new American

[CJS]

Hey everybody,
My name is CJ, and I'm from the US. This is the best forum I have seen as far as getting advice from real powerlifters, and Ive been trolling here for a while. So I finally decided to register. Ive been working out since high school, but I dropped from 208lbs (about 95 kgs) down to 149 (68kg) after high school, and now Ive worked back up to 180lbs (82kgs) with relatively low body fat. Im 21 and I am hugely interested in powerlifting and would like to start competing, but I dont even know where to start as far as finding comps and signing up etc. Im not even sure if im strong enough yet, but I figured experience would help out. My current best lifts are:

bench: 295lbs (about 134kgs)
squat: 385lbs (about 175kgs)
deadlift: 375lbs (about 170kgs)

All done raw.

Do you guys think I should even try, or should I keep working for a while? Does anyone know any good place to look for comps in America (especially in the Atlanta area) that I could at least go observe?


Thanks a load,
CJ

[curt]

you sare very strong, I would do some PLing training....witch ever way you choose , you certainly have a very high bench press, I mean I think 135-140kg would be my max and i'm 80kg. & I have entered a comp and only got 120 bench...

good luck anyway d00d,eat big,lift big and you will suceed in PLing.

[CJS]

yeah, my bench is considerably better off because I bought into the BB magazine hype like every other amateur on earth and did upper body workouts like crazy for 2 years, neglecting my lower body almost completely. In high school i was up to about a 205kg squat, but 3 hamstring tears later I gave up for 2-3 years. I just got back into squat and deadlift about 6 months ago. Ive been tryin' the westside barbell methods for about 4 weeks now, and I'm gonna see how that goes.



CJ

[Hellspawn]

Hi CJ
your weights are respectable enough to get you started and the fastest way to learn more is to get into a novice comp you cant beat competition experience to gain the knowledge you need

[curt]

yeah, my bench is considerably better off because I bought into the BB magazine hype like every other amateur on earth and did upper body workouts like crazy for 2 years, neglecting my lower body almost completely. In high school i was up to about a 205kg squat, but 3 hamstring tears later I gave up for 2-3 years. I just got back into squat and deadlift about 6 months ago. Ive been tryin' the westside barbell methods for about 4 weeks now, and I'm gonna see how that goes.



CJ

You mean me and de work? thats what I do..it is excellent.

yer I did the same,I did bench etc for years, now I make sure I train my lower extra hard.

[CJS]

yeah, the ME and DE system is great so far, I haven't felt burned out or anything yet since Im no longer doing a million reps per set. Anybody know any good websites where I could find local comps?


CJ

[curt]

yeah, the ME and DE system is great so far, I haven't felt burned out or anything yet since Im no longer doing a million reps per set. Anybody know any good websites where I could find local comps?


CJ

the BPO, the BPC, etc..

there is a bpo in march....you could enter that 1...

[CJS]

are those UK meets? I live in southeast united states so england might be a bit far to travel for first meet, haha.



CJ

[Phil E]

Welcome, mate. Go to some comps. My lifts are crap, but I'm entering a comp in April as everyone tells me that doing a few comps really helps you improve. No sure who to contact for US meets I'm afraid, but I'm sure someone on here will. If AJ sees this thread he might have some ideas.

[Sasquatch]

yo bro powerliftingwatch.com is a great site to find stuff going on in the states.

[CJS]

hey, thanks sasquatch. great website, but there are too many federations! I had no idea

CJ

[cuntos]

If you're drug free, try the USAPL: http://www.usapowerlifting.com/

If not, try the APF: http://www.worldpowerliftingcongress.com/

I hope those links are right!

[CJS]

yeah, definitely drug free. I couldnt afford drugs if i wanted 'em

[Sasquatch]

no problem dude. yeah there's a shit ton of feds so whatever, just pick a meet close to you and do it.

[CJS]

Hey guys,
I'm so happy today because yesterday I broke my old DL PR by 35 lbs (16kg). I took nearly 4 months off from maxing out my DL and worked on squats and good mornings as my heavy lifts instead. I also switched from conventional to sumo and did light DL with about 50-60% of my old DL max once a week for the last 2 months or so (to try and get the form down for sumo style). I decided yesterday to see what improvements I had made with the training, and I pulled 410lbs (186kg) for a single with no straps (which destroyed my hands) and then twice more with straps. If I hadn't worked my way up in 2-4kg increments from 170kg I think I could've gotten at least 190.5, but by the time I got done with 186, my hands were actually bleeding on the bar. So i cleaned up and decided to call it a day.

Just wanted to tell someone, since none of my friends give a crap :p
C.J.

[cuntos]

Congrats!