juliewatkin Member

I've had a garage and then basement gym since 2009. I've got about 800lbs in plates, a rack, bench, dip stand, texas power bar, cheap chrome bar, safety squat bar, platform three sheets thick of plywood topped with stall mats, olympic dumb bells, 1" dumb bells, kettle bell, bands, a *kitten* ton of knee sleeves, knee wraps…

That's correct. There is no pause per se; the bar must be motionless to receive a press command. I compete both equipped and unequipped. It's easier to achieve motionless raw. In a shirt there can be a lot more bobbling.

That was really solid. I think you had five.

Nice job. It looks pretty solid. You have the bar quite high. I'm sure your shoulders are happier than mine :)

I'm with you on being in better shape than when I was younger. Well stronger at any rate. I was always a bit of a lazy cat. I train at home so don't bother with any steady state cardio. Plus it's boring. Like you I squat and bench once each week for both max and volume. Deadlift has it's own day with a lot of back stuff. I…

The ring dips are killer. Nice job.

Sonya that's interesting that you find this to be the case. I've been competing for 8 years and in the past 2 years or so, have noticed a significant difference in my recovery. I'm 51 so it started around 48-49. I train 3 days a week but have to closely monitor volume and intensity. My strength is as good or better than…

While you may not have been intimidated the first time you went into the free weights section, many are. I spent weeks talking myself into before I dared to do it about 9 years ago. I've been competing for 8 years now so clearly it's no longer a problem. To say it wasn't a bit scary at first would be disingenuous. Everyone…

The one and only time I got a bw bench, Avi was head ref. He was testing for his national certification. When I looked at the video, I got a gift. I wouldn't have given the press command. I'll take it though :smile:

There's three commands in the IPF; start, press & rack with accompanying hand signals (the point of which I fail to see since the lifter can't see you :neutral: ). I'm not sure if other federations have the same. I think others may have a soft start. Go to a meet. It's the best way to see how it's run. It's always…

I'd call it paused. FWIW, a pause isn't the requirement in a meet. It must be motionless. Sometimes that can be attained immediately, other times not so much. I've been a ref for 4 years in an IPF affiliate.

That was a bit weird and embarrassing for them. If you can't do it, don't show yourself not being able to do it. I have all sorts of things I can't do but don't feel the need to document it :smile:

Max IPF/CPU competition 55kg (my one and only competition bw bench) touch and go gym lift 60kg. Let's hear if for deadlift :smile:

I just tell them that bench is for losers. Everyone knows, the meet doesn't start 'till the weight hits the floor.

Thanks. However, the lighter you are, the easier it is to do multiples of your bodyweight. It was still pretty barfy.

I remember that challenge. It was pretty fun. My husband thought I was crazy. Remember mine? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Q4k8vV8mA

Nice job, particularly on the deadlift with no belt.

We have an SSB at home. They're great but I wouldn't permanently switch a straight bar for an SSB. I us it as an assistance after deadlifting. You really have to fight to stay upright.

I vary the degree of tightness depending on the lift. Tighter for squat and looser for deadlift. There is no uniform way it should be; it varies on the individual. If it were a prong belt, I'd suggest drilling another hole in it. Is there any way you can tighten it at all? What is it made of?

Thanks for the kind words. I have another meet coming in May and hope to improve my numbers a bit. Part of my issue is age; I'm 51 so I start to worry that I'm on the downhill slope. Your numbers are great. I had to laugh a bit how they fell out. It looks like yours are similar to mine in that your bench doesn't count for…

Looking through my old videos just made me sad. I've been having hip and IT band issues. They haven't shut me down and training continues but things feel harder and more difficult than they did a couple of months ago. The squat video is from November and is 240. It's a bit slow but it's a max. BW approx. 128.…

1-I decided to compete because I wanted to compete. It wasn't any more complicated than that. I started teaching myself the big three and wanted to get on the platform. 2-I had assistance setting my attempts for my first meet. When I decided I wanted to compete, I sourced out a local club in my area. To my good fortune,…

That's okay. I still watch it to entertain myself. I've seen enough lifts go sideways on a number of people not to get bent out of shape about it.

I could have used a deadlift back spotter on this one. This has happened to me on more than one occasion and I've seen others do the same. Nothing beats doing it at a world championship though :smile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOvbeShIY7s

I made a slingshot for benching out of an old pair of Titan THP wraps. I also made something like this from pipe. You can load however much weight you want. I usually have about 50lbs sitting on it and use it for swings

I would start with conventional as sumo is a far more technical lift. I disagree with all the people saying not to lift with your back. That's a fallacy in my opinion and gets too many people freaked out and trying to squat the weight off the floor. We lift with our backs all the time which is apparent by all the muscle we…

Zerchers. This is an old video but I still like them. I find them pretty easy. I think it's because I have long arms so the range of motion is fairly short. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjzMXEmKXAs

I've been competing for over 7 years and have done approximately 25 meets. I've lost count.

Try it. It depends upon the couple. I met my husband in a powerlifting club over 6 years ago so it's natural that we train together since we both compete together. As for switching out the plates, once you've had to do it for 5 or more people in a club, doing it for 2 is not a big deal. You plan it out. If my top set is…

Lift for long enough and you will experience a lot of peaks and valleys. You get used to it and just move on. I've been going through a valley of my own recently. Rather than grinding with weight I can't do, I just drop the weight. Strength doesn't just disappear. Sometimes there are external factors that will affect it…