Member
Question for Rip
Hello sir, been a fan for years.
I'm 42 y/o, used the SS method about 10-12 years ago and made good progress. Used the Texas method circa 2019 and made some more progress. I'm 5'9 currently about 180lbs, I enjoy playing Flag Football, and I am considering trying my first powerlifting meet in June. My best 1RM, which was last year in the fall, was 275 Bench, 405 Squat, & 495 Deadlift.
I would like to continue to make strength gains but I have been running into a wall. Playing slot or cornerback the added body weight in the past has caused me a lot of low back, knee, and ankle pain. I got up to 190-195 at one point (however, when I hit my maxes I was about 183) also I have backed off the heavy sets of 5 for the past 6 months because it was just kicking my ass. I still train but I am using more Hypertrophy protocol, 4 days a week, my joints feel better, but Im itching to get back to heavy 5s. I find myself having to be much more strategic because the systemic fatigue was crushing me. I used to train 3 days a week but the 2 hour workouts were unsustainable with my family schedule as well.
If Im feeling confident in June with my numbers I want to compete at the powerlifting meet at 83 kg. So just looking for your expertise on how to juggle these different goals (flag football, strength, and life), not kill myself, and still be able to compete at a higher level.
BTW I bought Practical Programming and I am reading the chapter about the Intermediate lifter now.
Thanks again for my years of solid gains
Member
Man what is with all these 5'9" guys who weigh 30 pounds less than me talking about how being that way just turns them into degenerated pieces of shit? They hit 210 and they're snoring, farting, knee pain, back pain, legs falling off, eyes melting out of their sockets.
TMPHBITEU
I just get tired of responding to it. That's why I didn't reply. Abz have won the argument. He obviously thinks that champion powerlifters at 5'9" weigh 185, with abs. and play flag football. Maybe they do.
Member
Don't have abs... Not really concerned with having them. Just telling you my experience. Last time I was 195 and doing my normal field work at practice I couldn't sit down at a movie or on a plane without experiencing knee pain. Maybe causation isn't correlation but being a few pounds lighter my knees stopped hurting.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
Member
Maybach, at one point I was heavier about 15lbs. And I felt how I felt... However, Im willing to admit that the knee and back pain after fieldwork may have come from something else, but losing a few lbs it went away. So, if you've heard this concern before from other 5'9" guys who sprint and lift and quickly just dismiss it as bullshit then maybe you could offer some insight how I may be looking at this the wrong way rather then just trolling my question.
Member
"I think I'm allergic to shellfish. Every time I eat shrimp out of the dumpster behind Long John Silver's, I get sick. I know correlation might not equal causation, but as soon as I stopped I started feeling much better"
This is how you sound.
If the mere task of existing at a higher body weight is causing you debilitating pain, then you're fucked, man. I don't know what to tell you. You've got some connective tissue disorder and have no business powerlifting or playing flag football, both of which are much harder on the knees than walking around weighing 210.
Back pain, blood work, snoring, are all just the older, more serious sounding excuses that razor abs are to not gain weight. If you were just "trying to keep active" I'd say be happy with your modest numbers and hang out at 183. But you're trying to be a competitive powerlifter? I mean, wake the fuck up man. Listen to yourself.
Member
This "lighter is always better" sort of thinking that is currently fashionable for many doctors to promote does not make sense from any physiological basis.
Do bodybuilders report more injury and more joint pain at lower body fat percentages or higher? Why?
The added stability in the joints from the extra muscle and fat outweighs the added traumatic/repetitive stress due to a small jump in bodyweight.
If you are a land whale, slug or another form of gelatinous sea creature, this may not apply.
Member
Bodybuilders DO report some undesirable symptoms at very high body weight: sleep apnea, physical discomfort, etc. However, they experience these at HIGH bodyweights. Skinny little turds think that this means 200 pounds, which is like thinking you're going to start having war flashbacks from an airsoft league
Member
Playing flag football IS HARD ON MY KNEES, and ankles, feet, and hips etc, that's why Im concerned about getting heavier. Also "possibly" compromising speed and quickness. Just walking around at a strong 210 lbs wouldn't be a problem. Also I want to compete at 83kg and the guys my age are scoring 575 to 645. Im scoring right now 535 without training for the shit. 40 Kilos seems within spitting distance. But listen I came here for help, hoping that I'd get some more insight on how to add 35-45 lbs to my lifts. My fucking luck that all I get to respond to my post is someone who just wants to talk shit on the internet
I don't believe lighter is better. I mean, I don't think I am particularly light either, at 180-185lbs. Hell I remember when I used to be 165, fuck that was an unhappy experience. That was when I had "abs" and I was 19. Also bodybuilders don't sprint, jump, and do quick COD movements in a game setting. So the injuries they don't experience aren't of particular interest to me. Im concerned with the chronic problems that develop from running and playing in hard games. Now if you say gaining weight and getting stronger doesn't hurt your knees but helps in flag footbal and you will get faster, then I'd like to hear more... however competing in powerlifting is probably off the table because the next weight class up are moving some numbers that are not feasible by June.
TMPHBITEU
Maybe you should be concerned about playing flag football.
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