National Powerlifting Champion Over the Age of 60

It's never too late to pursue your dreams and I know because last October I became a National Powerlifting Champion over the age of 60.  I compete as a Masters III in the 105kg class in an organization called USA Powerlifting (USAPL).

USAPL is the leading powerlifting organization in the United States. USAPL is a member of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), the governing body of powerlifting internationally. The IPF is comprised of member federations from eighty-three countries on six continents.
Distinct from weightlifting, a sport made up of two lifts: the Snatch and the Clean-and-Jerk, where the weight is lifted above the head, powerlifting comprises three lifts: the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. Powerlifting competitions may be comprised of one, two or all three of the lifting disciplines.

As I mentioned above I compete as a Masters III, which is ages 60 - 69 in the 105Kg class (231 lbs).  Last October I competed in the 2018 USAPL Raw Nationals and won my class with a squat of 445 lbs, a bench press of 308 lbs, and a deadlift of 513 lbs for a grand total of 1266 lbs.  More excitingly, my win gave me a place on the USA Team to compete internationally at the IPF World Classic competition this June in Sweden.

I could not imagine two years ago when I entered my first powerlifting competition that I would be a national champion representing my country in Sweden in a international event at the age of 60.  I plan to bring back a World Championship because it's never too late to make my dreams come true.

Here's a video of my final deadlift that gave me the National Championship:

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My First Powerlifting Competition at the Age of 57

I've written many posts about inspirational people over the age of 50 and now I'm trying to become one.  I plan to compete in my first powerlifting competition at the age of 57.  Although I've competed in many bodybuilding competitions, powerlifting is a whole new venue for me.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Powerlifting is a sport that involves the following three lifts;  bench press, deadlift, and squat.  You do each lift with as much weight as possible and the combination of all three lifts is totaled for your overall score.  The person with the highest total weight of the three lifts is the winner. 

The competition is broken-up by age group, and weight class, to give every competitor an even playing field.  I will be competing in the Masters 55-59 age group in the 100 kg (220 lb) weight class.  Being as competitive as I am I have already researched the State Record for my age and weight class and it's pretty hefty; a 347 lb bench press, a 545 lb squat, and a 524 lb deadlift  for a grand total of 1416 lbs!  However, that doesn't frighten me because my goal is to set a new State Record.  I will keep you informed of my progress and the date of the competition.  Wish me luck!

You Must Lift Weights For Firm And Sexy Muscles

Image via WikipediaI get asked my age a lot, and when I tell people that I'm 52, the next question is always, how do you stay so fit and toned?  My answer is, by weight lifting 4 times each week.  By weight lifting, I mean lifting at a resistance and intensity that I can barely complete my last repetition on each exercise.  Exercising at that intensity is really the key to getting firm and staying that way, especially as you get older.

I see far too many people wear themselves out by doing hours of cardio each week, and very little weight lifting.  And, when they do lift weights, they exercise with a resistance that's too small to produce results.  You've seen them, they are doing their weight lifting routine while carrying on a conversation with their friends (and they wonder why they see very little results).

When you lift weights, you must have enough resistance to overload your muscles to the point of exhaustion, that place where you find it difficult to do one more repetition.  When you exercise like that, your muscles are worn to the point where they must be repaired  by your body and consequently, they are made stronger.  Then your body starts to firm-up and look sexy, no matter what age.

Try Giant Sets When You Are Stressed For Time

Image via WikipediaEver have one of those days or weeks when it seems like you just don't have an extra minute to spare?  You've been doing so well with your fitness program and you want to workout, but you don't have an hour to spend at the gym.  So, what do you do, skip your workout and feel guilty, or skip some other thing you had planned  and feel bad about that also?

Giant sets is the answer to your problem.  Giant sets is a training method in which you do three or more exercises, one after the other, with no rest in between.  The idea is to do a series of exercises in a row, take a brief rest period and then repeat the sequence for your desired number of sets.  This is a good way to get an excellent workout done in a short amount of time (usually under 30 minutes).

I like to design my giant sets to hit the following major muscle groups; back, chest, and legs.  I typically do 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise for 3 complete sets with no more than 60 seconds rest between sets.  Here's what one of my giant sets looks like:

• Back, lat pulldowns or seated low rows
• Chest, flat dumbbell presses or pushups
• Legs, barbell squats or walking lunges

3 sets of the above workout only takes about 20 minutes to complete, but I assure you it is effective.  If the workout seems too easy, increase your resistance, and if it's too hard, decrease your resistance.  Try it out and let me know what you think.

Exercise of the Week; The Dumbbell Chest Press

The dumbbell chest press is one of the best exercises for developing and strengthening the muscles of your chest and the front of your shoulders. Again, you will have to experiment to select the proper weight to use. Pickup a dumbbell in each hand and sit on the end of a bench. Place the dumbbells end -up on your knees, then lay back on the bench and position the dumbbells at your sides at chest height; this is your start position. Press the dumbbells up over your chest until your arms are fully extended being careful not to lock your elbows. Slowly return the dumbbells to the start position. Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you press up and inhale as you return to the starting position.

If you are new to strength training, do 2 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight that the last 2 repetitions are difficult to complete. If you have been strength training for a while, do 3 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight that the last 3 repetitions are difficult to complete.