Being Fat Equals A Big Bench

Create: 01/12/2006 - 08:35
Author: admin
Words that bring a smile to big people's faces everywhere. As well as to those thinking they need to get smaller. But are they true? A poster at Ryan Kennelley's forum quotes a buddy of his:

If 2 guys have the same lean body mass and have the same raw bench,,,, the one with the higher body fat % will do better in a bench shirt. He says that the fatter man will get a better "spring" of the botton because of the way the shirt compresses the upper torso when a person has a higher bf%

Anger Over Special Arnold Classic Invites

Create: 01/12/2006 - 08:03
Author: admin
A poster at the APF Outlaws forum feels that Kieran Kidder's special invites to non-APF lifters for the World Record Bench Bash event at the Arnold Classic is a slap in the face to those who lift in the APF/WPO. He remarks:

I thought that the road to the WPO was through the APF? Now K.K invites Jackson and Wong from the WABDL and fucks over the APF guys. There were 2 others who benched over #700 at Heavyweight and didn't make it at the Bench Bench bash but someone who chose to lift at Bench America insteed was picked over an APF person? SO Wong chooses to lift at Bench America.... And Bombs, and is chosen over those who went to the qualifier in Chicago are APF lifters and Bombed?

Slaying Dragons

Create: 01/12/2006 - 07:39
Author: admin
An interesting and entertaining T-Nation article called Vision Quest by TC. It's essentially an answer to two questions: "Why do you care how much weight you lifted?" and "Why don't you just train to stay in shape?" Here are some of the highlights:

Luigi, when you were a kid, didn't you dream about going off to slay dragons? Didn't you dream about being some kind of hero? And as you grew up and realized that you probably wouldn't be slaying any dragons, real or metaphorical, didn't you get tired of just watching others do physical things? Didn't you get tired of only being involved in surrogate achievement, you know, living vicariously through the basketball players, the soccer players, the Italian bocce ball players, or whoever it is you admire?.. But you gotta' understand, people like me never stop lifting weights. The part of us that wanted to slay the dragon? It didn't die. It won't.

Why Training To Failure Is Bad

Create: 01/12/2006 - 07:27
Author: admin
A lot of gym lifters train to failure. But powerlifters generally don't. Why not? A Dr. Squat thread tackles that question. Answers include:

Form gets sloppy. On exercises such as squats you don't want your stabilizer muscles getting too fatigued yet they'll fatigue long before the quads. Also, it's hard on the central nervous system. And the third stike against training to failure is it cuts into the body's recuperative energy. Excessive volume does too though. Training to failure is OK for bodyparts like forearms but even there it's just not necessary. You're not going to maximize gains by doing so.

How Strong Before Using Equipment?

Create: 01/11/2006 - 10:46
Author: admin
A poster at Dr. Squat asks how long one should wait before using a bench shirt or lifting suit. Mostly balanced suggestions are offered:

Will, if I could go back and do it all again I would wait till I had at least a raw triple bdywt squat & deadlift and a raw double bdywt bench and slap on the minimal single ply gear I use now. I would still only use the gear around 4 weeks out from a meet as I'd want to increase my raw foundation strength as much as possible because I strongly believe that gear contributes very little in terms of actual muscular strength gains. Too many lifters are now over-dependant on using their gear in training all year round, too early in their lifting career, and are missing out on real core foundational strength gains that can be made without it.

Big Trophy Or Smaller Entry Fee?

Create: 01/11/2006 - 10:14
Author: admin
If you have the choice between a large trophy and a higher entry fee or a smaller medal or plaque and lower entry fee which would you choose? That's the question posed at Monster Muscle. Replies:

I personally wish that meets were a lot cheaper to enter and gave away custom certificates that can be framed. I got so many trophies that I gave them away or tossed them.

Powerlifting Trivia

Create: 01/11/2006 - 08:55
Author: admin
Will Morris offers up some powerlifting trivia at Go Heavy. Head on over there if you think you know the answers. He'll post the correct answers on January 15.

  • WHO IS THE POWERLIFTER/STRONG MAN WHO CLAIMS TO HAVE CURLED 315 FOR 15 REPS AND DID A SINGLE WITH 400 LBS.
  • WHO WAS THE LIFTER WHO SQATED 1000 LBS IN HIS 1ST MEET.
  • WHO WAS THE OLD TIME STRONG MAN WHO CLAIMED A 727 LB DEAD LIFT WITH ONE HAND.
  • WHO WAS THE IST WOMAN TO BENCH 300 LBS WITH NO SHIRT.
  • WHO WAS THE LIFTER WHO TOTALED 2370 WITH ONLY WRAPS/BELT.
  • WHO WAS THE FIRST LIFTER TO BENCH 675 WITH NO SHIRT.
  • WHO WAS THE FIRST LIFTER TO OPEN WITH A 1000 LB SQUAT.
  • WHO WAS THE FIRST WOMAN TO SQUAT 500 POUNDS.
  • WHO WAS THE FIRST MAN TO DO A STANDING PRESS WITH 400 LBS.
  • WHO WAS THE LIGHTEST LIFTER[BODY WEIGHT]TO SQUAT IOOO LBS.

A Solution To Counter Bombouts

Create: 01/11/2006 - 08:19
Author: admin
There's been a fair bit of talk recently about bench bombouts at big meets. A possible solution to counter all of those bombouts has been proposed at the APF Outlaws forum. The poster says:

If a meet promoter counted each attemp and added up the total of the 3 attempts it would encourage each lifter to make each attemp count. The highest total for the 3 attempts wins. For instance 1st. 600, 2nd. 700, 3rd 850 = 2150 total.

Who Got You Into Powerlifting?

Create: 01/10/2006 - 08:51
Author: admin
In a thread at Iron Gladiators members discuss who got them into powerlifting. The responses are a glimpse into the grassroots nature of the sport. Unlike other sports, it's often a friend, relative, coach or fellow gym-goer who initiates the interest in powerlifting.

For me it was Evan Arntzen back in March 01 and I have loved it ever since. I wasn't going to compete I just wanted to start lifting again. Then everyone started going heavy for a meet and I caved in and have tried ever since.

Elite Totals For Raw Lifters

Create: 01/10/2006 - 08:17
Author: admin
There's a discussion going on at the 100% Raw Federation forum about why there aren't separate elite totals for raw lifters. 100% Raw president Paul Bossi:

You have brought up a great point. I think it is something we need to look into starting. I will try to contact other federations and see if they have elite status for their raw lifters. If not maybe we all can start to come up with 1 together.

Tipping Forward While Squatting

Create: 01/10/2006 - 08:01
Author: admin
A poster at Weight Trainers United is having some problems with his squat form. He describes the problem:

when going for 1RM squats, I seem to be raising my hips first coming out of the bottom of the squat and causing me to tip forward, thus not completing the lift.

He adds:

I'm a raw lifter so it isn't an equipment issue. Maybe at the 60, 80, 90 percent weights I am doing it but strong enough to still lock out. I've heard and am trying the mental tips "push back into the bar", "chest up and back", "elbows forward" but I'm still doing it. Maybe I'm pushing my butt too far back or leaning forward on the descent unnecessarily. No video but maybe I should record one.

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