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the May Lifting Challenge,
and the May Picture Submission Contest (the winner gets a free 70’s Big shirt).
113 thoughts on “May Challenge and Contest”
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CLICK HERE to see the information on
the May Lifting Challenge,
and the May Picture Submission Contest (the winner gets a free 70’s Big shirt).
You must log in to post a comment.
Rules are now final.
The tank division was added for those who can do 30+ reps of squat and deadlift at 225. It’s a matter of safety. If you compete in this division, you better damn well do at least 15 reps of each.
Rest between reps was changed from 3 to 5 seconds because some guys are out of shape and will be out of breath more quickly.
Touch and go was eliminated in DLs for uniformity. People have different definitions of touch and go. Not so much for dead stop.
Enjoy.
Is the bench for the tank division 315 as well? There’s no way in hell I can bench 315 for 15 reps.
I think that 15 rep standard is just for bench and DL with 315.
I mean just the squat and DL.
15 is the standard for squat and DL only. There aren’t too many cats that can bench 315×15.
This cat can. : D
You must work out at Gold’s, Michael. Haha
Ouch! Of course that assumption would just help to improve the image of Gold’s.
i’ll do this tomorrow and probably record the sets as well. I’ll be lucky to hit 225 once on the bench press. We’ll see.
Looking forward to seeing some vids of this! I am thinking I will officially compete in the 225 division, but I might go ahead and do a set of max BS/DL @ 315 for comparison’s sake to the tanks like Ksmash.
I’m already hoping for some sort of max squat contest in June, though. ;)
As a red numbered weight guy I expect to get humbled by this one (especially on bench), but I look forward to seeing where I stack up with bigger guys.
Can I have a strawberry milk shake instead?
Michael,
Haha, well I was referring to the massive amount of people who “bench” 315.
And since when is a max rep effort synonymous with Crossfit? So I guess 5/3/1 is Crossfit? And when football players do the 225 bench test at combines they are doing Crossfit too?
What’s with the @Fit comments? Having stupid challenges is traditional in strength oriented places. Dan John, for instance, has written several articles about stupid challenges he has participated in. And, you know, high rep deadlifts are good for you. It may intuit well that if you can pull a 250 pound deadlift 21 times coming to the lift at a heart rate of 180 beats per minute, then 500 pounds for a single at a resting heart rate is perhaps manageable. PS Somebody needs to fix that italics tag.
This is Brent with the R&D Department, we’ve got that italics tag taken care of.
– brent
iamperfet and The Sun, please explain yourselves. How does benching 225 for max reps have anything to do with crossfit?
The point of these challenges is to get people to compete in something. Any old lifter will tell you stories about how engaging in challenges and (often stupid) feats of strength. The challenges will continue. And they’ll just get dumber.
The fact that either of you think repping out on the powerlifts with two or three wheels a piece has anything to do with crossift shows lack of understanding of the methods, purpose, and heritage of strength training.
That, or you two have been taking bumps off of Glassman’s gin.
Ryan, all in fun good sir. That was a very well received response though. I laughed out loud. Yeah, I do enjoy quietly poking fun at the guys that “bench” 315. I assure you though… my reps are full and clean and would do this site proud.
What I meant to say was, I hate kips.
“The challenges will continue. And they’ll just get dumber.”
I spit up a little on this one. Awesome.
Anyway, this should be fun. My bench is utterly weak, I might be able to hit 225 for 2 by the end of the month. But on the squats, the question will be whether to save some for the deadlifts or go all out.
Gonna try this with my friend tomorrow – we are both on equal footings when it comes to squat and deadlifts, should be interesting. Will try and get some vids as well
@ GZT
go all out man. don’t leave anything in the tank. After squats you get to rest you back and legs during bench, and can take as much time as you need after that for deads.
Go all out on everything.
I still think these are dumb and pointless, encouraging injuries (high rep deadlifts anyone?) and useless.
if you want to work your conditioning do it the right way, if you want to compete go do it, or find yourself a sport god damn it.
pulling 20 reps deadlift won’t get you anywhere besides being better at pulling deadlifts (full range of motion) at high rep ranges and better at endurance. but if you want to compare your results over dumb things, perhaps you should also compare your weekly wage and dicks length.
sorry for the harsh.
“I still think these are dumb and pointless, encouraging injuries (high rep deadlifts anyone?) and useless.”
@ The Sun –
Then don’t do it and shut the fuck up.
Squat 225- 20 reps
Bench 225- 10 reps
Dead 225- 21 reps
Weekly Wage – 0$ (broke student)
Dick Length – 7.5″ (after a cold shower)
And I did not get injured because I know how to squat, bench and deadlift properly.
ROFL you’re out of control man you’re a loose cannon
– brent
ok
mine:
Squat 225- 21 reps
Bench 225- 11 reps
Dead 225- 22 reps
Weekly Wage – 1$
Dick Length – 7.6″ (after a cold shower)
I’m cooler.
how much cooler are you?
– brent
Well?
–A.C
Haha good man Justin.
Idk if any of yall have ever watched Dhani Tackles the
Globe on the Travel Channel, but Dhani Jones travels around the world and competes in the country’s native sport. This weeks episode was in Iceland and he competed in Strongman. Pretty cool episode. They went to a beach where there was a row of stones of different sizes. They said back in the day fisherman would go and lift the stones. The heavier the stone you could lift the bigger share of the days catch you’d get.
@sun:
what’s dumb about comparing dick length?
@70s big directors:
the only issue i see w/ this is in the women’s division. i’m all for a handicapped weight for women (after all, we do live in socialist america…), but i think since men (w/ the exception of tanks) have to do all their lifts w/ the same amount of weight, then women should too. basically, i’m saying you guys should set a weight for women, like 225 for men, and stick w/ it. no 135/95/135 business. just my 2 cents.
Having 135 across the board would leave a lot of women (even 70s big women) unable to participate. I have a girl who’s been training with me for almost 5 weeks that will be doing it in the 135/95/135 style.
As of today she did,
Squat 70kg x5x3
Bench 37.5kg x5x3
Deadlift 70x5x3
No way she’d be able to bench a single at 60kg, let alone rep out…
Women will usually have a comparative weaker bench and press to the squat and dead then a male. I say keep it as it is.
wow, she’s only been training for 5 weeks and her squats/deads are that high? good for her.
that being said, you have to keep in mind what you just said: “i have a girl who’s been training with me for almost 5 WEEKS”–5 weeks is almost NO time in the grand scheme, she obv wouldn’t be able to rep out at plates–but this challenge, IMO, wasn’t made for people who have been training for just over a month…although i do see your arguement…
I have no problem with 135/95. As a chick my upper to lower body strength ratio generally sucks despite years of training. I could rep 135… for 3 or 4. 95 is a reasonable weight. I’m not insulted. Does this have to be videoed or are we working on the honor system?
It doesn’t *have* to be video’d, from my understanding…but, it’d be a lot cooler if you did.
Jez, I didn’t know you posted here, or I would have asked you in the first place.
Re: female bench numbers: Guys, it’s not a discrimination thing, not mine anyway (take it up with God). Women are not endowed with the upper body musculature that men are. Even with years of dedicated training, their lower body strength will always outpace their upper body strength. That said, I will always welcome women’s advice on these issues. The 135/95/135 seems to be reasonable.
Re: The Challenge. No more trolling. The Sun, if you don’t like it, don’t do it. Simple as that. Or start a protest site. You’ve registered your objection, so move on. I can promise you, though, that anyone who has moved iron for a long time has participated in unnecessary demonstrations of strength. Do some research on the deal and report back.
Every man should squat a heavy set of 20 in his lifetime. It builds legs and character; what could be better than that? I added the tank division for those who would rep out over 30 with 225. I don’t want to test conditioning; I want to test strength and heart.
As for safety, I squatted 225×20 for three sets with a minute rest in between a decade ago at Rip’s suggestion. A few months ago, I deadlifted 315 for 80 reps over a 20 minute period. I was sore, but I wasn’t hurt. If you don’t like this, don’t read anything about density training.
Lifting heavier weights for reps promotes strict form. Lifting light weights for time puts form on the back burner. Guess where more injuries happen?
Wrapping up…
@ The Sun: I have looked at your PR Friday posts and think this would be an excellent way for you to test yourself. With your numbers, you can probably squat 12-14 before doubt sets in. You can probably squat another 3 before the desire to rack the bar becomes overwhelming. The question is, can you squat a handful more?
Okay, just did mine
BW 189lb
Squats: 15 reps
Bench: 0 reps (but got a new PB of 95kg for 1)
Deadlifts: 21 reps
I could give this challenge a try with the 315 weight once I am healthy. Thing is, I’m pretty sure I’m only good for 1 rep on bench with 315.
My wife warms up with more than 135 on squat and deadlifts. I’m sure she’d love to give the challenge a go but her grip would probably be tired before her back would be on a 135 DL for reps (her max is about 360).
—–
Good lord. She might want to enter the open 225 division.
I did this today. My grip went (mixed) before my back did.
-Gant
Damn, there needs to be a female tank division for Rygor’s wife, haha
Haha I doubt the females would appreciate the Tank moniker though.
Excellent.
What training would you recommend for this (as we’ve got a few weeks)?
Is it worth doing a first attempt in the next couple of days and then trying to beat it or should we gradually work up the reps a bit for some preparation.
—–
Just strength train as usual. This is a test of guts and stupidity.
If you haven’t squatted a set of 20 or deadlifted a set of 10, you might want to do that with a lighter weight for practice. Then again, you might not want to do the competition if you do this.
-Gant
@Rygor – I think they said keep the bench @225
@KittenSmash – I saw her lift here in STL a couple months back. She is strong.
Guys, the tank division is 315 across. Open is 225 across. Women do 135/95/135.
The Challenge is off to a nice start. We have two entries for open who have miraculously lived to tell about it. Strong work, lads!
At lunch, I offered myself as the canary in the mine for the Tank Division (I was going to do this Friday, but I was pissed off). Somehow…somehow I made it out with my discs and spine intact. What are the odds?
I’m not a big guy, but I didn’t want to rep out with 225. Call me lazy.
Weight: 211
Squat: 315×20
Bench: 315×4
Deadlift: 315×20
Total: 44
Back isn’t the problem with deads. It’s grip fatigue, glutes being on fire, and the inability to recover and rest (squatting down, holding a bar doesn’t help).
@Gant
I did my widowmakers set back ago when I was weak and skinny to test myself. I know the feeling.
I’m far more concerned about my progress than proving myself in a website which I thought to be the holy grail of strength training.
anyway, I already did 225 for sets of ten back when I was 6 kilograms lighter and a lot weaker and without my Inzer belt. I don’t find it interesting to check how much I can squat with only 2 plates on the bar.
So keep your silly comments to yourself. If you do not agree with it then leave it at that.
–A.C.
and anyway, I’m trying to recover from my right Tennis elbow. so I can’t do the challenge properly either way, because I won’t be able to bench press. I’ve done 105kg for 4×5 though.
What if…..
You cant squat or bench 225 for any reps? Ill still go for the deadlift but i cant squat or bench for shit.
@ mr. blink
then put 0’s up for your numbers and revisit this competition later and try to beat yourself.
I plan on doing this. I really don’t think I’ll hit a rep for bench, but I’m gonna go all out on deads and squats and look to beat myself later.
Weightlifting is about beating YOUR personal record, not Gant’s monsterous 20 rep squats @ 315. SEESH!
Imagine if Gant was actually strong.
–Justin
I have a question about the stache contest: is it legit if there is also a beard involved? The mustache in question is powerful enough that it shines above the beard, I just wanted to double check.
@domjo
She has only been training 5 weeks, but as she’s improving at about 7.5kg per week in the squat and deadlift, and only 2.5kg per week in the bench, i can’t see her being able to reduce the deficit anytime soon. When she starts wearing a belt on the Squat and Dead, the deficit may even increase.
As Gant said, chicks just don’t have the same upper body musculature as dudes.
@Damien
Oh, maybe I’m out of my area of knowledge then–I’ve never really worked with any girls who have stuck with a program for more than a week, as the girls in my high-school weight room basically just lift socially or for sports, and in those cases the programs (when there is one) are beyond ridiculous. I was under the impression that the upper/lower gap was proportionately the same for girls as guys–obviously, I was wrong.
Got in on yalls TSC today. Started with 225 across the board to check the feel of repping out.
BW – 195
BS – 23
BP – 9
DL – 25
Total – 57
100 seems a really long way away. I think by the end of the month I’ll probably just rep out with 315 but it felt good(hurt) to rep out on DLs like that.
“I’m still not sure about the tank…” “Did I mention the tank is a tank?” “Sold…”
I’ll be giving this a go next week, with both the 315 and 225 weights. I’ll most likely be entering the stache contest then as well.
Gave this my best shot today:
BW – 230
squat: 225 x 20
bench: 225 x 7
deadlift: 225 x 21
48 total.
First time doing 20 rep squats. By the 20th I couldn’t hear anything and my lungs were screaming “rack the bar or we’ll never breathe again.” Might do this again sometime though, I could probably do better now that I know what to expect. Can’t wait for next month’s great/terrible idea.