# Change of direction



## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

I guess by now a lot of you will know me as a competitive Bber. This years UKBFF British was my last year on stage as I have been competing for almost a decade & achieved about as much as I can so have hung up my trunks, much to the relief of my wife 

I still need a long term goal & I have a strong competitive drive so have been mulling over it the last few years & decided to turn my hand to powerlifting as I am actually mechanically better suited to it anyway. I am aware that I can't just wake up one morning & decide that's what I'm going to do & start doing it. It will take me some time as I need to effectively start from scratch. Fibre types will have to be developed & change over time, but I have time so it's ok.

I will be training with a world champion powerlifter here at my place but in the meantime I wondered if you guys had any suggestions for books I might find helpful, or any basic tips to get me started.


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## cellaratt (Jul 16, 2008)

Nine Pack said:


> I guess by now a lot of you will know me as a competitive Bber. This years UKBFF British was my last year on stage as I have been competing for almost a decade & achieved about as much as I can so have hung up my trunks, much to the relief of my wife
> 
> I still need a long term goal & I have a strong competitive drive so have been mulling over it the last few years & decided to turn my hand to powerlifting as I am actually mechanically better suited to it anyway.* I am aware that I can't just wake up one morning & decide that's what I'm going to do & start doing it. *It will take me some time as I need to effectively start from scratch. Fibre types will have to be developed & change over time, but I have time so it's ok.
> 
> I will be training with a world champion powerlifter here at my place but in the meantime I wondered if you guys had any suggestions for books I might find helpful, or any basic tips to get me started.


Yes you can...It's all mind over matter...Your a accomplished BB and have matured muscle so your a step ahead of others in some aspect...Concentrate on your big lifts and pay close attention to your warm up sets...injury preventions should be dominent...Best of luck and keep us updated, maybe start a special journal just for this purpose...Cheers....


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## Captain Hero (Jun 13, 2004)

Good luck with your change of direction Paul, I am sure you will be able to do as well in powerlifting as you have in bodybuilding.


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## Linny (Jun 23, 2009)

I think Paula will be ecstatic not relieved 

It'll be interesting to watch your new path as I'll most likely be following you down the PL route :thumbup1: ...does it mean I have to raise my anti on bellowing like a murdered buffalo whilst training?


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## TH0R (Aug 15, 2007)

Good luck, although I'm sure luck won't have anything to do with the success that

awaits you, no doubt whatsoever about that:thumbup1:


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

Thanks guys. I am naturally competitive but with a mature head on my shoulders (though opinions vary :laugh. My wife is happy to see me driven by competition but I know the dieting placed a massive stress on our relationship. it actually nearly tipped me over the edge this year if I am to be totally frank.

I'll start a journal once the new training regime gets underway as I know there are a lot of experienced guys on here & I really value the feedback.

I'll see if John can get me a session with Andy B & some instruction from Brian Bacheldor too. I'm approaching this like I did my BBing, methodically & with a lot of research.

My first issue to address is my shoulder rotational flexibility (or chronic lack of it). My good mate Emma James, here at my gym, has agreed to help me develop it so I can finally get a bar behind my neck & do a traditional squat. As I have mentioned on many occasions here, I have never ever done so much as a single rep of traditional squats in all my BBing life due to this limitation. It has however forced me to develop a very powerful front squat (PB being 5 plates aside many moons ago & I think some anapolon was involved too :tongue: ). It'll be interesting to see what I can squat 'normally'.

I'll be picking brains so please bear with me. Treat me like a newbie


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## TH0R (Aug 15, 2007)

Nine Pack said:


> Treat me like a newbie


can we see your diet and training schedule pls:lol:


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

tel3563 said:


> can we see your diet and training schedule pls:lol:


My diet? Hmm, well.... I eat everything that isn't nailed down. If it is nailed down, I rip out the nail, then eat the nail too. If it sits still for more than 30 seconds, I eat it.

training wise, I have been as weak as a kitten for the last three months due to the dieting so can't remember what real training is :tongue:

I'm back in the gym now so in a week I'll be getting some strength back. I hope....


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## Shorty1002 (Mar 17, 2009)

Good luck!


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## Dsahna (May 25, 2009)

Good luck nine pack,good to have another power journal to follow when you get started


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## tiptoe (Jun 22, 2007)

good luck with it. Have you read any of the westside barbell stuff http://www.westside-barbell.com/ get stuck into the articles there am sure it will help.


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## big (Sep 14, 2004)

Good luck. A 5 plate front-squat is going to carry over to some serious numbers.

The secret is to lift more each week 

Have a read of anything by Jim Wendler and Louis Simmons. All of it can be found online.

But training with people stronger than you is your best bet, and it sounds like you have that sorted with your new training partner. Have fun


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2009)

Make sure that you do all the extra stuff that most powerlifters ignore such as RC work. Foam rolling for all muscle groups and so on. Your powerlifting will be cut very short if you hurt your self.

Sounds good about the champion powerlifter but realize that with the amount of feds and various classes becoming a "world champion" is not overly hard. I say this with out knowing who you are talking about as merely a warning to do your own research also and not just take some ones word for it. Which i am sure you do already.

Due to you being one of those guys that stays lean (or at least thats what i am under the impression of) you will be at a good advantage point as a lot of powerlifters hold them self back due to poor nutrition and competing in too high a weight class for their actual muscle mass.


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

Awesome guys, thanks. Jim Wendler and Louis Simmons, new names to me so all good to know & I'll have a good read on Westside barbell too. I'm really fired up at the prospect of the new challenge.

The world champion I mentioned is Emma James. I could not say for sure which fed she is in as it's all new to me right now but give me a week & I'll have some basic knowledge of the sport as a whole. I will be soaking up info at a rate of knots from all directions like I did with Bbing, then sorting the wheat from the chaff in my own mind. I understand the basic physiological principles involved but my knowledge needs updating I suspect. It's odd how you an become so blinkered over time & not look much outside of Bbing methods even though some strength training princilples cross over effectively to Bbing.

I will remain lean - ish &so i shal'nt see this as an excuse to become a pie eating lump. I generally hover around 12 -15% (which sees me at about 14 & a half stone) in the offseason so this I suspect will be the same in the future too. I have put on 20lbs since last saturday's weigh in at the UKBFF British, but it's just the normal fluid rebound (plus a little celebratory cake retention :tongue: )

First purchase is a couple of Texas Power Bars for my gym, so that's happening on monday & then I can get started. :cool2:


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2009)

Good luck with your new venture mate! :thumb:


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

Thanks Dan. It's not just me with chronic insomnia then? :laugh:


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2009)

Nine Pack said:


> Thanks Dan. It's not just me with chronic insomnia then? :laugh:


Tell me about it, saying that i havnt a clue what time it is or should be or.. :confused1: :lol:


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## dodged (May 18, 2007)

pecky necky why did you bother registering on this board? all your posts just pi$$ me off not sure if you have a very dry sense of humour or your just a cock


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## dazzla (Feb 4, 2009)

the neck of pecky!


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## Dig (Aug 28, 2007)

Good luck mate, like con said it's easy to become a 'world champ' in powerlifting however emma is certainly a world class benchpresser, very impressive lifter!! She lifts in bpc/wpc, not sure if she lifts in any other fed.

WPC worlds are in Bournemouth at the BIC 17-22 Nov, pop down if you get chance, will be some decent lifters there and plenty of people to get advice off.


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

Dig, I'll be going down to see Emma compete if I can get shift cover at the gym. She supported me in my shows so I would like to see her compete too.


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

mikhon said:


> Hi,
> 
> why don't your try some body building workouts that suits for your. And you can try adding carlson fish oil in your workout program. I'm sure this can help too.


You've lost me a bit there. I've been bodybuilding for almost twenty years. Hence the change of direction.


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## 8103 (May 5, 2008)

westside barbell book of methods is a great read, get hold of it if you can


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## Guest (Oct 26, 2009)

Like con says, look after yourself. I dont foam roll but every session has RC work, and a warm up i do prior to any pressing. I do quite a bit of daily work too to keep me supple.

Fish oils will be your friend, and I found Glutamine a great help with recovery.


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

mikex101 said:


> Like con says, look after yourself. I dont foam roll but every session has RC work, and a warm up i do prior to any pressing. I do quite a bit of daily work too to keep me supple.
> 
> Fish oils will be your friend, and I found Glutamine a great help with recovery.


Thanks guys. I will take a lot of time to prepare & have regular deep tissue work as a matter of course. I know all to well of the dangers of heavy training with improper prep from my days as an injury therapist.

I heard the Westside barbell book was worth a look so I'm onto it, thanks.

Nutrition wise, I'm good, it's specific powelifting training tips I am aiming to pick up on. Those who know me on here will know I advise dozens of people professionally for diet & BBing contest prep. This year was a successful one. As well as my own win at the Birmingham UKBFF & British 9th place, two of my athletes got thier BNBF Pro cards this year & two others placed second at thier national finals.

I need to learn about shifting some serious iron from you guys :cool2:


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## Guest (Oct 27, 2009)

Nine Pack said:


> Nutrition wise, I'm good,


This made me laugh out loud:thumb:

Powerlifting is simple really. You have to find the easiest way to make your body move weight. So you have to experiment with various ways of doing things such as foot width on squat, sumo vs regular on deadlifts. Once you have found which technique suits you the best you can start hammering those specific areas. For instance if you squat wide then you become less concerned with quad power and really focus on training the hell out of your hamstrings and hip drive. Bench press is the hardest to learn IMO because the technique is completely different to a bodybuilding bench. You have to lower the bar in a technique i liken to a doing pullover meaning your elbows should be touching your sides and the bar should be right at between your nipples and top abbs.

Exploding on your lifts may be a new concept to you as a lot of bodybuilders never do this but the faster you can bring move the bar upwards the lower the chance of hitting a sticking point. This is why several training systems use speed work.

While i found westside to bring my squat and deadlift up i found the METAL MILITIA bench routine to be the best. Depending on the volume you are used to you may like this as it does not involve speed benching some thing i always loathed.

http://www.criticalbench.com/metal-militia-powerlifting.htm


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## Chris4Pez1436114538 (Sep 3, 2007)

bump for read in mornin after a nice sleep lol


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## dmcc (Nov 25, 2007)

This should prove to be interesting - a lot of people think that PL and BB are mutually exclusive, and Con for one proves that is not so. Hope you do well mate, I'll be keeping an eye on you


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

Con said:


> This made me laugh out loud:thumb:
> 
> Powerlifting is simple really. You have to find the easiest way to make your body move weight. So you have to experiment with various ways of doing things such as foot width on squat, sumo vs regular on deadlifts. Once you have found which technique suits you the best you can start hammering those specific areas. For instance if you squat wide then you become less concerned with quad power and really focus on training the hell out of your hamstrings and hip drive. Bench press is the hardest to learn IMO because the technique is completely different to a bodybuilding bench. You have to lower the bar in a technique i liken to a doing pullover meaning your elbows should be touching your sides and the bar should be right at between your nipples and top abbs.
> 
> ...


Con,

You are correct on that, exploding into a lift is not something I have ever done as a BBer so this is why I would not jump immediately into PL training without some homework first.

I'm getting some good info here guys, thankls again. :beer:


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## Macca 1976 (Sep 16, 2008)

Good luck Paul I am sure if you put in the same dedication as you have with body building then you soon will be tearing up them yellow pages!!!

Also there is a whole stack of good reads on powerlifting at Amazon


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## winger (Jul 26, 2003)

Bump for sobriety.


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## Nine Pack (Oct 30, 2006)

Macca 1976 said:


> Good luck Paul I am sure if you put in the same dedication as you have with body building then you soon will be *tearing up them yellow pages*!!!
> 
> Also there is a whole stack of good reads on powerlifting at Amazon


Powerlifting mate, not strongman events. It's a different thing.


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