Expected One Year Increase

[tartanite]

I recently competed in the USAPL Minnesota State Open. It was my second PL meet, the first was, the 2010 USAPL MN state Open, almost exactly one year ago to the day of the 2011 USAPL MN State open. I had really high expectations, The realistic goal was above 1300#'s @ 220lbs (i would ideally like to get 1441#total at 220lbs that is however a really really really long way out). The 1300# total is a 66# increase over 2010.

The long and tall of it is, i missed, BAD. My 2011 three lift total was 1274#'s 38#'s over 2010's number, but 26lbs under the goal (its at this point i could tell you all of the things that went poorly, and yadda yadda yadda, that would not however change the result, so I wont)


So the question is, Whats a realistic goal for improving your PL total over the course of the year without putting on a ton of weight? (Eat big to get big right? well im 226lbs about 15% BF and to be honest, i think thats a good spot to be at Long term, with a lower BF that is)

So what are your thoughts, how much can one expect to improve, in one year while maintaining not gaining weight?

In case youre wondering i went 6 of 9 lifts with the best totals being
429lb squat (smoked the opener and got flattened by 446.9, twice)
314lb bench (i hate bench i really do, had an easy opener, failed at 314lb on the second attempt, battled back and cleared it on the third)
529lb deadlift (this felt easy, should have done more, really should have, smoked all three attempts)

[BendtheBar]

A lot of it depends of how fast you have been progressing, and if you will hit a wall anytime soon.

I was doing quite well on my lifts for about 2 years straight, and then around Spring of last year I hit walls and spent months trying to scratch for 5 pounds per lift.

With a 1274 total, which is very good by the way, you could see a good 50-100 pound increase in a year if progression keeps up.

[recarp82]

i agree with BTB 50-100 pounds in a year is do-able.you just have to keep an eye on what your doing.

[tartanite]

The 50-100lbs seems like quite a bit to increase in a year, especially without gaining weight. Any diet/program ideas you can think of out there? (the basic templates are good still thinking about Wendlers 5/3/1 just not quite sold on it yet, more due to me being thick headed opposed to any actual issues with the program)

[DocColossus]

Originally Posted by tartanite

The 50-100lbs seems like quite a bit to increase in a year, especially without gaining weight. Any diet/program ideas you can think of out there? (the basic templates are good still thinking about Wendlers 5/3/1 just not quite sold on it yet, more due to me being thick headed opposed to any actual issues with the program)

Wendlers 5/3/1 is where it's at brutha!!!

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by tartanite

The 50-100lbs seems like quite a bit to increase in a year, especially without gaining weight. Any diet/program ideas you can think of out there? (the basic templates are good still thinking about Wendlers 5/3/1 just not quite sold on it yet, more due to me being thick headed opposed to any actual issues with the program)

Do you know about what calorie intake it takes you to maintain weight?

Maybe some of the more experience powerlifters could comment on how hard it would be to gain a bit of weight during the off-season, then cut to make weight.

Some people seem to have an easier time than others adding strength while maintaining and cutting, me being one of them. I would be interested to know what your previous year's diet looked like. Maybe we could work from that and scale it back just a hair.

[tartanite]

i try to keep my diet as consistent as possible, i was on the road about 100 nights in 2010 so sometimes my diet gets shot to hell

when im home
Oatmeal in the morning 200cal

foot long sub for lunch 760cal

whey protein shake 2 scoops skim milk 300cal

meals vary at night 300-600calories (we cook, and we do it well some times its really tasty)

with whatever else (work snacks, pbj after work) im looking at roughly 2200-2500cal/day

There is ALOT of room for me to clean that diet up, a mack truck sized hole, the flip side to that is i was able to use my existing platform (shit diet, decent training schedule) to go up considerably while maintaining almost exactly the same weight. So bring on the thoughts and ideas, im open to hearing what folks have to say, i dont get to hang out with fellow meatheads much so hearing different philosophies and ideas should be good.
thanks

[Legosinmyegos]

It completely depends on such a variety of variables you can't give a number. A better approach in my opinion is to just focus on increasing your big 3 one training regime at a time.

[Bodybygamma]

I made a 50lbs total pr at my last meet, almost exactly one year from the last one I did, at a lower weight class (from 275 to 242, 23lbs difference from what I actually weighted give or take) Total pr including only meet lifts since they are different then at the gym. You can watch the video

here

here

:

The only limiting factor to human potential is your own belief system. If you have a strong desire to get stronger, a will to succeed and a passion for progress, paired with decent amounts of training & nutrition anything is achievable.

All the greats say this so I will also stress it, technique, form,and posture! Sometimes getting stronger is just mitigating different weaknesses. Set small term goals, alone with long term goals,set a plan, gauge your progress, and see what works/doesn't work and make it happen.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by tartanite

i try to keep my diet as consistent as possible, i was on the road about 100 nights in 2010 so sometimes my diet gets shot to hell

when im home
Oatmeal in the morning 200cal

foot long sub for lunch 760cal

whey protein shake 2 scoops skim milk 300cal

meals vary at night 300-600calories (we cook, and we do it well some times its really tasty)

with whatever else (work snacks, pbj after work) im looking at roughly 2200-2500cal/day

There is ALOT of room for me to clean that diet up, a mack truck sized hole, the flip side to that is i was able to use my existing platform (shit diet, decent training schedule) to go up considerably while maintaining almost exactly the same weight. So bring on the thoughts and ideas, im open to hearing what folks have to say, i dont get to hang out with fellow meatheads much so hearing different philosophies and ideas should be good.
thanks

Well seeing that you have a decent grasp of caloric intake - that's a good start. One more question for you...you said you were able to eat like this while maintaining weight and gaining strength, correct?

If so I think we could get you on a slightly cleaner diet, with more frequent protein feedings, and it might be beneficial. Keep the calories about the same.