Middle age strikes! I strike back (and introduce a powerlifting routine)...

[Warg]

To add, Jim W, and the guys at EliteFTS know their sh&^. For real. Jim W, Tate, etc are the DEVGRU of powerlifter/strength oriented trainers. I used their Prowler with the SWAT team I just finished working with (vids coming shortly) and it's the best overall gismo I have ever used.

Two, everyone on my forums who has done the 5,3,1 from Jim W has said universally positive things about it.

I have not done it personally however.

The Prowler, a.k.a. puke machine, rocks. It's one of the best devices for GPP I've ever used. A good friend of mine is a trainer for professional, olympic and college athletes and he incoporates the Prowler into all of their routines to great effect. Even the female rowers are pushing then damn thing around.

We need a Prowler thread...

[QuickStrike]

Thanks for the link! I didn't go to the gym today. Stayed home to look at this routine. It will probably help my gains more, to use this rountine than waste my time doing the same things over and over...

My combined 3 is only 905 right now. Hope to get to 1,100 or so.

In summary, you perform the military press, squat, deadlift, and bench press three or four days per week.

Read this and thought, ALL 3 lifts THREE times a week?

Once again, thanks!

[Irish]

Very inspirational change for alot of people and proof that it can be done! Nice Ferrari too

[Mr.Goodtimes]

Thanks a bunch!

The numbers aren't that great, but good for where I am in life and all of the injuries I've had. And I'm not really competing against anyone else but myself.

What I failed to mention, and this is critical, is how good I feel compared to five years ago.

G-

those numbers are nuts to me! im a 6ft 180 lb, idk wtf i am honestly. im not a crazy endurance athlete but im not super explosive either... i seem to have a pretty good balance of both. i got a lot of functional strength. my big goal is in the next couple of months, be able to squat 135lb 50 times.

A 600lb squad is insane to me lol.

[Warg]

those numbers are nuts to me! im a 6ft 180 lb, idk wtf i am honestly. im not a crazy endurance athlete but im not super explosive either... i seem to have a pretty good balance of both. i got a lot of functional strength. my big goal is in the next couple of months, be able to squat 135lb 50 times.

A 600lb squad is insane to me lol.

Functional strength is certainly a good thing to have. I like the high rep goal. It's pretty difficult to breathe after lots and lots of reps on the squat. Good luck. I'm sure you'll do it. Every try box squats?

With respect to squatting 600, its just time under the bar, but it is quite fascinating re: the changes in the way the weight feels at each 90 lb. increment:

135 doesn't feel like anything to me
225 is light, but a bit annoying
315 and I'm just getting good and warm. This requires me to tighen up my core a bit
405 requires good concentration. The weight starts to feel heavy.
495 tends to compress my upper rib cage a bit and I have to work hard to breathe properly.
585 damn near knocks all of the air out of my lungs.
640 feels like 150 lbs. more than 585. Almost every muscle in my body trembles when I unrack this. I usually see stars during most of the lift and have actually passed out squatting this much! Thank goodness for power racks

[Mr.Goodtimes]

Functional strength is certainly a good thing to have.

i wish i could squat that sorta weight, and DL like that but, i cant have both and, im in the process of preparing for BUD/s so, i can forget about getting to big.

Leg strength is something a lot of people neglect, its incredible how weak my legs have gotten lately. For the past year i've really neglected to do anything for them besides running and it shows.

Do you squat ass to grass or just down to parallel? in your opinion, is squatting past parallel bad for you?

[Warg]

i wish i could squat that sorta weight, and DL like that but, i cant have both and, im in the process of preparing for BUD/s so, i can forget about getting to big.

Leg strength is something a lot of people neglect, its incredible how weak my legs have gotten lately. For the past year i've really neglected to do anything for them besides running and it shows.

Do you squat ass to grass or just down to parallel? in your opinion, is squatting past parallel bad for you?

It easy to neglect because it's a royal PITA Sadly, most folks I see in the gym can't even squat to parallel.

Funny story: We had a guy come into the gym several months ago bragging about how much his kid could squat and how he was a shoe-in to make University of Washington's football team. Intrigued, we invited the kid (with his stupid father) to come in for an evaluation. After a short warm-up of 1/4 squats wtih 135, the kid asks us to put 600 lbs. on the bar. We instruct him that he hasn't performed a proper warm-up and that he isn't squatting correctly. The father starts to get irate and asks us to let him proceed. Okay, we tell him, but he's at risk for an injury... So the kid does a 1/6th squat with 600 and follows it up with a huge scream while slamming the weight back on the rack. The father says "See, I told you he was strong." We were floored. My friend (the trainer) tells the kid and his father that the kid doesn't know what the hell he's doing and, if he plans on playing college ball, he better STFU and listen to folks who know better. The father gets pissed and plucks his kid out of the gym. Last we checked, the kid hasn’t even tried out for the team…

Anyhow, I used to squat ass to grass, but due to a severe ankle injury, I can only squat to about 2-3" below parallel. Ankle and hip flexibility is really important for good technique. I just don't have the flexibility in my right ankle any longer.

Squatting below parallel is not detrimental, rather the converse IF done correctly. The key is not to let your knees drift over your feet (sit back). For people that have trouble squatting, I strongly recommend box squats. You literally squat on a box with a pause at the bottom to break the concentric/eccentric chain. This really affects explosive power. Start at or slightly above parallel and work on your form. Upgrade to a lower box when your form is good. A camcorder really comes in handy if you don't have a workout partner.