There are many different aspects of powerlifting. For example: raw, single ply, multi ply, drug free, non tested, etc. Many find the lifting preference they like and only respect those that do the exact same. Others compare themselves to others saying if he didn’t juice, or if he took off the gear I’d beat him, and so fourth and so on. I could go on and on about this, but bottom line is, lift your way and stop comparing yourself to lifters that are doing something different and are not comparable to you. Find your lifting preference and set out to continually beat yourself. If you do this and stay motivated you’ll become a good lifter.
The “Secret Routine”
After you find your preference of lifting and have several years of experience you generally know what works for you. I try to tell people to not always be influenced by what a top lifter is doing. I see a lot of mediocre lifters asking top guys what is your routine because I wanna do it. They ask as if that routine will make them elite. I will let you in on a little secret:
There is no set routine out there to make you elite.
These same lifters could change their routines completely, and still be elite.
You need to train heavy and allow proper recovery time.
To me, these are two keys to getting stronger. Find a basic routine that works for you, eat, sleep, and stay consistent. This isn’t as complicated as some of us make it! My personal preference is to train each lift raw with a full range of motion. I have my own rep schemes that work for me, and they yield results. The funny thing is, these same workouts can also not yield results.
Jeremy Hines at 6’3” 270 lbs
Relationship of Strength and Body Weight
Other things have to be in place in order for my training methods to work. Honestly I can only get so strong being a certain weight. Let’s say I’m doing my routine and I’m 275lbs. Ok, if I’m not eating worth a crap and lose 20lbs, I’m obviously going to get weaker despite how great my lifting routine is. Now lets say I gain 20lbs while doing the same routine and my lifts jump up big time….. What I’m trying to say is just the lifting alone isn’t enough. If you have been around and lifting at a certain body weight for years, odds are you have just about maximized your strength at that size. I’m not saying you still can’t hit small PRs at the same weight, but in order to make huge strength increases getting bigger will be necessary. So changing the routine in my opinion isn’t necessary if it has always worked before. Look at guys like Eric Lilliebridge, he basically always trains the same . His training methods get him strong and allow for adequate recovery, two things that are vital to make progress.
So what I’m saying is, if you find a routine that makes you stronger odds are it will always work, but at a certain point you’ll have to increase your efforts in other areas such as eating, resting, supplementation etc…..if you want the gains to keep coming.
Check out Jeremy’s Training Log
Footage of the Hines brother’s latest competition. AAPF FULL MEET: Jeremy 1973lb Total, Jordan 1763 Total (Raw, Drug Free)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELg9fDg-Hc
Thank you for sharing! Much appreciated!
Awesome article man, couldn’t have said it better myself!