Newbie (sorta) sayin' hello

Hi to all....

I guess you could call me a newbie to your particular neck of the woods...i've spent the last four years training (perhaps overly so....more later) as a bodybuilder, but have recently developed a passionate interest in making solid strength gains and making strides in my muscle maturity, as my foolish adherence to various M&F and Flex mags in my younger days resulted in a great deal of cable and machine work at the expense of the two attributes i'm seeking...though the core was ALWAYS free weight compound exercises. Don't get me wrong, every cloud has a very silver lining, and in this case my early reliance on "detail" work has yielded me a relatively proportional physique that is well-balanced. However, I have certainly encountered a point of diminishing returns: I'm stuck somewhere between abercrombie model and the physique i'd ultimately like to have at 6'1" and 235lbs (give or take...having gone as heavy as 252).

On the advice of PLJay (who assured me that powerlifters don't despise builders and generally are more than willing to offer up advice and welcome newcomers to their ranks...of which he appears to be a paramount example).

Anyway, long story short.....I don't see myself fully converting to powerlifting permanently (might as well be honest), but would like to immerse myself in it a bit to the point I may entertain the notion of entering a contest. While strong by normal gym standards (maxes of 315 bench, 225 military, 275 incline, 405 strict form dead, 455 nonstrict) I'm definitely one of the weaker ones in this forum, especially given my bodyweight. I'd like to see a 405 bench and (maybe?) a 600 dead within the next few years (four or so??). Anyway, plan on getting my feet wet with the basic nine week routine outlined on elitefitnesssystems.com, perhaps adding in "some" chain work at the midpoint (as the program is designed without it), as the lockout is one of my strong points (on both bench and dead) and I've been trying to find a creative way (aside from partials) to give that portion of the lift justice. Hoping you'll all be as willing (and friendly:rolleyes: ) as PLJay in tolerating my questions as they come up.

Awesome forum btw....training videos from all are inspiring as hell!

welcome buddy. your lifts are respectable.. and they'll sky rocket once you get a sold program down.

Welcome to AR!

Ermantroudt

Ya bro welcome to this forum. I hope you can grab what you can with the lingo goin on in here! Alot posts got wiped out as everyone sees, but i think we can recover the info that might have been up.

Welcome, your not a newbie. Your knowledge and gym time makes you just someone looking for a new routine!! YOu found the right place.

Welcome aboard!

Goddam boobybuilders are a bunch of pus........just kidding :)

Welcome aboard. That 90lb increase in bench that you are looking for is more than achievable. Just listen to what the guys tell you about form and you'll get here in no time.

good to have ya. You will learn some good stuff here that can also be used in a BB routine if you decide to go back

welcome aboard bro.

Have you read up on westside??? I would suggest doing that b/c if your gonna read threads on here they're mostly about that and you will be lost.

check out....

www.elitefts.com

To everyone: thanks....i've been reading up on westside like it's my job for the past two weeks. I've probably read more by Dave Tate and Louie Simmons during this time than I've read Fitzgerald or Dickens, and i'm a lit major, so that's saying something. I'm in the midst of an HST routine (I know, please don't kick me out) that I'd like to finish out...which is for the best since i'm reading up and will begin my pl'ing regimen well-armed. And, i've been shopping around at hardware stores for some chains (gonna hold off on bands till a bit more experienced), which is surprisingly fun. So, i'll definitely be frequenting this place in the meantime trying as best i can to keep my questions intelligent.

Little Girl: She got 105 for two reps the other day, which is great progress for her, since she just wanted her max to be there by the end of october (if i'm recalling correctly)...she's real happy about it, but started coaching where she teaches (cross country) and that's taking away from her gym time, unfortunately...but we're working on it...it's a race to our goal (me: 405, her: 135) and there're some interesting side bets to make it fun.