I'm a sponge

Brawny

New Member
Hey everyone, really excited to be a part of the board. I'm a sponge and I hope to absorb as much information as possible. Had some really underdosed gear for the past year from a local source. Actually lurked on this forum for a long time before placing my first order from a source here and was very happy with it. Just giving a little background on myself

5'11
29 y/o
205ish
20ish body fat %

So last year I was looking into starting cycling and decided to get my levels checked at the doctor. I was pretty overweight as a kid, and had lost weight going into high school. Always struggled to gain strength in the gym, so I basically just gave up.

So ended up getting my hormones checked and it was worse than I'd expected - around 120 ng/dl. Doctor put me on 100mg test per week and I was hooked. Lifts started going up for the first time in my life. A friend hooked me up with a bottle of Test and I ran 250mg for 10 weeks with really good results.

So I've been powerlifting for the past 4 months, and I've made good progress, but haven't put on nearly as much size as I'd like. Other than my legs lol

Starting lifts-
Bench- 115lbs for 5
Squat- 185lbs for 5
Deadlift- 225lbs for 5

Current PR's
Bench- 225lbs for 6
Squat- 385lbs for 3
Deadlift- 380lbs for 5
 
Hey everyone, really excited to be a part of the board. I'm a sponge and I hope to absorb as much information as possible. Had some really underdosed gear for the past year from a local source. Actually lurked on this forum for a long time before placing my first order from a source here and was very happy with it. Just giving a little background on myself

5'11
29 y/o
205ish
20ish body fat %

So last year I was looking into starting cycling and decided to get my levels checked at the doctor. I was pretty overweight as a kid, and had lost weight going into high school. Always struggled to gain strength in the gym, so I basically just gave up.

So ended up getting my hormones checked and it was worse than I'd expected - around 120 ng/dl. Doctor put me on 100mg test per week and I was hooked. Lifts started going up for the first time in my life. A friend hooked me up with a bottle of Test and I ran 250mg for 10 weeks with really good results.

So I've been powerlifting for the past 4 months, and I've made good progress, but haven't put on nearly as much size as I'd like. Other than my legs lol

Starting lifts-
Bench- 115lbs for 5
Squat- 185lbs for 5
Deadlift- 225lbs for 5

Current PR's
Bench- 225lbs for 6
Squat- 385lbs for 3
Deadlift- 380lbs for 5
If you want size add accessory work from 8-15 reps. Welcome to Meso.
 
Welcome to Meso and for starters why not peruse the threads in training section to help with any issues with training that you may have. Post up any questions...you won’t get flamed for it.
 
What sort of powerlifting programming are you utilizing?

I have a coach who programs me. One speed day on bench, another paused, then squat, and deadlift.

I have one top set on each exercise, and then usually 4-6 bottom sets. Accessory work outside of that. Squat and deadlift have been steadily increasing, but I'm on the struggle bus on bench. Ended up letting my body fat get out of hand from force feeding myself to try and force it. I'll need to cut some weight soon
 
I have a coach who programs me. One speed day on bench, another paused, then squat, and deadlift.

I have one top set on each exercise, and then usually 4-6 bottom sets. Accessory work outside of that. Squat and deadlift have been steadily increasing, but I'm on the struggle bus on bench. Ended up letting my body fat get out of hand from force feeding myself to try and force it. I'll need to cut some weight soon

Who is your coach?

Post up your last month of bench days with the RPE's and everything. Maybe it'll highlight the problem.
 
Who is your coach?

Post up your last month of bench days with the RPE's and everything. Maybe it'll highlight the problem.

I never progressed on my paused bench. Also my fourth week was a deload

Week 1 speed day
Bench Press
215x6
190 3x5

Superset
DB Incline Press 3x12
DB OHP 3x12

Chest supported DB row
5x12

Week 1 paused day
Paused Bench- 3x 240 (only got 2 reps, never progressed past that)
Paused Bench 6sets x 3reps 210lbs

Superset
DB Tate Press 3x12
DB OH triceps extension 3x12

Pull up- 5 sets


Week 2 speed day
Bench Press- 220lbs 1x6reps
Bench- 4x5reps 195

Same accessory work

Week 3 speed day
Bench- 225lbs 1x6 (I failed at 4reps)
Bench- 5x5 200lbs

Same accessory work
 
I never progressed on my paused bench. Also my fourth week was a deload

Week 1 speed day
Bench Press
215x6
190 3x5

Superset
DB Incline Press 3x12
DB OHP 3x12

Chest supported DB row
5x12

Week 1 paused day
Paused Bench- 3x 240 (only got 2 reps, never progressed past that)
Paused Bench 6sets x 3reps 210lbs

Superset
DB Tate Press 3x12
DB OH triceps extension 3x12

Pull up- 5 sets


Week 2 speed day
Bench Press- 220lbs 1x6reps
Bench- 4x5reps 195

Same accessory work

Week 3 speed day
Bench- 225lbs 1x6 (I failed at 4reps)
Bench- 5x5 200lbs

Same accessory work

The speed day weight makes zero sense to me. You're working within 90% of your max effort almost constantly... It's no wonder you are failing reps. You shouldn't really be failing reps on competition bench day... But on speed day...? Failing a rep on speed day shouldn't even be a consideration.

Speed work at your level didn't really add up to me either but I guess that is more of an opinion than a law of powerlifting. The weights you're using are just too heavy all around in my opinion... It's almost equivalent to maxing out constantly. Maybe I need to see last month to see if this was just the top end of a progressive overload... The speed work weight still wouldn't make any sense to me no matter where you are in the programming.

The % of your back down sets is about right... Would probably be better to be dropping more off just considering the fact you're starting out so heavy in relation to your 1rm... Which is around 270lbs or so.

@Perrin Aybara, what do you think of this?
 
The speed day weight makes zero sense to me. You're working within 90% of your max effort almost constantly... It's no wonder you are failing reps. You shouldn't really be failing reps on competition bench day... But on speed day...? Failing a rep on speed day shouldn't even be a consideration.

Speed work at your level didn't really add up to me either but I guess that is more of an opinion than a law of powerlifting. The weights you're using are just too heavy all around in my opinion... It's almost equivalent to maxing out constantly. Maybe I need to see last month to see if this was just the top end of a progressive overload... The speed work weight still wouldn't make any sense to me no matter where you are in the programming.

The % of your back down sets is about right... Would probably be better to be dropping more off just considering the fact you're starting out so heavy in relation to your 1rm... Which is around 270lbs or so.

@Perrin Aybara, what do you think of this?

Maybe i used the term speed day incorrectly. Those days are definitely touch and go versus paused
 
I never progressed on my paused bench. Also my fourth week was a deload

Week 1 speed day
Bench Press
215x6
190 3x5

Superset
DB Incline Press 3x12
DB OHP 3x12

Chest supported DB row
5x12

Week 1 paused day
Paused Bench- 3x 240 (only got 2 reps, never progressed past that)
Paused Bench 6sets x 3reps 210lbs

Superset
DB Tate Press 3x12
DB OH triceps extension 3x12

Pull up- 5 sets


Week 2 speed day
Bench Press- 220lbs 1x6reps
Bench- 4x5reps 195

Same accessory work

Week 3 speed day
Bench- 225lbs 1x6 (I failed at 4reps)
Bench- 5x5 200lbs

Same accessory work

I'm with @Eman on this. You're doing way too much work at near max %, especially for your level.
Speed day should be 50-60%of max, with accommodating resistance...
This program is just a bit odd for a PL design for a new-ish lifter...
 
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