A Hebridean Diary

jt said:Good luck and safe travels.

Did you see that livestream commentators are required for the Mens British being held in North France?

Wayne_Cowdrey said:Encouraging result, well done

JohnGym said:Evening Martin.

Hope you don't mind but I have a couple of questions.
I still follow your diary religiously by the way, it's one of three that I always check in on even when I'm not lifting at all.

What age did you start trying to improve bench press strength and what did you do in the years leading up to choosing the iron life?

The reason I ask is that my age is playing on my mind and I wonder if it's worth having another full bore blast at powerlifting if I can't get back to my best. I remembered, I think, that you didn't start lifting at all until mid 40's? (I'm 40 in 8 weeks time).

Wayne_Cowdrey said:What was the injury you had in your late 20s and what caused it?

Martin1956 said:
Hi John, sorry to take so long to answer. I started doing bench in my late 20s, primarily because with my injury I could do little else. Over the years I worked up to a 140 bench in the week of my 40th birthday, but it was always as a gym rat who had no idea about strength training. Shortly after that I stopped lifting. I started up my own gym and it was too much of a busman's holiday. By 2002 I was totally out of shape and decided to start again, got myself a coach, and worked back to 140 over the next year. By 2008 I was doing 165 raw and 200 equipped in competition. As recently as 2013 I was doing 170 raw in the gym, and in 2014 I opened 190 and just missed 203 at the Scottish. It's been a downward spiral since then, because the trapped nerve hit shortly afterwards. Believe it or not it's a golf injury!
I was 52 wen I got my comp pbs, and 58 when I got my gym pb, so I reckon there's plenty of scope for improvement for yourself. The trick is not to seek constant improvement, just put in the work with no great expectations and every so often your experience a wee jump in performance. The trick is putting in the work year in, year out. If you can hit a peak and then improve by 5 kilos a year on bench, that's 25 kilos over the next five years, which would be a good number. It's all about how much you want it...

dazzachap said:
Well done on the comp Martin, it inspires me to try and compete again next yr.
Interesting points above, you say you hit your comp PB's at 52 as im sitting in the middle of that just now.
By the time I was 21 I could hit a 140 bench, albeit a gym touch and go, but from that day till this ive never failed it on trying, but I feel I now def need to be consistent with both my training and eating to keep beating gravity with 3 blues on the bar. and my base numbers on Sq and DL.
In terms of diet I def agree, and people that say creatine doesn't work, id like to know how they take it or if that are keeping hydrated while taking it, as its pretty useless on a water deficit.
when im forcing the protein down my neck and taking creatine, and using 140 as a, well benchmark, I can pretty much add 70% to my reps at that weight, and with say 100 kg I can add on average about 30% reps within a mth, this is something measurable and repeatable as ive tracked it consistently many dozens of times since probably the early nineties or when creatine first hit the shelves over here, and an early creatine fart could have downed an elephant.
Keep inspiring maybe see you on the platform next year.

Martin1956 said:
Hi John, sorry to take so long to answer. I started doing bench in my late 20s, primarily because with my injury I could do little else. Over the years I worked up to a 140 bench in the week of my 40th birthday, but it was always as a gym rat who had no idea about strength training. Shortly after that I stopped lifting. I started up my own gym and it was too much of a busman's holiday. By 2002 I was totally out of shape and decided to start again, got myself a coach, and worked back to 140 over the next year. By 2008 I was doing 165 raw and 200 equipped in competition. As recently as 2013 I was doing 170 raw in the gym, and in 2014 I opened 190 and just missed 203 at the Scottish. It's been a downward spiral since then, because the trapped nerve hit shortly afterwards. Believe it or not it's a golf injury!
I was 52 wen I got my comp pbs, and 58 when I got my gym pb, so I reckon there's plenty of scope for improvement for yourself. The trick is not to seek constant improvement, just put in the work with no great expectations and every so often your experience a wee jump in performance. The trick is putting in the work year in, year out. If you can hit a peak and then improve by 5 kilos a year on bench, that's 25 kilos over the next five years, which would be a good number. It's all about how much you want it...

JohnGym said:
Thanks for this Martin.
The trick you mention is exactly where I fail every time.
I'm starting again today.
Well done on the comp. You've inspired me to enter the BDFPA UK Masters this year. My first M1 comp.