[Week 39] What is your training background?

**Peaked_18** · 06-25-2007, 12:18 AM

How did you get started into lifting? How long have you been lifting for?

Describe your past experiences.

**powerman2000** · 06-25-2007, 12:33 AM

I started lifting in highschool for football. The summer after I graduated I met a couple of powerlifters in my gym and I got hooked on powerlifting and quit playing football. My first PL meet I was 18 y/o and weighed 198lbs.

My second PL meet I was 19 y/o and weighed 240lbs.

My best was at 23 y/o in 1987 at the California State Championships. I took second place in the SHW class and I weighed 286lbs. I got beat in my total by only 22lbs.

I won a gold medal in the California State Police/Fire Olympics in the 275lb class.

After being away from comps for several years I gave it one last go in 1993 here in Colorado. This would be my last meet ever. It was a NASA sanctioned meet. All previous meets were USPF sanctioned.

So I basically competed off and on for over 10 years until my knees became too chronically sore to lift heavy anymore.

I have one BB comp on my resume here in Colorado. It was an NPC comp over 10 years ago. Heavyweight novice class and overall novice winner.

I've been lifting for 25 years since that first PL meet.

**powerman2000** · 06-25-2007, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaked_18

How did you get started into lifting? How long have you been lifting for?

Describe your past experiences.

Now it's your turn to tell your story.

**romanaz** · 06-25-2007, 08:33 PM

I started October 2005. It was my freshman semester in college and I had become friends with this amateur bodybuilder Dan, and he one day asked me to lift with him, and I became addicted.

I started off with the basics with free weights and after 5 months of training, I finally started training legs and squatting and deadlifting during a local biggest loser contest. I placed just outside the top 5 in that contest at 199lbs.

During the contest I got really interested in lifting heavy shit when my squat and deadlift numbers soared, with my deadlift hitting 315lbs two months after learning how to deadlift. In November of 2006, I finally got closer into powerlifting with the help of a member on this site, bigDman. I started training using the Westside method and started working more towards my goals.

In May 2007, after coming back from a minor injury, that Olympic lifting was more fun and that I would move towards that field of training more. I started training and learning how to snatch and clean and jerk.

As of now, I consider myself just a guy who lifts weights. On August 5th 2007, at my first deadlift meet (and possibly my last), I'll consider myself a powerlifter, and when I do a meet for Olympic lifting, I'll consider myself an Olympic Weightlifter.

And thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

**Ikaika** · 06-25-2007, 08:55 PM

I started lifting in high school training for football. We really had no idea what we were doing and just kind of went through the motions. My legs grew ridiculously strong, and junior year I was squatting close to 400 pounds and doing sets of 20 with 275. Of course, after football was over and I decided I wasn't going to play college ball, the heavy squatting went to the wayside and my legs shrank.

I lifted on and off during freshman and sophomore year at Wash U. Lots of drinking and video games kind of turned me into a shell of what I was. Junior year I started training again after watching Pumping Iron and reading Arnold's Encyclopedia. Since then, I've trained hard with some gaps due to moving/work/etc.

I'm currently about 6', 200 lbs and battling like hell to overcome some wicked tendinitis in my left forearm. I'm a big fan of Max-OT, SHSHT, and high volume training since my body is able to recover pretty quickly.

EzyRyder · 06-25-2007, 09:42 PM

When I was 12, a friend always lifted, and invited me to lift with him. Some family messed around with lifting. I started wanting to be better than all of my friends so I got some third hand stuff from a close family member, and started lifting a little bit. Was searching around on Google, for something to give me an advantage, and came across bb.com. Joined, and started learning. I've been lifting on/off for four years (damn) mostly off though. Lifting comes last in my priorities pretty much, but thats what I like...

2 HUGE · 09-07-2007, 12:23 AM

My Dad took me to a small hotel gym with a fitness club. The workout area was 10ft by 15ft and had just one universal cable machine. I worked out there about one or two times a week for about a year and then finally joined a real gym. I later quit hockey to lift.

Ive been bodybuilding for 2 years. Started out at about 143lbs... Now Im weighing in around 205lbs give or take (its been over a year since I weighed myself lol, I got too focused on the scale...)

I plan on competing when Im done university. Ive got to do one competition just to say Ive done it!!!

XiLe Ultra · 09-07-2007, 12:32 AM

I guess I've always wanted to be strong because I was weak...wanting what you don't have...you know.

Junior year of high school, I benched like 65lbs max, and I wanted to get strong, and I did 3x10 random stuff, 1 excercise per body part, and by the end of senior year I was only at 155 on bench while weighing 185, I never worked out during summer breaks and stuff

I stopped lifting for a year and I became a weakling and I lost 10 solid pounds I bet my bench was about 95lbs or something, then I began to run and do calesthenics after realizing that I was considerably weaker than the average guy, so my endurance skyrocket, I lost quite a decent amount of fat...I got a little bit stronger too. (this was July-October 2006)

So now I'm 166-170lbs and I weightlift again, benched 145lbs max and military pressed 95, and I decided to lift all bodyparts and bodybuild seriously in November, haven't stopped since and won't!

Now I can rep my old bench max a few times on military and I can bench more than I weigh...but my dips and pullups suck and I need to cut down on fat, and I still want to lift much heavier.

danman77220 · 09-07-2007, 05:13 AM

I've been lifting since August of '06 and I've been loving it. I started out BBing, you know, the basic 3x10 on everything, no squatting or DLing, all that bullshit. I was also extremely weak by any standard in the beginning. I had just come out of a HUGE weight loss... 235 to 175. I never lifted during that time though. Nothing but running and stupidly fasting myself. So my strength was atrocious. At 175, my max lifts were:

Bench: 102
Squat: 155
Deadlift: Unknown, didn't start till Jan. '07. At that point it was 250.

I didn't know much about weight training at all, so I just kept with 3x10 routines because they were most common in my school weight room. I also never squatted except when required in my weight training class because I thought it was akward. Boo-****in-hoo. I eventually grew a pair and started squatting, and soon after deadlifting, and my strength went up like mad. I got addicted to that. So I started to experiment some basic power routines (5x5 and some others) and got much more enamored with the intensity and power of the workouts, and the strength I was getting out of them. I've always been a big guy, and I've never really had to worry about size, so the concept of bodybuilding started to become less important to me. My main priority from the beginning was getting my strength up, anyway.

And that's where I am right now. I'm currently working on getting into my school's 700 Club (Bench + Squat + Powerclean > 700 lbs), and if at all possible, the 800 Club. I haven't really made a name for myself in high school. A lot of people know me, but I've never done any clubs or sports, so I want something to be remembered for at my school. It's also my senior year... so I've got some work to do.

**BobThePotato** · 10-12-2007, 07:25 AM

I started 4 years ago, I wanted to play football and I weighed 110 pounds. I could barely squat/bench/pull 95lbs Thus I lifted and ate and slept, and here I am today at ~225lbs, with semi-short term goals (within the next 6-12 months) of decline benching 400 squatting 500 and pulling 600.

Not quite as exciting as some of your guys stories, but mine none the less.

BB2K · 10-27-2007, 07:24 PM

Started in 89. I was 150lbs and couldnt bench 95lbs not even for a partial rep. I have been in and out of the gym since then. I have had alot of injuries due to stupidity and a ego and have had a long road to where i am now. 4 knee surgeries, both shoulders operated on, injections in my lower back and tennis elbow thats so bad it would make an preacher curse. Now i am almost 40, benching 350+ Squatting 400+ at a nice weight of 194lbs. I owe it all to food, my diet has been the number one thing to my growth and gains.

**DJSTARER** · 11-06-2007, 09:39 PM

Picked up my first dumbell my freshman year of college as a means to lose weight. I started at 165 with 28% BF. I dieted down to about 135. I spend the next 3 years bulking and cutting, using a variety of training methods. Only 1.5 years ago did I really start training with the barbell in mind. Before it was looks, now it's strength. The two go hand in hand (I am, by FAR more ripped right now than any other point in my life) and I'm representing my school this year at the American Open, followed by collegiate nationals in Colorado. The lessons learned under the barbell cannot be taught anywhere else. Like BB2k, my diet has been, hands down, the biggest contributer to my success. While everyone else spins their wheels, I make significant gains, week in and week out because I crave 6oz of chicken, a handfull of broccoli and 11 ounces of sweet potato covered in 1 tbls of PB on a regular basis.

Come to think of it... time to eat.

**powerman2000** · 11-06-2007, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJSTARER

Picked up my first dumbell my freshman year of college as a means to lose weight. I started at 165 with 28% BF. I dieted down to about 135. I spend the next 3 years bulking and cutting, using a variety of training methods. Only 1.5 years ago did I really start training with the barbell in mind. Before it was looks, now it's strength. The two go hand in hand (I am, by FAR more ripped right now than any other point in my life) and I'm representing my school this year at the American Open, followed by collegiate nationals in Colorado. The lessons learned under the barbell cannot be taught anywhere else. Like BB2k, my diet has been, hands down, the biggest contributer to my success. While everyone else spins their wheels, I make significant gains, week in and week out because I crave 6oz of chicken, a handfull of broccoli and 11 ounces of sweet potato covered in 1 tbls of PB on a regular basis.

Come to think of it... time to eat.

Better late than never.

BB2K · 11-06-2007, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJSTARER

Like BB2k, my diet has been, hands down, the biggest contributer to my success. While everyone else spins their wheels, I make significant gains, week in and week out because I crave 6oz of chicken, a handfull of broccoli and 11 ounces of sweet potato covered in 1 tbls of PB on a regular basis.

Come to think of it... time to eat.

EXACTLY. Food is everything. My manager at my job (24hr fitness) gets pissed that i do not push supplements. I have 2 reasons why I dont. #1 I believe food can do it all, some supps are great but not "needed". #2 We sell Apexx and IMO it is shyt. Diet, weights and cardio will work 110% of the time.

**powerman2000** · 11-06-2007, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BB2K

Now i am almost 40, benching 350+ Squatting 400+ at a nice weight of 194lbs. I owe it all to food, my diet has been the number one thing to my growth and gains.

With all the injuries that you've sustained it's incredible that you can still lift so heavy.

I could never lift that much weight again.

06-25-2007, 08:55 PM	#5
Ikaika shippin dem stacks Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,650 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 207	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? I started lifting in high school training for football. We really had no idea what we were doing and just kind of went through the motions. My legs grew ridiculously strong, and junior year I was squatting close to 400 pounds and doing sets of 20 with 275. Of course, after football was over and I decided I wasn't going to play college ball, the heavy squatting went to the wayside and my legs shrank. I lifted on and off during freshman and sophomore year at Wash U. Lots of drinking and video games kind of turned me into a shell of what I was. Junior year I started training again after watching Pumping Iron and reading Arnold's Encyclopedia. Since then, I've trained hard with some gaps due to moving/work/etc. I'm currently about 6', 200 lbs and battling like hell to overcome some wicked tendinitis in my left forearm. I'm a big fan of Max-OT, SHSHT, and high volume training since my body is able to recover pretty quickly. __________________ No supplement can make up for the lack of a strong work ethic.

06-25-2007, 09:42 PM	#6
EzyRyder Pro Stature Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 743 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 70	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? When I was 12, a friend always lifted, and invited me to lift with him. Some family messed around with lifting. I started wanting to be better than all of my friends so I got some third hand stuff from a close family member, and started lifting a little bit. Was searching around on Google, for something to give me an advantage, and came across bb.com. Joined, and started learning. I've been lifting on/off for four years (damn) mostly off though. Lifting comes last in my priorities pretty much, but thats what I like...

09-07-2007, 12:23 AM	#7
2 HUGE Pro Stature Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 157 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 25	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? My Dad took me to a small hotel gym with a fitness club. The workout area was 10ft by 15ft and had just one universal cable machine. I worked out there about one or two times a week for about a year and then finally joined a real gym. I later quit hockey to lift. Ive been bodybuilding for 2 years. Started out at about 143lbs... Now Im weighing in around 205lbs give or take (its been over a year since I weighed myself lol, I got too focused on the scale...) I plan on competing when Im done university. Ive got to do one competition just to say Ive done it!!!

09-07-2007, 12:32 AM	#8
XiLe Ultra Pro Stature Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Aurora, IL Posts: 2,265 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 179	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? I guess I've always wanted to be strong because I was weak...wanting what you don't have...you know. Junior year of high school, I benched like 65lbs max, and I wanted to get strong, and I did 3x10 random stuff, 1 excercise per body part, and by the end of senior year I was only at 155 on bench while weighing 185, I never worked out during summer breaks and stuff I stopped lifting for a year and I became a weakling and I lost 10 solid pounds I bet my bench was about 95lbs or something, then I began to run and do calesthenics after realizing that I was considerably weaker than the average guy, so my endurance skyrocket, I lost quite a decent amount of fat...I got a little bit stronger too. (this was July-October 2006) So now I'm 166-170lbs and I weightlift again, benched 145lbs max and military pressed 95, and I decided to lift all bodyparts and bodybuild seriously in November, haven't stopped since and won't! Now I can rep my old bench max a few times on military and I can bench more than I weigh...but my dips and pullups suck and I need to cut down on fat, and I still want to lift much heavier. __________________ Deadlift: 405 Bench: 225 Squat: somewhere inbetween MP #17 (no G & N)

09-07-2007, 05:13 AM	#9
danman77220 Pro Stature Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1,011 Recipes: 1 Rep Power: 50	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? I've been lifting since August of '06 and I've been loving it. I started out BBing, you know, the basic 3x10 on everything, no squatting or DLing, all that bullshit. I was also extremely weak by any standard in the beginning. I had just come out of a HUGE weight loss... 235 to 175. I never lifted during that time though. Nothing but running and stupidly fasting myself. So my strength was atrocious. At 175, my max lifts were: Bench: 102 Squat: 155 Deadlift: Unknown, didn't start till Jan. '07. At that point it was 250. I didn't know much about weight training at all, so I just kept with 3x10 routines because they were most common in my school weight room. I also never squatted except when required in my weight training class because I thought it was akward. Boo-**in-hoo. I eventually grew a pair and started squatting, and soon after deadlifting, and my strength went up like mad. I got addicted to that. So I started to experiment some basic power routines (5x5 and some others) and got much more enamored with the intensity and power of the workouts, and the strength I was getting out of them. I've always been a big guy, and I've never really had to worry about size, so the concept of bodybuilding started to become less important to me. My main priority from the beginning was getting my strength up, anyway. And that's where I am right now. I'm currently working on getting into my school's 700 Club (Bench + Squat + Powerclean > 700 lbs), and if at all possible, the 800 Club. I haven't really made a name for myself in high school. A lot of people know me, but I've never done any clubs or sports, so I want something to be remembered for at my school. It's also my senior year... so I've got some work to do. __________________ Accomplishment tastes better than cheesecake. Stats(/goals): Age: 18 Weight: 193 BF%: 19%/8% Max Lifts B: 240 S: 315+ D: 305+ Goals for graduation B: 275 S: 365 D: 365 Pullups: BW+25x5 Status:** Becoming a beast My Training Log

06-25-2007, 12:18 AM	#1
Peaked_18 a la commode Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,297 Recipes: 2 Rep Power: 96	[Week 39] What is your training background? How did you get started into lifting? How long have you been lifting for? Describe your past experiences.

06-25-2007, 12:33 AM	#2
powerman2000 The Old Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 4,244 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 198	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? I started lifting in highschool for football. The summer after I graduated I met a couple of powerlifters in my gym and I got hooked on powerlifting and quit playing football. My first PL meet I was 18 y/o and weighed 198lbs. My second PL meet I was 19 y/o and weighed 240lbs. My best was at 23 y/o in 1987 at the California State Championships. I took second place in the SHW class and I weighed 286lbs. I got beat in my total by only 22lbs. I won a gold medal in the California State Police/Fire Olympics in the 275lb class. After being away from comps for several years I gave it one last go in 1993 here in Colorado. This would be my last meet ever. It was a NASA sanctioned meet. All previous meets were USPF sanctioned. So I basically competed off and on for over 10 years until my knees became too chronically sore to lift heavy anymore. I have one BB comp on my resume here in Colorado. It was an NPC comp over 10 years ago. Heavyweight novice class and overall novice winner. I've been lifting for 25 years since that first PL meet. __________________ Don't forget to periodize Best BP 507 lbs competitive Best Squat 705 lbs competitive Best DL 650 lbs competitive Guns don't kill people, men who come home early do. My workout log http://www.ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6247

10-12-2007, 07:25 AM	#10
BobThePotato Nublarsaurusrex Join Date: May 2005 Location: Calgary//Alberta Posts: 519 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 20	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? I started 4 years ago, I wanted to play football and I weighed 110 pounds. I could barely squat/bench/pull 95lbs Thus I lifted and ate and slept, and here I am today at ~225lbs, with semi-short term goals (within the next 6-12 months) of decline benching 400 squatting 500 and pulling 600. Not quite as exciting as some of your guys stories, but mine none the less. __________________ "Geadelt ist wer Schmerzen kennt vom Feuer das in Lust verbrennt."

10-27-2007, 07:24 PM	#11
BB2K IMPC Contestant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 711 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 31	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? Started in 89. I was 150lbs and couldnt bench 95lbs not even for a partial rep. I have been in and out of the gym since then. I have had alot of injuries due to stupidity and a ego and have had a long road to where i am now. 4 knee surgeries, both shoulders operated on, injections in my lower back and tennis elbow thats so bad it would make an preacher curse. Now i am almost 40, benching 350+ Squatting 400+ at a nice weight of 194lbs. I owe it all to food, my diet has been the number one thing to my growth and gains. __________________ MOD/REP @ IBE www.epistane.com Need that killer diet? Ask Chuck Rudolf! chuckierd@aol.com

11-06-2007, 09:39 PM	#12
DJSTARER Writing Staff Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: State College, PA Posts: 3,911 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 109	Re: [Week 39] What is your training background? Picked up my first dumbell my freshman year of college as a means to lose weight. I started at 165 with 28% BF. I dieted down to about 135. I spend the next 3 years bulking and cutting, using a variety of training methods. Only 1.5 years ago did I really start training with the barbell in mind. Before it was looks, now it's strength. The two go hand in hand (I am, by FAR more ripped right now than any other point in my life) and I'm representing my school this year at the American Open, followed by collegiate nationals in Colorado. The lessons learned under the barbell cannot be taught anywhere else. Like BB2k, my diet has been, hands down, the biggest contributer to my success. While everyone else spins their wheels, I make significant gains, week in and week out because I crave 6oz of chicken, a handfull of broccoli and 11 ounces of sweet potato covered in 1 tbls of PB on a regular basis. Come to think of it... time to eat. __________________ My philosophies on training: "Extreme training yields extreme results" "Just because you can, does not mean you should" "The best program is the one you are not doing" Penn State Powerlifting-181 lb weightclass PGA Professional of America Current Stats: 474 Squat 601 Deadlift 320 Bench Goals for next training cycle: Total 1400 in competition