Meso Powerlifting Corner

[brutus79]

Big day for me today. Hit a squat PR of 240......now before that number gets a laugh I will tell you guys I am a below knee amputee. I took a 7.62 through my talus bone which severed the blood supply and shattered the bone in my ankle. This is I think the only bone that operates by having a blood supply like that. So once blood supply is lost the bone basically starts to die. After 6 months of rehab it came down to two choices. Pain, a limp and a cane for the rest of my life or an amputation. I said take it the fuck off. That was 6 years ago.Best decision. So once I got my prosthetic I was back to training(actually I was training on crutches with one leg while I healed from surgery). Well I had a lot of balance and mobility problems squatting so I just kind of gave up on it until 6 months ago. I learned about low bar squatting and said ok I will try this and see. First time I unracked the bar I went down, broke parallel and came back up with 95lbs. Before this I did a lot of leg presses and extensions. I dont have any problems dead lifting but not being able to squat really pissed me off. Now that I can squat I am having more fun lifting than ever. I am hoping to pull 400 in a couple of weeks. I am going to shoot for my first meet towards next october/Novemebr and try to work my squat up to at least 3 plates. The strength is there plenty but really have been doing a lot of form work and taking my time to move up in weight. If I could pull 500, squat 315 and bench 405 I will be the happiest one legged asshole you guys have ever seen. Glad i found this thread to pick up tips and stay motivated.

Bad ass
Congratulations

 

[Docd187123]

but how does one determine the degree of undulation in a given week?

fuck my brain hurts...I'm just gonna shell out the dough.
Thanks for all your time regardless @Docd187123 @weighted chinup

Your first step is defining your training goals accurately, precisely, and in great detail. From my understanding, you do a lot of Oly lifts, you like agility and explosiveness, and generally performance oriented more than aesthetically oriented. Can you expand on that and/or correct it?

This is the most important step in tailoring a good program. It's critical.

The bar speed tracker you get will be of little use unless you know how to interpret and apply the metrics to your training. There's some very neat ways to incorporate it from what I've read so if you do get it I'd love to hear about your experiments with it.

An example of how to use it in training would be let's say your running a 4-6wk macrocycle or block in your training geared towards improving maximal/absolute strength. You'd choose lifts to include in this block based on certain factors like which lifts improve maximal strength the most, which lifts you're able to do, which lifts have the most carryover to your sport or goals, etc. Certain lifts or variants should always be in a good program like squatting movements, pulling movements, pressing movements, etc.

Let's take squats for example. You want to auto regulate your training with VBT and a bar speed tracker. With typical old school soviet periodization, you'd use Prilepin's table to calculate daily volume. This would be based off a percentage of your max among other factors. You'd do 6sets of 3 @ 80-85% or 7 doubles at 90-95%. No matter how you felt that day that's what you have to do. If you have a good coach they'll regulate your training based on their expert eye. You want to do it yourself. You know you'll need higher intensities and the volume therefor will need to be low to moderate. We know maximal strength tends to be in the 0.1 - 0.35m/s velocity range. So if you're working up to a max effort single or attempting a new PR etc, you would expect to see a bar speed in this range. Let's say you worked up like this

405x1: 0.65m/s (we know bar speed was too fast to be a true max, add weight to bar)
420x1: 0.50m/s (still too fast but getting closer, add weight to bar)
430x1: 0.30m/s

Now at 0.30m/s we know we are in the range of max effort but a good coach or a trained eye should be the final word if you stop here or try again since you could get closer to the 0.1 mark. How much form breakdown did you have, how much rest did you take between attempts, how has training been leading up to this, how did you sleep, etc? Based on these kinds of questions you might want to make another small jump and try again or call at 430.

Let's say you try again and get

435x1: 0.20m/s. We call it here since it's pretty damn close. You now have your initial stressor. Your daily max, top working set, whatever you want to call it. Let's say furthermore that this is a high stress training day or high stress week in your training and you're working towards 10% fatigue. To auto regulate your volume with velocity based training and bar speed tracker at 10% fatigue, you take 10% off the initial/top set load, 435 x 0.90 = 391.5lbs. Load the bar up with 390 let's say. You can keep doing sets of 390x1 until your bar speed tracker shows your bar speed has taken a significant hit. At this point you know you've accumulated enough volume to get the 10% fatigue.

390x1: 0.40m/s
390x1: 0.37m/s
390x1: 0.32m/s
390x1: 0.27m/s
390x1: 0.18m/s (by this one you felt exhausted, form suffered, etc)

You ended up with 5 volume sets and we know this auto regulated dose of volume is enough to get the desired fatigue levels bc of the metrics we were able to track.

Another metric that's useful during multi rep sets is peak velocity and average velocity. Let's say the average velocity for a set of 5 was 0.50m/s. We kind of tell if you're giving it your all throughout the whole lift or letting off the gas after the sticking point. If the difference between peak velocity and average is larger it means you're pushing through to the end. If it's a smaller difference you're likely cruising through the reps without putting 100% effort into it.

There's much more that can be done and talked about but first step as I said is you need to define your training goals. What are they and we can go from there.

 

[insertnamehere]

Your first step is defining your training goals accurately, precisely, and in great detail. From my understanding, you do a lot of Oly lifts, you like agility and explosiveness, and generally performance oriented more than aesthetically oriented. Can you expand on that and/or correct it?

This is the most important step in tailoring a good program. It's critical.

The bar speed tracker you get will be of little use unless you know how to interpret and apply the metrics to your training. There's some very neat ways to incorporate it from what I've read so if you do get it I'd love to hear about your experiments with it.

An example of how to use it in training would be let's say your running a 4-6wk macrocycle or block in your training geared towards improving maximal/absolute strength. You'd choose lifts to include in this block based on certain factors like which lifts improve maximal strength the most, which lifts you're able to do, which lifts have the most carryover to your sport or goals, etc. Certain lifts or variants should always be in a good program like squatting movements, pulling movements, pressing movements, etc.

Let's take squats for example. You want to auto regulate your training with VBT and a bar speed tracker. With typical old school soviet periodization, you'd use Prilepin's table to calculate daily volume. This would be based off a percentage of your max among other factors. You'd do 6sets of 3 @ 80-85% or 7 doubles at 90-95%. No matter how you felt that day that's what you have to do. If you have a good coach they'll regulate your training based on their expert eye. You want to do it yourself. You know you'll need higher intensities and the volume therefor will need to be low to moderate. We know maximal strength tends to be in the 0.1 - 0.35m/s velocity range. So if you're working up to a max effort single or attempting a new PR etc, you would expect to see a bar speed in this range. Let's say you worked up like this

405x1: 0.65m/s (we know bar speed was too fast to be a true max, add weight to bar)
420x1: 0.50m/s (still too fast but getting closer, add weight to bar)
430x1: 0.30m/s

Now at 0.30m/s we know we are in the range of max effort but a good coach or a trained eye should be the final word if you stop here or try again since you could get closer to the 0.1 mark. How much form breakdown did you have, how much rest did you take between attempts, how has training been leading up to this, how did you sleep, etc? Based on these kinds of questions you might want to make another small jump and try again or call at 430.

Let's say you try again and get

435x1: 0.20m/s. We call it here since it's pretty damn close. You now have your initial stressor. Your daily max, top working set, whatever you want to call it. Let's say furthermore that this is a high stress training day or high stress week in your training and you're working towards 10% fatigue. To auto regulate your volume with velocity based training and bar speed tracker at 10% fatigue, you take 10% off the initial/top set load, 435 x 0.90 = 391.5lbs. Load the bar up with 390 let's say. You can keep doing sets of 390x1 until your bar speed tracker shows your bar speed has taken a significant hit. At this point you know you've accumulated enough volume to get the 10% fatigue.

390x1: 0.40m/s
390x1: 0.37m/s
390x1: 0.32m/s
390x1: 0.27m/s
390x1: 0.18m/s (by this one you felt exhausted, form suffered, etc)

You ended up with 5 volume sets and we know this auto regulated dose of volume is enough to get the desired fatigue levels bc of the metrics we were able to track.

Another metric that's useful during multi rep sets is peak velocity and average velocity. Let's say the average velocity for a set of 5 was 0.50m/s. We kind of tell if you're giving it your all throughout the whole lift or letting off the gas after the sticking point. If the difference between peak velocity and average is larger it means you're pushing through to the end. If it's a smaller difference you're likely cruising through the reps without putting 100% effort into it.

There's much more that can be done and talked about but first step as I said is you need to define your training goals. What are they and we can go from there.

Even though I follow a strict program layout based on Prilepins chart, I still auto regulate when necessary based on my training experience and "life" variables. And although I don't have a need for this type of system in my training, I find the training metrics that quantify the results very interesting. I wouldn't mind getting a baseline for my bar speed on all my lifts.

 

[Docd187123]

Even though I follow a strict program layout based on Prilepins chart, I still auto regulate when necessary based on my training experience and "life" variables. And although I don't have a need for this type of system in my training, I find the training metrics that quantify the results very interesting. I wouldn't mind getting a baseline for my bar speed on all my lifts.

You can get a baseline without having to buy the hardware or software. I think Tuchscherer offers it as a coaching service. He has a program to figure out the metrics from video you send him. He analyzes it, points out your sticking points and makes suggestion in how to address them.

 

[insertnamehere]

You can get a baseline without having to buy the hardware or software. I think Tuchscherer offers it as a coaching service. He has a program to figure out the metrics from video you send him. He analyzes it, points out your sticking points and makes suggestion in how to address them.

Have you seen any phone apps that accurately capture bar speed?

 

[Docd187123]

Have you seen any phone apps that accurately capture bar speed?

I don't remember hearing about phone apps but didn't look specifically either. Do they even make phone apps like that?

 

[RodgerThat]

I don't remember hearing about phone apps but didn't look specifically either. Do they even make phone apps like that?

Ya they make apps like that I don't know a specific one for bar speed but I use "coaches eye" for slowmos and you can put lines and graphs to show how the bar path should move and show people in superslowmo where their hitches are.

 

[jaymaximus]

Im just starting my second week of westside. So far so good.

One thing thats killed me since making the switch in training has been days off. I know my body needs em (since im hurting when I dont take em) but I go stir crazy sitting around and all I want to do is go to the gym. I guess I need a hobby.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

Im just starting my second week of westside. So far so good.

One thing thats killed me since making the switch in training has been days off. I know my body needs em (since im hurting when I dont take em) but I go stir crazy sitting around and all I want to do is go to the gym. I guess I need a hobby.

How many days is it?

 

[jaymaximus]

How many days is it?

I do 4 days, usually wed, thurs, sat, sunday. Sometimes ill sneak in and do abs and/or bi's on a day off now. But today I took completely off. Where im at theres not much to do though. Plus when I was working out strictly for looks for all those years I would go everyday.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

I do 4 days, usually wed, thurs, sat, sunday. Sometimes ill sneak in and do abs and/or bi's on a day off now. But today I took completely off. Where im at theres not much to do though. Plus when I was working out strictly for looks for all those years I would go everyday.

Yeah, I started out like that, too. I eventually went down to three and four once I got into powerlifting. I do Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday now.

 

[RodgerThat]

Im just starting my second week of westside. So far so good.

One thing thats killed me since making the switch in training has been days off. I know my body needs em (since im hurting when I dont take em) but I go stir crazy sitting around and all I want to do is go to the gym. I guess I need a hobby.

It's taboo these days but why not go in a warm up then stretch for 30-45 mins. The more flexible you become the stronger you get and the better recovery you have and you can never wretch too much. I know it's not like lifting but think about it as an accessory exercise to aid your big 3. It's the only way I can stop myself from screwing up my recovery.

 

[bhog]

It's taboo these days but why not go in a warm up then stretch for 30-45 mins. The more flexible you become the stronger you get and the better recovery you have and you can never wretch too much. I know it's not like lifting but think about it as an accessory exercise to aid your big 3. It's the only way I can stop myself from screwing up my recovery.

I've been thinking about working on flexibility some.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

I've done mobility and stretching stuff inconsistently for over a year now. I've been trying to throw more in lately though. My fourth training day of the week is flexible, so I've been fitting more in on it.

 

[bhog]

I do 4 days, usually wed, thurs, sat, sunday. Sometimes ill sneak in and do abs and/or bi's on a day off now. But today I took completely off. Where im at theres not much to do though. Plus when I was working out strictly for looks for all those years I would go everyday.

Have you thought about doing 2 on 1 off? You'll get 1 more day a week in. Works pretty good for me.

 

[insertnamehere]

I don't remember hearing about phone apps but didn't look specifically either. Do they even make phone apps like that?

Heres one:

BarSense: Analyze and Improve your Lifts

 

[RodgerThat]

For the guys who regularly compete how did you decide upon your weight class? Is that your normal homeostasis weight? Do you go down a class if your within 7 pounds of it or would you stay in the class you are in. My thing is I need to be 175 for work or lighter I want to compete in the 183 weight class but without the extra weight it'll be hard to contend although if I could keep my power and be 168 then I'd be slaying it, but then I'd be 168 pounds and that also could make me sad

 

[Perrin Aybara]

For the guys who regularly compete how did you decide upon your weight class? Is that your normal homeostasis weight? Do you go down a class if your within 7 pounds of it or would you stay in the class you are in. My thing is I need to be 175 for work or lighter I want to compete in the 183 weight class but without the extra weight it'll be hard to contend although if I could keep my power and be 168 then I'd be slaying it, but then I'd be 168 pounds and that also could make me sad

Before I was lifting I was usually in the 160-180lb range most of the time, although there have been periods of my life where I was much heavier or lighter.

As far as what weight class so far I'm just whatever weight I walk through the door as. Last meet I was around 215 competing at 220. This time I'll be competing at 242 and I'm doing my best to get as close to that as possible.

If I ever get strong enough that I was competitive I might try to stick with a certain weight class, but for now I'm just having fun and chasing bigger and bigger numbers. With that said I wouldn't ever let myself be one of those really fat powerlifters. I wouldn't be able to be happy if I didn't like how I looked.

 

[RodgerThat]

Before I was lifting I was usually in the 160-180lb range most of the time, although there have been periods of my life where I was much heavier or lighter.

As far as what weight class so far I'm just whatever weight I walk through the door as. Last meet I was around 215 competing at 220. This time I'll be competing at 242 and I'm doing my best to get as close to that as possible.

If I ever get strong enough that I was competitive I might try to stick with a certain weight class, but for now I'm just having fun and chasing bigger and bigger numbers. With that said I wouldn't ever let myself be one of those really fat powerlifters. I wouldn't be able to be happy if I didn't like how I looked.

I can be competitive regionally for sure as there isn't a massive powerlifting presence in Canada as a whole but at the provincial level It gets tougher and nationally is something I don't know if I could achieve. My ideal weight class is 205 as I'm naturally about 185 now and with some little boosting things I could hold a 205 at around 10%bf at 5'8 so I'd be up in LBM and have a better leverage point then most in that class (average height of 5'10 for 205 class)

 

[Perrin Aybara]

I can be competitive regionally for sure as there isn't a massive powerlifting presence in Canada as a whole but at the provincial level It gets tougher and nationally is something I don't know if I could achieve. My ideal weight class is 205 as I'm naturally about 185 now and with some little boosting things I could hold a 205 at around 10%bf at 5'8 so I'd be up in LBM and have a better leverage point then most in that class (average height of 5'10 for 205 class)

Not much where I am at the local level either. I could do okay as long as some beast didn't show up. At regional levels and above the weights pushed by 242's, 220's and even 198's is pretty crazy though.