markos

More news for ProRawFour MORE PRIZES ANNOUNCED Here is some incentive. Rick from Ironedge has provided $1000 in the form of Ironedge vouchers. It will be given to or divided amongst ANY lifter that breaks an All Time Any Fed Australian Total Record. If only 1 lifter manages that, it all goes to them. If its 4 lifters, they split it up. Here are the All Time Records RAW MEN 60KG - G. WONG - 425KG (PA) 67.5KG - DOMINC CADDEN - 535KG (PA) 75KG - EMAD NAYEF - 602.5KG (GPC) 82.5KG - MARK BARHAM - 697.5KG (PA) 90/93KG - SCOTT WASSON - 724KG (GPC) 100KG - JASON DURBIDGE - 842.5KG (CAPO) 110KG - RICKY GOODYEAR - 847.5KG (GPC) 125KG - SHANNON FLORISSEN - 860KG (CAPO) 140KG - WAYNE HOWLETT - 900KG (CAPO) SHW - GEORGE MCLAREN - 930KG (CAPO) RAW WOMEN 48KG - MARY MACKEN - 307.5KG (PA) 52KG - CORALIE WEIR - 335KG (GPC) 56/57KG - JASMINE HIGGS - 337.5KG (PA) 60KG - TAYLOR YOUNG - 409KG (CAPO) 67.5KG - KATIE FOSTER - 372.5KG (CAPO) 75KG - KATIE FOSTER - 400KG (GPC) 82.5/84KGKG - LUCIE THOMPSON - 385KG (CAPO) 90KG - RACHEL GORMAN - 372.5KG (CAPO) SHW - ANITA MILLINGTON - 527.5KG (ProRaw) Read more: http://prorawpowerlifting.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=competitions&action=display&thread=1119&page=20#ixzz2AqR9kbcd

What everyone should focus on is DOING incline presses because they are an excellent exercise FigJam, you cant change your muscle insertions, the most gifted bodybuilders, Flex Wheeler, Serge Nubret, Shawn Ray etc had massive round muscle bellies Its simply their genetics, not the exercises they did. I read your entire journal yesterday. Wow, just wow.

A variety of resistance exercises can be used to train the pectoralis major, including bench pressing (using dumbbells, barbells or machines at various angles such as decline, incline and flat where the hips are above, below and level with the head respectively), push ups, flyes (using dumbbells or machines at either flat or inclined angles), cable crossovers or dips. This muscle is often said to consist of four portions (upper, lower, inner and outer) but the pectoralis actually contracts evenly across all heads during most exercises and as such no portion can be 'targeted' I f**king hate having to go look for references on a topic I know through 30 years of lifting and training people. And I didnt need a proffesor to tell me. Anyone thats ever lifted would know this if he paid attention, rather than read it in a book

Mitch, all I'm saying is for years people think that by changing an angle or a grip they are hitting a different muscle etc, like guys that do preacher curls for lower biceps and concentration curls for the peak They are trying to train muscles that dont exist, just like the upper pecs Do incline presses, my guys do them every single bench session because they are an awesome exercise, not because they are hitting a fantasy muscle We love the training effect we get out of them. Our "upper" pecs are no more developed than anyone that doesnt do them ps What did your anatomy professor press?

Anatomy chart please Mitch, showing me the upper chest, no need for an explanation, just show me

Mitch, can you do me a favour mate, can you please post up an Anatomy chart and show me the upper chest I've looked long and hard, cant find one. Check where the pec insertion points are, the entire muscle contracts Its a bodybuilding myth, you cant alter the shape of your muscles, and if it doesnt exist on an anatomy chart, it doesnt exist, unlike the different heads for deltoids, which are on the chart and do exist Just sayin I no I'm the Lone Ranger on here, but the truth is the truth

With different size boxes we can target the lifters weakest part of the lift, where his leverage cant overcome the weight, everyone has this point on every lift, others we would never fail lol We also do pause squats to teach confidence in the hole, and finish with BB lunges, maybe GHR afterwards

Good answer Birds, what weight we lift on assistance exercises is not important, far too many factors, as you pointed out Its like some dick telling us how much he curls, irrelevant Again, a case of majoring in the minor shit Not one of my lifters has ever maxed an assistance exercises before doing the main lift. Even our 250-300kg box squats are done AFTER squatting

Whoa, everyone take a deep breath. I ONLY commented because the OP said something about strength training an in a way insinuated his mate was stronger than PL, who compete, thats all. I never ever competed and had zero interest in competing, so I never compare my gym lifts with those of my competing clients. It doesnt mean I never lifted those weights, but I never benched xxx after I just did 3 squats with over 200kg prior, so I cant compare This guy is strong regardless, because to hold 175kg over your face is not done by girly boys. He doesnt need to present a vid, no one does, like someone said he just trains for himself in the gym, just like I did. I hope one day he, and anyone else that strong, does compete, because I hate seeing wasted talent, which he obviously has. We had a BB do one of my novice comps recently, apparently he banches over 170kg in the gym, he weighs around 92kg. He made a good 160kg bench press, with zero PL experience, so clearly very strong He actually benched 170kg but got 3 red lights on his 3rd attempt His other lifts were 220kg squat and 220kg deadlift, he always trains with wrist straps and pulls 250kg +, but he couldnt hold onto more than 220kg without them, which surprised him. He is VERY strong and does zero strength training, he won his first IFBB BB comp So there are very strong gym lifters out there, what most are saying its VERY different in a comp, as Michael found out

No offence to your mate, but a gym lift is MILES different to a comp bench. I had a guy telling me who could bench 165kg at his gym. I invited Simon to PTC to show me. He missed 140kg. He started training with us and eventualy benched 170kg To give you an idea the 90kg WR open men bench with GPC is 170kg. At WPC its around 227.5kg by Greg Doucette

BoJangles, those lifts are pretty good mate, but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too skinny lol Max is 86kg@173cm and he is trying to lift in the 100's next year I know youre not interested in PL, but I can only imagine how skinny you are Oh, and if you can MP 75kg@71kg, properly, thats a very impressive lift. If you could film it for me I would love that, motivate some of my lazy f**kers lol

Doesnt Ghosty vomit every hour on the hour?

You should get used to it, and you wont be the first If you trained at FF it may be a different story lol

Brendan, just do whatever you can mate, normal rules dont apply to you

BoJangles, you should post up your bodyweight and lifts because the Glossbrenner calculator may favour you more

Bye bye, youre correct, and I have slogans on my wall for every situation. I could pick a few for your situation, but I'll keep it nice Mitch, when they do PPP, its 5's down to triples, doubles, singles If doing linear progression, we start at 10's and work down to our openers the week before the comp We use Bill Starr's 5 x 5 off season or GVT (10x10 - 1m rest) Not one lifter here, or any of the 16 that went to Worlds, have had any success with 5-3-1, some use Sheiko, Westside, Shmolov 20 rep squats bodyweight benching for reps It really depends on what part of our training cycle were on, but we've tried most things, we keep what works and discard the rest. Max recently wrote out a linear progression program for Alen. Alen totaled 570kg at Nats in June, he should go over 620kg in November at ProRawFour It was a 10 week program. Recent lifts this week were 230kg squat and 150kg bench. He's attempting 240kg deadlift tonight. So even though his program started with highish reps, it was always strength focused, he started at sets of 10

I believe that most lifters have not trained the squat hard enough. The elite lifters squat more than they deadlift, not all, but most, Ed Coan, Malanichev, Hatfield, Efferding, Howlett, Coe. What will surprise most is the 1000lb barrier was first squatted, then benched and only recently deadlifted Novices usually pick things up off the floor before they ever train, so the deadlift weights are easier. Its not unusual for a first time lifter to deadlift 140kg in my gym, but I dont recall anyone ever doing a 140kg squat first time Levers also play a role In my gym, Jack squats and pulls 300kg, Max squats and pulls 250kg, a couple of others pull 10kg more than they squat. The worst though is Brent who competed last novice comp with Nick. He squatted 140kg and deadlifted 255kg

Adam missed 362.5kg on his second squat, made 370kg on his third, he benched 245kg On the deadlift he made 345kg on his second, then 360kg slipped out of his hands on his 3rd, he was gutted So his lifts were Squat 370/Bench 245/Deadlift 345 for - 960kg@99kg I have the video footage of this comp

Thanks for the response big guy, it lets me analyze if the way we do it is good/better. Unfortunately you use bodyweight %, which are useless, and why formulas are used in lifting, as lighter guy do better on that because bigger guys have more bone, which doesnt lift weight. Anyway, I'll work with I've got. I'll just use members of my family, as I know exactly what and how often they eat Jesse, 18, 70kg, 6 meals a day, protein, carb, fat in each meal Max, 20, 86kg, 7-8 meals a day, protein every meal, carb and fat in most Nina, 47, 57kg, 5 meals a day, protein, mimimal carbs, fat in each meal Jesse squat 165kg@70kg - 2.35% Max squat 250kg@86kg - 2.90% Nina squat 125kg@57kg - 2.19% You...................................1.97% Jesse deadlift 195kg@70kg - 2.78% Max deadlift 250kg@86kg - 2.90% Nina deadlift 142.5kg@56kg - 2.50% You.......................................2.46% Jesse bench 110kg@70kg - 1.57% Max bench 155kg@86kg - 1.80% Nina bench 77.5kg@57kg - 1.35% You......................................1.69% Military press, Max and Jesse do over bodyweight, Nina can only do 50kg So while your way appears to be doing okay for you, I cant see anything that would make me switch from what we've been doing. Jesse has only just started to lift seriously, he's a basketballer who plays his last ever game on Sunday, he'll be competing in PL next year so I imagine his progress will soar. He powercleaned 90kg@64kg and 17yo, he was training differently then. And next time, if you ever want to compare on here or with mates in the gym, use this http://www.ptcfrankston.com/glossbrennercalculator.html Its designed simply for weight training Cheers

Fig Jam, the Russians started using a crude form of Test for lifters in 1954 Dr John Zeigler, after talking to the Russians, decided it was too harsh, so he came up with Dianobol, the first ever steroid, test is a hormone It was first given to Bill March around 1960. Bill blew up in size, and because no one knew about it (D Bol) back then, Hoffman used Bill March to sell programs Bill was a weightlifter, they all were, but he started to look like a bodybuilder. Zeigler would only give him one tab a day (50mg) I think, and he would make him drive to his office every day for another one. He didnt trust athletes. On his death bed, Dr John Zeigler announced he regretted what he started and was disappointed at the abuse of steroids. So if your anal about details, surely you knew that Dianobol, the first steroid, was created until 1958 by Dr John Zeigler The first documented use of hormones (testotserone) by lifters is the Russian weightlifting team in 1954 and the 1956 Olympics, of which they didnt deny. Zeigler sold the rights to D Bol to Ciba for $50. Ciba havent made D Bol for decades.

Interesting Jangles, I may try this on some of my lifters, can you elaborate a little on eating/training etc Some of my guys simply cant eat enough, so if theyre going to be small, they may as well get strong

Thanks to Nick for designing the poster

Might be relevant to your discussion, might not PERFORMANCE TRAINING CENTRE NEWSLETTER ISSUE # 72 FOCUS Spending time on the internet and chatting to lifters of all sorts, one thing that becomes abundantly clear is that very few have the right focus when it comes to lifting and eating. The amount of questions I see about supplements is mind numbing. Just today I saw someone asking about something called Trimethylglycine. I mean seriously. How far along would you have to be before you ask about something like that? This guy must already weigh 100kg with 8% body fat and he’s just looking for something to finish off his physique. Reality is he probably weighs 70kg and can nearly bench 80kg, but is too afraid to try eating and squatting. Another asked about BCAA isolate. This is normal, there is always someone trying to avoid hard work somewhere in the lifting world. The amount of times I’ve heard someone state that they have found this NEW protein thats going to make them massive............It’s not the protein supplement you fools, it’s the discipline at the dinner table. Their focus is way off. Then there’s the other group that have just put together the greatest training program since mankind walked the earth. They have these incredibly intricate programs, double splits with heart rate monitored cardio, pre exhaustion training on Monday, Thursday and Saturday with post exhaustion on the other days, then flushing a muscle with blood doing a double drop set as a finisher for ultimate growth. The reps for basics are 8 and 15 for pumping, except legs where 7 are found to be more conducive to growth than 8 and biceps that seem to grow best with 12 reps. Just go and lift some heavy rocks, that’ll do the job. You guys think that I make this shit up. I’m being dead serious, that’s what these guys really think. When I first put up my Skinny Bastard routine on the forum, I was shit canned by every 58kg guy with 12 3/5” biceps on there. What the hell did I know, how can squats make your arms grow. The focus has shifted now. Everybody understands that lifting heavy on the basic exercises is all the training you need, at least till your biceps stretch that tape measure to 17”. Still, I get questions about how many reps or sets, like it really matters in the great scheme of things. And rest times, people want to know how long you should rest between sets. Well, let’s have a history lesson. Paul Anderson is the strongest man that ever lived. Let’s have his take on rest periods. Paul would squat 272kg x 10 Rest 30 minutes 272kg x 10 Rest 30 minutes 375kg x 2 Rest 30 minutes 385kg x 2 Rest 30 minutes 408kg x 2 Rest 30 minutes Half squat 545kg x 2 Rest 30 minutes Quarter squat 816kg x 2 Now, most of you are probably focusing on his 30 minute rest periods between sets and how long this session took. I’m focusing on the weights. He would drink 4 litres of milk throughout his training sessions which lasted over 3 hours. I wonder if he took Trimethylglycine. Focus on heavy squats, plenty of milk, and you will get big and strong. Focus on double split isolation work and BCAA Isolates, and you’ll remain a geek. The little things do matter, but only after you have done the main thing, that’s busted your ass under the squat rack and eaten all the food allotted to Madagascar. Then look at the little things, like having a protein drink straight after training, getting 8 hours sleep, 60gms of protein every 3 hours, vegies with every meal. There is always someone looking to find the magic formula for getting big and strong. It was discovered a long time ago by Henry Steinborn. It’s called “ SQUATS”. He has been credited with bringing squats to America. I’m guessing he’ll never be the poster boy at Fitness First. That’s Henry “Milo” Steinborn pictured below Nothing to rival squats exists, stop looking and start lifting. Your focus should be on how much you can squat, not the sets and reps. So what if you only mange 5 sets of 7 when your program said 5 sets of 10, as long as you train as hard as you can and keep doing more – more weight more reps more sets, you’re improving. So you’ve run out of Vitamin C. Slash your wrists...now, or have an orange or two. What’s that? No more protein powder. f**k, what do we do now? I know, let’s eat a steak or scramble some eggs. You guys may be laughing, but these are real world scenarios. So many worry about the supplements they are taking that they fail to realise you can’t beat food. Protein powder is a very convenient product and I fully endorse it, but it’s not irreplaceable. Nina and Max have been lifting without out for the last week or two. Max has simply started to drink more milk, Nina is eating food. Plenty of muscle was built long before protein powders were ever invented. Henry "Milo" Steinborn - 1930 These pictures above show Milo lifting back in the day. The focus back then was on health and strength. I think we have forgotten that very valuable lesson somehow. The guy on the left is Eugene Sandow, the pic is over 100 years old. John Grimek is next to him, Mr America 1940, 69 years ago. No protein powder back then, no machines, no treadmills, no steroids, just simple weights........and a focus on health and strength. Below are photos of Reg Park, Steve Reeves, Clancy Ross and John Grimek, all these guys had to work with were barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells, some benches, cables and racks. Supplements and steroids were not around when these pics were taken, but lots of good wholesome food was. So where do you think you guys should be directing your focus? The pics above are of Clancy Ross, Chuck Sipes and Steve Reeves, over 60 years ago. That should be enough proof for you guys now to stop arguing about protein powders and super training programs. These guys simply did basic exercises with free weights and ate wholesome food. There were no takeaway shops, just meat, fruit and vegies. Lift enough, eat enough, grow enough. Start focusing your energy on the same thing these guys did and you too can improve your physique just like these guys did. Now I understand technology and science have created some great advances. I get it and embrace it. I drive what I feel is the best car a working stiff can buy ($50,000 limit), I have a state of the art cinema............... and I make my clients lift rocks. Before some lab coat tells me that protein supplements blah blah blah........... have him provide me a better physical specimen than this...pic taken late 30’s early 40’s. If these guys can build physiques like this WITHOUT all the advances we have supposedly had with training and diet, shouldn’t we at least try and get to this level before we go looking for the edge. Currently, I know of no one who looks as good as John Grimek did nearly 70 years ago. He was also strong, having represented USA in the Olympics, weightlifting of course. That was the 1936 Berlin Games. He was still squatting with 190kg in his 60’s. Try this some time, thats a 45lb plate ( 20.4kg). Okay, enough on Grimek. Now do you guys still think that your focus should be on whether a particular can of tuna has 1.4gms more protein than another, or the fact that you should be eating two cans of tuna. Sometimes we get lost in the details. You guys can probably tell that I like to look back at how things were done in the past before I employ some new super duper method to you guys. Most of you will have now done bench squats in the gym during the last week. I have noticed that most clients get a shock when a new weight is placed on their back during squats. I have gone back to yesteryear, all the way back to Paul Anderson and his partial squats. He was the first man to squat 1000lbs....and then 1200lbs, and to this day, the only man to do it without assistance gear. He was a bi g believer in partial training to complement his full range movements, and seeing how nobody has ever lifted more weight than him, I figure he just may know something we don’t. I have used partials in the bench press with great success, and in the squat around a year ago, where I was loading Pat with well over 350kg, and even little Max with 250kg. I have increased the range of motion and decreased the weight, for now. I used this method to get Ping Ping to deadlift 200kg, starting the bar on tall blocks and slowly decreasing the height, till he pulled 200kg off the floor. I neglected to mention that Paul Anderson is also a product of the past, having competed and won the gold medal in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the super heavyweight class of the weightlifting. In case any of you doubt that a man that lifted and competed 50 years ago is still the strongest man to ever walk the planet, how about squatting 410kg x 10 as a warm up at Muscle Beach gym, or 230kg overhead press from a rack. He also performed a back lift with 2,845kg, a world record that will never ever be approached. No one has ever got closer than even a third of that weight. By listing all these numbers and pics of some great lifters of the past, I am trying to illustrate that these guys had far less stuff to worry about when it came to lifting and eating. No internet to search for the super secret programs of the elite, no supplements, no steroids, no assistance gear, no theorists on training frequency, no machines, no electronic cardio equipment, far less processed foods on supermarket shelves to tempt us, no fast food chains. Their focus was simply on training hard enough to produce muscle growth, eating enough to support that growth, and resting. That is all you need to focus on right now. Get all that right and the rest will take care of itself. As a footnote here, Max had made terrific progress on a 3 litres of milk a day diet. We decided to change it and replaced all that milk with protein drinks, less milk, more protein was the theory. His gains stopped immediately. Obviously he was now ingesting less calories than he previously had with the milk, but his protein uptake was higher. He is now back on 3-4 litres of milk a day. We will monitor his progress and determine whether it was diet or something else that had caused his stalling. He had got sick and injured during this time, but lifting sessions missed was minimal and not a factor. He performed a bench squat with 165kg late last week, so signs are the milk is doing the trick again, he is weighing 68kg in the morning. He had got up to 70kg before switching diets. We will keep the protein drink after sessions, but milk will once again be the mainstay of his diet. Also reporting back on Spiros. A few issues ago I mentioned that his strength was slowly disappearing as he was starving himself. He has upped his calorie intake of clean food. His weight continued to drop, down to 108kg, but his strength was coming back. Last night he weighed 109kg. He is lifting 4-5 times a week, and lifting some big weights. Try this 230kg deadlift 180kg x 10 deadlift 205kg squat 150kg bench press 105kg strict press from rack 110kg C&PP That’s an 805kg total in the last week. He is now eating enough to support his lifting. He still has plenty of fat to lose, but slow and steady while getting stronger is the correct way to do it. He has still not gone close to maxing out on his lifts, but being 44 years old he needs to be careful and take small steps. His 180kg x 10 deadlift was stupidly easy, I felt he had another 10 reps in him. These were not bouncing reps, but perfectly controlled reps with a pause at the bottom and no delay between reps. Showing a pic of a prison straight after discussing Spiros is pure coincidence. Folsom prison – 1961 The Mighty Apollon Sig Klein’s gym - 1920 Excuse the nostalgia trip, I just want you guys to know that physical culture has been around for a lot longer than any of us, the difference today is that the focus has shifted from health to creatine. Thanks for reading Markos

An interview done by Scott Wasson from PTC Brisbane, with Adam Coe Adam Coe Written by Scott Hits: 0 Today, I had the opportunity to speak to a great Australian powerlifter….. Most powerlifters will know who Im talking about with the following…… “How is it all the way over in SUUUUNNY Perth !@!@” Actually, almost 20 years since the final deadlift hit the floor at the 93 Australian nationals, he is not just a "great powerlifter" he is Australia’s GREATEST powerlifter of all time...... Mr. Adam Coe. Thanks for taking the time to have a chat today Adam, as always, I love our catch ups mate. Adam, when did you first get involved in powelifting? Ok; first involvement (on a local or state-level scale...) would be 1985. Probably early '85, prior to the mid-year Victorian Powerlifting Championships I think. About what age were you then adam? and had you been strength training for a while before that? 22 (turned 23 in June of '85....). The other guys I trained with & myself had been training VERY hard & heavy at the old (now defunct...) Tarzan & Janes Gymnasium, Seaford, Victoria (where I first met the Markopolous clan....). Prior-to-which, I trained by myself in a converted chook shed in our old backyard. Probably 3 years in total, before which I competed in Olympic Weightlifting as a 15/16 year old schoolboy for Peninsula Boys School, mid-1970's under Roger Crabtree's tutelage. Can you recall your total at your first meet, what lifts they were and at what approximate weight? Phew.! First powerlifting comp. was at Len Wilson's gym in Caulfield, Victoria. Can't recall the squat, new Victorian Junior Bench-press record of 177.5kg & deadlift around 240kg. Total was definitely 622.5kg @ 90kg. Early in 1985 sometime. Not bad at all for your first comp at all adam, especially as a junior! What did you think of PL when you started? First-ever competition I watched (& spotted...), I was completely blown-away. Watched guys I'd met lifting unthinkable weights seemingly easy. Was ABSOLUTELY FLABBERGASTED when Charles Coleiro totalled 702.5kg @ 67.5, 1985 Victorian Titles. I totalled 655kg in the 90's; was ready to give it all away immediately following the competition. Len Wilson explained to me (GREAT words of wisdom...) afterwards that nobody expects novice lifters to go Elite One after one year of training. Ray Rigby congratulated me (I nearly died...) & others had similar comments/compliments thereafter. Its ABSOLUTELY VITAL that we, as a combined fraternity/association, maintain a STRONG ethic of always supporting, encouraging & nurturing ALL lifters who choose to pursue this wonderful sport. I wish each & every lifter, of all creeds, colour & age, the very best in their respective pursuit’s. At a guess, how many comps do you think you have done since that first one back in 85? Any world champs? Len Wilson had been harping-on for months beforehand, telling me I'd do quite well in the sport of powerlifting. I watched a competition just prior to this above mentioned event & was completely blown-away by the lifters/lifting etc. I would have lifted every year thereafter, except 2004-onwards. I'm thinking approx. 100 competitions, none of which were World Championships. I remained focused on becoming Australia's highest total record holder, which I eventually succeeded with in November 1993. So you broke the Australian total record in 1993, and it still remains today as the biggest total in Australian history, almost 20 years on….. You have to be happy with that! What numbers did you make? Ok; easy task.! The-then Australian Records for the 100kg Men’s Open Men’s Division were : 358.5kg Squat (Shane Blood..) 242.5kg Bench (Rod Sylvia..) 352.5kg Deadlift (Vince Simonetta...). I'd already broken the existing total record (882.5kg, previously held by the great Shane Blood & equalled by Vince...) with a 900kg @ the '92 Victorian Titles (lifts were 335-235-330). It made sense to increase my low squat & deadlift, in-that I could bust every record out there, including Rod's Commonwealth Record Bench-press. November of 1993 I went 360 Sq., 245 Bench & 355 Deadlift to do the 960kg total at 99kg, breaking the GREAT Ray Rigby's immortal 950kg total which he did in the super heavy weight division. Can you tell me a little about the day? Sure. Training lifts indicated a probable total of around 980-985kg. The other guys I trained with were expecting me to come back with numbers around this figure. I opened with a 322.5kg squat which wasn't really that easy. A disgusting miss with 362.5kg on the second put me in a state of REAL anger. Called for the 370kg on a third & JUST got it (two whites, one red..). I tell ya, if I'd have missed THAT squat, you'd still be hearing about it now. On the bench I went ok; broke Rod Sylvia's 242.5kg with a limit-lift of 245kg. I opened with 315kg on the deadlift, 345kg on a second (which gave me the 960kg total record...) & MISSED a 360kg on the final lift...ARGHHH..!!! If this had gone, 975kg total, close-to our prediction. Disappointing indeed.! HAHA, disappointed with the 960kg total…… Amazing! What sort of training methods did you employ back then Adam? Was there much science behind your lifting? Ok; back in the 1980's, training @ Len Wilson's gym, the 'standard' was 5 sets of 5 reps. on our given top weight for the day. Example - if the training program called for 200kg in the squat, the final 5 sets were completed with 200kg. This was followed by numerous sets of leg curls & calf exercises. Outside of which, for short periods, power rack work (partials...) with HEAVY sh*t, up to 320kg for top-end lockouts. Same for bench & similar for dealdifts (you guys do deficit deadlifts, we called them deadlifts-off-blocks...same/same...). Lots of assistance work on bench day (Wednesday....) like tricep pushdowns, extensions etc. Deadlift day (Friday...) assistance was heaps of lat pull downs, bicep curls & some abdominal work. VERY early in the 80's, can you believe we also did a big session on Saturday, like a mini-comp., where we all did ALL THREE LIFTS in the one morning....TORTURE..!!! But....it did produce results (we were seemingly always in a state of being overtrained...), however, our bodies did eventually adapt & become stronger. By 1989, this had become too much for me, so we (my training partners & myself...) started our own little power gym upstairs @ the old motor wreckers where was (then...) employed. Altered the program to the well-known Ed Coan progressive system, & our lifts went UP again.! Sounds like they were tough sessions BRUTAL.!! Thank f*ck we were younger back then.!! Impossible to do nowadays. But....with time comes experience & knowledge.! A lot of people now run all sorts of programming full of science and theory, but still nobody has come close to your 960kg total at 99kg bodyweight which you did in 94..... Do you think they are trying to re-invent the wheel? I guess I mean, your training was just heavy and hard, and it obviously produced the results..... Is there really a need to find another way to get strong? Maybe not re-invent, just overly-complicate. Confucius say "If not broken, no point in trying to fix". The same weight training programs used by generations of lifters will work JUST AS WELL in 2012 & beyond as they did in 1940. Nothing changes; it all stays the same. Sensible increases, achievable goals & an UNSWERVING belief in oneself are the main ingredients. Never lose sight of your goal.! Injuries, did you cop any? Any biggens you want to share? Many & varied! One has to expect & live-with injuries in this sport. It's extreme, & EXTREME things can, & may, happen. -I have had numerous torn pecs -A broken elbow -both quads torn at various times -…………And then there was the BIG one in 1998. A broken ankle, broken leg and I somehow detached the quad-from the patella. Im not to sure how this all happened, however, wouldn't have done/would do anything different even now to prevent this happening. If I could turn back the hands of time, I'd have tried harder to move up AT LEAST one weight division (always too tall & light for the 100's...) and worked harder in the big two (Squat & Deadlift...) to improve that total.! The big one, in 1998, is that the reason you stopped lifting Essentially, yes. However, after conquering some fears I withheld for sometime afterwards, I lifted @ the Australian Championships, August 2003. The then-Victorian President, Ian Webb, had introduced an unequipped (raw....) section, which got me all enthusiastic. Supportive apparel in the sport of powerlifting has become an out-of-control monster, & this initiative was a stroke of brilliance. I lifted in the Masters Section (O/40, 100kg...), where I set records & had a GREAT time. However, as you're well aware, fell into the trap of excessive alcohol consumption which has only recently ended. I stopped the booze mid-September this year, broke out the old weights weight’s and asked my 12-year old daughter to start a journey with me. I hoped this would ultimately lead to a powerlifting competition for both of us, most likely late-2013 and beyond. Regrettably, she's already fallen by the wayside, however, I'm keen-as-ever. The O/50 Unequipped Division is where I'm at from now onwards.! Mate, that’s awesome news, congratulations on slowing down on the booze. I’m glad to hear you are coming back to lifting! How will you structure your training? Anything like the old days? Cheers for the positive comments.! Yep, my training will be (essentially....) same-same as the 'old days'. Ed Coan's program worked a treat back then; it'll work just fine in 2013, albeit slightly lighter weights’. Just doing lots of light sets with granny weights for the remainder of 2012; but I will step-up the pace a little after the New Year. I figure I'll be about ready by August 2013 I'm figuring a 200kg sq., 200kg bench & 300 dl (same as the 2003 Nationals where I'd turned 41...). If anything differs, so-be-it. Awesome to hear Adam, and that’s the perfect attitude mate. To all the new, eager lifters coming through today, what tips and advice could you offer them in regards to training, comps and progression? Don't be in a hurry.! Took me nearly 15 years of considerable mental & physical exertion to break-into the upper-echelon of Australian elite lifting, & I consider it a job only partially-done . Left unfinished business on the platform I'll now never be able to complete. For both genders & all ages; set yourself SENSIBLE goals (sorry to keep using this word...), train sensibly, ALWAYS remain positive, focused & ALWAYS maintain a true belief in yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day.!! Furthermore, competitions (when a novice or beginner....) shouldn't be tackled on ones' own. Enlist the help of a trusted gym friend, training partner or coach. Too often we see lifters unable to complete opening attempts, leaving them floundering in the warm-up room. Watch, listen, observe & LEARN.! Adam, Thanks once again for your time today, we all appreciate it!