Gary Gibson – Part 3

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Two Steps Forward, One Back
by Gary Gibson

I got a lot of nerve showing up here again like this. I was called out as being decidedly not an adult male because at 5’10″ I am still under 200 lbs. And now I’m even under-er.

The 2010 USAPL Florida State Powerlifting Championship is coming up in ten days and I’m planning to compete in it. I’d wanted to compete at least once in the 82.5 kg, but in my zeal to get bigger and stronger I jumped over an entire weight class in one month and landed square in the middle of the 90.0 kg.

I’d competed at the tippy-top of the 75 kg class at exactly 165 lbs in September when I ground out a very hard 369 lb suitless/wrapless squat on my third attempt. (I also just missed a 474 lb deadlift by failing to lock out. Don’t ask about my bench. Ever.) Next I went up to 175 lbs and a 405 single squat in the gym and then got smaller and weaker in an attempt to make the 75 kg once more at the 2009 USAPL Maryland States in December. The meet got canceled the night before because of that incredible snowstorm.

Heavy training began again in late December. In just over a month I went from 165 lbs and squatting 325×3 to 185 lbs and 405x3x3. I even manage to hit a high bodyweight of 190 for a couple of hours.

As I type this I’ve been dieting lightly for almost a week and I’m down to 181 lbs, just under the 181.9 lb limit in the 82.5 kg class. I made it! I also just deadlifted a little over 500 lbs a few hours ago in my last heavy session before meet day.

Looks like I’m on track to squat 440 and pull a little over 500 in my weight class which you’ll notice is almost 20 lbs shy of my adult male size. And I’m…OK with that!

I’ll get back on track right after the meet. In fact, I’ll probably be 200 lbs before spring has fully sprung…though I fully intend to compete a little under that in the 90 kg/198 lb class in the USAPL Raw Nationals. I also plan to be an awful lot stronger by then too.

So forgive me for not being fully grown just yet. It will come. I hope you will enjoy my posts anyway as I get there.

35 thoughts on “Gary Gibson – Part 3”

  4. Awesome Gary! btw, I think there”s a counter-movement located somewhere close to Hollywood. Watch out 70s Big:

    “How to Lose Muscle Mass on Purpose”

    here”s a clipping:
    “I used to be a monster at squats and deadlifts. I could easily do 3-4 sets of 405 for 5-6 reps with squats…plus I did this at low body fat levels while having a ripped six pack.”

    Yet he”s seen the light:
    “I believe that 9 out of 10 people would have better looking physiques if they dropped all of their leg exercises and replaced it with High Intensity Interval Training combined with Steady State Cardio.”

    And that”s for those that are thinking about maintaining muscle mass.

    http://fitnessblackbook.com/muscle-building/how-to-lose-muscle-mass-on-purpose/

  5. Note that Gary”s squat as a percentage of bodyweight has risen every time he gains weight. This, to me, is the answer to guys who are asking if they”re too fat. If your lifts are not at least holding roughly constant relative to your bodyweight then you”re getting too fat. There will be some fluctuations — sometimes you”ll gain weight faster than your lifts go up — but I think this should hold over a training cycle.

    That “How to Lose Muscle Mass on Purpose” article is the worst of the fitness industry. A whole heap of blow-hard crap hiding a tiny bit of substance. No doubt some people like that style. I”ll stick with people who provide giant gulps of useful information and at least have a sense of humour when they go on a rant.

  13. Awesome, Gary.

    Anyone know of any good online resources on learning to pull sumo? It”s the one thing SS does not really address. Feel like it would be a good thing to know for my first meet.

  14. wow, just read that how to lose muscle mass link, well i really just read some of the comments. some serious facepalm moments in there… i find it funny how so many people on there were sooo huge but then decided that look wasnt for them, how being big was so hard and they felt slow dragging all that weight around, and how the girls don”t like the “overdeveloped” or “roided out” look… some serious keyboard warriors over there, i bet they all bench 500lbs but just didn”t like how their clothes fit. zombie fodder i say, i”ll stick to squeezing into my slacks and bending bars. they can keep their skinny jeans.

  15. That losing muscle mass article is ridiculous. I like how he uses weight class fighters as his example. Like they dont try and carry as much mass as is possible and still fit into their weight class. They dont try and make it to the very bottom of the class. Smart ones dont anyways. They are pushing the upper limits. He says the less muscle mass you have the more “functionally fit” you are. Oh well, I say let all of em out in Hollywood get into their skinny jeans.
    Here”s an article about a female figure skater, but it is moving in the right direction…
    http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Ice-dancer-Belbin-has-put-on-weight-and-she-cou?urn=oly,220122

  16. I”ve been looking at this site for a while and it”s motivating me to get bigger to get stronger. I”ve been crossfitting for about 2 years and I”m ready to give it up totally. I”ve been doing crossfit football because it”s programming is most in line with 70”s big. So to my question: Is crossfit contrary to 70”s big?

  17. @nick b

    I don”t think the question is really about is CF contrary to 70”s Big. Each person has their own goals, needs, wants, desires. Some crossfitters will be contrary to 70”s Big people and vice versa. However, John Welbourn and Max Marmont are (in my opinion) some great examples of 70”s Big dudes who also CrossFit. A new wave of CrossFitters are beginning to see the light and understand that you don”t have to be 170lbs. It is okay to weight 200+ lbs and be freak”n strong.

  18. Nice work Gary!

    I can barely read the comments on that article. Guys on there talking about weighing 210 and complaining that they were freaking people out because they looked roided out? Seriously?

  19. What idiots! I just read another comment where people were saying the reason Ronnie Coleman yells and makes noise before a lift is because he is immature and seeking attention.

    I mean, do you think he needs to yell that much?

    –Justin

  20. Here is a random question for the room. When you use your belt do you get what look like stretch marks on your sides?

    Every time I pull my shirt off after I come back from the gym my sides (under where my belt sat)look red, irritated, and I suddenly have what look like really bad red strech marks. They go away within 12/ 24 hours (usually just in time to get another set at the next time Im in the gym.)

    I think it might be a fat kid thing, and as I lose body weight it will, hopefully, go away.

    Ideas / helpful insights?

  22. That is a damn good lift. That is some serious strength regardless of size. I love reading your log also, it gives a little guy some inspiration.

    I just got my belt from Dean at Bestbelts.net. This belt is awesome and really freaking stiff. I got the athlete model and it came in with an average width of 12.75mm. That is more than I wanted originally, but I think it will break in nicely. I was about to buy a CoC gripper, but breaking this thing in will be a good grip strength workout.

    I watched the break in video a couple times and noticed something about Mike Hom”s belt (is that belt even Mike”s?). If it is, Mike, did you get a belt from Bestbelts.net also? I noticed the same stitch pattern and size sticker on the inside of the buckle.

    How is the belt treating you after 6 weeks?

  23. you have such long arms and legs that it looks more like a back extension than a deadlift. good work.
    might wanna consider dropping your hips a bit lower.

  24. Nice lift Gary, and the fact that your gym was rocking “For Whom the Bell Tolls” probably adds 20 or so pounds to all lifts! Keep up the solid movement!

  25. Gary you are the MAN!

    Re: losing muscle – where are all these a-holes with big legs? If big legs were so easy to get why are mine so damn skinny?? Sheeeit.

  26. Hey Gary, if you”re in Florida at the USAPL meet say hi. I should be there with a few guys from my gym, hopefully sporting a “Just Lift Gym” T-shirt. If I don”t wind up going good luck!

  27. I couldn”t even skim that muscle loss article without having a puke in mouth moment!

    Most people don”t even do direct leg work so there is nothing for them to cut out!

    I”ve got big legs and I wish they were bigger, the only problem they ever cause me is when it”s time to buy pants but i”ve discovered a great tailor in Thailand and my problem is now solved.

    On the plus side these guys are always fun to argue with at seminars. You can end any argument with them by offering to test their functional fitness in a quick bout of MMA. For some reason the 75kg aerobic nut is never keen to take on the 105kg strongman, don”t know why……

  32. Gary,

    I”m 34 and now have no more excuses. I”m gonna go drink some milk…BUT, What was the key contributor from you going from 325 x 3 to 405 x 3 x 3 in the squat? I eat like a Kodiak Bear and gain the weight no problem (from 167- October to 197-now) but am stuck at 325 for 3 sets of 5. Am on my second “back-off” (as described in PPST, p. 156). From reading recent posts, I feel like if I change programming now, I am changing too early and not getting everything out of linear progression that I could. Since it seems we have/had somewhat similar circumstances, yet you have broken through where I can”t, I would really appreciate your thoughts?

  33. moni, I squat. A lot. You can see how much in my log at the Starting Strength site. I use Smolov, the Russian Squat Routine and Pins Into Pillars a lot. I”m trying a brief bout of linear progression because maybe this much lower volume would do me some good just because it”s different than what I normally do. I used Pins Into Pillar x5x10 for the SQ starting with 50% and adding 10 lbs or so every session, three times per week. Then I peaked with the Russian Squat Routine. Got my best 3×3 from 325 to 405 and gave me 25 more pounds than I got during my last peak in September when I was also in the mid-170”s.

  34. Awesome job at the comp, my friend… congrats! You are a bad ass.

    Thanks for the insight. I am researching the things you said. I got some homework to do (and milk to drink).

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