank you guys, I've repped you all

[gokitty199]

Thank you guys, I've repped you all

heres a lil rep power for ya

[WarriorCond]

You don’t get injuries from lifting heavy...you get the best gains tho.... if it’s working for you and your getting results. Why change anything. Injuries come from poor form

This ^

Don't ever let your form down for high amounts of resistance, safety comes first

Don't test 1 rep max's very often, can be very unsafe without a spotter and is very draining

Also as above, if something continuously works for you while maintaining good and safe form there's no need to change anything

If you want your form check I believe investing in a very knowledgeable Personal Trainer or Strength Coach is worthy (IMO I'd recommend a strength coach as their specialty is S / B / D). Had a personal trainer at my old gym who told me my RDL's, Squats, Bench & Deadlifts were spot on, boy was he wrong. Joined a power lifting specific gym and while they admitted my numbers were very good without getting any proper advice all those exercises were broken such as not maintaining a neutral spine, chest collapsing, lower back caving in too much, knee's caving in. Get someone who know's their sh*t (even if it's an online coach)

I'd also recommend training sub maximally and not near your max all the time (max being 90%-100%, sometimes even 85%), will cause you to burn out very quickly and is often over kill

[WolfRose7]

=, I recommend you get someone trusted, like a very experienced personal trainer or someone that really knows their ****, to watch you and judge whether your technique is good enough

Gotta be careful about this, know something with a 16 year experienced highly recommended PT..

PT didn't even bother teaching him breathing and bracing correctly, in months of training..

[xdmorganx]

This ^

Don't ever let your form down for high amounts of resistance, safety comes first

Don't test 1 rep max's very often, can be very unsafe without a spotter and is very draining

Also as above, if something continuously works for you while maintaining good and safe form there's no need to change anything

If you want your form check I believe investing in a very knowledgeable Personal Trainer or Strength Coach is worthy (IMO I'd recommend a strength coach as their specialty is S / B / D). Had a personal trainer at my old gym who told me my RDL's, Squats, Bench & Deadlifts were spot on, boy was he wrong. Joined a power lifting specific gym and while they admitted my numbers were very good without getting any proper advice all those exercises were broken such as not maintaining a neutral spine, chest collapsing, lower back caving in too much, knee's caving in. Get someone who know's their sh*t (even if it's an online coach)

I'd also recommend training sub maximally and not near your max all the time (max being 90%-100%, sometimes even 85%), will cause you to burn out very quickly and is often over kill

I've got a few videos of my compound lifts, the deadlift video was taken a while ago. The bench video is the only one I have, even though it is of me failing.

Bench:
https://youtu.be/DVFo4lJ85HY

Deadlift:
https://youtu.be/-6OqE18O6ec

Squat:
https://youtu.be/iwfAuNU0SYg

Looking for comments on my form please. I'll post as a separate thread if you guys don't want to comment

[WolfRose7]

I've got a few videos of my compound lifts, the deadlift video was taken a while ago. The bench video is the only one I have, even though it is of me failing.

Bench:
https://youtu.be/DVFo4lJ85HY

Deadlift:
https://youtu.be/-6OqE18O6ec

Squat:
https://youtu.be/iwfAuNU0SYg

Looking for comments on my form please. I'll post as a separate thread if you guys don't want to comment

Wrong angle to critique bench, but the obvious is the lack of tightness in the set up. jiggling all over with your legs etc,
Watch So You Think You Can Bench , Dave Tate.

Deadlift - take the time to reset your back properly, breath and brace, between reps.

Squat - I dunno whats going on with that unrack, youtube how to squat by anyone. Brian Alsruhe has a decent series.
Set both your feet up under the bar, get your air, unrack. one foot back at a time. Don't rush it.

Squat itself seemed alright, though High by several inches from that angle

[Partyrocking]

I agree on the lack of tightness w/ the bench. JTS has an ongoing bench series (I think one more video is on the way), and it's quite good. Here's the first video.



Deload the squat and work on hitting proper depth. JTS also has a squat series, which is worth watching.

Here's the first video.



Your hips rise a bit early on the deadlift. Work on keeping your chest up, so you can get more power out of your legs.

[xdmorganx]

I agree on the lack of tightness w/ the bench. JTS has an ongoing bench series (I think one more video is on the way), and it's quite good. Here's the first video.



Deload the squat and work on hitting proper depth. JTS also has a squat series, which is worth watching.

Here's the first video.



Your hips rise a bit early on the deadlift. Work on keeping your chest up, so you can get more power out of your legs.

Wrong angle to critique bench, but the obvious is the lack of tightness in the set up. jiggling all over with your legs etc,
Watch So You Think You Can Bench , Dave Tate.

Deadlift - take the time to reset your back properly, breath and brace, between reps.

Squat - I dunno whats going on with that unrack, youtube how to squat by anyone. Brian Alsruhe has a decent series.
Set both your feet up under the bar, get your air, unrack. one foot back at a time. Don't rush it.

Squat itself seemed alright, though High by several inches from that angle

Thank you both for the advice, I will watch the series before my next gym session

[JoocyTheGoal]

I agree on the lack of tightness w/ the bench. JTS has an ongoing bench series (I think one more video is on the way), and it's quite good. Here's the first video.



Deload the squat and work on hitting proper depth. JTS also has a squat series, which is worth watching.

Here's the first video.



Your hips rise a bit early on the deadlift. Work on keeping your chest up, so you can get more power out of your legs.

Bro, his squat depth is beyond adequate- you can clearly see that he is going below parallel and that’s all you need.

[hardgainer57]

Okay, so people have been telling me not to lift heavy. I have been for months now and I haven’t gotten any injuries from lifting over the past 7/8 months. I’m 15 years old, 6ft 2 and 205lbs. When I started lifting I was 171lbs so it has benefitted me massively, and I started on 5x5 workouts.

So my question is, should I continue to lift heavy. Test my one rep maxes every now and again, I’m 10kg away from the ‘1000lbs club’ and I’m 16 next month. If I switch my focus to more bodybuilding style I’m not necessarily going to get the 1000lbs by the time im 16.

So what’d you guys think? Should I continue doing low reps (5x5) or switch my training up now.

dang you are 6'2 and 205 at 15..thats ****ing huge for a 15 year old

[yoselo]

Lifting heavy only injure you if you’re doing it wrong. Bad form,not stretching,ego lifting

[DHeitink]

Lift Big get big.

[rhadam]

I've got a few videos of my compound lifts, the deadlift video was taken a while ago. The bench video is the only one I have, even though it is of me failing.

Bench:
https://youtu.be/DVFo4lJ85HY

Deadlift:
https://youtu.be/-6OqE18O6ec

Squat:
https://youtu.be/iwfAuNU0SYg

Looking for comments on my form please. I'll post as a separate thread if you guys don't want to comment

Your setup on every lift is terrible.

Your camera angles are worse.

[Budaan]

Yo there is nothing wrong with lifting heavy. And respect for you and those stats at that age.
Milk everything out of 5*5 before moving on. What you can change and try out is different diets etc.
Remember, goal should always to keep strength. Or increase it. Even if you train for size.
Or for fat loss. Strength loss is always bad. You never want strength loss in a perfect world.
Even if your lifting program is bodybuilding oriented, always one or two rep max safely on something
every once in a while. It won't hurt you, if you do it correctly. Only gains.