Hidden greatness and a wall?

[DEADn]

I often wonder how many powerlifters saw that they had a hidden greatness and kept going with the weights and suddenly that greatness surfaced and they knew it but never really said much of it?

I feel as if I am seeing this in myself from the perspective that my squats and deadlifts seem to be very strong, and baring injury, I seem to be hitting pr's every week. I just feel it in me that I can keep going higher (bench is my weakness though)BUT I have a wall.

The wall, I am training at a gym with a training and am paying gym fees as well as trainer fees and I cannot keep doing that without it severely affecting my finances. It is beginning to show its head right now. Has anyone been in this position and if so what did you do?
My trainer tells me if I continue and hit the gym 3 days a week I will have 4 cadillacs on that deadlift bar in no time. I hit 315lbs for a PR today for 1 rep with a belt. He wanted to see how I would do after nursing a groin injury. I snatched it up very quickly only because I learned how to keep my head up higher, butt down and use my legs, initially, to pull upward. Then I stood for 10 seconds holding the 315lbs because I felt like it and just laughed at myself over it. Trainer kept saying DAMN!!

Gym is $45 a month. Trainer fees amount to $120 a month. $165 a month total. Can't keep doing that. My Wall, what is the answer to breaking it down?

John

[53greystreet]

Are you anywhere near Orlando Barbell?

[DEADn]

I have been to Orlando Barbell before. It is a solid hour drive there. Maybe even 70 minute drive depending upon the route. OB is on the extreme northeast side of Orlando.

[Imprezivr6]

I would ask yourself what it means to you. If it is just something that is a casual hobby for you, then do what you can on your own, and enjoy it. You can get plenty strong with a basic gym membership, some ebooks/the internet, and determination.

If it is something you are passionate about, and it is worth it to you to really STRIVE for certain goals, than you most likely will have to make sacrifices for it. You might have to figure out some areas to cut funds that are less important to you. Might have to help the neighbor mow their lawn for $25 a week. Whatever it may be. If it means that much to you, you WILL figure it out.

I mean $165 a month isn't a wall. It is a minor obstacle, a small hurdle at best. So figure away around/over it if it is important.

I would say anyone on here that is, or has ever been serious about lifting(or anything for that matter) has made some level of sacrifice.

JMO!

[greensoup]

1. get more money to keep hiring him
2. stop hiring and learn how to train yourself and mess up and learn and get better

you don't ever need anyone else other than yourself to do whatever you want (Except for sex)

[53greystreet]

I have been to Orlando Barbell before. It is a solid hour drive there. Maybe even 70 minute drive depending upon the route. OB is on the extreme northeast side of Orlando.

Multiple people drive 70-90 miles one way to come train here every week. An hour drive is nothing. I used to make an hour drive 3x per week to train with someone before building my own gym

What you will learn from guys like Schwab and Jordan is worth more than a 5 hour drive, let alone an hour.

The monthly fee there plus gas should end up being way less than $165 per month.

[nexa]

The wall, I am training at a gym with a training and am paying gym fees as well as trainer fees and I cannot keep doing that without it severely affecting my finances. It is beginning to show its head right now. Has anyone been in this position and if so what did you do?

Because certain goals are not a priority for me at this time, I went ahead and calculated my time and bank account budgets so that come 2014/2015, money won't be the issue.

I have also come to terms with said goals and force myself to be "ok" with holding onto what progress I have made at this current time.

Do you have a phone? A smartphone? With a data plan? Cable tv? Internet? Do you shop at Walmart or Smart and Final where prices are cheap? Do you go out to eat? What else do you do for entertainment besides the gym?

You can always start videotaping your lifts and asking for help. That's pretty cheap too.

[DEADn]

I would ask yourself what it means to you. If it is just something that is a casual hobby for you, then do what you can on your own, and enjoy it. You can get plenty strong with a basic gym membership, some ebooks/the internet, and determination.

If it is something you are passionate about, and it is worth it to you to really STRIVE for certain goals, than you most likely will have to make sacrifices for it. You might have to figure out some areas to cut funds that are less important to you. Might have to help the neighbor mow their lawn for $25 a week. Whatever it may be. If it means that much to you, you WILL figure it out.

I mean $165 a month isn't a wall. It is a minor obstacle, a small hurdle at best. So figure away around/over it if it is important.

I would say anyone on here that is, or has ever been serious about lifting(or anything for that matter) has made some level of sacrifice.

JMO!

I have spent a few days mulling over the responses, and working, and I thought this response was the best one to respond to since it goes to where my thinking is.

-Lifting to me is a hobby at the foundation. I never intended for it to take ALOT of money out of my pocket UNLESS I get a major return on my investment. Thus the reason I have a home gym.

-$165 doesn't seem like much of a wall but when you don't budget for it and that amount was never a part of my monthly budget it means I starting running negative in my savings account in time. I would rather use that money to invest in my own gym OR at least do a gym membership and keep it at that.

- The major downfall that I see in going back to my gym is taking certain exercises that I do in the gym and finding and alternative at home.
I do the same exercises week after week. The ones I cannot do at home are the following:
seat ab twist machine
standing calf raises ( I do seat as well but I can do that at home)
extreme row ( seated in a forward face down decline and doing rows)
vertical row ( similiar to extreme rows but sitting straight up. I think wide grip cable rows would be a similar thing)
Leg press ( But I can do that on my half rack but it goes straight up and down vs. at an angle)

-Lastly, I noticed that the training is just 'there'. He watched the forum and then picks weights to use. It is up to me to ask questions because all he tends to do is just watch. I don't learn much unless I know the right questions to ask and sometimes that is annoying.

John

[-AJA14-]

Can I be brutally honest? I will.

You just don't want it enough. You don't have the drive to be better.

I went from a noob in the gym, couldn't even bench the bar. 7 years later I bench 315, dead 455 consistently, and just squatted 425. With no help, but a gym membership and a couple of books. Have I made mistakes, yep. Have I had setbacks, yep. But the drive was always there.
You just don't have the drive.

As far as those exercises goes, if you are a powerlifter, those are just accessory exercises, and can be replaced with something else.

[DEADn]

Can I be brutally honest? I will.

You just don't want it enough. You don't have the drive to be better.

I went from a noob in the gym, couldn't even bench the bar. 7 years later I bench 315, dead 455 consistently, and just squatted 425. With no help, but a gym membership and a couple of books. Have I made mistakes, yep. Have I had setbacks, yep. But the drive was always there.
You just don't have the drive.

According to your words you went to the gym and used a few books and BAM your lifts went up.

Are you saying I don't have the drive because I don't want the gym membership? Or pay the trainer? Or both? I can go to the gym, I just don't want to have to pay the trainer because I don't alot of instruction from him. He is more or less watching and applying the weight. This week makes 2 months in that gym. I initially went for a forum check and along the way I learned some things from watching critiques on videos even though the trainer says he is watching me.

Today, when I told him the fees are affecting my finances he began to grin a bit and said 'Man I would like to work with you....' and then gave me another offer.

BUT, in your words, you are doing the very thing that I really want to do. Whether in the gym or in my own gym, do my thing and then get advice along the way. At the moment it is just getting expensive for me.
In what aspect do you think I don't have the drive?

[RobbHensel]

Your original post makes no sense to me. Things are going up and working for you which is great. The wall is relying on the trainer, he's not lifting the weights, you are, what are you getting for $165 a month? I hit a 700# squat and 600# dead lift on my own. There is access to a plethora of info and people who can help with form. Mark Bell and the power project is an example. You shouldn't need a trainer forever or he is.t doing his job because you aren't learning from him or he feeds you just enough info to keep you coming back

[DEADn]

Your original post makes no sense to me. Things are going up and working for you which is great. The wall is relying on the trainer, he's not lifting the weights, you are, what are you getting for $165 a month? I hit a 700# squat and 600# dead lift on my own. There is access to a plethora of info and people who can help with form. Mark Bell and the power project is an example. You shouldn't need a trainer forever or he is.t doing his job because you aren't learning from him or he feeds you just enough info to keep you coming back

The wall is the fees that are adding up. It is one thing to pay $45 a month for a gym membership but it is another ballpark to pay a trainer because their fees can like an electric bill every month and that means having money that is not in the budget or is taking away from other things.

What am I getting for $165 a month? I think the same as if I were on my own. I initially saw him to do a form check because I wasn't sure if my forum was good or not. He said it was great and told me he would like to work with me since I am interested in powerlifting. He lowered his initial fees along the way in order to help me financially and that helped but eventually a budget is a budget. I kept a log on what I am doing so I can understand the strategy and now I would just rather do it myself without paying him the fees. I often get more out of reading articles and evaluating them according to my own needs. This trainer is very old school. Meaning, same exercises over and over unless there is injury. Then he will change it up. His key is to progress and go slowly so to hopefully avoid injury.

Your words are what my original post is about. After doing these workouts and understand the difference of what is done now vs. before I see the potential in my strength gains only that I don't think I need to pay a trainer in order to keep going upward. Only on occasion and that might be for to be a spotter or for advice. He doesn't offer advice, only when I ask questions.


One thing I learned that I didn't realize is on the assistance lifts they should be performed with power instead of a steady pace. Such as tricep pushdowns, he tells me to push downward with power and up slower or the db press, push up with power and come down slower all to help the core lifts.

John

[RobbHensel]

The wall is the fees that are adding up. It is one thing to pay $45 a month for a gym membership but it is another ballpark to pay a trainer because their fees can like an electric bill every month and that means having money that is not in the budget or is taking away from other things.

What am I getting for $165 a month? I think the same as if I were on my own. I initially saw him to do a form check because I wasn't sure if my forum was good or not. He said it was great and told me he would like to work with me since I am interested in powerlifting. He lowered his initial fees along the way in order to help me financially and that helped but eventually a budget is a budget. I kept a log on what I am doing so I can understand the strategy and now I would just rather do it myself without paying him the fees. I often get more out of reading articles and evaluating them according to my own needs. This trainer is very old school. Meaning, same exercises over and over unless there is injury. Then he will change it up. His key is to progress and go slowly so to hopefully avoid injury.

Your words are what my original post is about. After doing these workouts and understand the difference of what is done now vs. before I see the potential in my strength gains only that I don't think I need to pay a trainer in order to keep going upward. Only on occasion and that might be for to be a spotter or for advice. He doesn't offer advice, only when I ask questions.


One thing I learned that I didn't realize is on the assistance lifts they should be performed with power instead of a steady pace. Such as tricep pushdowns, he tells me to push downward with power and up slower or the db press, push up with power and come down slower all to help the core lifts.

John

He's basically talking about CAT and accelerating all reps while controlling the negative so that's nothing new. You can still use the accessory work for the added volume using that technique but your energy is much better expended on the main movement and use assistance to bring up week points and maybe gain size. Accelerating pressdowns....meh......Close Grip Bench sure, pullups, stuff like that, but be careful on isolation exercises. Food for thought, my $0.02

[DEADn]

He's basically talking about CAT and accelerating all reps while controlling the negative so that's nothing new. You can still use the accessory work for the added volume using that technique but your energy is much better expended on the main movement and use assistance to bring up week points and maybe gain size. Accelerating pressdowns....meh......Close Grip Bench sure, pullups, stuff like that, but be careful on isolation exercises. Food for thought, my $0.02

My bench press is my weak spot at the moment but here is what he has me doing and has had me doing since the start.

bench warm up 135lbs. then 2 sets of whatever weight for 5 reps. If I miss 5 reps He lowers it 10-15 labs and I go to failure.

The assistance exercises are 2 sets of 10
lying db press
arnold press
close grip pushdowns
rope pushdowns with the hard split on the bottom
cambered bar curls

and then 3 ab exercises
machine - sit and turn to the left for 2 sets of 10 and the same for the right.
decline crunches
leg raises and hyperextensions. I am usually out in 45 minutes or less.

[Andre Gregoire]

You don't need a trainer.

Plenty of stuff to read online and learn from your peers.

Read up articles at EliteFTS and by Juggernaut Training Systems.

If you want to spend money buy ebooks like Wendler's 5/3/1 and Lilly's Cube Method.

For motivation and quicker gains find a training group, you will get stronger at a rate you never believed was possible mostly because of the motivation.