Take It Slow

By Daniel Dalenberg

We live in a culture of speed. People expect instant satisfaction, instant service. Pretty much all of us have a smartphone on us 24/7 where we have instant access to all things digital, can call a cab in a matter of a few minutes, order food for delivery in 20 minutes and consume almost any digital media of our choice instantly. People are constantly accessible through text, email and social media. Any sort of delay is annoying at best. This desire for instant satisfaction isn’t a smart play in the pursuit of strength. It just doesn’t work like that.

[wa-wps]

Forward Progress is Slow

Look at some of the best lifters in the world and how long they have been competing. Some examples that come to mind for me would be Chuck Vogepohl, Andrey Malanichev, Brian Carroll, Derek Wilcox, among others. One of the basic things that these guys have in common is time. Even some of the seemingly super young guys that blew up actually have lots of training experience. Dave Hoff started training at Westside as a young teenager. Eric Lillibridge was training with his family and Ernie Frantz as a young teen as well. Again, these guys have time in common. Despite differences in training method, the gyms they trained in and genetics, they all have lots of time under the bar.

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Strength is slow to come on. Once that initial beginner stage wears off, the progress is bound to slow down, stop and sometimes even take a step backwards. One of the major keys to being freakishly strong is work over time. Take it slow and do what you need to do to give yourself the best chance of training for a long time. Doing a meet once a month or squatting 3 times a week isn’t going to be conducive to longevity. Sure, there might be some short term progress but that lifter might not ever find his ultimate limit as injury and pain pushed him out of the game early.

You have to accept that strength is slow to gain. It will be frustrating most of the time. Sometimes you’ll wonder why you do this at all. You’ll want to quit. If you can’t accept that strength progress is a long term game, I suggest you find a different hobby.

Weight Gain

This one is pretty simple. It takes a long time to pack on lots of lean tissue. Gaining 30 pounds in a summer is going to be pretty sloppy. Yes, there is some value in being big in powerlifting but that isn’t an excuse to be a slob. Take your time filling out a weight class. Your body will be more efficient and ultimately you will be healthier. Your joints take a beating carrying around lots of extra weight, so at least make it useful lean tissue rather than dozens of pounds of crap. Your blood work, blood pressure and sleep will all likely be better with a lighter, leaner frame. This all points back to being able to train for a really long time. In general, better health probably means a longer lifting career. A longer lifting career probably means a bigger total.

#fatshaming.

Correct. Super heavy weight under 6 feet tall? I’m talking to you guy. You are way too heavy and its way past the point of diminishing returns. Slow down, clean up the diet and build a more efficient body. As a plus, you might live to see 50.

Competitive Goals

I remember reading something that Donnie Thompson wrote quite some time ago. “Number numb.” The idea was that we always see the best of the best being highlighted. Especially with social media, the biggest and best lifts are getting shared and viewed thousands of time. It’s easy to fall into the trap of becoming numb to these performances and not realizing that these are the absolute top 1%, the freaks of the freaks and not appreciating our progress and accomplishments.

As a result, frustration sits in. We compare ourselves to the very best and don’t realize that our own performances are often impressive in their own right. Then we start to set unrealistic goals and are pulling out all the stops to get there. Again, this points back to the idea of taking it slow and accepting the long road to big strength. Brutalizing your body in pursuit of a goal that’s still pretty far away is likely to bring on injury and put you on the sidelines for a while. It might just be the end of powerlifting for you depending on the severity.

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Be cautious with comparing yourself to the lifters around you and chasing unrealistic goals. Realize that any progress is cause for celebration. Especially after the first few meets, modest PR totals take a lot of work and are going to become harder and harder to get. Rather than getting upset that you aren’t on the same level as your favorite lifter and aren’t getting there quick enough, enjoy the small progress and understand that any PR is a great thing. The progress you want won’t happen instantly so enjoy the ride to getting there, it is actually full of fun moments.

Rehab

I wish this one was obvious. But apparently it isn’t always. As goes the theme here, do whatever you need to do to stay in the game for a long time. Rushing the rehab process after an injury puts you at huge risk of injuring yourself again. At that point what might have been a simple repair on the first try becomes a mess on round two. From a surgical perspective any revision procedure (“round two”) is harder and less effective. Take the time you need to be ready to come back. Let the injury heal and take some down time. This isn’t just about lifting either, messing that injury up badly might have lifelong effects that follow you of the gym and into your day to day.

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Take it Slow

The moral of the story- take it slow. Strength sports are a long term endeavor that will take many training cycles, lots of years and lots of work to get to the top end. Prioritize longevity and embrace the process.

 

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Daniel Dalenberg

Dan Dalenberg is a pro level raw and equipped powerlifter with elite totals in the 220, 242 and 275 class. Best official raw meet lifts include an 804 squat, 507 bench press, 715 dead lift and 2006 total. Best equipped lifts include an 950 squat, 715 bench, 735 deadlift and 2400 total at 242. Dan has been training under Brian's guidance using the 10/20/Life methodology since late 2010.
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