Gary Gibson
11-25-2009, 12:36 AM
I just bench pressed 225x5 with ease tonight. This is far from huge, but it's a big milestone for me. I'd been struggling to get my bench to increase for many months. I kept flirting with 215x5, but could never push past that. You know what was different about tonight? I just finished up the high volume squatting on Smolov and I've already gained a couple of pounds.
Those couple pounds of bodyweight seem to have made a huge difference in my upper body strength. This should come as no great surprise; the bench press is the lift most correlated with mass. A big squatter or deadlifter need not have a humongous lower body, but a big bencher will usually LOOK like a big bencher.
I bring this up because I'm heading into a USAPL meet in a few weeks. I'd wanted to compete as a 165-lb lifter so I could break those raw records I set again (by a lot!). I'm currently much closer to the limit of the next weight class (181), however, and I wonder if it's worth slowing the momentum of my gains to cut weight and try for records that really don't mean much. (The competition is thin in the raw division.)
I need to move up a couple of weight classes to start to be really good. I feel that I'd be short-circuiting my efforts by cutting weight at this point just to set those records. I need to be 198 (or even 220!) at this height (almost 5'10"). I'd be immensely stronger at 198. And I honestly like the way I look as I get heavier. If I cut weight, my bench and squat will surely go down. I could probably gain the weight right back and get my strength moving again, but still...
I know ol' Rip would probably say just to keep eating and getting stronger before worrying about cutting weight. I think the only reason I'm tempted to cut again is because there's so much room to set state records in the raw 165. There have only been a handful of raw competitors in this class. The competition is even thinner in the 181...but there was this one mutant who set the bar really high in that class and I don't have a prayer of setting any records there for a while.
I'm at the point where going back down to 165 isn't just a matter of losing some water weight; I'd be cutting into muscle and fat. I'd be dismantling strength I worked very hard to achieve. And you all have seen my vids; another 10-30 lbs would make me a lot easier to look at. I'd be happier as a heavier human being, stronger and probably faster. I'd be more useful. But I wouldn't be setting any records in the sparsely tenanted Maryland USAPL raw 165. Worth it?
Thanks for reading.
Those couple pounds of bodyweight seem to have made a huge difference in my upper body strength. This should come as no great surprise; the bench press is the lift most correlated with mass. A big squatter or deadlifter need not have a humongous lower body, but a big bencher will usually LOOK like a big bencher.
I bring this up because I'm heading into a USAPL meet in a few weeks. I'd wanted to compete as a 165-lb lifter so I could break those raw records I set again (by a lot!). I'm currently much closer to the limit of the next weight class (181), however, and I wonder if it's worth slowing the momentum of my gains to cut weight and try for records that really don't mean much. (The competition is thin in the raw division.)
I need to move up a couple of weight classes to start to be really good. I feel that I'd be short-circuiting my efforts by cutting weight at this point just to set those records. I need to be 198 (or even 220!) at this height (almost 5'10"). I'd be immensely stronger at 198. And I honestly like the way I look as I get heavier. If I cut weight, my bench and squat will surely go down. I could probably gain the weight right back and get my strength moving again, but still...
I know ol' Rip would probably say just to keep eating and getting stronger before worrying about cutting weight. I think the only reason I'm tempted to cut again is because there's so much room to set state records in the raw 165. There have only been a handful of raw competitors in this class. The competition is even thinner in the 181...but there was this one mutant who set the bar really high in that class and I don't have a prayer of setting any records there for a while.
I'm at the point where going back down to 165 isn't just a matter of losing some water weight; I'd be cutting into muscle and fat. I'd be dismantling strength I worked very hard to achieve. And you all have seen my vids; another 10-30 lbs would make me a lot easier to look at. I'd be happier as a heavier human being, stronger and probably faster. I'd be more useful. But I wouldn't be setting any records in the sparsely tenanted Maryland USAPL raw 165. Worth it?
Thanks for reading.