Observe this public service announcement from Spencer at California Strength:
(this was supposed to be a PR set of five)
I want to point out that the red and black NWO has been dead for years, but Spencer doesn’t give any shits; Wolfpack 4 Life. Secondly, Spencer was all set to squat 235kg (517 lbs. for you uncultured Americans) for a set of five. And then he went insane AND FUCKING DOUBLED IT UP. He’s the type of guy who says, “Ma’am, that’s not nearly enough pancakes.” He’s the type of guy who lays down six aces in a friendly poker game. He’s the type of guy who is still shredding the air guitar after the song is over. He doesn’t give a shit.
It’s not like he doesn’t care about getting better or getting stronger; he clearly cares about that. But he’s not worrying about the minutiae in the moment and when it’s go time, he fucking brings it. Trying to hit a weight, and then summoning all your energy to fucking annihilate it are two very different things. When you’re hitting a set, get reckless.
Did you watch the ending of that video? Spencer isn’t allowed to take dbol, so he makes his own…by being a fucking man.
I’m sure everyone has seen him: the guy whose bench PR is 225×5, and has been for five years. He comes in Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to knock out his flat, incline, and decline bench, along with some curls. He sometimes stares off into space when not flexing his “abs” in the mirror and wonders why his bench is “stuck”. Where this individual failed was in measuring his progress, or perhaps being ignorant that it’s been some time since he made any. I have been there myself, and that’s why I want to discuss several mistakes I made.
I’ve sucked at the bench press for years, and honestly, will probably never be amazing on the bench. Nevertheless, I continue to try and get better. While spending 4 years in England, I tried numerous ways to improve it. I bought boards, bands, and Westside Barbell seminars. I was determined to not suck…as much. For a while I did get better. Without ever being coached, and without knowing what the word “programming” meant, I increased my bench from a paltry 190 in 2005 to a less-than-respectable-for-powerlifters-but-OK-for-casual-gym-goers 295 when I left in 2009. I was still irritated, but at least it was going up.
Since moving to Texas I have managed to compete in 3 competitions, spaced out over the course of a year. In my first meet I hit 281, 292 in the second meet, and 303 in the third (all paused, obviously). Are these fantastic numbers for a guy my size? Absolutely not. However, they are indeed measurable gains. They mean that something I did between meets 1, 2, and 3 worked. By using the meets as a guide, I could at least tell that I was making progress. The four years I spent training in England was not in vain, but I think they would have been accelerated if I had started competing. Had I not competed in the past year, would I have known I was getting better? Personally, I think a powerlifting meet is the perfect opportunity to do so. If you leave your ego at the door, and just worry about performing as well as you possibly can that day, I don’t think there’s a more legitimate way of seeing how far you’ve come.
Nah, I don't need a spot.
It’s also important to be brutally honest when measuring any type of progress. In the past six years, I’ve spent numerous months having to lose weight in order to pass my PT test. I always pass and then go right back to doing what I love to do: lifting heavy shit. Recently, this has become more difficult for me, particularly because the military has come down so hard on the PT program. Personally, my issue is the waist measurement. I’ll always be in decent enough shape to pass the sit-ups, push-ups, and run, but the waist circumference kills me. My belief is that I was built incorrectly in the factory (long arms/legs, short and wide torso), but that’s something I’ve learned to live with.
The challenge this past year has been to try and make sure that I don’t become too weak, but that my waist is still kept in check. When I started dieting back in November, I was convinced two months would be long enough for me to diet down and get my waist to a 37. I was wrong. During the months of November and December, I dieted (cut carbs significantly) and increased my cardio (moderately paced walking) dramatically, and looking in the mirror, I thought I was good. A week out from my test, I measured my waist. It was still a 39…fuck. Knowing that failure was not an option, I pulled out all the stops. I performed over an hour of cardio a day, decreased my calories once again, and within a week, was at a 37.5. Where did I go wrong? I failed to measure my progress. Instead of measuring my waist weekly, like I knew I should have been doing, I waited until the last minute. I was worried that if I measured too often, my methods of losing weight might become too drastic. This was a big mistake, and something I encourage you not to try.
In both cases I didn’t measure my progress correctly and was unaware of my gains. Logging your training is necessary to gauge progress in a training program, but you also have to take measurements that are relevant to your goal. I didn’t measure my waist and put myself in a shitty situation to have to lose an inch and half on my waist circumference in a week. I aimed to get stronger on the bench years ago but never really saw precise progress until I started competing. Again, I highly suggest competing in something to see where you’re at, no matter how “weak” you think your numbers are. Real vs. relative, right Brent?
Christine has run the blog Munchies, Muscles, and Mischief for about a year. She has competed in a figure competition yet has transitioned into strength training and powerlifting. Her site ranges from ramblings to powerlifting, from training philosophy to female body image. Christine is, yet again, a prime example of a girl who is strong and looks great as a result of lifting weights.
Christine is 5’2″ and currently 140 lbs. (but cutting a bit of weight); not exactly skinny. While she has a musculature physique, she is certainly not in danger of nuclear levels of “bulkiness” that most women seem to be terrified of when discussing weight training.
Here is a video from Christine’s most recent powerlifting meet in which she grinds out a third attempt squat at 260 lbs.
Strong girls can do pull-ups anywhere
Christine missed her third attempt deadlift at 292 in that meet (an issue with her set up), but has pulled 290 in training recently. Here’s a routine set of five she did in the gym:
I hope that the continued features on strong girls like Christine helps the naysayers realize that lifting weights develops strength and the optimal female figure. It’s my sincerest hope that women don’t think that emaciation or skinniness is the female archetype, but instead aspire to be physically strong and capable women. Strength training helps generate an ideal metabolism and refines musculature that augments the lovely female body. Male readers, I urge you to share this with your girlfriends, wives, friends, family, and co-workers, but do so in a respectful, non-threatening way.
Workshop Weekend in Toronto, Canada Includes a Lifting Workshop on Saturday and Programming Workshop on Sunday. Attendees can sign up for both, or just one.
June 18 and 19, 2011 Information and purchase link.
Lifting Workshop in Monterey, California
July 9, 2011
Information page under construction
Workshop Weekend right outside of Sydney, Australia Includes a Lifting Workshop on Saturday and Programming Workshop on Sunday. Attendees can sign up for both, or just one.
July 23 and 24, 2011 Information and purchase link
Join the party with PR Friday and post your training PR’s or updates to comments.
Somebody asked me how I was able to have so much success on a linear progression (I used Starting Strength) since I worked up to 465x5x3 a couple years ago. On the first day I started at 325x5x3 and eight weeks later was at 445x5x3. I made a five pound jumps each workout; 24 workouts times 5 pound increments equals 120 lbs. of added weight on the work sets at the end of the two months. I had some set backs and eventually worked up to the 465 realm. I’d eventually work up to an easy 500×3.
AC had similar success. I remember meeting him when he weighed about 180 pounds. We were into CrossFit and were excited when he squatted 385, pressed 185, and deadlifted 435. His linear progression worked up into the 450s before I (intelligently) convinced him to shift the programming (to prevent getting beat down like I did). We put him on the S&C Program that I wrote, and he pushed his squat to 435ish, press to 205, and deadlift to 500. To date, he has squatted a comically easy 534 (barely missing 551 on a mechanical mistake), has benched a paused 380, and deadlifted 569. All raw, of course.
When I met Chris he was pulling about 440×5 and didn’t hesitate to tell me he wanted to deadlift 600×5. At the time it was a fucking tall order, yet he was steadfast in his goal (last week he pulled 600×4). He was squatting in the low 400s when he became my training partner. The first time Chris squatted 600 was at his first powerlifting meet on the third attempt (he deadlifted 633 in this meet). Recently he squatted 644 and deadlifted 661 in competition (raw).
The general trend here is that none of us were very special a couple years ago. People ask me all the time about AC’s “freaky genetics”. The dude isn’t a genetic freak; genetic freaks walk in the gym and squat five plates within five minutes. Chris and I certainly aren’t genetic freaks either. The three of us share the following qualities: 1) we had years of accumulated lifting, 2) we all were completely committed to getting stronger, 3) we did all of the little things right like having consistent technique and recovering/eating well, 4) we used a typical linear progression and later a properly tweaked Texas Method, and — most importantly — 5) we trained our fucking asses off.
I don’t think it’s fair to look at any of us as genetic freaks. That makes it seem like we didn’t earn anything, and that’s bullshit. AC has spent hundreds of hours in a gym, by himself, waiting to squat. Chris has sacrificed his schedule, even being late to school or work, to train. And all of us have had to develop the most sadistic, violent, and out-of-control mental hurricane to attack our hardest sets. I’ve seen Chris strain so hard that his soul died when he missed a 650 lbs. deadlift. I watched AC barbarically press 235 for a triple and completely rage out afterwards with his fists clenched as if he’d just severed the head of a mortal enemy. My heart rate has been 205+ bpm right after squatting a 5×5 that drained my adrenal and neuro-endocrine system so bad that it almost made me emotionally uncontrollable.
The only freakish thing about the guys from 70’s Big is that we cinch our belt, gnash our teeth, bark to the heavens, and fucking own the barbell every single time we train. We rarely miss lifts, we are never flat, and we always attack the bar. Not really all that special.
