Nice, you definitely seem to know what you're doing. I've always been interested in powerlifting but something always comes up to stop me pursuing it. I'm going to dedicate some serious time to it in a few weeks after my exams are over, obviously I've done a lot of reading around but have you got any words of wisdom for someone about to start?
It's a very underrated sport if you ask me.
In terms of advice for starting out:
- start PAINFULLY light, and progress slowly at first.
can't overstress the importance of that. A shift in training style will probably see some big initial strength gains, but it's almost guaranteed that you've got some weaknesses that could easily injure you and keep you away from the gym. Starting slowly and staying injury free will see faster gains in the long run. As an example, there is a guy just starting out who we've kept at a 60kg deadlift for around two months when he is capable of muscle-ing up 120+kg. I'm not saying do exactly that, but bear it in mind.
- perfect form is more important than weight lifted.
Even more so than with other training styles. This is one of the reasons you start off really light, you get the opportunity to teach your body to make perfect form automatic. You might be able to force out a big deadlift, but if the form isn't tidy you will hit a ceiling very quickly. This is probably the hardest thing to do initially, because your ego is screaming for more weight on the bar. Tell it to STFU.
- try and find a good, dirty, spit and sawdust gym in your area with knowledgeable guys.
Not as important as the first two, but I owe a huge amount to the guys I train with. I know it's hard to find the right gym, but at least investigate getting a couple of sessions in a good place. Try googling powerlifting gyms or something, there are loads dotted around (in fact I'll ask if anyone knows of anywhere in Norwich). Most guys will be happy to give you pointers if you're dedicated.
In other news, a big squatting session was had today...
2 months ago my gym tested 1rm was 205kg. Today I did that for 3 sets of 3
![Cool :cool: :cool:](/styles/default/xenforo/vbSmilies/Normal/cool.gif)
I'm a little chuffed
![Big Grin :D :D](/styles/default/xenforo/vbSmilies/Normal/biggrin.gif)