Broken in pussyville

[brokenterry]

Fives are best

I am 52, 5ft11” and 105kg/231lbs. I live in Western Australia but I am not a pussy and own as many firearms as our current pathetic restrictive laws will allow. More on that later.

I have spondylolisthesis L4-L5-S1, a condition I have had for life, and don’t have much disc at L5-S1. Seven years ago I broke my neck and have ACDF at C4-5. The segments either side are slowly turning to shit. The surgery left me with some atrophy in my left arm and shoulder and impaired abduction on the left shoulder.

End of excuses.

I made a return to powerlifting three years ago.I lift raw without knee wraps and drug tested. My recent competition bests;

Squat 215kg/474lbs
Bench 163kg/360lbs
Deadlift 255kg/562lbs

I haven’t considered testosterone at this stage as I am still making gains and with a family history of kidney disease and prostate issues, I have chosen to remain mediocre.

The only tools available to me in my attempt to hold back decrepitude and post a decent powerlifting total are rest and being heavier. My goal is a 700kg/1540lb powerlifting total before I turn 60. I wish I could do barbell overhead presses but my shoulder lacks integrity in that plane of movement so I can only do supported overhead work such as Viking presses and hammer strength machine presses.

Recently I tried a modified version of the Hatfield 12 week program. That program has a heavy day and a light day. On the light deadlift day it’s 5 x 5 for the deadlifts. I had never done that amount of volume on deadlifts before. Yet I believe the 5 x 5 has provided more in the way of conditioning and overall ability to produce force than any other style of training I have tried over the past 35 years.

Fives really do work!

[Bill G]

Fives are best.

Fives really do work!

Or maybe, just maybe, for some lifters, conditioning really does work. For me, and I’m much older at 66, my “conditioning” improves my recovery markedly. You could be seeing something comparable on your high volume light days, and mistaking it for the “best” programming.

Best wishes.

[brokenterry]

Since last post my competition raw squat increased slightly to 220kg/485lb. I pulled a 260kg/573lb deadlift last night with no belt and the starting strength t-shirt

260kg/573lb - YouTube

[Cole Gorton]

nice pull and nice FFDP as some motivational music