am i kidding my self?

[iyare]

Dudes, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that the use of "extra" supplements are required to be competitive in powerlifting. I mean, my main motivation for powerlifting was one day to get involved in competitions but that seems an impossibility because I am of afraid of needles.

Please, someone tell me that I am delusional and just going through a minor stage of depression due to strength loss. Please.

210 lbs benching 510x3??? Or maybe, I need to get stronger friends??

[cupcakekid]

yep, its definately one of those 'depressive' states. there are many questions you should go through before you consider juicing.

- what is my routine, can it be improved?
- how long have i been lifting sreriously?
- am i using the right equipment?
- what is my diet?
- do i do enough research?
- training partners, are they there to help you and wont rest til you get them
- are you committed to achieving great numbers, or is powerlifting something that just interests you. be committed or stay interested

if you could, id really like to hear your responses. BE HONEST, otherwise you will waste the next 4 months of your training, bc your lying to yourself. ive done that before and it sucks

[iyare]

wow, serious reality check for me. every question you asked resulted in a negative response. I dont think that needles are an option for me (the fear factor). it is just that i thought that eventually with enough work i could progress to those numbers i see others posting.

the routine can definitely improve. i have used the 5x5 method and westside. i got my bench up to 375, rows to around 267, squats about 500. I know this can be better cause i never consulted any pros for help. training partners?? ha!! i live in the middle east and they have little work ethic. equipment, chains and bands would help. so would a power rack. my diet...a wreck. not counting calories at all, i try to eat a lot of protein and stay away from fastfood. my diet is pretty clean but not optimal. i guess i am committed to getting the numbers I can get. if it requires me using those needles then i am cool. i will settle for the next best thing.

thanks for the advice.

[ncpowerlifter]

You have good numbers. You are not kidding yourself. Don't compare your self to LB because he is a world class bencher. The thing with powerlifting is that everyone will have one lift that fits their body type. LB has short arms and a thick chest which give him a short range of motion for benching. He also uses the widest leagal grip which shortens his bench stroke even more. The same short arms that help him in the bench are what kills him in the deadlift. My best raw meet bench is only 445 so far but my arms are longer than LB's but, in turn I kill him on the deadlift. My best dead so far is 705 while LB's is only 520. I crack on him all of the time because he can bench almost as much as he can squat and pull. Don't get down on yourself. Stay with it. You only have to compete against yourself. Don't try to compare yourself to others, LB and I have trained with some of the best powerlifters in the world.

[iyare]

ncpowerlifter, what part of nc are you from? i claim king, winston-salem, raleigh and durham. i'm an ncstate alumni also!

[ncpowerlifter]

I live in Mayodan NC, I lift in a federation call IBP. It's a NC based fed. You should do a meet with us.check out the website.

www.ironboypowerlifting.com


also we have a message baord just for drug free and rw or single ply powerlifters.

www.northstarpride.com

The founder of the North Star Pride is Keith Payne, who also founded the House of Payne ( not the House of Pain gym wear ) but a powerlifting gym in yadkinville NC. It's closed now but we used to have 3 WPO lifter in one gym.
Travis Mash, Chris " OX " Mason and Tony " The Beast " Atkins all WPO 220 lifters. At one time all 3 were listed in the top 5 on Powerlifting USA's top 100 rankings for 220's.

We have also trained with
Chris Cooke 800 + bencher
Chip Stewart 804 @ 242
Joey Smith 750 @ 275
Mike Neal 700 @ SHW in single ply / totaled 2,000 raw @ shw
Chris Clark 2,200 total @ SHW
LB Bullins 500 bench raw @ 210 and 23 years old
Chill Will Lynch 485 @ 181
Paul Bossi 515 @ 220 founder of 100% raw
Kyle Roberson
Mike Belk raw bench 580 @ 275
Keith Mackey 520 raw bench @ 242
Bennie Jones 540 raw
stanley Barmore 520 raw bench
robert moss 520 raw bench
Bryan Cullen 500 raw bench @ 242
Kevin Dowd 640 bench @ 242
Barry Williams 610 bench @ 198
Daniel Everhart 750 bench @ shw / highest teen bench EVER
Curtis Rabon 705 @ 275

NC has some of the best powerlifters in the world

[jude-o]

I dont think that needles are an option for me (the fear factor).

I don't believe steroids are necessary to be a freaky-strong mofo, but if a needle prick is too much to endure to reach your dreams, then you don't deserve to be called a champion.

[StrongInChrist]

I don't believe steroids are necessary to be a freaky-strong mofo, but if a needle prick is too much to endure to reach your dreams, then you don't deserve to be called a champion.

I doubt hes afraid of the "prick" (dunno maybe uhhhh premature DEATH) But you are right that you dont need roidz for crazy strength, although you had better do some serious revamping on the nutrition so its as anabolic as a natural can get. It will just take patience.

[marilia05]

Iyare, besides diet and obviously adjust your training (periodization, methodology, etc.), one other option is to think about supplements. Sometimes, for us, PL, the diet itself cannot provide all the nutrients we need and/or in the right timing. Supplementation for PL is pretty much different from that of bodybuilders - watch out.
Also, consider if you wish to compete raw or equipped. Equipment may add up to 45% or more carry-over to your lift, if you develop the right technique. MUCH MUCH more than any juicing will offer you (I am not against juicing, I am just drawing a comparison on numbers added to your lift).
Hope it helps

[Kiknskreem]

Dudes, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that the use of "extra" supplements are required to be competitive in powerlifting.

210 lbs benching 510x3??? Or maybe, I need to get stronger friends??

A few things.... there are tons of non using powerlifters. Exponentially more than the number who use. There are also drug tested federations.

Second... you may have to redefine what you call 'competitive'. Why would you go about comparing yourself to the very best in the sport? Sure, its good to be aware of what they are doing as a reference point and certainly as a motivating factor, but you can't reasonably expect yourself to perform on par with the elite.

Third.... finding some strong friends is actually a good idea. I don't know what kind of a place "Bodyfitness" is but it doesn't sound like a hardcore powerlifting gym. Finding people of like mind and goals who can support you on your quest is invaluable... even if you have to pay a little money to go to a different gym or drive an hour each way.

[marilia05]

Third.... finding some strong friends is actually a good idea. I don't know what kind of a place "Bodyfitness" is but it doesn't sound like a hardcore powerlifting gym. Finding people of like mind and goals who can support you on your quest is invaluable... even if you have to pay a little money to go to a different gym or drive an hour each way.

He's right... I drive an hour and a half twice a week in order to train with my real team - the rest of the week I do auxiliaries around here. Next year it is going to be worse: 3X week - it is another town, it messes my day pretty bad but that's a price you must consider paying if you really want to improve.

[dirtpool]

just compete, who cares if you're the weakest mofo on the planet...
it pisses me off when people wanna' skip this comp or that comp because they're "not strong enough yet" or they "used to lift way more"
if you have a comp to train for it will make your numbers go up that much faster imo

[Big_fuzzy]

imo comps are more ab out the atmosphere and getting together with other lifters in a big event doing what you love.

I love that about both Olympic weightlifting and powerliofting, mets are full of strong lifters, thre is alot to discuss, information and ideas to be exchanged.

I remember, I had a best bench of 242, a big country boy showed be how to bench with a big arch and elbows tucked and my shoulder pain went away... and I got up to 308 in 2 months...

You can always lift more in a meet with other people who love your sport watching and cheering, heck, its good to go just to see wich super heavy can eat more hotdogs.

but in all honesty, if you want to set records, then yes, you are gonna need some juice... and perfect genetics help to.

[ncpowerlifter]

If you are in NC you should do one of our meets.

check the event schedule

www.ironboypowerlifting.com

[RIKTER]

Hey iyare...if your looking for inspiration from a natural lifter, then I suggest you check out Big D journal, username dpd555 in the WO journal section...hes 6'1" 240, 6% BF who does 20 rep squats with over 500 lbs..hes not known as Dom the phenom for nothing!

[Hallock]

I see other people's stats here and it's discouraging, people who weigh in around or less than I do and nearly double a lot of my lifts. However, I look back to where I was eleven months ago, deadlifting 90 pounds and thinking it was so rough. Sometimes you need perspective, this takes time. Even the people who put up totals over 1500 aren't satisfied, they're still pushing.

It may take a lot of reconfiguration of what you're doing, but you just need to push yourself.

[GoJu]

just compete, who cares if you're the weakest mofo on the planet...
it pisses me off when people wanna' skip this comp or that comp because they're "not strong enough yet" or they "used to lift way more"
if you have a comp to train for it will make your numbers go up that much faster imo

dude thing is not everybody likes taking the time, money, and energy to come in dead last, doesn't matter if everybody cheers you on and their all really nice or whatever, losing flat out sucks.

edit: that being said I am going to start competing in OL some time early next year even with my lame lifts

[TheKansan]

Dudes, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that the use of "extra" supplements are required to be competitive in powerlifting. I mean, my main motivation for powerlifting was one day to get involved in competitions but that seems an impossibility because I am of afraid of needles.

Please, someone tell me that I am delusional and just going through a minor stage of depression due to strength loss. Please.

210 lbs benching 510x3??? Or maybe, I need to get stronger friends??

Don't give up man. Just because the challenge is hard, doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Yes there are those freaks out there that can lift insanely high amounts of weight, but don't worry about them. Your main challenge should be beating yourself, and your own pr's.

[mochi]

just compete, who cares if you're the weakest mofo on the planet...
it pisses me off when people wanna' skip this comp or that comp because they're "not strong enough yet" or they "used to lift way more"
if you have a comp to train for it will make your numbers go up that much faster imo

i gotta agree there, respect to anyone who steps on the platform.

[smitsky]

Dudes, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that the use of "extra" supplements are required to be competitive in powerlifting. I mean, my main motivation for powerlifting was one day to get involved in competitions but that seems an impossibility because I am of afraid of needles.

Please, someone tell me that I am delusional and just going through a minor stage of depression due to strength loss. Please.

210 lbs benching 510x3??? Or maybe, I need to get stronger friends??

I don't think that using AAS is necessary to be competitive in Powerlifting. There are too many variables involved to have that be the case.

I think you have gotten some very good advice in this thread.

I recently paid more money to workout with some better training partners. I pay a good bit of cash for, and have found some supplements which work for me, and I use them wisely (I'm PH/PS/AAS free for life).

Remember the joke:

Q: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
A: "Practice."

Doing a peaking cycle and competing are a very good form of practice. I'm involved in this at the moment - and my lifts are improving.

Don't compare yourself to others, in the sense that you get discouraged by feeling inferior.

Here's a quote from Rick Hussey who trains Becca Swanson and other top lifters:

Q: "What mistakes do lifters make?"

Chasing a guy that's too far out in front of them instead of PR lifting... doing the best they can, letting their numbers grow. ...Just do the best you can and pretty soon people are chasing you instead of you chasing them.

[iyare]

wow, thanks for the advice!!! it takes me a while to respond because i live in uae!!! different time zones and a busy schedule make it difficult to post in a timely fashion.

[Darracq]

Good advice above, You have the size to get strong you just need to put in the time, in 10 years you could be lifting some big weights, dont be afraid to try different thing, westside or what ever traing you fallow doesnt work for everyone.