Anyone here into powerlifting?

[ChrisCurvyS]

As above.

Been lifting weights in response to an early mid-life crisis (turned 30 last year) and was wondering if anyone else has been facing the same struggles riding an SV the day after squats/deadlifts.

[Stuuk1]

Haha, this is funny!

If you are struggling the next day to do anything, let alone riding a bike, then I suggest you lift a little less weight and build yourself up to the big weights.

You will only do yourself a serious injury.

[yorkie_chris]

Yes... anything heavy I definitely prefer to lift it using power.

Fork truck... hydraulics... 3 phase crane... helicopter... not picky so long as it's not me getting a sweat on...

[ChrisCurvyS]

Haha, this is funny!

If you are struggling the next day to do anything, let alone riding a bike, then I suggest you lift a little less weight and build yourself up to the big weights.

You will only do yourself a serious injury.
Hmm I think I'll stick with what I'm doing. Bit of DOMS the next day shows you're making progress, which I am, and I've been doing it on and off since I was about 17 with no injuries as yet.

It's just deadlifts especially (as they work the lower back) make lying across a fuel tank the day after something of a spiritual experience.

[ChrisCurvyS]

Yes... anything heavy I definitely prefer to lift it using power.

Fork truck... hydraulics... 3 phase crane... helicopter... not picky so long as it's not me getting a sweat on...
LOL nothing wrong with that. It's just I need to do exercise of some sort to keep the belly at bay, and the only thing I've ever been any good at is lifting heavy things up and down.

Still a long way off fitting in the leathers the Mrs bought me for Xmas though....

[Stuuk1]

no injuries as yet.

Good luck, enjoy riding your motorbike uncomfortably with limited movement.. Sounds safe for us other road users.

[ChrisCurvyS]

Good luck, enjoy riding your motorbike uncomfortably with limited movement.. Sounds safe for us other road users.
Think someone's suffering from a sense of humour bypass, in sharp contrast to the craaa-zy avatar.

[thulfi]

Recently been gyming it again having not done so for 4 years, largely because I came back from a recent holiday to Brazil where I went pot-bellied and out of shape and a mates stag-do to Ibiza that is just around the corner.

Luckily I started again during winter time so not much riding was being done. After a while, the post gym burn won't be as sore as it is when you're starting again and riding a bike will feel almost normal, even on heavy squat/deadlift days.

When I got back into it this winter, I couldn't extend my arms to 180 and couldn't flex them past about 135 degrees after my first arm day. Ha, I literally couldn't do anything for a few days, including showering properly - could barely reach up to shampoo my hair.

[smithy17]

I tend to get similar problems after training sessions.... only 21 so nothing more than DOMS as you say. luckily for me tho I have access to an ice bath after sessions which helps.
if you cant/don't want to do that then contract showers of a minute hot then a minute cold, repeat about 5 times and end on the cold (sounds sucky but once your used to it surprisingly nice) can really help some of the soreness
I tend to struggle with hip flexors cramping, no real back pain after deadlifts.... just sore hammys

[Stenno]

As above.

Been lifting weights in response to an early mid-life crisis (turned 30 last year) and was wondering if anyone else has been facing the same struggles riding an SV the day after squats/deadlifts.

I try to follow Stronglifts 5x5 when I can. Glad to be on a DL650 these days as opposed to the SV!

[Jackie_Black]

I've just started lifting again, DOMS and pain is all part of it unfortunately. It will lessen though so stick with it. If you're 30 and still on an SV you haven't even had the midlife crisis yet. When mine started i sold my sv bought a ninja sold that bought a vstrom sold that bought a hornet and sold that and bought another v-strom and accepted i'm not rossi.

[Fallout]

As a skinny fecker, I go through periods were I do weights to try and bulk out. Doesn't do much good with my build but hey ho. As you well know, you need to be absolutely wobbly and fecked afterwards, else you're not hitting those last few reps that make all the difference.

Riding the bike is indeed challenging afterwards. Supporting the bike with your legs is interesting as is leaning on your arms in the sports bike position. I got to the stage where I would never do weights when I was riding the bike the next day as its no fun when you're feeling like a weak lemon.

Since I ride lots of miles every day now, no more weights for me. Great excuse to not bother. :D

[ChrisCurvyS]

I try to follow Stronglifts 5x5 when I can. Glad to be on a DL650 these days as opposed to the SV!
Yup - 5X5 has def worked for me. Pretty much doubled my bench press max since just last summer.

TBH the deadlift ache isn't such a bad thing as it encourages you to keep your spine straight when riding and rotate at the pelvis instead when leaning forward.

Think the worse aches I've ever got are from doing a day's off-road quad biking. Was stood up on the pegs all day - had a severe case of Elvis-leg all the way home...

[ChrisCurvyS]

I've just started lifting again, DOMS and pain is all part of it unfortunately. It will lessen though so stick with it. If you're 30 and still on an SV you haven't even had the midlife crisis yet. When mine started i sold my sv bought a ninja sold that bought a vstrom sold that bought a hornet and sold that and bought another v-strom and accepted i'm not rossi.
If you're 30 and still on an SV you haven't even had the midlife crisis yet.

Ha - do you mean if it was a proper mid-life crisis, I would have gone out and bought a GSXR or a Ninja or something?!

[Sir Trev]

Ha - do you mean if it was a proper mid-life crisis, I would have gone out and bought a GSXR or a Ninja or something?!

Or a Harley...

Sorry but 30 is not MLC time. Your metabolism may be slowing and your jeans may be getting harder to do up but you've not really hit "the Crisis" yet. Keeping fit will keep it at bay so if you're happy with your regime carry on. Personally I'm aware there is a room in the basement of our office with some strange equipment in it that people disappear to at lunchtime before coming back looking all flustered but I tend to avoid it, even though I'm *cough* 39 now.

[ChrisCurvyS]

Or a Harley...

Sorry but 30 is not MLC time. Your metabolism may be slowing and your jeans may be getting harder to do up but you've not really hit "the Crisis" yet. Keeping fit will keep it at bay so if you're happy with your regime carry on. Personally I'm aware there is a room in the basement of our office with some strange equipment in it that people disappear to at lunchtime before coming back looking all flustered but I tend to avoid it, even though I'm *cough* 39 now.
Yup - I know 30 is no big deal and I'm actuallya lot stronger now than I was ten years ago. Probably partly because I'm a lot more disciplined and systematic in my training and nutrition than when I was a wee slip of a lad and just playing at doing weights.

Thing is, you might be 39 but I look about 49 already so have to do something to kick back against Father Time.

[Pricey12]

I was doing Wendlers 531 but fell out of love with weightlifting when I rediscovered my love for bikes. Stupidly though I stopped in the middle of a bulk :rolleyes: Definitely need to get back into it to shift my spare tyre :p

[Stuuk1]

Think someone's suffering from a sense of humour bypass, in sharp contrast to the craaa-zy avatar.

Haha, I was bored!

[joe_f59]

I powerlift for rugby purposes and yeah DOMS is a scary thing after very heavy squats/leg press/lunges/farmers walks. But the WORST for me is heavy (200kg+) deadlifts or calf raises, in one I can barely corner and the other I don't know where my feet are at lights etc

[ThEGr33k]

I did Powerlifting for the RAF for the best part of a year before leaving the service. DOMS tends to be something that goes with regular exercise I found. Like the first week of going back to gym after prolonged absence usually caused it but when training 3+ times a day it was ok.

I only did benchpress competitively as it was a hobby, I trained all the lifts but didn't want to hurt my back; having a family history of back pains so didn't want to break myself pushing it.

Milk really helps with Aches, drink it after training and your soreness will be VERY reduced the next day!

Anything else you care to know?

[ChrisCurvyS]

Yeah I drink loads of milk (with and without protein powder) and it's def good for recovery. Like you I'm always wary of screwing my back up so I tend to shy away from single-rep max deadlifts - I've only managed 170kg for reps so far so a fair way off Joe's level!

Dunno about anyone else but I do find heavy lifts strangely enjoyable - takes a surprising amount of concentration. It's a almost like meditation - you clear you mind of everything else and focus on the moment.

Also like the challenge of constantly aiming for bigger numbers, whereas when I used to do more bodybuilding-type training there wasn't a clear goal to work towards. Other than trying to get ripped in a desperate attempt to impress the opposite sex. :-)

[ThEGr33k]

How much you weigh, 1 rep max bench?

[ChrisCurvyS]

I'm a bit on the portly side at just under 17st - bit fat but also naturally stocky.

My 1 rep max PB is a rather puny 130kg so far, but I've only been training since last summer and I've been held back a bit by a lingering shoulder injury from coming off the SV in the snow.

Aiming to hit 150kg before the year's out, which should be realistic at my current rate.

What about yourself?! Think I'm about to feel rather inferior....

[ThEGr33k]

I'm a bit on the portly side at just under 17st - bit fat but also naturally stocky.

My 1 rep max PB is a rather puny 130kg so far, but I've only been training since last summer and I've been held back a bit by a lingering shoulder injury from coming off the SV in the snow.

Aiming to hit 150kg before the year's out, which should be realistic at my current rate.

What about yourself?! Think I'm about to feel rather inferior....

It depends. Since I have not done anything for the past 6 months (just getting back into training) and haven't done powerlifting training for like 3 years now I'm quite puny. Current state its 70KG bench.

In my training days I managed 95KG lift, I weighed 62kg (I am small 5'5" so am super light weight) so I guess I did good on the power to weight thing but there were people who could lift a whole lot more but weighed equally a whole lot more. I was always impressed that I could shrug 300KG's ha ha.

[joe_f59]

Lifting very heavy weights begins to train a part of the body that most people overlook, the CNS. A Good, strong CNS will be able to send a stronger signal to your muscles to contract, thus increasing your ability to lift beyond your previous best. This in turn causes increased muscular tearing resulting in increased muscle mass. The by product of "surviving" a heavy compund weights session is usually a colossal endorphin dump as your bodies reward for enduring the, well the pain ( sensory overload.)
I see chaps at my gym who carry a bottle of smelling salts with them for big lifting days to deliberately stimulate their CNS ( i havent looked into the validity of this so have no idea if it works)

[joe_f59]

Dunno about anyone else but I do find heavy lifts strangely enjoyable - takes a surprising amount of concentration. It's a almost like meditation - you clear you mind of everything else and focus on the moment.
:-)

Whilst im sure this works fine, i personally put heavy metal on and go totally mental then lift :)

[ChrisCurvyS]

It depends. Since I have not done anything for the past 6 months (just getting back into training) and haven't done powerlifting training for like 3 years now I'm quite puny. Current state its 70KG bench.

In my training days I managed 95KG lift, I weighed 62kg (I am small 5'5" so am super light weight) so I guess I did good on the power to weight thing but there were people who could lift a whole lot more but weighed equally a whole lot more. I was always impressed that I could shrug 300KG's ha ha.
Damn right - that's almost two SVs! Once in each hand... Awesome power-to-weight.

That's one of the benefits of powerlifting actually - makes manual handling of a bike so much easier. Handy being able to pick up the back end of the bike and move it round the shed.

[ChrisCurvyS]

Whilst im sure this works fine, i personally put heavy metal on and go totally mental then lift :)
Ha yeah I do that too but you'll be concentrating hard without realising it. When you're really close to your limits you have to in order to make sure you're technique is good and you don't injure yourself.

Speakign of which, I've restricted doing really heavy benching to the gym now after too much time spent stuck under the bar on my bench in the shed. :-)

[joe_f59]

I prefer Dumb bell bench to barbells, butit does make my choice of gym somewhat restrictive as most places wont have the heavier dumbells ( and the god awful health clubs with their 35's!)

[ThEGr33k]

I prefer Dumb bell bench to barbells, butit does make my choice of gym somewhat restrictive as most places wont have the heavier dumbells ( and the god awful health clubs with their 35's!)

Both have their place for sure... Dumbells were awesome for getting the balancing muscles working right, its amazing how much the little muscles have to build up to control the lifts. Always a laugh to take someone who only trains machines and put them on a free weight, see how much their max lift goes down because they cant balance the weight.

Did a little training with Matt Saunders, beast of a man. Won world champs 10 times in Drugs free powerlifting. Shame I didn't keep it going properly, would be a beast myself by now ha ha.



Speakign of which, I've restricted doing really heavy benching to the gym now after too much time spent stuck under the bar on my bench in the shed. :-)

Yes spotters are pretty essential when you are working near the 1 rep max!!!!

[ChrisCurvyS]

Worse bit about not having a spotter and getting stuck under a barbell is when the dog comes along and starts licking your face, and there's diddly squat you can do about it!

Wouldn't mind doing a bit of competing in the drug-free leagues once I get a bit better. The sort of numbers they deal in are slightly more attainable that the, erm, don't-ask-about-drug-testing-cos-it's-not-something-we-like-to-talk-about federations.

Btw Joe - speaking of being out of place in health clubs, look up WSM contestant Eddie Hall on YouTube. He trains in a Total Fitness chain gym - looks hilarious next to all the office workers struggling with 10kg dumbbells!

[joe_f59]

This has been going through my head all day because of this conversation. I keep laughing to myself at work

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=WDBP_xdzyxI

[StitchSV]

Squats are one of my favourite exercises but do lots of other core compound movements such as dead lifts etc.
definitely helps my riding.

[BasketballPAT]

up the protein, chuck in some creatine to! should be eating 1gram of protein per pound of body weight : )

[Jackie_Black]

I can never eat enough protein, i weigh 16.5 stone that would be a lot of protein, how do people do it?

[joe_f59]

It's more along the lines of 1g for every lb of lean muscle mass. 130-160g a day is fine

[ChrisCurvyS]

This has been going through my head all day because of this conversation. I keep laughing to myself at work

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=WDBP_xdzyxI
Never seen that before - wft?! To be fair though, he's lifting a lot for such a skinny old chap and has the stamina not to need to rack it between reps. Perhaps he's got some sort of disability and that's just what works for him.

I was benching like that for a few weeks after I came off the bike and nearly popped my shoulder out.


Opening a can of worms here but check out this hilarious deluded kid who thinks he's going to be the next big thing in bodybuilding - his vids are addictive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO5kTcwIAhk

[joe_f59]

450kg leg press tonight. Glad I drove

[Raymondo]

Creatine will help greatly and in the beginning of using it, strength and size will be noticeable. i found "myprotein" the cheapest the toffee flavoured whey was the best IMO. just gave away 2 large sacks of mint choc chip yuck also IMO lol.

I have given up within last few months weights because like a donut i increased estrogen levels and deplinished testosterone totally my own thought because of what i was taking. I could see my reps getting lower each week on DBs. Another reason im just going back to fitness and totally relevant to this forum :) shoulder with/mirrors/filtering..... i want to streamline my shoulders to get tighter mirrors to filter easier if this makes any sense at all (does in my head) the bike i have struggle to see whats behind in mirrors and the xj6 i did my test on was ok for rear view but my instructors fz6 was narrower when we filtered ...............................

[ChrisCurvyS]

450kg leg press tonight. Glad I drove
Take it you've got plates on all the available space with that weight?!

I'm on 300kg at the mo and the only space that's left is on the vertical bar on top.

[ChrisCurvyS]

Creatine will help greatly and in the beginning of using it, strength and size will be noticeable. i found "myprotein" the cheapest the toffee flavoured whey was the best IMO. just gave away 2 large sacks of mint choc chip yuck also IMO lol.

I have given up within last few months weights because like a donut i increased estrogen levels and deplinished testosterone totally my own thought because of what i was taking. I could see my reps getting lower each week on DBs. Another reason im just going back to fitness and totally relevant to this forum :) shoulder with/mirrors/filtering..... i want to streamline my shoulders to get tighter mirrors to filter easier if this makes any sense at all (does in my head) the bike i have struggle to see whats behind in mirrors and the xj6 i did my test on was ok for rear view but my instructors fz6 was narrower when we filtered ...............................
Surely that's not going to make any noticable difference?! Maybe if you're going from Mr Universe to Mo Farah but otherwise you're probably just better off getting a tighter-fitting jacket. Or wider mirrors. :-)