Personal Bests in the Big Three

I spent last summer training for triathlons and slimmed down to 205 pounds. I was looking for something to do over the winter when I started reading veganfitness.net and became interested in powerlifting. My lifts still aren't great, but are getting better. I am happy with my progress in only 4-5 months of training and have gained 35 pounds bodyweight. I'll give my best lifts when I started in December and my current maximums in pounds.

December - Current

Squat - 275 - 345

Bench - 185 - 225

Deadlift - 275 - 435

Total - 735 - 1005

Bodyweight - 205 - 240

Awesome Michael,

It looks like you are getting quite a bit stronger.

I've never been known for my strength.

I never do 1 rep max lifts but so far my best lifts for low amount of reps like a 2-4 have been:

Squat - 345

Bench - 265

Deadlift - 337

With an injured back I don't do squats and deadlifts anymore but those are the best I did when I did those exercises.

I'm probably one of the least strongest on the Forum

Thanks Rob. I have gotten a lot stonger, but I'm not at all strong for my size. It's nice to do new things that keep me interested in going to the gym every day. Powerlifting has been a lot of fun, especially a little friendly competition with some guys from vegan fitness. Can't wait to meet them in England next month!

As I mentioned in another post, your quads are huge and ripped. Amazing that you accomplished most of that with bodyweight squats etc. I am always fascinated with how the body responds to different stimulus and diet.

PS I like to wear my vegan bodybuilding shirt when doing those 400+ pound deadlifts.

Your bench is good, thats really high man! Nice to hear that you got it that fast! Heres my lifts:

Bench: 405 (I have to redo it though to make sure)

Squat: 400 on smith machine

Deadlift: I dont do them

Thanks Kollision. 405 bench press! You must be a monster.

Hey Michael -- Thanks for wearing the Vegan Bodybuilding shirt around. I'm happy to hear that.

And yeah, Kollision is a monster. I've been chatting with him on somewhat of a regular basis. He's pretty awesome!

Have an awesome time in England. I've been there many times and unfortunately I have yet to meet up with the vegan guys and girls from over there. I was working on a cruise ship so my stops were brief and not too much time for socializing.

Keep it interesting the the gym. With a bad back from heavy lifting injuries, i had to be created. I tried some things that worked well. Experiment and see where it takes you.

Hey Michael,

Are you still competing in triathlons? Or do you compete in any other sports?

Keep up the heavy liftin,

I'm off to work again

Hey Michael,

 

Are you still competing in triathlons? Or do you compete in any other sports?

 

Keep up the heavy liftin,

 

I'm off to work again

No triathlons on the horizon. I did two sprints last summer, but traded it in for getting huge this winter. Honestly I'm a bit tired of the powerlifting thing now and will probably switch back to a bodybuilding routine after June's vegan powerlifting event in England. Time to shred some fat and see what I've been working for.

I don't really think I have the ability to be a competitive athlete. I don't mind a little friendly competition, but my goals are usually personal. I also have some physical problems that will always be with me, namely Ankylosing Spondylitis which affects all of my lower joints and back. It's really kicking my ass right now attacking my hips. I can't squat or ride my bike most days. No problem though, it's a good time to work on my bench press.

Thanks for the update Michael.

That sounds like it will be a fun event in the UK.

I've always thought that Enland is the most vegan-friendly country in the world. I lived over there for a short time and stopped in many times for visits when I worked on the ship, we were actually based in England for 3 1/2 months.

They have a great community of vegan athletes over there.

We do too over here but our country is soooooo big, that we have little patches....some in California, some in Virginia, some in Florida, some in Oregon, some in New York, etc. the list goes on and one.

I'd say the most vegan friendly places around the US are: Washington, Oregon, California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia, and New York.

There are some big events around the US as well. I had some posted on the OLD msg board so I'll get those posted on here soon. I won't be able to attend many, if any, because of my regular full-time job.

Keep on training man and have a great time in the UK! When you're there, be sure to tell them I say hi.

i have been working mostly to improve my three main lifts for about the last 6months. in that time, from the beginning of february my lifts have improved from:

220-264 on the bench

200-330 on the squat

374-451 on the deadlift

as soon as i get my terrible form on the dead and squat sorted, those numbers should go up. with the bench, i think that alot of it depends on me putting on more mass - i still only have 15inch arms and a bloody longt way to push it!

jonathan

Hey Jonathan,

Cool to see you on here buddy! Topher had a great time over there hanging out with you guys.

If I make it next year, watch out! I'm not incredibly strong but when it is in a "competition" all of a sudden I get quite a bit stronger. All about rising to the occoasion

Keep it up bro, keep getting stronger and stronger.

Again, nice to have you over here.

Take care,

105k bench

140k squat

140k deadlift

I know those numbers can go weigh up if I train

thats a 231lb bench, a 308lb deadlift and squat for you lot over the pond!

i was always doing tophers maths when it came down to the lifting!

jonathan

i increased my bench max to 275 this evening. the rep was reasonably hard, though i might have had 280.

i think that in coming years my bench may be my strongest exercise. at the moment i have only got 14.75inch arms (cold) and not a huge amount of mass elsewhere (compared to the huge frame i have). i do seem to have decent form on the bench, which i have been improving recently, with emphasis on arching the back, contracting all the back muscles and ensuring that my shoudler blades are pulled together.

my long term goal for bench is 200kg (440lb) which i hope will be attainable in 3-4years. i dont think that my squat will make it much past 425-450 (in 10years) though my deadlift may reach 600 or a little more. it just all depends on what the extra mass will do to my strength. fingers crossed

jonathan

Ten years ago, before the arthritis sidelined me for awhile I was at the following:

Bench 305

Squat 400

Deadlift 350

Standing military press 185

Clean and Jerk 225

Snatch 160

All in pounds.

I weighed about 175 at the time.

Jon

my deadlift is now up to 345 lbs

my deadlift is now up to 345 lbs

Not bad for a 'little' guy. Good work Topher!!!

especially impressive when you take into account that little topher only weighs 170lb so its more than double bodyweight!

jonathan

I wouldn't say that Topher is "little" but what he's told me, that is an inside joke about the height difference between you guys. I got my bro's back, that's all. He's a pretty big and strong dude if you ask me

especially impressive when you take into account that little topher only weighs 170lb so its more than double bodyweight!

 

jonathan

actually im only 165 right now.

rob, you are only saying that cos your little too! (5' 11" right?). it was just funny cos there were so many tall people at the vegan fitness week - (me 6' 7.5", j 6' 4", michael 6' 4", felix 6' 3", gustav 6' 2", oak 6' 2", joni 6' 1" - with all these tall guys we just had to rip it outa topher!)

again, nice work on the 2x + bodyweight deadlift.

im going to going for 280lb bench tomorrow. i caught my right forefinger whilst unloading weights yesterday (bit cut, quite bruised) so i hope that won't affect the lift. wish me luck

jonathan

Good luck on the bench! That is a lot more than I do, and I know you've got those long arms so it is quite impressive.

Yeah, I heard about all you tall guys. I would have been the 2nd shortest, or maybe tied with Topher. I'm also 5'11"

Keep us posted on personal best lifts.

Haha I prevail at something... Im only 5'9"

Brian (CollegeB) is the new King!

Hey Brian.......did you ever list your best lifts on here?

I mentioned mine somewhere in this thread I think but they are (not heavy):

Bench 245 x 3 reps

Squat 345 x 5 reps

Deadlift 337 x 3 reps

Keep on liftin!

i intended to do 127.5kg(280lb) on the bench today but i forgot to ask my friend brian to bring the 1.25kg plates, which i dont have. instead i tried 286lb (130kg) but it was too much, so i didnt make it. i think that i will make it within the next two weeks. i did have a good session with a single at 264lb, 6 singles at 253lb and a double at 253lb (after i had done everything else )

jonathan