IPF worlds
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| jimblanchflower |  | IPF worlds | 26-10-2007 @ 01:04 |
Teabagger for hire Member 54, 237 posts | I totalled 940kg at the worlds and came away with 11th place. I was a little disappointed with this, but, considering the problems I had prior to the comp, I cannot complain too much. I sustained a small tear to the quadriceps at the British seniors this year, and following this I over-trained the bench, leading to a painful shoulder injury. In addition I seemed to suffer more than most from the altitude, even though this was only 5,000 feet, I felt very tired whilst squatting on the day. So - all things considered, it could have been a lot worse. No need to tell a bunch of powerlifters, however, that I still feel bad about a poor total. My first squat with 357.5 was a conservative opener, and was failed on depth, I took it again and passed, and then took it easy on the third with 370. My first two bench presses went OK with 260 then 270, but the 280 proved too heavy on the day, due to the lack of heavy benching leading up to the event. I opened with 280 on the DL to make absolutely sure of geting a total and followed this up with 300. The coaches gave me 317.5 for the third - have a look at the footage for this if you get the chance. I got so psyched up that I was streaming at the nose and mouth, and blowing snot over the centre ref. I got the line so wrong that the bar never moved, and I had to hop over the top of it to avoid falling forwards. Now that I have shown that I can make a total, even on a bad day, I hope to be a little less cautious next time and look for some decent numbers. Clive suffered a similar fate, being less than 100% on the day. The good days and bad days phenomenon seems to become more important as lifters get older, and, although Clive is capable of squatting over 450kg on a good day, he was not at this level on saturday. Personally I would like to see him come back and have another go next year. Some of you may be aware that the squad that went out this time are ancient. Jas Singh, Clive, myself, Marion Gibson, Theresa Sawyer, Monica Porter - all masters already. Britain needs to develop some young talent. Anyone interested? At the risk of opening a can of worms again let me tell you about something else. If you think that all Britain's best lifters in BWLA are taking drugs - you are wrong. Some things are not just a matter of opinion - there is such a thing as just being plain wrong. I can assure you that I am clean (not life-time I am sorry to say, but that was very little and a very long time ago) I personally believe that our two highest totallers, Dean Bowring and Clive Henry are lifetime clean. Apart from my own feelings, I would struggle to see how they could have used anything of benefit and still managed to evade the tests for so many years. Before you dismiss this as "just my opinion" of course it is, and I am enough of a scientist to know that anyone can be wrong - but in my favour, I am an exeprienced competitor, my first degree is in pharmacology and I have appeared as an expert on drug use by athletes on BBC radio. I am sure that the people who posted on this subject in the past, did not intend it as a personal slur, but if you state that anyone who is any good must be taking steroids, then you are saying that I am either s**t or a liar (do not bother telling me which of these it is) - This leaves me with little choice other than to take comments personally. It may seem as if I have gone off at a tangent here, as guys of my age are apt to do, but there is a reason for this. If you are committed to training clean, which I know many of you are, don't think that you can never have a decent total - you can. For those of you who have given up the gear - don't think that you can never be a strong again - you can be - and what's more - I can help. To this end I want to suggest another NW training day. Now that most of you know where Nelson and Colne are we will probably arrange to have some training at Powerhouse or Intershape. I will talk to the gym owners about this. Let me know when you would most like this. A couple of weeks before the NW champs could be a good idea. Bring a current routine with you and we can discuss changes as well as working the all important technique. Let's get some new talent coming through. | ||
| Carl | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 02:00 |
 Loves rugby league ... Member 13, 14460 posts SQ 230, BP 180.5, DL 262.5673.0 kgs @ 128kgs UnEq Administrator | very nice write up jim totalling 940 on a off day is never too bad well done | ||
| EDCLARKE | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 07:25 |
 not particularly well educated Member 85, 10991 posts SQ 170, BP 130, DL 260560.0 kgs @ 90kgs UnEq | very interesting post,I noticed at the british that a lot of the competitors were in the masters catagory I think that powerlifting is a sport that is often taken up by people like myself who have finished playing another sport and are looking for something else to start ,often they are in the over 35 bracket and do not have too long untill they become masters themselves! | ||
| Joni | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 08:51 |
 left the country satisfied Member 10, 19241 posts SQ 240, BP 150, DL 270660.0 kgs @ 107kgs UnEq | Good stuff Jim, nice write up. And forums are places where even one opinion might stand out among 100, so better not make much out of it unless it becomes something which is more common opinion. In some ways its inspiring to know how many masters class lifters there were, but i can see your urgent point about getting new talent in. There is talent, but not many of the talented lifters start thinking about their lifting in a 15 year perspective  Good idea about the training camp, will come myself for sure. | ||
| Martin1956 | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 09:46 |
 Old Age Presser Member 75, 7745 posts SQ 0, BP 200, DL 200400.0 kgs @ 105kgs Eq | Good post Jim. I won't revisit old ground - I'm sure you read my earlier swear words! - but a couple of words on new talent. We don't seem to have a system in place to motivate and encourage emerging talent. Moz is one such example. He's got a very respectable squat and deadlift and did a 190 at 86 kilos last Sunday. yet as far as I know he's never been invited to a squad, been called up by someone in authority to say well done, etc. etc. He trains alone in a gym where they don't even like him using chalk, has had a really s**tty personal year and ended it by winning the best lifter award in Colne, yet receives no encouragement. If he packed in, no one would even realise it, because he's not "in the system". Yet he's probably Jas's successor in the 82s. I'm also frustrated by a young lad in my gym. He's clean, in the 67s, 21 years old, benches over twice bodyweight raw, has a good squat and deadlift, but won't compete - partly because he doesn't want to wear a leotard, believe it or not. And the annoying thing is that if I could get him into the sport, I'd probably get two of his mates into it as well. He's good enough to walk the British raw title now, without any specialist training (assuming Phil stays away) and it's infuriating to see that talent going to waste. Good performance in Austria, btw. I never seem to be at my best on these foreign jaunts. My excuse in Germany was that I tired myself out getting everyone else's shirts on. | ||
| nico | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 09:51 |
 just smoked Ed and Neil - EAT MY GOAL Member 120, 1582 posts | nice post. Well done on the 940 regardless. To say 940 is a poor day at the office is still a great place to be! I agree with Ed's post above about the age of lifters. I have just started powerlifting after finishing another sporting career. I am now 33 and by the time I have put in the hard yards to get to a decent level, I'll be in the masters. I think it is a sport that could be interesting to younger guys, but I just believe that many people don't become aware of the sport until later. | ||
| Rob | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 11:14 |
 Does f*ck all for SugdenBarbell.co.uk Member 1, 7173 posts SQ 182.5, BP 110, DL 205497.5 kgs @ 107kgs UnEq Administrator | Well done on your peformance Jim, enjoyed the write up. | ||
| Joni | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 11:43 |
left the country satisfied Member 10, 19241 posts SQ 240, BP 150, DL 270660.0 kgs @ 107kgs UnEq | one comment about talent: i dont think it is enough to just look at the numbers. There are loads of very strong people up and down the gyms. But being a good lifter calls for many other qualities than just the numbers: commitment, hard work, willingness to learn the rules, ability to take the pressure of the comp, consistancy, long term view and so on. (+ willingness to wear a leotard) My point is: Its the whole package what makes guys like the ones appearing on international platforms, not just the lifts. | ||
| Titch | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 12:53 |
 One Sexy MoFo Member 101, 2470 posts | Post Edited: 18.06.2008 @ 20:22 PM by Titch Originally posted by jimblanchflower... Some of you may be aware that the squad that went out this time are ancient. Jas Singh, Clive, myself, Marion Gibson, Theresa Sawyer, Monica Porter - all masters already. Britain needs to develop some young talent. Anyone interested? Congrats on your total anyway, even though I'm aware it's below your best. | ||
| PorkPie | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 12:57 |
 Do hugs, not drugs. Member 136, 712 posts SQ 380, BP 242.5, DL 330952.5 kgs @ 110kgs Eq | Good post. Well done on your 940, that's a good effort in anyone's book. I happen to believe you are right about gear use in BWLA, not many do it, those that do, get caught. I wouldn't worry about the less informed views expressed on the net. I think this reflects more on those who make these comments than anything else. I have some ideas about encouraging others into powerlifting but often meet with quite a very negative line from BWLA officials about needing to join BWLA for the whole year, bogus arguments about insurance, mandatory testing - even for guest lifters (read - guys who are drug users but might be tempted to come off and particpate clean), etc, etc. Martin makes a good point about talent that's already there, Moz is one of many handy lifters who aren't brought on as well as they might be. There is also a huge wealth of untapped talent in the bodybuilding and rugby community. There's no money in any of it but the odd free T shirt, discounted bit of protein powder, kudos of being invited to a squad event, etc, etc..it all helps. Drug free, untested, equipped and unequipped, we're all basically interested in promoting powerlifting, so lets drop parochial differences for the greater good. | ||
| Martin1956 | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 14:15 |
Old Age Presser Member 75, 7745 posts SQ 0, BP 200, DL 200400.0 kgs @ 105kgs Eq | I have a number of thoughts on the promotion of powerlifting, and I've emailed Rob a document which outlines them. Note that I tend to think big rather than small! All comments, other than "powerlifting is boring and no one wants to watch it" are welcome once Rob has a chance to upload it! | ||
| Rob | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 14:51 |
Does f*ck all for SugdenBarbell.co.uk Member 1, 7173 posts SQ 182.5, BP 110, DL 205497.5 kgs @ 107kgs UnEq Administrator | Martin's thoughts - PDF Format | ||
| PorkPie | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 15:33 |
Do hugs, not drugs. Member 136, 712 posts SQ 380, BP 242.5, DL 330952.5 kgs @ 110kgs Eq | Mmmm - good read Mr Flett - some interesting ideas. I think BWLA doing well would mean the drug Feds doing well. The BPC is already far ahead of BWLA on most of its domestic arrangements, be interesting to see if the blue blazer brigade wake up and smell the coffee. Phil Vickery is a weakling by the way. I saw him squat 180 for three a few years back and it almost killed him. | ||
| Martin1956 | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 15:37 |
Old Age Presser Member 75, 7745 posts SQ 0, BP 200, DL 200400.0 kgs @ 105kgs Eq | I agree with most of Rob's post! | ||
| Rob | | ... | 26-10-2007 @ 15:37 |
Does f*ck all for SugdenBarbell.co.uk Member 1, 7173 posts SQ 182.5, BP 110, DL 205497.5 kgs @ 107kgs UnEq Administrator | Post Edited: 26.10.2007 @ 15:39 PM Perhaps you were thinking of Andrew Sheridan - now he is one big, strong boy!!!Oh, and I doubt Frank Bruno is very strong at weights, I met him a few months ago and I was shocked at how skinny his legs were, although he did say he still works out. I would imagine it's more endurance/cardio based training. Top bloke though!! | ||