Looking for some direction on powerlifting.

[Xander]

I've been lurking this forum a while, barely ever post.

Sallyanne is a good local friend of mine and she told me about this place.

I train raw only powerlifting and I'm doing well, just trying to find out A. if I'm on the right track B. how to get on track.

stats:
5'6"
195-205
bench - ~345 regular / 325 pause
deadlift -475
squat - 510

I've convinced myself I want to compete in a 198.5 weight class. I've been training heavy for ~5 years or so. I've been training with a local powerlifting coach who has a few records, but he's never pushed REALLY big weight and I know there are guys on here who have and it never hurts to get different points of view.

diet-
I put down at least 4000cals a day that I count, the rest is extra. I have a RIDICULOUS metabolism (which sally is super jealous of btw ;)) so many days I'll put away a couple fast food burgers. I feel like my diet is pretty solid, I can cut easy, and eat clean when I want to lose, and I can put on weight pretty easy when I want to as well. When I started lifting I was 130lbs.

I've been using gear for about 3 years, my current cycles are high dose stacks of tren E, test C, and EQ. I go on and off back and forth for about 8 weeks each.

I've tried many different programs, some I liked, some I don't. These days I usually just take it easy on the heavy stuff while off gear. Use a 5x5/3x3/2x2/1x1 setup for 8 weeks while on.

not sure any other info I should post. Any ideas on where I should be at, how to make better gains? I feel like my numbers are lower than they should be. TIA

[SallyAnne]

I am jealous of his metabolism - the bastard. He can eat anything, gains muscle and strength easily, and doesn't get fat. He's young, though. Maybe when he hits 40 and gets that male pattern fat deposit in the gut, I'll have my revenge. :)

All that aside, he trains hard and heavy and is probably the only other person in the gym I know that goes as much as I do. He's dedicated.

[Xander]

Thanks Sally!

[crashcrew56]

Hell, I'm jealous of your metabolism. I've I was taking in 4000 and then eating other shit on top of that, I would be competing at SHW. Good to have you posting here.

I don't think your numbers look horrible, but I think they could use a litle work. I'm suprised to see your squat is heavier than your deadlift, that's rare when it comes to raw guys.

What does your current routine look like?
Do you pull sumo or conventional?

[Xander]

Just switched to sumo a few months ago. I haven't beaten my conventional max yet, but I do feel like sumo is going to yeild bigger numbers after a few months.

not sure why my squats are higher, I've always had a lot of trouble pulling deads out of the hole. The sumo seems to help me a bit with that, but like I said, I think it takes a few months of lifting to adjust fully.

my routine is focused around the big 3, the rest of my workouts have some variance.

lately I've been benching 2x a week, so a 4 day split is bench/2,deads,squats.

squats/leg press/random lower back movement(hypers)
deadlifts/speed deads/bent rows
flat bench/rack lockouts/weighted dips.

my bench is a low, but since I switched to 2x/wk it seems to be coming up fast.

thanks for the reply.

[tjoe]

how old?

and how about:

M - bench, overhead and tris (heavy)
W - squat/deads
F - bench, rows and pulldowns finishing with tris (reps)

still get to hit bench twice. only kills your posterior chain once rather than twice! and 1 extra day off :) I would alternate the order of squats and deads every week. Do the first move heavy and then the second one for reps.

also, where do you get stuck on the bench?
and raw or equipped?

[BrotherIron]

Well if you're running high doses of tren, yes your numbers are low. Tren is extremely strong (strongest androgen there is actually) and gains come quite easily on it.

The high doses of Tren will also keep the fat gains to a mimimum so you can't say for sure whether your metabolism is the sole factor. With running Tren I hope you're running T3 since it lowers your TSH levels. You should also be running dostinex or bormocriptine.

I think Tjoe created a good split for you to follow. More doesn't equal better. Actually sometimes less is more. I would drop the leg press all together. That is a bbing exercise not a strength athlete's. I would also drop the second deadlift exercise. Dead'ing more doesn't make you a better deadlifter. Alot of ppl I know deadlift very infrequently and yet have their dead continually rise.

[Xander]

Tjoe - I just turned 26

I've looked into routines like that before, but I can't get past (in my head) doing squats and deads on the same day. I'm usually burnt after one of those movements, not sure I would have the energy for both. I will give it some effort though.

Everything I do is raw, I don't even own a belt. I get stuck on the bottom of the bench, if it starts going up, it usually goes the whole way.

Iron - my metabolism has been very fast since my whole life. The tren hardens me up, but I stay just as lean when I'm off it. I've never run t3, though I've considered it, and I consider myself to be someone who does a LOT of research on gear and cycles and I've never even heard of dostinex and bormocriptine.

I actually just started doing leg press' for the first time in years, my new lifting coach said it would help my hip strength.

thanks for the advice, I'll follow it and report back.

[BrotherIron]

.........

Iron - my metabolism has been very fast since my whole life. The tren hardens me up, but I stay just as lean when I'm off it. I've never run t3, though I've considered it, and I consider myself to be someone who does a LOT of research on gear and cycles and I've never even heard of dostinex and bormocriptine.
..............

thanks for the advice, I'll follow it and report back.

Tren will elevate your progrestone levels as well as your prolactin levels which is why you need to take an anti pro gest/lactin like dostinex or bromo. Elevated prolactin causes the "rage" which so many say they encounter while heavy androgens which is why you want to keep it level and elevated progesterone causes PIG (progesterone induced gyno) which can't be treated with an AI. AAS is a science and therefore it's always wise to read up and study endo studies.

[tjoe]

Bench - stuck on the bottom means 2 things (primarily). you need speed. I would purchase mini bands from elitefts.com. when you do we will go over how to use them best. Second... upper back work. Really concentrate on those rows, pulldowns and rear delts. The thicker the upper back region the better!

Squats n deads: You'll be fine with both together. On your first move work up to one all out set of 1-3 reps. Work up EASY! Then on the second move stay between 60-70% of that exercise max and do a couple sets of 8-10 reps at that weight. That is just for a little extra volume and to "stay in the groove". If you wanna hit the sled after that go ahead but I wouldn't think it would be needed at that point. Abs would be good to hit on this day though.