What Do I Know About Lifting?

Not much.

The First Week

The fat fuck has decided to do something about himself because being single got real very quickly. The gym has pretty much become a second home to me over the last 21 months. Day number 1 (a sunday) was at a public gym and I felt so weak and stupid that I was doing my SL5x5 with only the bar (45lbs), and struggling at that. My first squat was on a smith machine, because the squat racks were full. The bench press was just as unimpressive but easy. The row actually had an employee come and ask me if I needed help because they never seen that lift before and thought maybe I didn't know how. The truth is, I didn't. The next day was incredible. I was telling my legs to walk but they wouldn't move. I could not believe how sore I was. Monday was a day of reckoning for me and I wanted to quit. The chickens had finally come home to roost.

Tuesday I was back at the gym with my legs barely moving and was completely sore. Barely made the trip up the stairs and cursing myself for not using the elevator. Popped two aleve as aging men are known to do and hit the bar. This time I was squatting 50lbs and the soreness had actually started to lessen as I completed the sets. My legs were fine again and I did not fear walking down the stairs. Completed my first deadlift without hurting my back. Overhead press was actually easy for me. My upper body never really gets that sore because all the years I spent in the field. Left the gym feeling great and thinking the worst was behind me. I could not have been more wrong. The next day I basically considered going to the hospital because I broke my entire lower body.

Thursday went back to the same gym but by now the feeling dead sore was mostly past and I was feeling up to the 55lb squat. Excersise went as normal and I cannot express in written words how happy I was to have the next two days off from the gym. Met two guys at the gym that day. We still meet up for beers and wings monthly. Played on a poker tour with them and they have pretty much replaced the people who were using me in my life. I called in that Friday for work and spent the whole day in bed sleeping / emails. The next month pretty much was ok, I was still sore every single day and figured I just needed to keep moving. You could ask anyone who knows me. I don't quit.

My Breakthrough

The 85lb squat for me was a turning point. This was the first time I felt like I couldn't complete five reps. Those last five reps got everything I had and even almost threw the bar down on the safety catches. The point is, that even when you think you are at the bottom there is always something more you give. That day proved to me that I could do this and I am going to keep doing this. Maybe the next gym day I fail and that would have been a blow I couldn't recover from.

Problems

Personally I do not consider myself an expert on weight lifting. What I do consider myself an expert on is all the problems and mistakes the new lifter is going to make. Pretty much have made every mistake there is, took the injury in turn. Figured out why and knocked that shit off.

• Neck Injury? Check. Looking up when squatting.
• Shoulder Injury? Check. Grip to narrow on bench press.
• Elbow Injury? Check. T-rexing the bent row.
• Knee Injury? Check. Wrong foot placement in the squat.
• Lower back is sore? Check. Bad deadlift technique.

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

Over time I was starting develop a problem/injury in my upper middle back. I suspected something was wrong in my OHP because it hurt when I would straighten up from a slouch. I setup this video to record my squat at 300lb's back in Jan of 2016. One full year ago. The video is heavily redacted but I kept in the part that is relevant.

The first issue is the bar is not going straight up and down. There is a curve from front to back right near the top. So basically I am squatting and then using my posture muscles to inch it the rest of the way up. I knew right away when I seen the video the cause of the problem. The second issue was my choice of footwear causing a slight balance issue. New balance is not proper lifting shoes. The crossfit shoes are excellent.

This lead me into another direction as well. If my squat was bad, what else was bad? Alot. In all those gains I was pretty much doing a small part of the form wrong in one way or the other. This was leading me up to bigger and bigger issues and also meant I was training the wrong muscles.

If you have a question, you better ask somebody

Don't even think about the trainers in your local box gyms. Don't bother researching all over the internet. The trainers are not trained in lifting very heavy and doing it safely. You could probably squat 65lbs completely with bad form, deadlift it with worse form and be ok. You don't want to carry the bad habits further.

You can easily find a local powerlifting coach. You can go to http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/node/4421 and search for gyms somewhere near you. Give them a call and ask about a few sessions or just to come and hang out during a practice. Typically they will either do it for free or you can pay to go once or twice for form checks. Most of them are quite reasonable and the two I went to were super friendly. These guys are professionals and have been training new people for years. If you decide to make it your gym, then that is even better.

My First Competition

Fast Forward to Dec 2016. I decide to lift in two powerlifting meets in the NGPF and USPA. Leading up to the second competition my tested numbers were:

Bench Press: 355lb Deadlift: 385lb Squat: 455lb

With my weight and age I was in the submaster 242lbs weight class at 269lbs. I hit 355, then 365, and missed the third at 370 for my bench presses at both competitions. They were pretty close together. It was during these two competitions I learned that my squat and bench press are not up to competition forms. Most of these guys are benching 400+ and squatting 500+. Fuck it, I wanted to make my numbers official.

Crossfit/Cardio

The last thing I have to say about MRP and Lifting. Crossfit is not going to help you much. You are going to miss all the things you get from lifting heavy that you will not get in crossfit. Being tired at the end of a workout doesn't mean it helped you. Typically after I complete my routine I am tired for about 15 minutes and then I have endless energy the rest of the night. Nine months of crossfit wouldn't have gotten my squat to 300lbs.

Closing

• Go lift heavy.
• Ask for help.
• Don't give up.
• Get your diet in check.
• Pick a routine and stick with it.